Slide spawned by heavy rain
kills woman in her home


An elderly woman died and at least 120 homes were flooded as the 39th tropical wave of the season passed over Costa Rica.

There were flooding problems in locations all over the country, including the Central Valley and the Pacific coast.

The woman died while still sleeping in her home in Puente Negro de Carrizales de Alajuela, said the national emergency commission. A hillside gave way and the slide crashed into the home. The commission said that it cited the place where the death happened as a danger as long ago as 2007. The commission recommended relocation of the seven families it said were in the high-risk area.  Six other homes suffered damage early Thursday.

In Desamparados, engineers were expected to continue to  examine at least eight bridges that might have been weakened by the heavy downpour

The Instituto Meteorológico Nacional warned of the tropical wave, a trough of low pressure. But there have been a number this season with varying effects.


Rodríguez ordered to refrain
from obstructing evidence


A trial court admonished former president Miguel Ángel  Rodríguez Echeverría Thursday as it ordered him not to interfere with the collection and presentation of proofs at his corruption trial.

The Poder Judicial confirmed the order and noted that it had been requested by the prosecutor for Delitos Económicos, Corrupción y Tributarios. The prohibition lasts until the end of the trial, the Poder Judicial said.

Rodríguez by telephone expressed his unhappiness that the offices of the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C., were being used for a videoconference at which a witness would testify in his case. He made the complaint in a telephone call Tuesday to José Miguel Insulza, the secretary general. Rodriguez was secretary general briefly until the corruption allegations surfaced.

The court said that if the former president disobeyed, harsher restrictions would be leveled. The witness a former driver for the ex-president, testified from another location.

Rodríguez is facing trial with others because of allegations that he accepted money indirectly from Alcatel, the cell phone company that won a major contract.


Region's biodiversity stars
in U.N. conference in Panamá


Ways to address challenges to biodiversity conservation in Latin America and the Caribbean — which is home to up to 70 per cent of all forms of life on Earth — were the focus of a gathering organized by the United Nations Environment Programme this week.

The region, the most biologically diverse in the world, holds more than 40 per cent of the planet’s bird species, as well as numerous species of migratory birds and aquatic life, such as sharks, whales and dolphins.

However, these species are under threat by fisheries, their habitats are being degraded and their wetlands drained for farming, said the international agency

The three-day gathering, which wrapped up Wednesday in Panama City, aimed to identify ways to coordinate actions to better conserve the rich biodiversity of the region.

Hosted by the Environment Programme and its Convention on Migratory Species, the event brought together representatives from governments and non-governmental organizations from 17 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The region also hosts some of the world’s most important wetlands, including Amazonia and Pantanal, and the conservation of migratory species and their wetland habitats requires cooperation among governments, non-governmental organization and others at the global level, according to the Environment Programme.

In particular, the Gulf of Mexico coast is a critical habitat for hundreds of migratory bird species, which use the area to breed, spend their winter, refuel and rest on their long journeys.

However, in the wake of the recent devastating oil spill in the area, countless fish, along with more than 6,000 birds, 1,000 sea turtles and 80 marine mammals, were found dead, the agency said..
 

Weapons confiscated in the north


The Fuerza Pública said it had confiscated 15 firearms and six illegal knives during the month of August in the northern zone along the border with Nicaragua.

The weapons ranged from revolvers to carbines and shotguns. In each case the owner did not have the documentation to carry the weapon, the police said.

This area is like the 19th century U.S. West with minimal police presence and criminal bands, local and from Nicaragua, committing illegal acts, such as rustling cattle. Most residents have weapons.