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| A.M. Costa Rica's Second news page | |
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San
José, Costa Rica, Friday, Dec. 27, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 256
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Murder victim
discovered
in roadway near Parrita By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A man on a tractor going to work spotted the body of a still unidentified man early Thursday in Parrita. The man had been shot and was laying on the side of the road, said the Judicial Investigating Organization. The body had several tattoos, including one that said Eduardo across the stomach. Investigators said the man had been shot six times with the fatal bullet probably the one that entered the chest. The body was found bout 4:30 a.m. Boat that was chased ashore carried 50 kilos of cocaine By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A boat chased ashore Christmas Eve contained 50 kilos of cocaine, the Servicio Nacional de Guardacostas said Thursday. The boat ended up on the beach at Punta Mona, in the Refugio Nacional de de Vida Silvestre Gandoca-Manzanillo along the southern Caribbean coast. The occupants of the boat fled into the jungle, and have not been seen since. Law officers speculated that the crew members fled south into Panamá. The boat originally had been spotted by a U.S. observation plane. Coast guard officials said that the pursuit was difficult because there were high seas late Dec. 23 and early Dec. 24. Cornell Wind Ensemble plans another trip and benefit concert Special
to A.M. Costa Rica
The Cornell University Wind Ensemble returns to Costa Rica next month for its fifth performing and outreach tour. The group includes 44 of the university’s best wind and percussion players. CU Winds will give master classes and workshops at music schools and play concerts in San Isidro de El General Jan. 13, Buenos Aires Jan. 15, and San Vito Jan. 16 before moving on to David Jan. 17 and Panama City Jan 19. The group will perform a concert in each community at the end of which they will donate instruments to the music school. A concert at the Teatro Eugene O’Neill in the Centro Cultural Costarricense Norteamericano at 4 p.m. Jan. 12 is a benefit for the outreach program of the Asociación Caritativa Canadiense for repairs to at-risk schools in many of these same communities. Cynthia Johnston Turner, a Canadian and director of the CU Winds, has traveled to Costa Rica on several occasions to consult for the Sistema Nacional Educación Musica. Cornell Winds students help with education of system musicians, perform joint concerts, and join in the mission “to bring artistic and cultural awareness to at-risk populations; to facilitate coexistence and positive relationships consistent with the Costa Rican democracy that is founded on peace, dialogue, exchange of opinions; and to foster social relations to help lower rates of violence and criminality in the country.” The university is in Ithaca, New York. Scammers still are active, judicial investigators report By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
As incredible as it may seem, Costa Ricans still are falling for text message and email scams. The Judicial Investigating Organization issued a warning over two types of scams. The first involves a text message that says the recipient has won some sort of prize. To obtain the prize, the victim is asked to send money via Western Union or to make an international bank deposit. A second variation involves the offer of a luxury automobile at a very low price. Again the victim is asked to send money, perhaps because the vehicle is out of the country and transportation is needed. The judicial agency said that the scam becomes obvious when the goods or vehicle are not delivered. Such scams date to well before there was an Internet. They have been written about and talked about for decades, so the big surprise is that anyone can fall victim. But they do. One Costa Rican reported privately on an acquaintance who actually traveled to Africa to claim an amount of money, another variation on the scam. Russian ship trapped in ice awaits rescue in Antarctica By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Australian maritime authorities say a Russian ship that has been locked in thick Antarctic ice since Tuesday is nearing rescue as the Chinese icebreaker "Snow Dragon" draws close. The Australian Maritime Authority, which is coordinating the rescue, says the "Snow Dragon" should reach the Russian ship "MV Akademik Shokalsky" by this evening. Two other icebreakers are also headed towards the site. The Russian ship, which is carrying 75 people, including crew, scientists and tourists, became trapped when a blizzard's whipping winds pushed sea ice around the vessel, freezing it in place. Officials say the ship is not in danger of sinking and there are ample supplies for the people on board. The ship, which left New Zealand Nov. 28, was on a mission to recreate the Australian explorer Douglas Mawson's century-old voyage to Antarctica when it became trapped. |
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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 Third News Page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Friday, Dec. 27, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 256 | |
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 A.M. Costa Rica/James Marshall Monge
Mounted officers of the Fuerza
Pública not only paraded but also kept tabs on the crowd and
other riders. |
| Behind the scenes at the Tope Nacional,
the big horse parade |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Tremendous effort went into the preparation for the Tope Nacional Thursday. More than 5,000 riders had to bring their mounts to San José, saddle them up and wait their turn to step into the parade route. And police and Cruz Roja workers also had to prepare for their responsibilities. The horses had to be well-groomed and eager. Not all were
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 A.M. Costa Rica/James Marshall Monge
the crowd reacted with boos and whistles. Police escorted them from the line of march. Riders assembled at Plaza González Víquez. The horses appeared anxious to get out of the flat-bed and stake-bed trucks that hauled them. The entire event was carried out under the eyes of nearly 700 police officers, who also used motorcycles and bikes. There were only three arrests, but the Cruz Roja said they treated more than 100 persons, many from falls or from the sun. A handful had to be hospitalized. The Tope relates Costa Ricans to their rural roots, and many city dwellers also have farms or ranches where they maintain animals. Johnny Araya, one of the presidential candidates, rode a family mount and talked about his experiences with horses when he grew up. |
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 A.M. Costa Rica/James Marshall Monge
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Rafael Valverde of Barrio Cuba grooms his miniature pony Farabella before the start of the Tope Nacional. |
| The balance sheet between the value of war and of tourism |
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| I
read Tolstoy’s famous novel, War and
Peace, many years ago. It was in a box of books that a
fellow student at Gettysburg College gave me when he went home to
Delaware for Christmas vacation. I was living in Gettysburg with
my husband, who taught at the college. There were probably 15
books in the box, and although we spent Christmas with our families in
Jamestown, N.Y. I managed to read them all. I am not quite sure why that memory has come back to me, but it was triggered when I was thinking about all of the people who wanted to, but could not travel this Christmas, either because of the terrible weather conditions or because of the wars being carried on in those parts of the world that are popular tourist spots during this particular holiday season, especially in the Middle East where the three major religions originated. My heart goes out to them. Here in Costa Rica, the sun has been shining on most of the celebrants and the weather is mild, minus serious interruptions like earthquakes or volcano eruptions from Mother Nature, and although it is not a country void of violence, generally speaking it is pretty peaceful. And this is the beginning of Costa Rica’s high season for tourism. That got me to thinking that both the weather and war can obstruct and prevent travel or tourism, a form of travel that is now considered among the top sources of income for many countries. But in this day and age and especially at this time of the year when everything is measured in profit and loss, buying and selling, market value and bottom line, I asked myself the perhaps Libertarian question, “What is more profitable, tourism or war?” If the question were “What is more pleasurable?” It could easily be answered (with a few exceptions of the trip-from-Hell stories) “Tourism!” My friend Fitz wrote to me about his recent trip on the Queen Mary 2 to Europe and his stay in Paris, complete with pictures and his wonderful anecdotes about the people he met. Reading his tales took me back to times I only dreamed of or read about, although I did get to visit Paris. It was a time when there were such things as “The Grand Tour” that usually meant Europe. Today people are being warned to not visit Europe this winter because of the nose biting cold or on the |
contrary, to only visit Europe in the winter because it is cheaper. That does not answer the question I have asked myself about the monetary worth of war vs. tourism. The problem for a Libertarian would be that governments are involved in both war and tourism, whether it is issuing visas and passports or contracts to make munitions, and government people to train to handle both. Do pilgrims visiting their revered holy places or music lovers traveling to hear their favorite orchestras or performers, art lovers who want to visit their favorite paintings in galleries, or gourmets eager to try new cuisines or whatever moves people to travel and visit far off places --- do they, finally, bring in more money to people and corporations and governments than the accoutrements of war do? I suppose if you figure in pleasure and pain, hospitality and hostility, learning something new or destroying something old, freedom and control, and on goes the list, then the balance would be different. If you measure who benefits and who loses, that also may skew the comparison. But we are talking money, profit and loss, power and control, not human emotions. Traveling, unlike tripping -- taking drugs to experience a different reality, rather than actually going some place – does not facilitate wars. Tripping does, and is profitable for both drug dealers and the army of fighters against drugs. The only one who loses is the lonely tripper. It is more than the lonely traveler who loses when there is a war, but others gain. Travel cannot prevent wars, but wars have the power to stop or limit travel, so in the long run, it looks like war is going to be with us for a very long time. Let’s hope I am wrong and more tourists and fewer refugees are in the news this coming year. |
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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 |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Friday, Dec. 27, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 256 | |||||
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| Researchers say they see hints of addiction in heavy
Internet usage |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Young people who spend a lot of time on the Internet may exhibit classic addiction behaviors, according to new research. Researchers at Missouri University of Science and Technology, Duke University Medical Center and the Duke Institute of Brain Sciences, tracked the Internet usage of 69 college students over two months. What they found was a correlation between certain types of Internet usage and addictive behaviors. “About 5 to 10 percent of all Internet users appear to show web dependency, and brain imaging studies show that compulsive Internet use may induce changes in some brain reward pathways that are similar to that seen in drug addiction,” said P. Murali Doraiswamy, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University Medical Center. For the study, the students were asked to complete a 20-question survey called the Internet-Related Problem Scale. The scale measures the level of problem a person is having due to Internet usage from 0 to 200. This scale was developed to identify characteristics of addiction, such as introversion, withdrawal, craving, tolerance and negative life consequences. The survey also captures escapism, ratings of loss of control and reduced time on daily activities. The researchers also tracked the campus Internet usage of participating students over two months. They found that the range of Internet-Related Problem Scale scores among participating students over the two-month period ranged from 30 to 134 on the 200-point scale. The average score was 75. Participants’ total Internet usage ranged from 140 megabytes to 51 gigabytes, with an average of 7 gigabytes, and that use was divided into several categories, including gaming, chatting, file downloading, email, browsing and social networking (Facebook and Twitter). The total scores exhibited the highest correlations with gaming, chatting and browsing, and the lowest with email and social networking. Classic addiction behaviors were tied to specific Internet activities, according to the researchers. For example, they found that introversion was closely tied to gaming and chatting; craving to gaming, chatting and file downloading; and loss of control to gaming. Students who scored high on the introversion scale spent 25 percent more |
 time on instant messaging than those who scored low on the scale. Students who reported increased craving on the Internet-Related Problem Scale downloaded 60 percent more content than those who scored low. Not surprisingly, students who scored high on the Iscale spent about 10 percent of their Internet time on gaming, compared to 5 percent for the group that scored low. “We tend to take drug-related addictions more seriously than if someone were using the Internet as a drug,” says Doraiswamy. “The negative consequences of the Internet may be quite underappreciated.” According to the researchers, the demand for professional help for a digital detox is on the rise, but there is little data to guide diagnosis or care. They believe that results from this study and others may shed light on the potential of the Internet to affect behavioral and emotional wellness and the need to establish criteria for normal versus problematic usage in different age groups. The team cautioned that the current study is exploratory and does not establish a cause and effect relationship between Internet usage and addictive behavior. The reseachers add that most of the students scored a little lower than the mid-point of the scale. Furthermore, students exhibiting problematic Internet usage may also suffer from other mental disorders, a fact that was not examined in this study. |
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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| A.M. Costa Rica's Fifth news page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Friday, Dec. 27, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 256 | |||||
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 Voice of America photo
This image from a McDonald's Web
site for employees caused a controversy leading to the fast food chain
to take down the site. McDonald's Web
site sparks
controversy over food advice By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Fast food restaurant McDonald's has taken down a resource site that told employees hamburgers and french fries were not healthy dietary choices. In a photo on the site, a picture of a hamburger, fries and what appears to be a soda, are labeled as an unhealthy choice. Next to the burger, an image of a sandwich, salad and glass of water are labeled as a healthier alternative. It’s the latest controversy stemming from the Web site, which landed the company in hot water for appearing to be out of touch. For example, the site offered a budget planning guide for employees, but the budgeting tool did not account for food and gasoline, according to CNN. Also, the site had advice on how much to tip a pool cleaner, housekeeper and an au pair, according to NBC News. The latest controversy appeared to be the last straw, and the site is no longer available. Visitors are greeted with a message that reads, "We are temporarily performing some maintenance in order to provide you with the best experience possible. Please excuse us while these upgrades are being made." "A combination of factors has led us to re-evaluate, and we've directed the vendor to take down the Web site. Between links to irrelevant or outdated information, along with outside groups taking elements out of context, this created unwarranted scrutiny and inappropriate commentary,” said Lisa McComb, a spokeswoman for McDonald's USA in a statement. “None of this helps our McDonald's team members." She added that the company would still offer assistance to employees over the phone. Obama credits Congress for change in detainee rules By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
President Barack Obama Thursday gave credit to Congress for relaxing restrictions on transferring detainees from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the custody of foreign governments but said lawmakers need to go further. After signing the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2014, Obama noted that Congress retained regulations that prevent the transfer of prisoners to American soil, where they could be tried in federal court. “The executive branch must have the authority to determine when and where to prosecute Guantanamo detainees,” Obama said in a signing statement released during his Hawaiian vacation. Prosecuting alleged terrorists in U.S. federal court is “a legitimate, effective, and powerful tool in our efforts to protect the nation,” Obama said. The United States also needs “flexibility, among other things, to act swiftly in conducting negotiations with foreign countries regarding the circumstances of detainee transfers,” Obama said. The regulations could remain an obstacle to the administration's years-long bid to close the Guantanamo Bay prison where 158 detainees from various countries remain after years of detention without trial at the U.S. Naval Base in Cuba. The prison has been condemned internationally. While lawmakers of both political parties refused to yield on the ban against bringing prisoners to the United States, they were willing to relax rules for sending prisoners to their home countries. Among the earlier restrictions was that the administration had to certify that the country where an inmate was being sent was not “facing a threat that is likely to substantially affect its ability to exercise control over the individual.” This had all but ruled out politically chaotic Yemen, which is home to the largest group of Guantanamo detainees. Transfers had also been banned to countries that Washington designated “state sponsors of terrorism,” which made it difficult to move Syrian inmates. And prisoners in the past also could not be sent back to any country where previously released Guantanamo detainees had returned to terrorist activity. Such rules will be lifted or significantly relaxed under the new law. Even before the legislation was enacted, the administration had become more active in making transfers, sending two detainees each to Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Algeria. Overturning Utah's gay ban highlights marriage campaign By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Gay people are getting married in one of America’s most socially-conservative states after a federal judge ruled Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. Last week’s decision in Utah capped a string of legal and political victories for gay rights across the nation in 2013, with more battles expected in the year to come. 2013 saw a doubling to 18 of the number of U.S. states where same-sex marriage is legal, as well as a Supreme Court decision requiring the federal government to recognize gay unions. More than one-third of Americans now live in states allowing same-sex marriage, and polls continue to show an ever-growing majority of the public backs the right of gay people to wed. Last week’s federal ruling in Utah was particularly striking, given that the state is home to the Mormon Church, which strongly disapproves of homosexuality. Seth Anderson and his partner were the first of hundreds of gay couples to marry in recent days. Anderson says, “We are so happy, and I am so proud to be in Utah right now." Utah Assistant Attorney General Philip Lott had a different reaction. “The state is disappointed in the ruling,” he said. Utah’s governor issued a statement decrying that “an activist federal judge is attempting to override the will of the people of Utah”. The state will appeal the ruling, and has repeatedly asked federal courts to halt same-sex unions while the legal battle goes forward. So far, those requests have been denied. In striking down Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage, the federal judge cited the Supreme Court’s decision earlier this year. New York University Law School professor Ari Waldman says “The Supreme Court said that the federal government cannot discriminate against legally-married same-sex couples.” “However, the Supreme Court did not address the issue of whether a state could ban gays from the institution of marriage,” he added. Gay couples are suing for the right to marry in multiple states that prohibit such unions, while gay rights groups are mobilizing elsewhere to repeal state bans through the legislative process or at the ballot box. Groups opposed to same-sex marriage remain active and vocal, but seem to be losing political clout. Even though the Supreme Court did not settle the question of same-sex marriage nationwide, its decision striking down one particular form of discrimination against gay people has strengthened legal arguments for ending state bans in places like Utah, according to Waldman. “There is no doubt that the state bans on same-sex marriage are on thin ice," said Waldman. "Justice Kennedy was pretty clear about the guarantee of equality for gay couples. With each decision, more and more people in this country are living in marriage equality states, which means that more and more people are going to live in a world where gay couples are getting married." He was speaking of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy For 2014, Waldman expects court decisions on same-sex marriage bans in as many as 10 additional states, plus one or two other states that may legalize gay unions through the democratic process. Ultimately, he expects the issue to return to the Supreme Court, but says the timing of such a decision is hard to predict. Obama signs agreement on federal budget deal By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
President Obama has signed the bipartisan budget agreement negotiated by Congress earlier this month. Obama signed the bill Thursday while on vacation with his family in Hawaii. The budget gives Washington a two-year reprieve from the budget wars that halted federal operations for 16 days in October. The Republican-controlled House has quarreled with Obama, a Democrat, over his spending proposals. The new pact will ease some of the budget-cutting that Congress earlier agreed to and will trim $23 billion from the country's $17 trillion debt over the next decade. But budget negotiators again avoided dealing with other contentious financial issues, including an overhaul of the country's complex tax code and the burgeoning growth in spending for health care and pensions for older Americans. Christmas packages bomb U.S. delivery company UPS By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A high volume of holiday packages overwhelmed shipping and logistics company UPS, the company said Wednesday. The delays slowed the arrival of Christmas presents around the globe and sent angry consumers to social media to vent. Amazon.com responded with an email to affected customers offering shipping refunds and $20 gift cards to compensate. A convergence of factors, including higher volume than expected and recent patches of bad weather, were responsible for the delays according to UPS spokeswoman Natalie Black. The company projected 132 million deliveries last week “and obviously we exceeded that,” Black said, without disclosing how many packages had been sent. “For now, UPS is really focused on delivering the remaining packages,” Black said. “You might not see trucks, but people are working.” Customers awaiting deliveries should expect packages on Thursday or Friday, and those with delivery guarantees will get appropriate refunds, she said. Amazon.com's email said credits were applied directly to user accounts. Packages shipped via UPS for Amazon.com by Prime customers, who pay $79 a year for two-day shipping, may be eligible for additional refunds. Amazon's stated policy for missed deliveries is to offer a free one-month extension of Prime. UPS has not yet coordinated with Amazon, nor has it determined what percentage of the undelivered packages were from Amazon, Black said. Amazon also did not disclose how many of its shipments were affected or how many users got the email about delayed orders. “If customers from Amazon were impacted, we'll work with Amazon to resolve that,” Black said. Frustrated consumers took to social media, with some complaining that gifts purchased for their children would not arrive in time to make it under the tree by Christmas morning. Others on social media urged shoppers to be more appreciative of the delivery company's work during the holiday season. 120th anniversary of Mao's birth marked in subdued fashion By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
China celebrated the 120th anniversary of Mao Zedong's birth Thursday with top leaders paying a ceremonial visit to Mao's mausoleum and praising the achievements of the man who founded the People's Republic of China. While the celebrations were somewhat muted this year, the reverent remembrances were typical for China's Communist Party, which has traditionally turned to the late chairman for legitimacy. Mao remains a potent symbol in China, although analysts say the public has grown more ambivalent about his legacy. President Xi Jinping called for austere celebrations to mark Mao’s birthday, consistent with his push against lavish ceremonies and wasteful public spending. China’s media have reported a general scaling down of budgets and events connected with the anniversary's celebrations. Political scientist David Zweig says the muted celebrations do not mean that the leadership is keeping Mao at arm's length. “They very much want to be certain that they get a good bounce from this. They want to keep Mao as an important player in the cards that they hold in their hands,” he said. Thursday, the Communist party's mouthpiece People's Daily celebrated Mao's success in liberating China's “semi-imperialistic, semi- feudal” society. It also stressed the new leadership is a continuation of Mao's work. “The mission for generations of Chinese Communists has always been the same: revolution, construction and reform are deeply linked with each other in history,” the commentary read, “One development is accomplished on the basis of the one that came before.” On Mao's errors, Chinese leaders have long embraced the view that there were missteps in the country's path towards a Communist society. In the 1980’s former leader Deng Xiaoping's remarked that Mao was seven parts right, and only three parts wrong. That evaluation still holds for many Chinese historians as well as the public. In Thursday's speech, Xi Jinping appeared to reference that view by saying that in evaluating a country’s history, one needs to consider the social conditions of the time. “We cannot judge those people who came before us by the current conditions and the level of knowledge and development we have today. We also cannot expect from them the achievements only obtainable by later generations,” Xinhua quoted Xi as saying. Critics say that such assessments do not take into account the most negative effects of some of Mao's campaigns, which have been largely forgotten by China's official historiography. Among the most controversial policies were Mao's attempts to industrialize the Chinese countryside during the Great Leap Forward, which caused a mass famine and killed tens of million of people. Ten years later, the cultural revolution threw the nation into a period of Communist fervor and spurred a wave of political violence. “The left and some people within the leadership in China worry that if you spend too much time criticizing Mao for the cultural revolution and the famine that you don't have that many years to glorify him, and therefore his legacy becomes much weaker,” says Zweig. Historian Xu Youyu talks of an ambivalence in contemporary attitudes about Mao. “From the perspective of intellectuals, more negative things are said about Mao because there is more information out there about certain parts of history,” Xu says, “For example the fact that during the great leap forward Mao left more than 30 million people die of starvation is acknowledged by more people now.” But at the same time, Xu says that the passing of time has softened the memories of many who suffered under Mao's rule, and for those among them who are seeking political power, celebrating Mao remains advantageous to their goals. “They are more willing to talk about Mao's contributions because the sufferings are increasingly distant, but the opportunities for power are increasingly numerous,” Xu says. Those who celebrate Mao’s record despite a personal history that is more complicated include China’s President Xi Jinping, whose father was purged and persecuted during the cultural revolution. Despite that history, Xi has become known for coining slogans reminiscent of Mao's times, and launching education campaigns that echo Mao’s pursuits for ideological purity. Russia's finding on Arafat does not halt investigation By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Russia said Thursday former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat died of natural causes, not radiation poisoning, but a Palestinian official called the finding politicized and said an investigation would continue. Samples were taken from Arafat's body last year by Swiss, French and Russian forensics experts after an al Jazeera documentary said his clothes showed high amounts of deadly polonium 210. The Swiss said last month their tests were consistent with polonium poisoning, but not absolute proof of the cause of death. The Russian finding was in line with that of French scientists, who said earlier this month that Arafat had not been killed with polonium. “Yasser Arafat died not from the effects of radiation but of natural causes,” Vladimir Uiba, head of Russia's state forensics body, the Federal Medico-Biological Agency, was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency. Arafat, who signed the 1993 Oslo interim peace accords with Israel, but then led an uprising in 2000. He died at 75 at the Percy hospital in Paris in 2004, four weeks after falling ill in his Ramallah compound, which was surrounded by Israeli tanks. “Like the French report on his death, this is a politicized finding. The truth lies at the Percy hospital,” said Wasel Abu Yousef, a senior member of the Palestine Liberation Organization. The official cause of death was a stroke, but French doctors said at the time they were unable to determine the origin of Arafat's illness. No autopsy was carried out. His widow, Suha Arafat, has argued the death was a political assassination by someone close to her husband. Many Palestinians believe Israel killed him, a charge Israel denies. The Palestinian ambassador to Moscow, Faed Mustafa, said the Russian findings would not halt efforts to investigate the cause of death, state-run Russian news agency RIA reported. “I can only say that there is already a decision to continue,” RIA quoted him as saying. “We respect their position and we highly value their work, but there is a decision to continue work.” Pope denounces discrimination against Christians in world By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Pope Francis on Thursday denounced discrimination against Christians, including in countries where religious freedom is in theory guaranteed by law. He delivered his traditional noon prayer and address to thousands of people in St. Peter's Square on the day the Roman Catholic Church commemorates St. Stephen, its first martyr. The 77-year-old Argentine pope asked the crowd for a moment of silent prayer for “Christians who are unjustly accused and are subjected to every type of violence.” Francis, celebrating his first Christmas season as pope, said “limitations and discrimination” against Christians was taking place not only in countries that do not grant full religious freedom but also where “on paper, freedom and human rights are protected”. “This injustice should be denounced and eliminated,” he said. Francis did not name any countries but the Vatican has long urged Saudi Arabia, the site of Islam's holiest places, to lift a ban on Christians worshiping in public. This year there have been a number of incidents of intolerance and attacks against minority Christians in Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Sudan, Nigeria and other countries where their rights are guaranteed by law. Francis, departing from his prepared text, said he was sure that Christians suffering from either discrimination or violence were “more numerous today than in the early times of the Church”. In the past, the Vatican has also expressed concern over what former Pope Benedict called “sophisticated forms of hostility” against Christians in rich countries, such as restricting use of religious symbols in public places. |
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A.M. Colombia |
A.M. Guatemala |
A.M. Honduras |
A.M. Cuba |
A.M. Nicaragua |
| A.M. Venezuela |
A.M. Central America |
A.M. Dominican Republic |
A.M. Ecuador | A.M. San Salvador |
A.M. Bolivia |
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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Study discounts
sun's effect in earth's climate variations By
the University of Edinburgh news service
Climate change has not been strongly influenced by variations in heat from the sun, a new scientific study says. The findings overturn a widely held scientific view that lengthy periods of warm and cold weather in the past might have been caused by periodic fluctuations in solar activity. Research examining the causes of climate change in the northern hemisphere over the past 1,000 years has shown that until the year 1800, the key driver of periodic changes in climate was volcanic eruptions. These tend to prevent sunlight reaching the Earth, causing cool, drier weather. Since 1900, greenhouse gases have been the primary cause of climate change. The findings show that periods of low sun activity should not be expected to have a large impact on temperatures on Earth, and are expected to improve scientists' understanding and help climate forecasting. Scientists at the University of Edinburgh carried out the study using records of past temperatures constructed with data from tree rings and other historical sources. They compared this data record with computer-based models of past climate, featuring both significant and minor changes in the sun. They found that their model of weak changes in the sun gave the best correlation with temperature records, indicating that solar activity has had a minimal impact on temperature in the past millennium. The study, published in Nature GeoScience, was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council. Dr Andrew Schurer, of the University of Edinburgh's School of GeoSciences, said: "Until now, the influence of the sun on past climate has been poorly understood. We hope that our new discoveries will help improve our understanding of how temperatures have changed over the past few centuries, and improve predictions for how they might develop in the future. Links between the sun and anomalously cold winters in the UK are still being explored." |
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| From Page 7: There are signs that global economy is improving By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The global economy may be entering a new phase as the year draws to a close. New data suggest some of the uncertainty that has characterized much of 2013 appears to be lifting as a new year begins, though economists are cautious. Despite steady improvement, U.S. unemployment remains high, Europe’s debt crisis is far from over, and China’s economy continues to slow. As the year ends, more people are finding work in the United States, the economy is growing at the fastest pace in two years and Congress has a new budget that effectively removes the threat of another costly government shutdown. Barring another political standoff, small business advocate John Arensmeyer sees an improved business climate in 2014. “Could be a better year than 2013, particularly if we don’t see the type of shenanigans we saw with the shutdown.” Across the Pacific, China's economy has slowed after decades of double-digit expansion. But even with a relatively modest outlook of 7 percent growth, international economist Uri Dadush said China continues to exert strong economic influence in the region. “It’s going to be somewhat slower going forward over the next year or two, but still sufficient to pull a large number of countries along,” said Dadush. But while improving demand is likely to benefit countries from Cambodia to Japan, European economies remain weak. The European Commission says growth will slow in the 18 nations that use the euro with unemployment likely to inch higher in the new year. Despite recent banking reforms, Dadush said tough austerity measures in countries that received bailouts continue to weigh on Europe’s economy. “Italy’s in deep trouble, and it’s going to take some years even for the Spains and the Portugals and the Irish to come out of the mess,” said Dadush. Lingering questions also remain about the international impact of the U.S. central bank’s decision to scale back monetary stimulus. With prices of raw materials likely to fall next year, economists say commodity-dependent countries could see their revenues fall. |
