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San
José, Costa Rica, Monday, March 10, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 48
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 Ministerio de Gobernación,
Policía
This is the new McDonnell
Douglas helicopter. y Seguridad Pública photo New helicopter
joins roster
of ministry's air service By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The security ministry's Servicio de Vigilancia Aérea took delivery Sunday of a new McDonnell Douglas helicopter. The seven-place craft has infrared equipment for night searches and is unique in not having a tail rotor. This is supposed to make the craft quieter. This is the second helicopter obtained through the aid of the U.S. Embassy. The helicopter will work in search and rescue, in humanitarian missions, anti-drug operations and even as an air ambulance, said officials. Also Sunday the Fuerza Pública in the southern part of the country received new vehicles. They will be used in Corredores, Coto Brus and Golfito. There was the delivery of new uniforms. Among the vehicles are nine four-wheel-drive Toyota Prado.  Ministerio de Gobernación,
Policía
y Seguridad Pública photo A
local priest blesses one of the new police vehicles.
Four murders reported since Thursday night By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
There have been four murders since Thursday night. Judicial agents reported Friday on the murder of a 20-year-old man who was shot outside his home in Tibás about 11 p.m. Thursday. The man's girlfriend said that he had stepped out of the home for a few minutes when she heard two shots. Agents said they found crack cocaine in the home. An argument is being blamed as the reason for a murder in San José. The body of a man identified by the last name of Ewe turned up in a vacant lot in Sagrada Familia. The 34-year-old man was stabbed in the chest. A man and a woman suspect were detained not far away. Saturday afternoon a passer-by found a murdered 34-year-old man in Bananito, Limón. The man, identified by the last name of Santamaría, was found in a lot. Agents said that the man had been shot at least seven time. A man on a motorcycle was attacked Sunday morning in Pavas. The man died later in Hospital México. He had been shot in the head. Agents identified him by the last name of Corrales. He was 35. Also injured was a 50-year-old woman, who lives in the area who was hit by one of the bullets fired at Corrales, said agents. The shooting happened about 9:30 a.m. Agents said that two men on a second motorcycle pulled alongside the victim and fired. The victim was hit four times. The woman suffered a wound to the chest. She was hospitalized. of company information By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Two former employees tried to extort money from their former boss in exchange for important company information, said the Judicial Investigating Organization. Agents detained a 28-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman in the case Friday afternoon. The 48-year-old businessman is a U.S. citizen, they said. Agents said that the pair demanded $1,800 for the return of the business information. The businessman delivered the money at a specified location in west San José Friday afternoon, and agents picked up the suspects after the transaction. Two die in fire blamed on candle used for lighting By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A brother and sister, both seniors, died Thursday night when their small home caught fire. The Cuerpo de Bomberos blamed a candle that has been used for illumination. One person survived the blaze with burns. The dead were identified by fire fighters as Alicia Herrera Ortiz, 65, and Alfonso Herrera Ortiz, 70. The location was in Nimariñak, Barrio San Joaquín of Tuis, Turrialba. Pedestrians targeted by robbers By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Robbers shot a pedestrian five times in Lourdes in San Pedro de Montes de Oca Saturday night, said judicial investigators. The man was walking with a friend when a car pulled up and a man with a gun stepped out. Agents said that the victim, identified by the last name of Fallas, struggled with the gunman. A similar incident also Saturday night in Santa Ana led to the wounding of a 61-year-old man identified by the last name of Morales. A car pulled up and a man with a gun got out. Instead of giving up his possessions, Morales struggled with the man, agents said. He suffered a bullet wound to the leg and an injury to the head where he was hit. Our reader's opinion
Small gap in car windowdefeats window breakers Dear A.M. Costa Rica: Car window glass will shatter in small pieces and fall out only if the window is totally closed up as the tracks on all four sides prevent the glass from flexing as it is designed to do when struck. If drivers would lower all car windows about a half an inch, the glass will not implode on the first blows hopefully giving the driver time to escape or shoot or mace the attacker who has a deadly weapon in his hand putting all people in the car in immediate fear for their lives. This little trick if published hopefully will save a life or prevent a robbery or two. The boys usually use a spark plug in their palm and strike the window in the center with the small end, and the window just collapses. Dan
Wise
Barra Del Colorado
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The contents of this page and this Web site are copyrighted by A.M. Costa Rica.com Ltda. 2014 and may not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details | ||||||
A.M. Costa Rica Third News Page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, March 10, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 48 | |
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| Expat created a center of diversity on the skirts of
Volcán Poás |
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By
Michael Krumholtz
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff There are stories in each one of these roots. This plant can help against the flu. That tree over there has leaves used to make the iconic Panama hats. Here's the kudzu, which became invasive when planted in the southeastern United States but has stayed tame in the tropical climate. Harve Thomas walks through this expansive finca in Santa Barbara de Heredia, beneath the shadow of Volcán Poás. Mazes of towering bamboo stalks or swooping morning glory branches outline the many hillside paths. "There's so much you can do with plants," he said. "Basically everything comes from plants." Thomas' Ark Herb Farm has been open since 1990 and now houses over 1,000 different plant species. He estimates his eight-hectare plot has the most diverse collection of plants in Central America. Many species are duplicated in keeping with the Ark name, that is two of each. Shipments of different seeds and crops come in to Ark Herb from all over the world. There's black pepper from Vietnam, tea leaves from China, and Mexican-native chia, which can be made into a thick beverage that Thomas said could be the next big fad. Arkansas-born and educated primarily in architecture, Thomas is president of three companies that stem from the farm's production: Los Patitos, Global Spice and Condimentos Escazú. His companies' main staple is achiote, which is a seasoning dye used mainly in protein and rice combination dishes to give them their red color. The Los Patitos brand of achiote liquid and paste are by far the most popular in Costa Rica. "A monopoly is only good if you're the one who has it," he joked, saying he thinks he makes a cent for each time it is included on a restaurant's plate. His other big sellers are mint, arugula, and basil, which are grown in hordes on the finca. Numerous restaurants and bed and breakfasts purchase his fresh fruits and vegetables. In the farm's early years Thomas put an emphasis on cultivating and selling plants for medicinal purposes. He focused largely on echinacea, a brilliant daisy-like flower that researchers have seen as sporting some medical benefits. The plant is believed to have been a main component in Native American healing practices. Though they exported a few million dollars worth of treatment products, Thomas said it was an enterprise that never reached a next level of potential he had hoped for. He and other Costa Rican farmers across the country must pay unskilled laborers at least 8,944.51 colons per normal working day, according to labor law. Though that number went into effect Jan. 1, Thomas said labor has always come at a high price in the country. The current amount is a bit more than $16 a day. "Agriculture in Costa Rica is next to impossible," he said. "I'm happy to see Costa Rica has a higher pay for the labor costs, but it goes against agriculture." Comparatively to nearby countries like Guatemala, Honduras, and Belize, the industry in Costa Rica faces much higher operating costs. Not only is labor a factor, but so is electricity and water, which remain especially high here. |
 A.M. Costa Rica/Michael Krumholtz
Harve Thomas spends much of his
time now doing researchNow, Thomas said he works very little but oversees his 15 field hands and does experiments with plants in his botanical garden. Sometimes researchers and botany students will visit to take notes at the farm that acts as the holy grail of botany laboratories. Though he is glad Monsanto has been largely prevented from new Costa Rican projects, he said the issues with genetically modified organisms are more complicated than some protestors would like to admit. "We've been doing hybrids for thousands of years," he said. "It's those kinds of changes that have allowed the population to go from 2 billion to 7 billion in my lifetime." Doubling as both owner and main tour guide, Thomas is a walking encyclopedia who seemingly knows every origin, bit of research done and purpose of each plant species. With a slight southern drawl still left over after years of traveling and an easy laugh, Thomas talks in depth about the practicality of plants. Why go to the doctor and buy a prescription when sometimes the solution is growing right under your feet? There's others, he says while walking under the shade from his trees, that become too zealous or over-sensitive when farming and forget the initial purposes for feeding or healing. "A lot of people get religious about herbs. Me, I'm not religious." |
Annual athletic games begin with a ceremony Officials and students inaugurated this year's Juegos Deportivos Estudiantiles Friday at a ceremony in Santa Ana. Some 60,000 students will participate in the events, that include 10 different sports. This is the 31st year. There are local and regional elimination events in five age categories that lead to the national finals. The events are under the auspices of the Ministerio de Educación Pública. Winners will compete in the Central American games. |
 Casa
Presdiencial photo
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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| A.M. Costa Rica's Fourth News page | |||||
| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, March 10, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 48 | |||||
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| Amazon canopy study concludes that most rainforest trees are
different |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Hidden in the canopy of the tropical rainforest is the secret to its evolution. The tale embedded in the chemistry of each leaf relates to how the tree adapts to pests, pathogens, and changes in environment and climate. A new study in the journal of the National Academy of Sciences finds that understanding the traits found in these interlocking branches and leaves at the top of the trees can help better manage and protect these forests, which are disappearing at an alarming rate. Lead author and Carnegie Institution ecologist Greg Asner based his findings on an expedition to gather foliage from the top of 3,560 trees across 19 forests in the western Amazon. He says when you look down on the region from an aircraft, it resembles a green carpet “and is pretty monotonous. Our question was, is it really that monotonous? Is it all the same? Or is it really variable in terms of how it functions and how it has been put together evolutionarily?” To find the answer, Asner deployed climbers up the 45-meter trees to the canopy, the central nervous system of the forest that regulates water flow, stores carbon and provides habitat. “The Western Amazon is now understood to be if not the, then one of the highest biodiversity regions on the planet. More species per acre exist there than nearly anywhere else. And also it’s an area that’s rapidly changing with land development and with climate change.” Forest canopies are notoriously difficult to study, given the extreme difficulty of accessing them. Thousands of samples had to be collected from the upper limits of the canopy to ensure they all had equal exposure to sunlight and could thus be compared in terms of solar-driven chemical synthesis. This meant using climbing techniques to reach the outer edge of each canopy, hundreds of feet above the surface. The leaves collected by the team include the vast majority of canopy tree species found in the western Amazon. In his canopy analysis, Asner describes the forest as a rich mosaic that varies with elevation and soil content. What his team found is that the species that are found on these different areas have radically different chemistries as communities of trees. So a community on this area, if you can walk just a few miles away to a new area, it’s a different chemical makeup in the next canopy, he said. What came as a complete surprise was that neighboring trees in the same community had distinct chemical signatures, says Asner. “Every time you climb a tree you’re basically getting a completely different chemical portfolio from the last tree that you climbed. In other words, there is an enormous diversification of chemical traits among the different trees that are living together. We thought that the variation would be slower across the Amazon basin, but what we see is that almost every tree has evolved its own chemical traits unique from one another." Asner explains that how those trees evolved traits to combat pests and pathogens and or to survive environmental change can help |
 Carnegie Institution/ Greg Asner
Carnegie botanist Felipe Sinca
is high in an Amazonian tree.predict how the species will respond to future threats, such as land use, drought or climate change. He hopes better forest management can emerge based on the findings. “And what do we have to do to do that? What kinds of protected areas do we set up? What kinds of management treatments do we make sure are in place in terms of human use of the forest and so forth? A lot of that can be predicted by understanding the chemistry of trees.” Asner's study is the scientific debut for the Spectranomics Project, a field and laboratory-based effort to study tropical forests. The project plans to release a series of reports on biological hot spots including forests in Madagascar, Ecuador and Australia. |
Here's reasonable medical care
Costa Rica's world class medical specialists are at your command. Get the top care for much less than U.S. prices. It is really a great way to spend a vacation. See our list of recommended professionals HERE!amcr-prom
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The contents of this page and this Web site are copyrighted by A.M. Costa Rica.com Ltda. 2014 and may not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details | ||||||
| A.M. Costa Rica's Fifth news page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, March 10, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 48 | |||||
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| Drug gang leader finally dies long after false death report By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Mexican officials say a powerful drug lord who had been reported killed three years ago was actually killed early Sunday morning in a shootout with marines in western Mexico. Nazario Moreno, a leader of a powerful criminal gang that has ravaged the western state of Michoacan, had been reported killed by the government in a firefight in December 2010. His body was never found, but the government of then-President Felipe Calderón officially declared him dead. Since the earlier death report, his former cartel, La Familia Michoacana, morphed into the more vicious and powerful Knights Templar. The news of Moreno's death comes on the heels of the Feb. 22 capture of Mexico's most powerful drug lord, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, who surrendered peacefully after 13 years on the run. Another top drug lord, Zetas chief Miguel Angel Trevino, was captured in the middle of last year.  NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope photo
This is a shot of the main
bodies that once were a larger astroid.Space telescope
gets shots
of crumbling distant asteroid By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has captured some amazing and breathtaking images since it began scanning the cosmos in 1990. But, from late last year into early this year, the space telescope was able to capture and record something that, until now, had never been seen before; the breakup of an asteroid located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Sure, many astronomers have been able to watch comets break apart as they come close to the sun, but they’re much more fragile than asteroids. Comets, which are basically dirty snowballs, are made mostly of ice and dust. Asteroids, on the other hand, are chunks of solid rock made of more durable material such as clay, silicate and nickel-iron. So asteroids are less likely to simply break apart than comets. “This is a rock, and seeing it fall apart before our eyes is pretty amazing,” said David Jewitt of the University of California at Los Angeles, who led the astronomical forensics investigation. Designated P/2013 R3, by the International Astronomical Union, the disintegrating asteroid, was first spotted Sept. 15, 2013, as an unusual and fuzzy-looking object by astronomers with the Catalina and Pan STARRS sky surveys located in Tucson, Arizona, and Maui, Hawaii, respectively. Following-up on these observations about two weeks later scientists with the W. M. Keck Observatory, located atop Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano located on the island of Hawaii, spotted three astronomical bodies moving together and were enveloped in a cloud of dust that was as big as the diameter of Earth. “The Keck Observatory showed us this thing was worth looking at with Hubble,” said Jewitt. “With its superior resolution, space telescope observations soon showed there were really 10 embedded objects, each with comet-like dust tails. The four largest rocky fragments are up to 400 yards (365.76 meters) in diameter, about four times the length of a football field.” The Hubble provided data that indicated that the asteroid fragments slowly wandered away from each other at a speed of nearly 1.6093 kilometers-per-hour. Astronomers said that the P/2013 R3 actually began breaking apart sometime early last year, but newer images of the broken-up asteroid have shown it to split into even more pieces since. The break-up of the asteroid, according to those who’ve been observing it, is not likely due to it colliding with another asteroid, because if it had the fragmentation would have been quicker and much more violent compared to its slow and gradual destruction. The astronomers also noted that such a smash-up of two asteroids would produce debris that would probably travel much faster than what they had observed. They also don’t think the asteroid became unglued and fell apart because of the pressure of its interior ices warming and vaporizing. So, this left the astronomers to consider something that’s been discussed before, but never directly observed. Perhaps the asteroid disintegrated because of what was described as a subtle effect of sunlight, which gradually speeds up the asteroid’s rotation rate. As the asteroid continues to spin faster and faster, centrifugal force kicks and causes the asteroid to gradually pull itself apart. For this self-destruct scenario to work, astronomers say that the P/2013 R3 had to have had a weak and fractured interior that was most likely caused by a number of non-destructive collisions with other asteroids. Scientists are now figuring that most small asteroids in the solar system were probably severely damaged in this way. The break-up of the P/2013 R3, they said, was most likely due to such an asteroid to asteroid collision that took place sometime within the last billion years. Looking back at another occasion when they saw six tails springing from asteroid P/2013 P5 along with what they’ve observed with P/2013 R3, astronomers said that they are finding more proof that the pressure of sunlight could very well be the primary factor that has caused the solar system’s small asteroids, those less than 1.6 kilometers across, to disintegrate. Those following the destruction of P/2013 R3 figure that the remaining debris from the now broken-up asteroid probably weighs about 181,437 metric tons and will mostly likely become a source of future meteoroids. Astronomers’ figure that most of the remaining debris will eventually plunge into the sun, but a small amount of what’s left of asteroid P/2013 R3 may someday provide a spectacular show for earth as they blaze across the sky as meteors. Young people are vanguard of mobil devices, survey says By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Young people are leading the global charge in Internet and mobile technology. Young people are “particularly likely to use the Internet. They are particularly likely to engage in social networking,” said Richard Wike, director of Pew Research Center’s Global Attitude Research. “They are particularly likely to own cell phones and to own smartphones,” he said. “So it is young people and, in particular, you know, those under age 30 who are … showing real interest in these types of technologies and embracing them and using them in their own lives.” A recent Pew Research survey of 24 emerging and developing countries reveals a universal finding that young people just seem more open to using these types of devices. said Wikes. They are the ones that start learning about technology, and they are the ones on the cutting edge of incorporating them in different ways in their own lives, he added. Young people typically like to explore, take risks, and figure out how they fit into the broader world around them, said Microsoft Research‘s principal researcher, Danah Boyd, a fellow at Harvard’s Berkman Center and a research assistant professor at New York University. “A lot of technology has been adopted by young people because they see this possibility of connecting,” she said. “It fits into their dynamics of sociality. It fits into their desires to hang out, to connect with other people. That’s why they want to use it.” Young people, says Professor Boyd, “look at technology more with an eye of all that they have to gain, whereas a lot of adults start thinking about all that they have to lose.” Nevertheless, a lot of parents see in the Internet a learning potential for their kids. “A lot of adults are giving young people access in order to hopefully make them part of a global world, part of a technology ecosystem, part of a future,” Professor Boyd said. “And I think that this is where it becomes a strange dynamic because adults don’t recognize how their lives can be truly transformed by these same technologies as well.” People use the Internet and their mobile devices in different ways. But the survey shows that most people use the Internet to access social media Web sites, connect with family and friends, and share views on various topics. When using mobile phones or smartphones, they favor texting. In 22 out of 24 countries, the survey found that most cell phone owners send text messages or take pictures or videos with their phones. At least half of them in 15 countries use their devices for text messaging, photo or video capture. Young people focus more on social media. Wike says this age group accesses social media sites “for things like staying in touch with the family and friends, posting their views about politics or religion or other topics … Young people really are at the leading edge of these types of changes.” This age group also leads others in Internet access. The survey found double-digit age gaps between those under 30 and those 50 and older in every country polled. In 19 countries, the gap was more than 30 percent. Those who are online account for at least half of 18-29 year-olds in 14 out of 24 nations surveyed. Most people in the 24 countries polled are still offline A significant age gap also appears in every country polled on mobile and smartphone ownership. For example, 69 percent of 18 to 29 year-olds in China have a smartphone, so do 62 percent in Lebanon, 55 percent in Chile, 53 percent in Jordan and 50 in Argentina. Overall, people under 30 are more likely to own an iPhone, Blackberry, or an Android device. And the more educated people are, the more likely they are to use different types of technology, be it Internet, cell phones or smartphones. “Using these types of technologies is correlated with education,” Wike said. “The correlation is certainly not as strong as age. But people with a college education, for example, are more likely to use these types of things.” In 10 nations polled, people with college degrees were more likely to own smartphones than those who have not graduated from college. This is especially true in the Middle East, where, in Egypt for example, 72 percent of college graduates have smartphones, compared with 13 percent of Egyptians without a college degree. In China, 83 percent of college graduates said they owned a smartphone. Only 37 percent of those without a college degree said the same. That’s the real power of the Internet, says Professor Boyd – allowing people around the globe to connect with one another. And to be able to interact with someone in another part of the world across language and culture barriers, is phenomenal, she said. “There’s all this potential that is really untapped of how we use these technologies to truly and meaningfully connect with others, and if we embrace that, the sky’s the limit in terms of what we can achieve,” she said.  Voice of American photo
There is no need to look forward
if the vehicle drives itself.There's more
together time
when the car drives itself By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Car shows around the world increasingly suggest that in the not-too-distant future, cars will feature autopilots handling some of the driving. The auto show now under way in Geneva, Switzerland, is showcasing other possible trends, including cars manufactured by 3D printers. The future of automobile travel - for the wealthy, at least - may look very different. Swiss design firm Rinspeed is exhibiting a luxury vehicle, based on the U.S. electric car Tesla Model S, with swiveling recliner seats, a large TV screen and an espresso maker. Rinspeed’s CEO Frank Rinderknecht says, in a car with autopilot, he does not want to just sit and watch the steering wheel turn left and right. “I want to sleep, relax, watch movies, news, anything else. So that's the vision, which we have," he said. "That one day on the boring motorway traffic, you just do anything which makes your life better.” One of the most intriguing ideas on display is a car built on a 3D printer. The chassis of the Genesis by German engineering firm EDAG is printed in one piece out of thermoplastic. “To create a car without the use of any tool. This would be a real revolution for the industry,” said EDAG’s spokesman Cristoph Horvath. EDAG says its design is based on the turtle shell, providing the required strength and stiffness. Other automakers did not look so far into the future. Skoda's model ‘Vision C’, with an eco-friendly compressed natural gas engine, is due to be launched in two years, says the company's European media relations manager, Jo Davidson. "It demonstrates sub-100 grams of CO2 and shows what the brand can do for the environment in the future,” she said. Volvo is showcasing its Estate Concept car which, as design manager Cecilia Stark says, is all about comfort and creativity. “It's to show the Scandinavian arts and crafts and music scene, and fashion and things like that," she said. "To be emotional, expressive, charm-full.” But it’s also about technology. All the functions in this car are controlled either by voice commands or from a large centrally-positioned touch screen, which analysts say is close to being ready for market.  Voice of American photo
There is no need to watch
the steering wheel.Henry Ford 's grandson reported to have died By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
William Clay Ford Sr., the last surviving grandchild of Ford Motor Co. founder Henry Ford, has died. He was the father of William Clay Ford Jr., currently the executive chairman of the automaker. The elder Ford, 88, died of pneumonia at his suburban Detroit, Michigan, home Sunday. Ford joined the automaker's sales and advertising staff after graduating from Yale University in 1949. He was elected to the company's board of directors the year before he graduated and served until his retirement in 2005, more than half the automaker's 110-year history. Ford's survivors include his wife of 66 years, Martha Firestone Ford, granddaughter of Harvey Firestone, the founder of the Firestone tire company. Ford also owned the Detroit Lions professional American football team in the NFL. Kim Jong Un wins big with all of the votes By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
North Korean state media reported leader Kim Jong Un has been elected to the country's highest legislative body, with 100 percent of the voters in his district turning out for the election and all of them casting their ballot for him. Voters in Sunday's election for the rubber-stamp Supreme People's Assembly did not get to choose who to vote for, since there was only one candidate for each of the 687 constituencies. The vote was the first in five years and the first under young leader Kim Jong Un, who can now add member of parliament to his many other titles. The assembly is the most powerful body under North Korea's constitution, but in reality has little political power. Lack of crash information is hard on waiting families By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Fear and frustration are growing among family members of passengers on board the Malaysia Airlines flight that disappeared in Southeast Asia, and many are demanding more details from airline officials as the search continues for the missing plane. Families of passengers aboard Malaysia Airlines flight 370 are vacillating between hope and fear for their loved ones as days pass without details of why the plane vanished early Saturday morning or where it might be. Two thirds of the passengers were Chinese, and hundreds of family members are waiting in Beijing for answers from airline officials. Many are holed up at a hotel in the city suburbs, where the mood has grown increasingly chaotic as reporters swarm about and press conferences reveal few new details. American Sarah Bajc is also waiting in Beijing for news of her boyfriend Philip Wood, who was on the flight. “I am personally not willing to give up hope that there is a chance we will find survivors, that we will find the plane," she said. "There just has to be a chance.” She says Malaysia Airlines has given her hourly updates, but no further details on the flight. One family member of a passenger from Shanghai complained of the continuing mystery surrounding the flight. There is still no information, she said. "My husband's brother was on that plane," the woman said, without giving her name. 239 people of 14 nationalities were on board the plane. Some details have emerged. Radar shows the plane may have turned back after takeoff; up to four of the passengers may have been carrying stolen passports, and the Vietnamese government says it found several kilometer-long oil slicks that could indicate a crash into the ocean. Earlier Sunday, Ignatius Ong, a spokesperson from Malaysia Airlines, gave a press conference. He said, “About three to four hours ago, as time has continued to move on without finding the aircraft, Malaysian airlines has also informed family members, we have sent to inform them to expect the worst due to the fact that we couldn't find anything.” Family members describe their long wait for news of the aircraft as an excruciating roller coaster ride. The United States, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and China have sent vessels to assist with search and rescue efforts, while the Philippines and Singapore have sent planes that are scouring the region. Pakistani heroine gives women's day message By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
International Women's Day was celebrated worldwide Saturday. The U.N. calls the occasion a time to reflect on progress made and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities. Pakistan's renowned teenage activist Malala Yousafzai spoke about International Women's Day. She was asked what advice she had for women and girls around the world. The teen activist called on women to speak up. "My message to women and girls all around the world is that they should speak up for their rights. Because when you do not speak up our voices are not heard, but if we want to see a bright future then we must speak." In 2009, Malala Yousafzai challenged the Taliban in her native Pakistan and their ban on girls attending school. In 2012 she was attacked by gunmen as she made her way home aboard a school bus. Yousafzai remained in a coma for 10 days, eventually completing her recovery in the United Kingdom. Today, the 16 year-old continues to fight for equality in educational opportunities worldwide. This year's International Women's Day theme, "Equality for women is progress for all" emphasizes how gender equality, empowerment of women, women's full enjoyment of human rights and the eradication of poverty are essential to economic and social development. It also stresses the vital role of women as agents of development. Election in El Salvador still too close to call By
the A.M. Costa rica wire services
Both candidates in El Salvador's presidential election have claimed victory. However, election officials say the race was extremely tight and neither candidate can yet be declared the winner. The result is an unexpected twist to Sunday's vote. Polls leading up to the election indicated Salvador Sánchez Ceren, of the ruling Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, held a 10- to 18-point lead over San Salvador Mayor Norman Quijano of the right-wing National Republican Alliance, known as ARENA. A victory by Ceren would make him the first former guerrilla commander to hold the presidency since a truce ended a devastating 13-year civil war in 1992. Meanwhile, in Colombia, voters showed their support Sunday for peace talks with guerrillas by giving President Juan Manuel Santos a majority in Congress, while voters also elected his conservative rival, ex-president Alvaro Uribe, to the Senate. The result consolidated President Santos as the front-runner in the presidential election on May 25, but thins the majority he will rely on if re-elected for legislative support to implement a peace deal with the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia rebels if talks succeed. Uribe has been a fierce critic of President Santos' negotiations with the rebels. The former president's election to the Senate could complicate the talks with the rebels that opened in late 2012 in Havana, Cuba. The Fuerzas Armadas has been fighting for half a century against the Colombian government. It partly finances the insurgency through drug trafficking and frequent kidnappings of foreigners and Colombian officials. |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, March 10, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 48 | |||||||||
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 A.M. Costa Rica/Michael
Krumholtz
Debi Nova debuts her new song.Musicians reach
YouTube
at invitation-only event By
Michael Krumholtz
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff Thanks to a living room concert in front of 30 guests, Costa Rican artists got to show off their musical prowess for an international audience. Even though the two bands and pop star played for a private audience in a Santa Ana house their sets will be passed on through listeners around the world. This is the concept introduced by Sofar Sounds, which allows up-and-coming talents to get discovered on an international level through YouTube recordings. Sofar has willing hosts sign up to put the bands in their houses. A local team films and produces the soon-to-be-viral videos. Based out of London, the platform has spread to 56 different cities, and each show is always played in an undisclosed home that requires prior invitation to attend. Thursday the group of 30 invited guests gathered in the spacious, wide-ceiling living room in Santa Ana for three intimate performances, including Costa Rica's musical starlet Debi Nova. Ms. Nova presented a few new songs from her new extended play, "Un día a la vez," and even sang an unpublished song in English called "Emergency" alongside guitarist Ale Fdz. The singer, whose smiley style ranges from easygoing folk to energetic rap, spends her days between Los Angeles and Costa Rica. Perhaps the nation's biggest current name in the music industry, Ms. Nova has sang with a genre-diverse array of acclaimed musicians like Ricky Martin, will.i.am. of the Black Eyed Peas and jazz musician Boney James. She also played at this weekend's free music festival, Festival Nacional Música Claro in Parque Sabana. Before Ms. Nova took the floor, local funk band Infibeat played an inspired show that featured tracks from the album, "Aguacero." Their comfortable mixture of saxophone- and trumpet-laden sounds traversed the plane from slow rhythms to rowdier dance beats. The night's final band, Síndrome de Estocolmo, was another young group sporting encouraging potential. Of the three performances, their set was the most rock-heavy with extended guitar riffs. Both of these talented acts regularly play local gigs as Síndrome de Estocolmo will headline the Teatro Metropolitano Thursday night and Infibeat is scheduled for a free Wednesday concert at the Universidad de Costa Rica. Sofar producers said that there would be several more concerts held in San José throughout the year, although no specific dates have yet been released. |
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| From Page 7: U.S. employment picks up but rate goes higher By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
U.S. employers added 175,000 jobs in February, picking up the pace of hiring after two months of sluggish job growth. A senior economist at the country's biggest bank, James Glassman at JPMorgan Chase, said the advance in the labor market last month is a favorable sign for the world's largest economy. That is especially so, he said, after an unusually cold and snowy winter in the U.S. limited job growth in December and January. "The February report tells you we may see better numbers in the next couple months as we get back to something more normal," he said. The U.S. Labor Department reported Friday that the unemployment rate edged slightly higher to 6.7 percent in February. Glassman said that may be a good indicator, though, that frustrated jobless workers are more optimistic about the economy and have resumed their search for employment, even if they have yet to find a new job. "If the unemployment rate's going up because people are coming back into the market looking, then that's a good sign, frankly," he said. "I think for a while we shouldn't really view a rise in the unemployment rate as a negative if it accompanies an increase in the labor force, because it means that something must be going on. People must be hearing there are opportunities." There are 10.5 million unemployed workers in the U.S., and more than a third of them have been out of work for six months or longer. The U.S. jobless rate has been steadily declining over the last four-plus years as the country recovers from its worst downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Economists have noted that some of the improvement in the unemployment rate, however, has occurred because thousands of frustrated job seekers have been unable to find work and dropped out of the labor market, and thus are not counted by the government as unemployed. Even as U.S. stock market indexes have soared to new highs, many American businesses have been reluctant to significantly boost their payrolls. Employers added only 129,000 jobs in January and 84,000 in December, after averaging 189,000 over the past year. The country's central bank, the Federal Reserve, is watching the U.S. economic trends to see whether it should continue to trim its direct support of the American economy. Last year, the Fed had been buying $85 billion worth of securities a month in an effort aimed at keeping long-term interest rates low and boosting job growth, but now has cut the figure to $65 billion. Fed policy makers, including new chairwoman Janet Yellen, are meeting again later this month. Glassman said he thinks the Fed will continue to cut its asset purchases and end them in late 2014. |
