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A.M. Costa Rica Your daily English-language news source Monday through Friday |
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| A.M. Costa Rica's Second news page | |||||||||
| San José, Costa Rica, Friday, March 15, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 53 | |||||||||
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 Nick Hawkins photo via
Programa
de Restauración de Tortugas Marinas Some
of the sharks that were killed and wasted.
Slaughter of
blacktip sharks
found at Nicoya peninsula By the A.M. Costa Rica staff A Canadian photographer found dozens of dead and butchered blacktip sharks on the Nicoya peninsula. The photographer, who also is a biologist is Nick Hawkins. He estimated that there were 80 carcasses. The site was on an island at Cabuya on the southern tip of the Nicoya peninsula. The location was on a small island just offshore near the Cabo Blanco reserve, according to the Programa de Restauración de Tortugas Marinas, an environmental group that brought the find to the notice of reporters. The case is not one of simply shark finning. According to Hawkins, there were some sharks dressed out as if they would be used for food. He said in an email: "Many were just heads, some were entire bodies, just killed and discarded, and some of the full bodies had been cleaned, with all organs removed but discarded intact. There were a number of full bodies that looked like they had fins removed. "It is really hard to say what the motive was. I would say they were after both meat and fins but that doesn't explain why some were discarded whole. All were certainly killed by fisherman." The majority of the sharks were small in size, which could indicate that this site is an important breeding area for this species, where juveniles feed before they move to the high seas, said the Programa in its report. Hawkins said there were other dead sharks scattered in the area. He made the discovery March 3, said the Programa. "Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. There are almost 30 commercial shark species in the Pacific of Costa Rica and these are caught for the high value of their fins but also for national meat consumption, especially the young individuals that haven't reproduced yet, as in this case," said Randall Arauz of the Programa. "One more time, this encounter shows the great fishing pressures on sharks and the urgent need to expand and create marine protected areas in coastal zones where the shark feed during juvenile stages", concluded Arauz. Four detained in fraud case that involved $50 million By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Judicial agents detained four persons Thursday in a $50 million case of property fraud. All four of those detained are either active or inactive lawyers, said agents. The case involves what is called fraudulent administration. The victim is an elderly German woman who appears to have lost ownership of her properties in southern Costa Rica due to inappropriate paperwork. The individuals have not yet been identified formally. But agents detained a 61-year-old woman and a 65-year-old man in Alajuelita. Also detained was a 37-year-old woman in Cartago and a 60-year-old man in Coronado. The crimes alleged happened from 2010 to 2012, said the Judicial Investigating Organization. The two persons detained in Alajuelita are also notaries but are not active now. The pair were in charge of administering the woman's property in Punta Uva and Bahía Ballena, agents said. They also had access to $5 million in cash. The individuals detained in Cartago and Coronado are active notaries, and agents said that they assisted in the creation of 19 corporations that play a role in the caper. The agency said that the suspects are accused of tricking the woman into signing papers so that she lost the properties. Agents also reported that when they searched the offices of the suspects they found two unregistered pistols.
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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 Consultantes Río Colorado S.A. 2013 and may not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details | ||||||
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| San José, Costa Rica, Friday, March 15, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 53 | |
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| Arias and others urge Obama to act on
U.N. arms treaty |
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Special
to A.M. Costa Rica
U.S. President Barack Obama must take the lead in securing a strong global arms trade treaty, a group of 18 Nobel Peace Prize winners said in an open letter delivered at the White House Thursday. Amnesty International, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War and Óscar Arias Sánchez are among the Nobel laureates, who also include leaders on human rights, humanitarian and disarmament issues from Africa, the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East and North Africa. The letter was delivered ahead of talks starting Monday at the United Nations headquarters in New York to conclude the negotiations on an historic treaty aimed at bringing the poorly regulated global arms trade under control. “The U.S. and other arms supplier states have both a moral duty and a national security interest to help achieve [a strong] Treaty in order to protect human rights and save the lives of innocent civilians caught in the crosshairs of conflicts fueled by the irresponsible international conventional weapons trade,” the Nobel laureates said in the letter. “We cannot accept the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people around the world who are gunned down each year, with millions left maimed and traumatized,” they continued. “The challenge before us is not just to get a document signed,” said Arias Sánchez, the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize winner. “The challenge before us is to do justice to victims of violence. The challenge before us is to ensure that our goal becomes reality. These men and women and children deserve nothing less than swift and effective action.” The poorly regulated international trade in conventional arms – worth well more than $70 billion annually – fuels conflict, violence, and serious violations of human rights, with devastating effects on health, security, and sustainable social and economic development. |
The current absence of legally
binding international rules to strictly regulate the global trade in
conventional arms represents a colossal failure of the international
community, according to the letter. “As an African physician, I have seen too much personal human suffering from gun violence. Multiplied worldwide, the unregulated arms trade results in a global public health catastrophe,” said Robert Mtonga, co-president of the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize laureate International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. “A strong arms trade treaty will be a huge step forward in preventing further unnecessary injury and death from armed violence. President Obama’s support will enhance the prospects for achieving this urgent humanitarian agreement.” Amnesty International has repeatedly flagged the need for a rule in the arms trade treaty to require states to stop an international arms transfer that is likely to contribute to war crimes and other serious human rights violations. The human rights movement has been working for almost two decades to secure an arms trade treaty with human rights protections at its core. As the world's largest arms exporter by far, the U.S.A., under Obama, is uniquely positioned to play a leading role in delivering a strong treaty. “When the Nobel Committee awarded President Obama the peace prize in 2009, it was to recognize his aspiration for positive change in his country and the world – this treaty is a litmus test for the U.S. President to show that he can deliver a credible global instrument to rein in the irresponsible activities of the international arms trade,” said Brian Wood, head of arms control and human rights at Amnesty International. “Every capital around the world will be watching and waiting – millions of lives are being ruined every year by the global arms trade fueling atrocities and abuses, and the survivors have had enough. World opinion will not accept a watered-down treaty with loopholes.” |
| Tourism chamber survey suggests a so-so
Semana Santa |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The nation's tourism chamber is predicting a so-so Semana Santa for its members. The chamber, the Cámara Nacional de Turismo, said Thursday that a survey showed average occupancy at 65.7 percent for the key holiday that begins in a week. These are rooms that already have been reserved. The chamber survey is more extensive than the one conducted by the Cámera Costarricense de Hotels. The tourism chamber polled 153 hospitality operations. The hotel chamber talked to just 45. |
The tourism chamber said that
reservations for the northern zone were 68.8 percent of available
rooms. Around Puntarenas the number was 68 percent, and in the central Pacific, the survey reported 67.1 percent. The south Pacific reported 50.5 percent, and the Central Valley and the Caribbean coast are about 34.8 percent. Although many Costa Ricans enjoy a week of vacation during Semana Santa, many stay with family or friends and are not traditional hotel guests. In fact, many just pitch a tent and stay on a beach. |
| Two favorite places even though chance of winning is slim |
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| Probably
as soon as humans realized there was a tomorrow, that a future existed,
someone decided to try to predict it. Not long after that, others
began to argue over the prediction; and soon they began to wager on the
outcome. Thus, gambling came into being. Gambling is risk
taking, and social scientists have different explanations for why we
gamble. Probably it is related to the pleasure principle, which is
involved in most of our basic drives. And like most of our other
drives, gambling can lead to an addiction. Gambling exists today in almost every society in the world. There are many types of gambling from the kind that occurs on the Wall Streets of the world to the back alley dice game to lotteries to throwing sticks. Religions are too busy curtailing our sexual proclivities to be concerned about gambling. Sometimes it is legal, sometimes it is not. Casino gambling is legal in Costa Rica. There are several casinos in and around San Jose. I prefer two of them – The Colonial downtown on Avenida Primera between calles 9 and 11 and the Crowne Plaza in Sabana Norte, on the highway. Both have one armed bandits (aptly named), although they no longer have even one arm but are electronically controlled. I know nothing about how they work. My game is roulette when I go, either at the mechanical (electronic) table, which has a wheel, or human controlled. Most casinos have the canasta roulette, a basket of numbered ping pong balls, instead of the wheel, although the Colonial does have a wheel. Most people realize that the odds are against their winning (unless you are an insider trader on Wall Street), so there are usually other attractions. The Colonial has great free bocas, especially their chicharrones. The Crowne Plaza offers small sandwiches or a sweet during the week and, my favorite, a plate of fresh fruit. Both casinos have free dinners on Saturday nights. Non-alcoholic drinks are free, those with liquor are usually 500 colons ($1). And there are the other players. Even though you don’t really know them, you recognize them, have become familiar with their playing habits, and it is nice to have company. Finally there are the croupiers. Here I have to say I prefer those in the Crowne Plaza. Although the dealers in both casinos are pleasant, the dealers at the Crowne Plaza will play at my rhythm, not rush me, which they tend to do at the Colonial (although they will slow down, if I ask.). The other advantage of the casinos here, or the ones I patronize, is that you can buy chips for just 100 colons each. The minimum to |
 play is 20 chips distributed among the numbers, or in a stack on the outside bets. The main problem I have with the Crowne Plaza is they seem to keep their air conditioning at about 68 degrees or less, not a comfortable temperature for me, at least, if I am sitting down. I bundle up when I go there. The Colonial is more temperate. Both casinos have restaurants. I have not tried the one at the Crowne Plaza, which is poolside, but I do enjoy lunch at the Magnolia, in front of, and separated from, the casino area. Most of the hotel casinos open around 11 a.m. The other nice aspect, at least for a woman, who is not looking for a date but just wants to enjoy a safe night out, is a chance to meet some visitors from a variety of countries. It gives you the opportunity to help by explaining the game, or translating for them. It is nice to be helpful. Metered taxis are available in front of both casinos. At the Colonial you just have to stand out front and wave one down. They are parked along the highway at the Crowne Plaza. If it is night time, it is a good idea to take one, whether you have won or lost. |
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| You need to see Costa Rican tourism information HERE! |
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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 Consultantes Río Colorado S.A. 2013 and may not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details | ||||||
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| A.M. Costa Rica's Fourth News page | |||||
| San José, Costa Rica, Friday, March 15, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 53 | |||||
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| U.N.
development agency lauds advances in the South Special
to A.M. Costa Rica
Countries across Latin America and elsewhere in the developing world have achieved impressive human development gains in recent decades, lifting hundreds of millions of people from poverty and propelling billions more into the ranks of a new global middle class, says the 2013 Human Development Report. The document was presented Thursday in Mexico City by United Nations Development Programme. The 2013 Human Development Report, titled "The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World," analyzes more than 40 developing countries—referred to as “the South”—that have made rapid human development gains in recent years. The report lauds innovative social programs in the Latin American region, in particular those that aim at reducing poverty and historic social inequalities, such as Mexico’s Oportunidades program and Brazil’s Bolsa Familia. “Economic growth alone does not automatically translate into human development progress,” writes program Administrator Helen Clark in the report’s foreword. “Pro-poor policies and significant investments in people’s capabilities — through a focus on education, nutrition and health, and employment skills — can expand access to decent work and provide for sustained progress.” “The rise of the South is one of the most remarkable phenomenon in the new global arena,” said Heraldo Muñoz, program director for Latin America and the Caribbean. “Among 40 countries in various regions worldwide, the report highlights Latin America, especially Brazil, Chile and Mexico, considered pioneers in the three main development drivers: more proactive states in development policies, greater integration with global markets and, altogether, exemplary innovation in social policy." In Brazil, for example, the percentage of the population living on less than US$1.25 a day dropped from 17.2 percent to 6.1 percent between 1990 and 2009. The country has achieved four of its eight millennium development goals in advance of the 2015 deadline, and is on track to achieve the other four on time. By 2030, Latin America and the Caribbean will be home to one in 10 members of an emerging global middle class. Billions of people across the world are becoming increasingly educated, socially engaged and internationally interconnected. Four of the five countries with the largest number of Facebook users are in the South: Brazil, India, Indonesia and Mexico, the report said. Latin American growth has been led by strong states that experienced a gradual and sequenced integration with the world economy, the report notes. While Brazil experimented with inward-oriented economic strategies, national companies were still encouraged to export and compete globally. Brazil’s Embraer, for example, is now the world’s leading producer of mid-sized jet aircraft. Chile encouraged investment in sectors where the country had a comparative advantage, such as wine, wood products and fish farming, which would also boost employment in the country’s rural south. Innovation in social programs is another hallmark of successful states, the Human Development Report concludes. “The rising South is developing a broader social and poverty reduction agenda in which policies to address inequalities, institutional failures, social barriers and personal vulnerabilities are as central as promoting economic growth,” the report says. Well-known Latin American conditional cash transfer programs like Brazil’s Bolsa Familia, Mexico’s Oportunidades and Chile’s Chile Solidario, for example, have helped foster a more equal distribution of economic and social opportunities. Conditional cash transfer programs are designed to increase people’s incomes and their access to health and education by making transfers conditional on requirements such as visits to health clinics and school attendance. These programs cost less than traditional in-kind social assistance; for example, Bolsa Familia and Oportunidades cost less than 1 percent of gross domestic product. The social policy successes of Latin America are increasingly being emulated elsewhere. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg traveled to Mexico to study its Oportunidades program before launching Opportunity NYC: Family Rewards, the first conditional cash transfer programme in the United States. “In designing Family Rewards, we drew on lessons from Brazil, Mexico and dozens of other countries,” Mayor Bloomberg writes in the 2013 Human Development Report. “No one has a monopoly on good ideas.” Brazil, for example, has worked with African governments to adapt its home-grown school grant programs, literacy campaigns and public health projects to local needs and circumstances. As of 2011, it had 53 health agreements with 22 African countries. Much more can — and should — be done, the report argues. “Over the next few years, policymakers in developing countries will need to follow an ambitious agenda that responds to difficult global conditions, notably the economic slowdown, which has decreased demand from the North. At the same time, they will need to address their own urgent policy priorities.” Latin America has seen income inequality fall in most countries since 2000, in large part due to national antipoverty initiatives, but it still has the most unequal distribution of wealth of any region in the world. “In Brazil, at least a quarter of inequality in earnings is associated with household circumstances, such as parents’ educational attainment, race or ethnicity, or place of birth. Such persistence of income distribution patterns across generations is also evident in Chile and Mexico, although Mexico has seen increased intergenerational mobility in recent years,” the report says. Another challenge analysed by the U.N. agency is that of sustainability. The report shows that environmental challenges pose a real threat to development: some 3.1 billion more people would live in extreme income poverty globally in 2050 under the environmental disaster scenario examined by the agency, 155 million of them in Latin America and the Caribbean. Governments and companies in Latin America are cooperating to develop and share new climate-friendly technologies, with Latin America taking a lead. Brazil is investing billions in public funds in renewable energy technologies, and Mexico recently enacted the world’s first comprehensive national climate change law, with targets for reducing carbon emissions and dependence on oil for electricity and transportation. Increasingly active civil society organizations are bridging the gap between citizens and government in Latin America, as in other regions. These organizations range from broad social movements and single-issue advocacy groups to labor unions and community groups, the Report notes. In Brazil, the Sanitarista movement of health care professionals played a central role in developing the country’s public health care system and expanding services to the poor, for example. |
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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 Consultantes Río Colorado S.A. 2013 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, Friday, March 15, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 53 | |||||||||
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| U.S.
economy improves, and stocks continue upwards By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The U.S. economy continued to show improvement Thursday, with claims for jobless benefits declining and the key Dow Jones stock index closing on its longest winning streak in more than 15 years. The Dow Jones industrial average rose for a 10th straight day, gaining nearly 84 points to close at 14,539. The last time the Dow made 10 straight days of gains was back in November 1996. The stock news came as new claims for jobless benefits fell again last week to the lowest level in five years. The U.S. Labor Department said 332,000 unemployed workers made initial claims for assistance last week, down 10,000 from the week before. That pushed the four-week average below 347,000 — the lowest level since the early stages of the 2008 meltdown - the country's worst economic downturn since the 1930s. Economists say that declining jobless claims are a reflection of fewer worker layoffs, which are down 13 percent since November. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve has ordered banking giants JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs to submit new plans that will address what regulators say are weaknesses in their planning for severe recessions. The Fed gave the banks until September to redraw plans for future dividend increases -- the quarterly payout banks give to shareholders. It also asked the banks for new plans for setting rates for buying back their own shares. European leaders meeting with austerity the concern By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
European leaders are gathered in Brussels for another summit, facing new concerns that their austerity policies are adding to the continent's unemployment problem and weakening the chances for an economic recovery. Thousands of workers gathered outside the summit meeting place Thursday to protest the austerity policies that European governments have embarked on to cut their deficits and long-term debts. The European Union leaders were faced with a new report that the number of people working in the 17-nation euro currency bloc in the final months of 2012 fell to its lowest point in nearly seven years. One Belgian union activist, Claude Rolin, says austerity measures hurt workers and damage economies. "Austerity does not work. In short, austerity is socially unfair because it hurts those who are victims of the crisis, it is economically stupid because it does not work," he said. "We have seen it in Greece and everywhere in Europe: austerity is counter-productive. It kicks companies out of business. It puts people in misery. What we want is another policy that is intelligent and creates sustainable growth.'' Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who advocates budget restraints, said the heads of state will "discuss growth and employment and how to fight the present economic deterioration in Europe." EU President Herman Von Rompuy said the leaders "cannot turn a blind eye to the social emergency in some of our countries." The eurozone unemployment rate reached a record 11.9 percent in January, and nearly one of every four youths is out of work. The European leaders are facing conflicting demands to continue to rein in deficit spending that forced them to bail out Greece, Ireland, Portugal and the Spanish banking system and at the same time advance a stagnant continental economy. In one sign of the discontent over austerity, an anti-austerity party won 25 percent of the vote in last month's Italian elections, leaving its government in turmoil. The eurozone leaders could ease the borrowing terms for financially troubled countries, but the eurozone's economic leader, Germany, remains opposed to weakening its austerity stance. In first full day, pope wins praise for humility By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Pope Francis has spent his first full day as leader of the Roman Catholic Church, showing the same humility that has been winning praise from believers the world over. The pontiff celebrated Mass at the Sistine Chapel, with the cardinals who elected him. "Walk, our life is a journey, and when we stop the thing doesn't work. Let's walk, always, in the presence of the Lord, in the light of the Lord, trying to live with the same irreproachable attitude that God asks Abraham in his promise," he said. In Vatican City, there was also less glamorous business to take care of. "He asked the guards to take him back to the hotel where he had been staying because he had all his luggage there, and he wanted to pay the bill," Mendoza said. Through it all, Pope Francis was dressed simply - by design. "His vestments were very simple, without the famous mozzetta, the red cape. The cross he is wearing is the same he had before as a bishop, very simple, and then the things he said and did do not need to be repeated. We were impressed by this pastoral approach," said the Rev. Frederico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman. Also on his schedule, a visit with his predecessor, Benedict. "I think it is extremely significant that he is visiting Pope Emeritus Benedict because it shows his great humility. It shows the respect and esteem with which we all hold Benedict," said Kim Daniels, director of Catholic Voices. In Argentina, where Pope Francis served as archbishop, many Catholics awoke with high hopes."I think he is going to be more open and very close to those in need, to the poor. And I hope he has the necessary strength because it's very important," said Andrea Giudici. In Nigeria, Hannatu Uche said she couldn't be happier. "We are all happy, right from last night that the announcement was made, we are very grateful to God that there was no crisis, no problem and the election was made. To God be the glory," she said. Physicists are colliding on fully identifying Higgs By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Physicists who last summer triumphantly announced the discovery of a new particle but held back from saying what it was, declared on Thursday there was now little doubt it was the long-sought Higgs boson. Latest analysis of data from the Large Hadron Collider particle accelerator, where the boson was spotted as a bump on a graph early in 2012, strongly indicates it is the Higgs, said CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Geneva. Physicists believe the boson and its linked energy field were vital in the formation of the universe after the Big Bang 13.7 billion years ago by bringing flying particles together to make stars, planets and eventually humans — giving mass to matter, in the scientific jargon. The particle and the field, named for British physicist Peter Higgs, who predicted their existence 50 years ago, are also the last major missing elements in what scientists call the standard model of how the cosmos works at the very basic level. But the CERN statement stopped short of claiming a discovery — which would clear the way to Nobel prizes for scientists linked to the project — and floated the idea that this might be an exotic "super-Higgs" offering a key to new worlds of physics. "It remains an open question whether this is the Higgs boson of the standard model ... or possibly the lightest of several bosons predicted in some theories that go beyond the standard model," said CERN. Although some CERN physicists privately expressed irritation at the continuing refusal to, as one said, "call a Higgs a Higgs," others argued that this could only come when the evidence was all totally irrefutable. If it is not what one CERN-watching blogger has dubbed a "common or garden Higgs" but something more complex, vistas into worlds of supersymmetry, string theory, multiple dimensions and even parallel universes could begin to unfold. "To me it is clear that we are dealing with a Higgs boson, though we still have a long way to go to know what kind of Higgs boson it is," said Joe Incandela, spokesman for CMS, one of the two independent CERN LHC monitoring teams. "There is every possibility that it is a Higgs boson from a more complex model, such as supersymmetry," another CMS researcher, John Conway, citing a theory that says every elementary particle has a so-far unseen heavier partner. In recent months, rumors have flown that the particle might be some sort of super-Higgs, "the link between our world and most of the matter in the universe" as predicted by U.S. physicist Sean Carroll in a new book. But David Charlton, who speaks for the ATLAS team, said the latest analysis, presented on Thursday to a conference in the Italian Alps, pointed to the particle fitting the standard model — which would exclude exotica. However, CERN scientists agree nothing startlingly new could be expected until much later in the decade, well after the collider — shut down last month for two years to allow its power and reach to be doubled — resumes operations in early 2015. In the giant subterranean collider, which started up in March 2010, particles are smashed together hundreds of times a second at near the speed of light to simulate the Big Bang. The debris is then tracked on huge detectors. But the new particle turns up only once in every trillion collisions — leaving the thousands of physicists and analysts at CERN, and in laboratories around the world, the massive task of deciding what data to discard. U.N. agency to use surveys to track food consumption By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Measuring the scope of world hunger is a long and complicated process. Often officials and policymakers don’t have the most up-to-date information. Now, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, the FAO, hopes to change that with a new project called Voices of the Hungry. The U.N. agency wants to hear from the people themselves and not just evaluate various data, studies and reports. Senior statistician Carlo Cafiero said that the current system of measuring food supplies and hunger, while important, is subject to long delays. “From the moment in which this data is collected to the moment in which it’s cleared, processed, sent to us, there may be two or three years delay. And this is if we have current information because consumption surveys are not regular features done annually – not even in the developed countries,” he said. Food consumption surveys are generally conducted every five years. “We don’t have a pulse of the current situation. And this became very apparent during the food price crisis,” he said. In 2007 many predicted a global economic recession and food prices began to rise. Cafiero says that led to – what he calls – a very pessimistic scenario about food consumption. “Only a few years later, we have discovered, for example, that China and India and many other developing countries did not slow down in their economic growth. The pessimistic scenario did not really materialize in each and every country. And that is where the model based prediction to make an estimate of the current situation proved mistaken.” The new Voices of the Hungry project is described as fast and more precise. It will use surveys of individuals to gather information on the extent and severity of hunger. The surveys will be done annually in collaboration with survey giant Gallup. The project will be tested in the coming months in Angola, Ethiopia, Malawi and Niger. “These are individual surveys in which people are contacted either by phone or in person. So, there will be a national representative sample of individuals, who are asked questions about their experiences. And from the answers to these questions, we can estimate the severity of food insecurity that has affected them and their families,” said Cafiero. The survey asks individuals about their experiences over the past 12 months, such as were they worried they would run out of food? Or, did they skip meals or go without eating for an entire day? There are eight questions in all. The statistician said that the survey is not subjective and the information will be evaluated by experts. It takes only three months from the time a survey is taken to the time Food and Agriculture officials receive the information. Voices of the Hungry surveys will eventually be expanded to 160,000 respondents in 150 countries. The five-year project will lead to a new FAO standard for food security. Europe and Russia plan joint mission to Mars By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Europe and Russia signed a deal on Thursday for a joint Mars mission to sample dirt from the Red Planet that they hope will answer the mystery of whether there is life beyond Earth. Europe had hoped to work with NASA on the two-spacecraft mission but turned to the Russians after the U.S. agency pulled out due to budget shortfalls and a change in direction. The announcement comes amid heightened excitement over the search for life on the planet most like Earth after scientists said analysis from NASA's own mission rover, Curiosity, showed Mars had the right ingredients for life. NASA wants to follow up with a duplicate rover in 2020 and bring samples home for study, but the Russian and European team hope to launch its probes in 2016 and 2018 — setting up the makings of a new post-Cold War space race for one of science's biggest prizes. "Establishing whether life ever existed on Mars is one of the outstanding scientific questions of our time and the highest scientific priority of the ExoMars program," the European Space Agency (ESA) said in a statement. Moscow will provide the rockets to launch the Exobiology on Mars, or ExoMars, mission. Russian Space Agency Roskosmos will also design the descent module and surface platform for the second leg of the venture. Despite describing the ExoMars project as the "Holy Grail of Mars exploration," NASA left the $1.3 billion project in February 2012, citing a budget crunch and a change in focus. Europe then turned to Russia for the launch vehicle. The two space agencies agreed to cooperate together last April, but talks to work out the details dragged out for nearly a year. "This event was a long time in the making and took a great deal of collaboration," Roskosmos head Vladimir Popovkin said after signing the deal with ESA Director Jean-Jacques Dordain in Paris. Russia's involvement in the ambitious mission could boost the status of its once-pioneering space agency after a litany of costly and embarrassing failures. The delays in agreeing on mission details hinged on the extent of Russia's participation, according to Russian space experts who said Moscow had seemed to have achieved its goal of full partnership. "The agreement implies that Russian scientists and engineers will become full-fledged participants in all the international scientific and technical groups established by the parties to the project," Roskosmos said in a statement. What was to be Russia's first deep space mission in more than two decades — the Phobos-Grunt mission to scoop up soil samples from Mars — was among five botched launches that hurt Moscow's reputation as a reliable launch partner. European governments have so far committed 850 million euros for the mission. The cap for the project had been set at 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion), but delays and changes to the scientific aspects of the mission are expected to drive up the price tag. Although NASA pulled out, the U.S. space agency will still contribute radio equipment and telecom support. |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Friday, March 15, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 53 | |||||||||
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Auto
show is on again after false start, closure By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The on again, off again auto exposition is on again. This is Expomóvil where many of the country's new car dealers participate. Organizers were blindsided two weeks ago when the Municipalidad de Belén closed the Centro de Eventos Pedregal on technical issues. Thursday organizations like the Cámara Costarricense de la Construcción praised notice that the events center would reopen because fairs and expos there contribute to the national economy, said the chamber. The chamber usually puts on its Expoconstrucción y Vivienda at the same place. Florida saber-toothed cat probably is a new species By
the University of Florida news service
A University of Florida researcher has described a new genus and species of extinct saber-toothed cat from Polk County, Florida, based on additional fossil acquisitions of the animal over the last 25 years. The 5-million-year-old fossils belong to the same lineage as the famous Smilodon fatalis from the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, a large, carnivorous apex predator with elongated upper canine teeth. Previous research suggested the group of saber-toothed cats known as Smilodontini originated in the Old World and then migrated to North America, but the age of the new species indicates the group likely originated in North America. The study appeared online in the journal PLOS One Wednesday. “Smilodon first shows up on the fossil record around 2.5 million years ago, but there haven’t been a lot of good intermediate forms for understanding where it came from,” said study co-author Richard Hulbert Jr., vertebrate paleontology collections manager at the Florida Museum of Natural History on the UF campus. “The new species shows that the most famous saber-toothed cat, Smilodon, had a New World origin and it and its ancestors lived in the southeastern U.S. for at least 5 million years before their extinction about 11,000 years ago. Compared to what we knew about these earlier saber-toothed cats 20 or 30 years ago, we now have a much better understanding of this group.” Hulbert helped uncover fossils of the new genus and species, Rhizosmilodon fiteae, from a phosphate mine during excavations in 1990. The species was named after Barbara Fite of Lutz, Fla., who in 2011 donated one of the critical specimens used for the new description and allowed UF scientists to make casts of two other partial jaws in her collection. The donation was a major contribution to the research because the remarkably well-preserved lower jaw contains almost pristine examples of all three chewing teeth, Hulbert said. The genus name Rhizosmilodon, meaning “root of Smilodon,” implies the animal could be a missing link and direct ancestor of Smilodon, which became extinct about 11,000 years ago. The study’s lead author, Steven Wallace, an associate professor at East Tennessee State University, used comparative analysis of saber-toothed cat anatomy to help determine the animal’s taxonomy. The analysis was primarily based on structure of the animal’s lower jaw and teeth, smaller than the Smilodon and about the size of a modern Florida panther. “When people think of saber-toothed cats, they think of it as just one thing, as if the famous tar pit saber-toothed cat was the only species, when in fact, it was an almost worldwide radiation of cats that lasted over 10 million years and probably had a total of about 20 valid species,” Hulbert said. “Counting the newly described animal, there are now six different species of saber-toothed cats known just from Florida.” |
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