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A.M.
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Published
Wednesday,
Aug. 24, 2016, in Vol. 17, No. 167
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San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2016, Vol. 17, No. 167
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Study
absolves bats of spreading dengue
By the A.M.
Costa Rica staff
A new study gives bats a clean bill of health as possible repositories of the dengue virus. A team of researchers from several universities used genetic analysis to find out if mosquitoes could carry virus from mosquitoes to other victims. A previous study said this was the case, and other small animals, such as birds, are well-known carriers of other viruses that are passed on when other mosquitoes sample their blood. Much of the work was by Amanda Vicente Santos, who did the research for a master’s degree thesis. She was supervised by Eugenia Corrales Aguilar, a microbiologist at the Centro de Investigación en Enfermedades Tropicales at the Universidad de Costa Rica, said the university. The study focused on the dengue virus. Also involved were veterinarians from Universidad Nacional in Heredia and entomologists at the Universidad Estatal a Distancia. Samples came from the Central Valley Sarapiquí and Nicoya. In all, 318 bats representing 12 species, 651 mosquitoes and 29 homes were studied. Researchers noted that bats are the mammals most abundant in Costa Rica. The researchers wanted to see if bats carried dengue in their bloodstreams and if mosquitoes fed on bats. The opposite was found to be true. The bats fed on mosquitoes, according to the findings reported by the university. That was determined by studying the immunoglobulin M molecules in the blood of the bats, said the university. In addition, the research showed that mosquitoes consumed blood from other mammals but not from bats, the university said. Some bats, however, carried other viruses, it added. About 8.8 percent of the bats did, however carry the dengue virus in their stomachs from feeding on mosquitoes, said the researchers. Hijackers make off with container of bikes By the A.M.
Costa Rica staff
Crooks have made off with a shipping container full of bicycles, said the Judicial Investigating Organization. The robbery took place in San Juan de San Ramón where gunmen confronted the driver of a truck as he dismounted from the cab at his home, agents said they were told. That was about 1 a.m. Tuesday. The man told agents he was tied up and put in the cab sleeping compartment while the crooks drove around. He and the cab were abandoned in Santa Rosa de Santo Domingo en Heredia about 6 a.m., but the trailer and container were missing, agents reported. Liberia gets new traffic light system By the A.M.
Costa Rica staff
Highway officials have installed 24 traffic lights and 22 pedestrian signals at the entrance to Liberia in Guanacaste. The money, $408,000, comes from the Cañas-Liberia road project that widened the Interamericana Norte, said the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes. The equipment cost $325,000, and installation was an additional $183,000. The project was based on a study of traffic and pedestrians, said the ministry. Officials said they expect to reduce the number of accidents that happen in front of the Liceo Laboratorio. They said the average is three a day. The system also includes 10 audio signals for the blind.
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A.M. Costa Rica Third News Page |
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San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2016, Vol. 17, No. 167
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| Push
to renew corporate tax follows big donation from U.S. |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The security ministry, predictably, has followed up a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama with an urgent call to approve a revised tax on corporations. The vice minister of Seguridad Pública, Juan José Andrade, said the police forces are understaffed. With a donation of two new planes, more boats, three armored cars and a litany of other devices and programs, the ministry will need more money and personnel to handle them. Andrade was speaking about bill No. 19.818 that appears to be languishing in the legislature. He spoke at a press conference after the Consejo de Gobierno Tuesday. This is the tax that was declared unconstitutional in January 2015 and which has been restructured. The measure would assess a tax on every corporation or similar entity. The measure is of interest to expats because many hold homes or vehicles in corporations. This would be a dedicated tax in which 95 percent of the proceeds would not be in the national budget but be directed to the ministry for its use. Andrade estimated that the tax would bring in 45 billion colons, about $82.5 million. Other estimates have been higher. Some news agencies put the total of the U.S. donation at $30 million, but many of the items cited were announced some time ago. Among these are the new Golfito station for the Servicio Nacional de Guardacostas and the rebuilt police facility and checkpoint at Kilometer 35 on the Interamericana Sur to catch smugglers. President Luis Guillermo Solís met with Obama Monday, and |
 Ministerio
de Seguridad Pública photo
Anti-drug police from the Ministerio de Seguridad
Pública found these 22 kilos of cocaine in the
differential of a tractor trailer Monday at the Peñas
Blancas border crossing. the outpouring of U.S. gifts was the result. Washington, of course, is interested in Costa Rica stopping more drugs headed north as well as addressing the migrant program here. The two C-145 Skytruck turboprop planes, two patrol boats and two smaller intercepter boats have only limited use for other police purposes. Andrade said he has 1,500 openings in his police forces that now have 12,500 officers. Mauricio Herrera, the minister of Comunicación, pointed out that the police agencies have confiscated 17 tons of cocaine already this year. |
| Lawmakers
begin approval for World Bank loan to pay off Caja |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Lawmakers have approved on first reading a $420 million loan from the World Bank that will be used to pay off the government’s long-standing debt with the Caja Costarricense del Seguro Social. Casa Presidencial said that the Caja can use the money to rebuild three hospitals, Max Peralta in Cartago, Manuel Mora Valverde in Golfito and William Allen in Turrialba. The measure will need one more vote before going to President Luis Guillermo Solís for his signature. |
The
executive branch has long ducked paying the monthly Caja
charges that are a percentage of salaries. The Laura Chinchilla administration made a similar large payment with much fanfare, but, instead of money, the Caja received government bonds. Casa Presidencial said that with the new resources, the Caja will improve conditions for health care and make the institution sustainable. The loan will be in $60 million increments based on the agenda of the Caja, said Casa Presidencial. |
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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 |
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San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2016, Vol. 17, No. 167
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| Globalization and pet imports seen spreading more invasive species | |
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By University of Exeter news
staff
Invasions from alien species such as Japanese knotweed and grey squirrels threaten the economies and livelihoods of residents of some of the world’s poorest nations, new University of Exeter research shows. The damage caused by non-native species like the harlequin ladybird and mink, threaten global biodiversity and cost global economies $1.4 trillion annually, the university said. They can transmit disease, choke river systems and wells, prevent cattle being able to graze and out-compete or eat native species, it added. This is often seen as a First World problem. Experts have now shown these invasions are also threatening the last remaining biodiversity strongholds in the world’s most fragile economies. One sixth of the global land surface is highly vulnerable to invasion, including substantial areas in developing nations and areas with diverse species of birds and plants. A new study says better action is needed to protect people and the environment in areas with high levels of poverty. Increasing globalization, especially imports of pets and plants, has caused much of the biological invasions in the past. In the future air travel will be responsible for biological invasions of Africa and Asia. This will be exacerbated by climate change, and intensifying agriculture, which make it easier for invasive species to become established. Rich nations are accustomed to the nuisance of invasive alien species, and are increasingly taking protective action. The study outlines how poorer economies are crucially reliant on international trade and have little power to regulate imports, so the introduction of highly dangerous species continues unchecked. Researchers have evaluated the global 21st century threat from invasive species, and have found many developing nations are not capable of responding properly. They hope their findings will lead to governments and non-profit organizations |
improving
schemes to warn communities of the threats of biological
invasion and provide solutions. Regan Early, who led the study, said: “Rampant globalization will lead to invasions in countries with the least capability to deal with them. We need more international cooperation, and the U.S., Australia and nations in Europe to share expertise.” Study co-author Ines Ibañez of the University of Michigan, said: “In the coming years, the negative impacts associated with the introduction of harmful species will likely be exacerbated by other global stressors, such as climate change, landscape degradation and pollution. “Developed and developing countries, especially the latter, may lack the operational infrastructure to prevent and deal with harmful introductions.” Purdue University's Jeffrey Dukes, who also co-authored the study, said that dramatic changes in trade, transport and the environment pose challenges to native species that have evolved over thousands of years to be well adapted to their ecosystems. "We're rapidly shifting the ground under native species," he said. "While species can presumably evolve to be better adapted to new conditions, we don't know how long that could take." The researchers collected information about trade, particularly plants and pets and air travel and compared this to information about climate change, wildlife and agriculture to model where invasions are likely to be identified. Biological invasions in the developing world so far have included the recent influx of Diamondback moths, panama disease, which wiped out banana plantations in central and south America, and prickly pear, which devastated grassland in Africa, leading to cattle being malnourished and people losing their livelihoods. A new strain of panama disease currently threatens the global banana market. It can take more than a decade for an invasion to take hold. The study is published in the journal Nature Communications. |
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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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's Fifth news page |
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San José,
Costa Rica, Wednesday, Aug. 24,
2016, Vol. 17, No. 167
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for small-business sector By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
Democrat Hillary Clinton Tuesday vowed to make starting a small business in the United States as easy as opening a lemonade stand if elected president, targeting a large economic sector and a significant voting bloc. Her flagship proposal is to establish a standard tax deduction for small businesses, previously only available to individuals, allowing owners to get tax relief without filing additional forms. Mrs. Clinton would also expand health care tax credits in the Affordable Care Act for small businesses that employ up to 50 workers and create new federal incentives for local and state governments to streamline the business licensing process, according to background provided by her campaign. Since launching her campaign in April 2015, Mrs. Clinton has said she wants to be the small business president if she wins the Nov. 8 election against businessman Donald Trump, the Republican nominee. Trump has offered lower tax rates for small businesses and cuts to federal regulations to help jump-start America. Mrs. Clinton's campaign held a conference call with small business owners Tuesday to discuss her proposals and offer ways they could help with the former secretary of State's campaign. "You will always have a seat at the table," Mrs. Clinton told business owners on the call, taking questions from entrepreneurs in Virginia and Michigan. Small businesses play a vital economic role in the United States, making up 99.7 percent of U.S. employer firms and providing 49.2 percent of U.S. private-sector jobs, according to the Small Business Administration. The proposals announced by Mrs. Clinton's campaign Tuesday fill in details on how the Democratic nominee would fulfill promises to improve access to financing and minimize regulatory burdens that make it difficult to start small businesses. "They tell me more dreams die in the parking lots of banks than anywhere in America," Mrs. Clinton said of the feedback she has received from small business owners. "I'd like to get rid of the unnecessary red tape," Mrs. Clinton said of regulations on credit unions and small banks that make it difficult to lend to would-be entrepreneurs. Mrs. Clinton's campaign said she also wants to guarantee that small businesses with questions about U.S. government regulations receive an answer within 24 hours. Mrs. Clinton's running mate, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, discussed the new proposals during a Tuesday roundtable with small business owners in Colorado, a battleground state. Obama visiting Baton Rouge and cites support from nation By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
U.S. President Barack Obama made his first visit Tuesday to the southeastern state of Louisiana, where historic flooding has ravaged much of the southern part of the state. The president hoped to reassure flood victims that his administration has made disaster recovery a top priority. "You are not alone on this. Even after the TV cameras leave, the whole country is going to continue to support you," Obama said as he toured a flood damaged neighborhood in East Baton Rouge Parish. Obama has declared 20 of Louisiana's 64 parishes disaster areas which, in effect, streamlines the process of delivering federal aid. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has said more than 115,000 people have applied for federal financial assistance, and so far $127 million is immediately available. More than 700 households have been placed in temporary housing such as hotels and motels. The president's trip to Louisiana follows his two-week family vacation on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, prompting criticism from those who thought he should have cut his vacation short to visit the Gulf Coast state. The White House said last week Obama was eager to see the impact of the floods, but wanted to make sure his presence did not interfere with ongoing recovery efforts. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump visited the Louisiana city of Baton Rouge Friday, embracing victims and touring some of the most heavily damaged neighborhoods. "President Obama should have gone to Louisiana days ago, instead of golfing. Too little, too late!," Trump tweeted Tuesday. Obama responded to the criticism, saying with five months left in office, "I don't worry too much about politics." He added: "When disasters strike, that's probably one of the few times when Washington does not get political. Nobody gives a hoot whether you are a Democrat or a Republican." He toured the neighborhood after being briefed by federal officials, emergency workers and state and local politicians, including Gov. John Bel Edwards and Rep. Garret Graves, Republican. With Obama viewing the flood damage just a short distance away, Graves told CNN during an interview it is important for the president to visit the flood damaged area to "get a feel for the profound impact of this disaster." The Republican lawmaker dismissed the critics, saying "I know there's a lot of appreciation of him being here." Storms and flooding swept through the area between Aug. 8 and 14, claiming the lives of at least 13 people, damaging about 60,000 homes and leaving thousands of people seeking temporary shelter. The American Red Cross describes the flooding as "the largest natural disaster to hit the United States since superstorm Sandy," the most destructive and deadly hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season. Obama said the focus must shift to the area's longer term requirements after attending to the immediate needs of the flood victims. He said private, as well as public assistance, will be required. "I'm asking every American to do what you can to help people and local business get back on their feet." He added "They've got a lot to do and they can't do it alone." Ban Ki-moon seeks effort to guard biological weapons By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
There are no global treaties to prevent a biological weapons attack, and the world is not adequately prepared to deal with one, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned Tuesday. Speaking to the Security Council in New York, Ban said that while multilateral agencies are in place to verify nations are not developing chemical and nuclear weapons, no such mechanism exists for biological agents. "The impact and consequences of a biological attack on a civilian target could far exceed those of a chemical or radiological attack," Ban told the council. He said recent serious outbreaks of ebola in Africa, Middle East respiratory syndrome and yellow fever have made him very concerned. Ban urged the Security Council to look at ways to strengthen Resolution 1540, which set up barriers to keep weapons of mass destruction out of the hands of non-state actors, a diplomatic term for terrorists. But he recognized that technological advances have made producing and using weapons of mass destruction easier. "Vicious non-state actors that target civilians for carnage are actively seeking chemical, biological and nuclear weapons," he said. Ban reminded the diplomats that eliminating all weapons of mass destruction was one of the founding purposes of the United Nations in 1945. "I call on all states to focus on one overriding truth, the only sure way to prevent the human, environmental and existential destruction these weapons can cause is by eradicating once and for all." He called old Cold War arguments that superpowers used to justify possessing such weapons "morally, politically and practically wrong 30 years ago, and they are wrong now." Language immersion gives students a taste of Russian By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
Solving the mysterious riddle of the Russian language, a group of Americans are taking part in a total immersion course. The government-funded summer study is aimed at national security. The Americans in the course only speak Russian. And they only respond to Russian names. Such language immersion helps students make progress in studying the Russian language in just a few weeks. And for American Russian teachers, this is a chance to meet their colleagues and improve language skills. This is one of many foreign language courses within STARTALK, a program launched during George W. Bush’s presidency as part of the U.S. national security strategy. Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Persian, and Russian were named critical-need foreign languages. Charles Byrd, professor of Russian at the University of Georgia and a STARTALK program participant, said that American students are interested in Russian but many find it very hard to learn and master. For Byrd himself, Russian was once forbidden fruit. "My parents were American diplomats, and they always wanted to go to Russia, but they were not allowed to. Because they could not travel to Russia, I always wanted to go there. I remember during my childhood I often heard about the Evil Empire. I had always the impression that Russia is a mysterious riddle," said Byrd. Nineteen-year-old Joseph Doran has been to Russia. He says he ate borscht seven times a week and took walks along the Volga, a symbolic river in Russian culture. At STARTALK, Doran is an assistant teacher. Students call him the Russian way, Joseph Timofeyevich. "I love Russian culture, language. I love reading Russian classical literature. It is a very interesting language. Russian people are very nice. I love the opportunities that open to me because I know Russian,” said Doran. Betsy Sandstrom, a program director of Discover Russia at STARTALK, says that for many students learning a foreign language is an important first step into their future careers. "They have different interests - one person wants to become a Russian language teacher, another wants to be a politician . . . . Knowledge of any foreign language is needed. And Russia is the largest country in the world," said Sandstrom. According to Forbes magazine, Russian is among the top 10 most popular languages for American college students. Strong earthquake reported in Central Italian region By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
A strong earthquake shook central Italy early today causing extensive damage to areas near the epicenter and killing at least three people. The U.S. Geological Survey put the magnitude at 6.2 with an epicenter about 10 kilometers southeast of the town of Norcia. The quake struck just after 3:30 a.m. and was felt across a broad section of central Italy, including the capital, Rome, where people in homes in the historic center felt a long swaying followed by aftershocks. Wednesday's quake was not far from one that hit the city of L'Aquila in 2009, killing at least 300 people. Census struggles with form from the next data collection By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
When counting errors occur in data collection, the implications can be far-reaching. In the case of the U.S. Census Bureau, entire communities may be left underserved. Imagine, for a moment, you are a Latino living in the United States, and do not self-identify as either white or black. On the U.S. Census form, how would you identify yourself in question six, the one about race?  Upon studying your options, you notice that Filipino, Korean and Vietnamese are considered races and not ethnic groups so you ask yourself, "Should I fill in my country under the category 'Some other race?'" Such situations are not rare, and they remain problematic. After all, the Census questionnaire, conducted just once per decade, helps the federal government determine funding allocations for education, sanitation and infrastructure in communities across the country, along with the apportioning of congressional districts. In a midtown Manhattan meeting organized by the Black Alliance for Just Immigration, a group of Latino and African community leaders sat with representatives of the Census Bureau to discuss possible changes to the 2020 questionnaire. In typical New York fashion, there was no shortage of heated pizza or dialogue. "You can't keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect better results," asserted Miriam Jiménez Román, executive director of the Afro-Latin@ Forum. Jiménez Román, who also serves as adjunct faculty member of New York University's Department of Social and Cultural Analysis, said that listing ethnic communities as racial groups in the Census questionnaire is inherently problematic. "They say that we are the ones that are confused, that a Latino doesn't understand race. But clearly the Census Bureau doesn't understand it either," she said. The Census Bureau is no stranger to self-evaluation. Since the program was founded in 1902, it has undergone extensive research and testing, along with continuous change on the topic of race and ethnicity. The bureau conducted a comprehensive Race and Hispanic Origin Alternative Questionnaire Experiment in 2010, aimed at increasing reporting and reliable results about race and ethnic groups, while reducing the reporting of “Some other race.” "With the projected steady growth of the Hispanic population, the number of people who do not identify with any OMB race categories is expected to increase," wrote Roberto Ramirez, Population Division assistant chief for the U.S. Census Bureau, of the Office of Management and Budget categories. Based on the experiment's results, the Census Bureau conducted a comprehensive test last year to examine what variations in question formatting might enable people to more fully and more accurately self-identify their race and/or ethnicity. Ramirez noted that by combining race and ethnicity questions into one category, the "Some other race" category was reduced to under one-half percent. "We know from . . . research that this is largely due to Hispanics choosing their own identity in the combined question format," Ramirez said. "Overall, when a Hispanic category is provided as a response option, ‘Some Other Race’ becomes one of the smallest response categories." Still, the city's nonprofits hope the Census can accurately address the concerns of multi-racial and multi-ethnic groups, such as Middle Eastern and North Africans, the OMB definition of White, and Afro-Latinos. Tiffany Wheatland, community organizer and member of the Pan African Campaign Steering Committee, argued that the Census needs reform. "We want to challenge them to say, it's not about trying to figure out semantics,'" Ms. Wheatland said. "It is saying that the system itself and the methodology for the Census is completely flawed." |
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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, Aug. 24, 2016, Vol. 17, No. 167
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This years book fair begins Sept. 2 By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The 27th edition of the Feria Internacional del Libro Costa Rica begins Sept. 2 for a nine-day run. Among the featured guest this year is Mary Jo Bang, a poet from the United States. She is a college professor in Missouri and has a career that includes 10 years as co-editor of the Boston Review. Other foreign invited authors come from Colombia, Guatemala, Argentina and Spain. The book fair is in the Antigua Aduana on Calle 23 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. There also are many special events including a celebration of Librería Lehmann's 120th anniversary. The event is put on by the Ministerio de Cultura y Juventud and the Cámara Costarricense del Libro. Last year 60,000 persons attended. Although most of the books on display are in Spanish, there are a significant number in other languages including English. Solar probe comes back from the dead By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
After losing communication with a space probe two years ago, NASA says it has reestablished contact. NASA said it lost contact with the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatories, known as the STEREO-B spacecraft, on Oct. 1, 2014, but that on Thursday, the Deep Space Network established a link with the craft. Contact with the probe was lost after a maneuver to try to prevent overheating of the ship’s antenna. Two similar space probes are orbiting the sun gathering information on solar weather. STEREO-B is the sister craft to STEREO-A, both of which were launched in 2006 to study the sun and space weather. The spacecraft have contributed greatly to the understanding of coronal mass ejections, a bubble of super-heated gas and charged particles blasted into space from the sun’s upper atmosphere, the corona, NASA said. STEREO-A is reportedly working normally. NASA said it will now have to test STEREO-B to see how instrumentation and other sensors are operating after two years. Both spacecraft are located on the other side of the sun from earth. Missing tour guide shows up at work safe By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The 47-year-old tour guide who went missing Thursday in Manuel Antonio has turned up, officials reported. He is Vinicio Fallas Ureña of Aserrí. The man showed up for work Tuesday, said officials who attributed his absence to a personal problem. |
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| From Page 7: U.S. new homes sales reported at nine-year peak By the A.M. Costa Rica
wire services
Sales of new U.S. homes surged to a nearly nine-year high in July. Tuesday's report from the Commerce Department says sales were up more than 12 percent from the previous month, and jumped more than 31 percent from the same time a year ago. If new home sales continued at July's pace for a full year, buyers would get more than 650,000 homes. The sales data was stronger than most economists had predicted. Experts say low borrowing costs and employment gains are helping sales. These new, never-occupied, homes make up about one-tenth of the overall housing market. New home sales are considered a timely measure of market conditions. Today the National Association of Realtors, a business group, is scheduled to publish data on sales of previously-occupied homes. |
