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A.M.
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Published Wednesday, July 27, 2016, in Vol. 17, No. 147
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San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, July 27, 2016, Vol. 17, No. 147
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Museum
features native cultures of Chile
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff The cultures of five native groups in Chile will be on display starting Saturday at the Museo Nacional. Included are crafts from the current residents of Easter Island. The native cultures span the length of the South American country from the Kawesqar in the extreme south to the Atacameña in the north. Although the natives in Chile are well known for their weaving with alpaca and other animal fibers, the display by 42 artisans is much more than this. The Fundación Artesanías de Chile, the Embassy of Chile and the museum promise ceramics, silver, woodworking, stone work, basketry, items using feathers, conch shells and, of course, the textiles. In all five native groups are represented, including the Aymara and Mapuche, as well as the Rapanui, as the Easter Island residents are known. The exhibit runs until Aug. 21. The Fundación Artesanías de Chile is a non-profit dedicated to preserving the native cultures, which are pre-Columbian in origin. Infant loses part of arm in mishap By the A.M.
Costa Rica staff
A child about a year old lost part of his left arm Tuesday in a motorcycle mishap on the Isla Venado in the Gulf of Nicoya. The child went from Jicaral in Puntarenas to San José and the Hospital Nacional de Niños in a helicopter operated by the Servicio de Vigilancia Aérea of the Ministerio de Seguridad Pública. The mishap is sure to launch an investigation because children under 5 years are not supposed to be carried as passengers on a motorcycle. Sex trafficking agent sentenced for bribe By the A.M.
Costa Rica wire services
A former special agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was sentenced to 10 months in federal prison Tuesday. The man, Joohoon David Lee, pleaded guilty in December to accepting thousands of dollars from a man who had been accused of trafficking a woman to the U.S. to be a sex slave. Prosecutors say Lee received money from the Korean man who was only identified in court documents as H.S. Lee, who currently lives in Las Vegas, was a human trafficking investigator in Los Angeles. In March of 2012 the former special agent interviewed a woman who said she entered the United States to be a sex slave for H.S. Authorities said Lee traveled to Korea and was paid a total of $13,000 in cash along with hotel and entertainment expenses from the businessman identified as H.S. Prosecutors said that once back in the U.S., Lee wrote a report on the investigation into the H.S. case and said "no evidence found and victim statement contradicts. Case closed. No further action required." Salvadoran leader visiting today By the A.M.
Costa Rica staff
Salvador Sánchez Cerén, the president of El Salvador, will be in Costa Rica today to meet with President Luis Guillermo Solís. As protocol dictates, the first event will be placing a wreath at the Monumental Nacional at 10 a.m. The two presidents have plenty to talk about, including the transportation of Salvadoran citizens to Costa Rica, as was announced Tuesday, and the general situation of migrants passing through both countries. Many of the illegal African migrants have left Costa Rica and are believed to be en route to the United States, probably through El Salvador. Quake early today rattles central Pacific By the A.M.
Costa Rica staff
An earthquake estimated at a magnitude of 4.3 took place at 4:50 a.m. today about 16 kilometers north of Parrita on the central Pacific coast, said the Red Sismológica Nacional. Residents in parts of the Central Valley felt the tremor.
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A.M. Costa Rica Third News Page |
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San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, July 27, 2016, Vol. 17, No. 147
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| Proposed
law would set up a national lifeguard organization |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A handful of lawmakers have proposed the creation of a national lifeguard corps and a requirement that every municipality with a dangerous beach have this type of rescue personnel. The bill, No. 20.043, has been presented to the full legislature and has not yet been assigned to a committee for study. A summary points out that between 2000 and 2014 840 persons have died by drowning in Costa Rica, and 37 percent of them were foreigners. That averages out to about 60 a year. Less than 1 percent of the nation’s beaches are protected by lifeguards, said the summary, which blames the death toll mostly on rip tides and the lack of lifeguards. |
The bill
would create a national committee to certify lifeguards,
provide training and control the budget. Some of the
money would come from the Ministerio de Seguridad
Pública, to which the lifeguard committee would belong. If the bill is passed in the original form, municipalities with beaches would have three months to set up a lifeguard corps. The municipalities would have to do this with their own resources, says the bill. Rip tides are created by water returning to the sea. No one can resist the force of a strong rip tide, and they are unseen. A rip tide can grab an adult male standing in water up to his thighs and sweep him out to sea. The proposed national committee also would have the job of maintaining signs about the danger at the nation’s beaches. There are few signs now. |
| Animal
welfare bill passes on first reading in the legislature |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Lawmakers passed on first reading Tuesday the 5-year-old animal welfare law. The high-profile measure now goes to the Sala IV, which will determine in 30 days if there are any constitutional flaws. The measure is full of exceptions. For example, the bill exempts fishing, fish farming, cattle and other livestock practices and veterinarians. It also permits killing animals for mercy, for sanitary control, for research and to safeguard the public health. Also exempted are public or private shows that have been authorized. This would include a rodeo and traditional activities like topes, the notorious bull baitings, various forms of horse races and oxcart activities. Killing an animal for personal consumption also is exempted from penalties. |
Cock
fights are specifically made illegal, even though they
are already. But the proposed bill has criminal
sanctions that can be applied if it ends up as law. The principal goal is to penalize those who cause damage or pain to animals. The bill received backing from 50 of 54 lawmakers. There has been public pressure in support of the bill, particularly after some well publicized animal injuries. Those who cause the death of an animal can face six months to two years of prison, and there are fines specified for other mistreatments. Animals owners are required to provide water and minimal care as well as handle the animal wastes.There also are provisions for adequate housing. |
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A.M. Costa Rica's Fourth News page |
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San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, July 27, 2016, Vol. 17, No. 147
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| Mrs.
Clinton becomes first woman nominated by a major political
party |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
Forty-three pictures flashed across a screen at the arena in Philadelphia hosting the Democratic National Convention Tuesday night, each showing one of the men who has served as president of the United States. After President Barack Obama, the image on the screen zoomed out and then shattered into virtual pieces, revealing Hillary Clinton, the first woman to ever be nominated for president by one of the country's major political parties. "It's been a great day and night. What an incredible honor you've given me," Mrs. Clinton said. She was appearing by video from New York and said Democrats had put the biggest crack yet in the so-called glass ceiling preventing women from advancing to higher jobs. Mrs. Clinton spoke about the significance of the moment to any girls who were watching. "I may become the first woman president, but one of you is next." Tuesday's main speaker in support of Mrs. Clinton was her husband, Bill, who served two terms as the country's president through most of the 1990s. He gave a thoroughly personal account beginning with how they met and going through the history of her work as a lawyer, U.S. senator and secretary of State. "Hillary is uniquely qualified to seize the opportunities and reduce the risk we face, and she is still the best darn change-maker I have ever known," he said. The former president also reached out to groups that have been singled out by Republican nominee Donald Trump. "If you love this country, you're working hard, you're paying taxes, and you're obeying the law and you'd like to become a citizen, you should choose immigration reform over somebody that wants to send you back," Clinton said. "If you are a Muslim and you love America and freedom and you hate terror, stay here and help us win and make a future together." Trump said on Twitter that his party's convention last week was more interesting and criticized Clinton, who gained a reputation as a strong speaker while in office. "No matter what Bill Clinton says and no matter how well he says it, the phony media will exclaim it to be incredible. Highly overrated!" Hillary Clinton officially secured the nomination Tuesday when her rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, closed the customary roll call of states by asking the convention to select her by acclamation, or unanimous vote. Mrs. Clinton did the same in 2008 in support of her then-rival, Obama. But the move by Sanders did not go over well with some of his supporters who staunchly oppose Mrs. Clinton and have not accepted his calls for them to support her. Several hundred of them walked out of the convention hall and staged a sit-in protest. Many had pieces of tape across their mouths with slogans such |
 Voice of
America/A. Shaker
Bill Clinton brings delegates to their feet with an
impassioned appeal on behalf of his wife.as "no voice." One held up a sign declaring, "This is what a stolen election looks like." "They're representing that they have no voice in this democracy," one protestor said. "They felt completely shut out. Our democracy has been taken over by corporations." Other Sanders backers signaled they are ready to accept Mrs. Clinton, especially as an alternative to Trump. "It is a situation where she is the lesser of two evils, and it makes me sick that there is a candidate that I believe in, that I am passionate about, who represents oppressed minorities everywhere and has for his entire life, and I am denied the opportunity to stand behind him because the system was rigged from the beginning," Olivia Love-Hatlestad said. She said under no circumstances can Trump be elected president and that it would be an abuse of her privilege not to vote for Mrs. Clinton. Sanders and his supporters objected to the Democratic Party's use of superdelegates during the nomination process, which allowed party officials to back Mrs. Clinton and give her the majority of delegates she needed to clinch the nomination. However, even without counting superdelegates, she won more pledged delegates than Sanders. Many Sanders supporters also believe Mrs. Clinton is too closely linked to Wall Street firms and still favors trade deals that hurt American workers, even as she has disavowed her original support for the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. |
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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Colorado S.A. 2016 and may not be reproduced anywhere
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A.M. Costa Rica's Fifth news page |
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San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, July 27, 2016, Vol. 17, No. 147
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that killed priest in church By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
The Islamic State has claimed two of its soldiers carried out Tuesday's attack on a Catholic Church in Normandy, France, where they killed a priest after taking him hostage at knife-point. The United States condemned the attack and offered condolences to the family and friends of the murdered priest, the Rev. Jacques Hamel, and parishioners of the church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray. National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said "France and the United States share a commitment to protecting religious liberty for those of all faiths, and today's violence will not shake that commitment." French President Francois Hollande visited the scene of the attack in the northern town Tuesday and said the attackers had claimed allegiance to the Islamic State before being shot dead by police. "Daesh has declared war on us. We must fight this war by all means, while respecting the rule of law," Hollande said, using an Arabic name for the Islamic State. French security officials said the two attackers slit the 84 year old priest's throat before police were able to intervene. Hollande denounced the killing as a vile terrorist attack. Police said another person who was taken hostage at the church is between life and death following the attack. Police said the identities of the attackers are not yet known. Pope Francis condemned the attack on a Roman Catholic church. Through a Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, the pope said the attack is particularly difficult to understand "because this horrific violence took place in a church, a sacred place in which the love of God is announced." French Prime Minister Manuel Valls expressed condolences for the victims of what he called a barbaric attack on a church. He added, "The whole of France and all Catholics are wounded. We will stand together." The church is located about 104 kilometers north of Paris, where in November members of the Islamic State killed 130 people during coordinated attacks on the city. Over the past 19 months, France has been the target of two other major terrorist attacks. In January 2015, there were deadly assaults on the offices of satirical weekly Charlie Hedbo and other public places around Paris, killing 17 people. In the southern city of Nice, 84 people were killed July 14 by a man who drove a truck through a crowd celebrating Bastille Day while firing a handgun. U.N. agency says heat waves are due to a warming climate By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
The World Meteorological Organization said evidence is growing that links more intense and more frequent heat waves to climate change. Heat waves that have gripped large parts of the Middle East and central and eastern United States since last week have reached temperatures far exceeding the seasonal averages. The World Meteorological Organization says the blistering 54 degrees C reached Thursday at Mitrabah, Kuwait, is probably the highest ever reached in the Eastern hemisphere and Asia. The hottest temperature ever recorded was in Furnace Creek, Death Valley, California, at 56.7 degrees C on July 10, 1913. While temperatures elsewhere in the United States have not reached those heights, agency spokeswoman Claire Nullis said they have soared to 38 degrees. “That is the actual temperatures," she said. "Once you factor in humidity and how it actually feels to you as a person, the temperatures are even higher. So, we are talking about 43 to 46 degrees.” Ms. Nullis said a unique feature of the U.S. heat wave and that of many others is that the temperatures do not drop much at night. She said this offers little relief from the oppressive heat and can pose serious health risks, especially to the elderly. “Over the past 50 years, hot days, hot nights and heat waves have become more frequent," she said. "We expect them to become more frequent still as this century progresses and this is obviously due to climate change.” The World Meteorological Organization conducted a study last year, which found that many extreme events over the past five years were a result of climate change. In the case of heat waves, the agency says they increased by a factor of 10 or more. Climate change opinions based on political preference By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
"This election is about climate change, the greatest environmental crisis facing our planet," Sen. Bernie Sanders said Monday night in his speech at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. The differences between the parties on this issue are stark. Many Republican leaders, including presidential nominee Donald Trump, deny the scientific consensus that greenhouse gas emissions attributed to humans are warming the planet dangerously. But the issue also has helped deepen the rift between Sanders and Hillary Clinton in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, a rift clearly visible as the convention opened. Despite the friction on the left and the hostility on the right, experts say climate change will not decide many votes this November. Although polls show the public is increasingly concerned about it, climate change lags far behind other issues when most voters consider whom to vote for. In an election season defined by fractures, it's perhaps fitting that hydraulic fracturing has been a major environmental issue. The oil and gas drilling technique known as fracking has helped make the United States the world's leading producer of oil and natural gas. Oil imports have dropped dramatically. Electric utilities are switching from coal to less polluting natural gas as prices plummet. Greenhouse gas emissions in the United States have declined, in part because of the switch away from coal, although experts debate the size of the impact. The U.S. State Department under Hillary Clinton encouraged other countries to pursue fracking as a cleaner alternative to coal and a way in which they could, potentially, create a more secure energy future for themselves. The issue was especially pressing at a time when Russia cut off natural gas supplies to Europe during a dispute with Ukraine. But fracking has become a lightning rod in the U.S. environmental community. Fracking has contaminated some drinking water supplies. Injecting fracking wastewater underground has triggered earthquakes. Leaking methane, a greenhouse gas much more potent than carbon dioxide, threatens to undermine the relative climate benefits of natural gas. And cheap natural gas threatens to postpone the end of fossil fuel use that many scientists say is necessary to avoid catastrophic climate change. While the scope and scale of these problems are a source of intense debate, Sanders condemned Mrs. Clinton in debates for failing to endorse his proposal to ban fracking. Anti-fracking protesters joined Sanders supporters Sunday in a demonstration in Philadelphia, ahead of the opening of the convention. But come November, experts say, disappointed Sanders voters will mostly back Mrs. Clinton, in part because Trump's energy and climate plans are a world apart. Mrs. Clinton has called for stricter regulations on fracking and an accelerated transition to a renewable energy economy. Her proposals to tackle climate change won her endorsements from leading environmental groups, including the Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters. Trump says Mrs. Clinton's policies will increase the cost of energy. He has blasted Obama administration regulations as job killers and calls for lifting restrictions on domestic energy production. The head of an oil and gas company would serve as his energy secretary, according to reports. Trump has called climate change a hoax and said he would cancel the U.N. climate agreement reached in Paris last December. These polar opposite approaches to climate and energy reflect a deep divide among American voters. Although polling shows that concern about climate change is at an eight-year high, Democrats are much more concerned than Republicans. In one poll, nearly three-quarters of those who lean Democratic said the issue is very or extremely important to their vote for president, compared with just one-quarter of Republican leaners. That's the largest gap among the 17 issues surveyed. However, even for Democrats, climate change is not among their biggest concerns. Terrorism, the economy, health care and education top the list for both parties. "A lot of people say, yes, climate change is an important part of my vote," said Jay Campbell of the Democratic polling firm Hart Research Associates. But he added that when pollsters ask people to choose from among a list of issues, "climate change almost always comes out on bottom. It cannot rival the importance of education or job creation or, for Republicans, immigration or, for Democrats, Social Security." Even Sanders' speech revealed the gap. Of the 10 items Sanders said the election is about, he listed climate change ninth. California fire fighters hampered by dry weather By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
Extremely hot temperatures and low humidity are making it difficult for firefighters battling two major wildfires burning in drought-stricken California. About 3,000 firefighters are having a hard time bringing a blaze just outside the Angeles National Forest, northeast of Los Angeles, under control. Thermometers hit a steamy 39 degrees C (about 102 F) Tuesday in and around Los Angeles, with generally dry conditions. Authorities say the fire was just 25 percent contained Tuesday, but under control enough to let many of the 30,000 residents forced to evacuate return home. One fire-related death has been reported. Another fire has destroyed homes near the scenic Pacific coastal town of Carmel-by-the-Sea, south of San Francisco. As of Tuesday, that blaze was just 10 percent contained. A California state fire captain said Tuesday that a wildfire can change direction with little warning, and that flying embers can set off flames more than a kilometer away from the large blaze. Farther east in Wyoming, Gov. Matt Mead ordered the National Guard to help fight a wildfire burning on a mountain in the Shoshone National Forest. The governor said the state needs to do all it can to make sure people are safe and property damage is limited. White House gives warning about cyber threat revolution By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
The U.S. warned Tuesday of a revolution of computer hacking threats against the country from foreign governments and non-state actors like the so-called Islamic State, and it issued new guidelines to protect American interests. A White House directive outlined a five-point scale to assess the severity of new attacks, the degree to which a cyber security breach might affect national government operations, municipal utilities, private corporations or other U.S. interests. The new effort, years in the making, would assign six levels of severity to any breach, such as a level three or above incident that would be considered significant and trigger quick government action. The worst-case scenario was seen as one that would pose an imminent threat to wide-scale critical infrastructure in the country, the stability of the government or lives of Americans. "To put it bluntly, we are in the midst of a revolution of the cyber threat, one that is growing more persistent, more diverse, more frequent and more dangerous every day," White House counter-terrorism adviser Lisa Monaco told a cyber security conference in New York. "Unless we act together, government, industry and citizens, we risk a world where malicious cyber activity could threaten our security and prosperity," she said. "That is not a future we should accept." Monaco named Russia and China as cyber adversaries, while also noting that Iran and North Korea are capable and willing to carry out destructive attacks, as well as hacktivists who are not necessarily aligned with a foreign interest. The new directive comes as U.S. Democratic Party officials are claiming that Russian state actors hacked into nearly 20,000 emails at the party's Washington headquarters. The messages, released last weekend by WikiLeaks, showed that party leaders undermined the presidential campaign of an upstart challenger, Sen. Bernie Sanders, in his long and eventually unsuccessful contest against former secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the party's nominee in the November national election. Monaco said there will be a thorough investigation of the Democratic Party security breach "and I'm sure there will be more to say later." The FBI is looking into the cyber attack, but Moscow on Tuesday rejected any contention that it was involved. Workers in Senate cafeteria win $1 million in back pay By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
Hundreds of men and women who cook and serve lunches to U.S. lawmakers and their staffs will split more than $1 million in back pay after the Labor Department found they were illegally underpaid. The Wage and Hour Division found the two companies that run the U.S. Senate cafeteria broke the law by paying employees wages lower than what they were entitled to receive for the jobs they performed and for failing to pay overtime. "Workers in the restaurant industry are among the lowest-paid workers in our economy," Wage and Hour Administrator David Weil said Tuesday. "Most struggle to afford life's basic expenses and pay their bills. They shouldn't have to deal with paychecks that don't accurately reflect their hard work and the wages to which they are legally entitled." A top executive of one of the two companies accused of underpaying the workers, Restaurant Associates, blamed what he called administrative technicalities and said the problem would be fixed. But the president of the other company, Personnel Plus, said it did nothing wrong and did not owe anyone a dime in back wages. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid called on the Senate to refuse to do business with what he called unscrupulous vendors who put profits ahead of people.  Voice of America
photo
These offspring of the first cloned sheep
appear to be healthy. Cloned sheep from
Dolly
show no unusual ailments By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
The cloned offspring of the first cloned animal are in good health after their eighth birthday, according to a new study. The four sheep, Debbie, Denise, Dianna and Daisy, are the offspring of Dolly the sheep, who, 20 years ago, became the first cloned animal. At age 8, they are roughly the same age as a human between 60 and 70 years old. Writing in the journal Nature Communications, researchers from The University of Nottingham say the sheep are showing no long-term detrimental health effects. Dolly did not live as long as her relatives, dying at the relatively young age of 6.5 years, suffering from osteoarthritis. This led many to think cloned sheep might not live as long, but the new study appears to show cloned sheep can be just as healthy as non-cloned ones. Dolly was born on July 5, 1996, after being cloned from an adult cell using a technique called somatic cell nuclear transfer. The sheep were tested in a variety of ways to measure the health of their musculoskeletal system because of Dolly’s early demise, as well as checking other functions, all of which were normal except for one mild case of osteoarthritis. “Healthy aging of SCNT clones has never been properly investigated,” said the study’s lead author, Kevin Sinclair. “Following our detailed assessments of glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity, blood pressure and musculoskeletal investigations, we found that our clones, considering their age, were, at the time of our research, healthy.” Researchers plan on continuing to monitor how the cloned sheep age. Turkish government moves against journalists in purge By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
The Turkish government has turned its attention to journalists in the latest expansion of its purges after a failed coup July 15. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's chief of international relations, Ayse Sozen Usluer, has released a file of foreign news coverage, indicating what she says is support of or failure to oppose the uprising. Ms. Usluer says much of the foreign media failed the democracy test. "Some coverage in the media is shameful, disgraceful, actually,” she said. “It seems they can’t leave the politics aside and condemn the coup openly. The international press have shown an anti-Erdogan attitude in this matter.” As evidence, she quoted “some of the headlines you may find after a quick scan in the international media,” including "Erdogan gained power, democracy weakened," "Coup is gift to Erdogan" and "Erdogan more powerful after the failed coup." U.S.-based Fox News featured prominently in the government file. Many of its items were tweets, including a comment by one contributor, retired Col. Ralph Peters, declaring that "if the coup succeeds, the Islamists lose and we win." Articles from leading newspapers from around the globe were also cited. Arrest warrants for 42 Turkish journalists were issued Monday. Among those was a warrant for prominent columnist and commentator Nazli Ilicak, who was detained Tuesday. Human Rights Watch strongly criticized Tuesday what it called the arbitrary nature of the powers under emergency rule, warning that the powers are being used beyond those involved in the coup plot. The state of emergency was introduced last week, for three months. But Erdogan insists the crackdown is aimed only at supporters of retired imam Fethullah Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile in the United States. Erdogan accuses Gulen of using his large network in Turkey to initiate the coup attempt, a charge Gulen denies. Observers say the crackdown has closed several news Web sites critical of the government, but with no connection to Gulen. |
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The
contents
of
this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río
Colorado S.A. 2016 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 sixth news page |
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San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, July 27, 2016, Vol. 17, No. 147
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House tax report mentions aid to expats By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The tax-writing committee of the U.S. Congress has published a report that promises to change the nation’s tax system and provide appropriate treatment of individuals living and working abroad in today’s globally integrated economy. The promise was noted and forwarded by the American Citizens Abroad, Inc., an expat advocacy group. The report by the House Ways and Means committee, also says that the U.S. Internal Revenue Service has become a prime example of executive branch overreach, blatant misconduct, and government waste. The report promises to restructure the IRS and also to cut tax rates to stimulate business. Expat organizations have been fighting for better treatment from the tax agency that has a number of rules that hamper financial activities by those citizens living abroad. Caja facilities prepare for pilgrims By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Not just the Cruz Roja and police agencies are on alert during the pilgrimage by the faithful Santuario de la Virgen de Los Ángeles in Cartago. The Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social said that it has issued an alert for Hospital Max Peralta de Cartago and 34 medical sites in the central region of the country. The Cruz Roja treats thousands during the pilgrimage, and a small percentage have to be hospitalized each year. The Cartago hospital is setting up an evaluation area at the entrance to the emergency room to handle pilgrims who might be remanded there, the Caja said. A primary reason are those with heart conditions. Hospital staffers are paying particular attention to this weekend and into next Tuesday when the peak number of pilgrims will be in Cartago. Perhaps as many as 2 million persons will take the trek from their home to Cartago this year. A continual stream of hikers already is seen on the highways, and some Costa Ricans are walking from more than 100 miles away. |
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| From Page 7: Search announced for junk disguised as cars By the A.M. Costa Rica
staff
The Ministerio de Hacienda and its customs agency, the Dirección General de Aduanas, said that some 3,000 suspicious vehicles have been imported into the country. The ministry promised to tighten up controls and warned consumers against purchasing vehicles that have been declared a total loss in their country of origin. That is something that is illegal in Costa Rica, to import a vehicle that has been declared to be junk. Natural disasters and other events sometimes generate large quantities of vehicles that fit this classification. They cannot be sold as transportation in a country like the United States, so they are shipped overseas. The ministry said it was seeking criminal action against those importers who already brought such vehicles into the country on the grounds that they falsified documents. The ministry said it would seek the help of the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes and other agencies. The ministry urged buyers to check the history of vehicles online. |
