Source: Heineken Despite volatile global markets and growing security issues, organizations continue to leverage global expansion strategies to remain competitive and to grow. Yet, few organizations are prepared for the challenges world events have on their business, including the impact on cost of expatriate packages. Mercer’s 22nd annual Cost of Living Survey finds that factors including ...

The multinational consulting firm McKinsey & Company, dedicated to helping institutions in the private, public and social sectors achieve lasting success, today welcomed Costa Rican Minister of Foreign Trade Alexander Mora to the firm’s facility in San José, where McKinsey recently added a modern design center that will support the firm’s global operations. The firm’s Costa Rica facility ...

Illustrative image. (Flickr Commons) A young man who came to Costa Rica to help foreign language students at institutions of higher learning is currently recovering from multiple stab wounds sustained after a violent robbery. According to a recent news report filed by Yaslin Cabezas of online news daily Costa Rica Hoy, the man is of French nationality and has been solely identified by the l...

Wikimedia Commons Conservationists are uniting against a weak silky shark conservation proposal put forth by Costa Rica, Belize, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. The proposal along with others will be presented at the annual meeting of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC)* to be held next week in Southern California. Turtle Island Restoration Network and fellow conservationists be...

Pixabay Commons Of all immigration proceedings available to foreigners in Costa Rica, the process of getting a work permit for employees is one of the most Byzantine. What makes getting work permits in Costa Rica so complicated is that more than one government agency is involved in the process. The Directorate of Immigration and the Ministry of Labor must review the applications before they...

Poas Volcano crater in Costa Rica Earth scientists at the National Seismology Network (Spanish initials: RSN) and at the National Observatory on Seismology and Volcanology (Spanish acronym: OVSICORI) are being kept on their toes by the activity of two colossi in Costa Rica. Readers of The Costa Rica Star are likely to be familiar with the hyperactive state of the Turrialba volcano, located ...

Wikimedia Commons Costa Rica pulled off a major upset at the NORCECA Women’s Continental Cup as they defeated favourite Cuba 3-2 moving closer to the single ticket on hand to the Olympic beach volleyball tournament in Rio de Janeiro. The duo of Karen Cope and Nathalia Alfaro beat Lianma Flores and Leila Martinez 15-9 in a “golden set” to break a 2-2 tie in the country versus country semifin...

Source: Paddy Power Leave it to the good people of Scotland to stage hilarious protests during Donald Trump's visit in the wake of Brexit. Paddy Power, a bookmaker (similar to a sportsbook in Costa Rica) based in Ireland, came up with a clever way to welcome the presumptive Republican candidate to succeed President Barack Obama in the United States. Here's how the Irish sports betting giant...

Agents from the Office of Judicial Investigations (Spanish initials: OIJ) arrested a 30-year old man for allegedly attempting to sexually extort her on social media in Costa Rica. According to a recent news report filed by Allan Chacon Soto of daily tabloid Diario Extra, the arrest took place at a public park in Hatillo, a series of populous districts located just south of the capital city of C...

By Iahsan at the English language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Concurrent with the birthday anniversary of Imam Hassan (2nd Shia Imam), a girl from Costa Rica converted to Shia Islam at the Razavi Holy Shrine of Iran. The Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad is a complex which contains the mausoleum of Imam Reza, the eighth Imam of Twelver Shiites. It is the largest mosque in the world by dimension and ...

Cartoon by Clay Jones Some voters in the United Kingdom are angry at what they believe was a poor information campaign leading up to the referendum to leave the European Union. According to a news report filed by Lizzie Dearden of UK national newspaper The Independent: Electoral services workers have reported calls from people asking if they could change their decision after Friday’s resul...

Wikimedia Commons Commuters stuck in traffic during Friday morning in the eastern districts of San Jose were surprised to see a naked man calmly walking down the street and occasionally attempting to direct the flow of traffic. The incident occurred in San Pedro, precisely at the traffic circle that surrounds the Hispanic Heritage Fountain. According to a television report broadcast by nati...

(Illustrative image. Courtesy Thomson Airways) Over the last few months, the tourism industry of Costa Rica has enjoyed an increase of British and European visitors thanks to the inauguration of two flights from London, but officials fear that this joy will be diminished by Brexit. The people of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, which means that European tourists can no ...

Wikimedia Commons Today, Sanofi Pasteur, Sanofi's vaccine division, announced that the National Ministry of Public Health of Costa Rica has approved Sanofi Pasteur's tetravalent dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia®, to protect individuals 9 to 45 years of age living in endemic areas against all four serotypes of dengue. This approval in Costa Rica is the fourth registration of the dengue vaccine in L...

Close up of a Marijuana plant flowering during the final stages of growth. EFE/file San Jose, Costa Rica will be the site of the Latin American Medical Cannabis Conference, July 28-29th at the Crown Plaza Hotel,. Top- level Cannabis industry speakers, from the U.S., Colombia, Uruguay, Chile and Costa Rica will address topics related to the Medical Cannabis field. There will be full translation s...

Source: Xiaomi Chinese tech firm Xiaomi unveiled Thursday its first smart bicycle, an electric and foldable prototype that comes with its own navigation system, on social media. The "Mi QiCycle", one of its most anticipated products, is priced at around $456 and has a 250-Watt, 36-Volt high speed motor; a navigation system that measures distance and speed and a Torque measurement method bel...

Bionovelus Phoenix, June 22, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BioNovelus, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: ONOV) is pleased to announce that four thousand (4,000) bottles of its biodegradable fungicide, CR-10, the answer to killing coffee rust, has been manufactured for delivery to Costa Rica. Mr. Jean Ekobo, President/CEO of BioNovelus, Inc., says, "This CR-10 allotment is slotted for ongoing tests with our partne...

CALGARY, Alberta--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Calgary Scientific Inc., a company known for creating innovative technology for the medical industry and beyond, announced that ResolutionMD® medical imaging software is registered by the Ministry of Health in Costa Rica for diagnosis using both web and mobile devices. The Costa Rican Ministry of Health regulates the healthcare industry and acts as the regula...

Source: Ge PC Facebook LAS VEGAS, NV--(Marketwired - Jun 6, 2016) - Pure Hospitality Solutions, Inc., parent Company of the Central American-Caribbean Online Travel Agency (OTA) Oveedia, announced today, that in continuing support of Central American tourism, Oveedia, upon multiple requests, has begun developing and sponsoring travel websites and resource pages for Central American tours, hote...

The Reality of Truth Mike Zapolin, best known as “Zappy”, recently won “best director award” for his documentary film The Reality Of Truth”. The acclaimed documentary features the beautiful Michelle Rodriguez of the Fast and Furious film franchise, Deepak Chopra, Joel Osteen, Dr. Drew, Ram Dass, Marianne Williamson, Foster Gamble, and many more. Zappy and his unique group of friends make a pas...

Source: Fuerza Publica Even after a press conference, questions remain about the escape and subsequent capture of John Wesley Saatio, a registered sex offender from the United States who managed to escape from a detention cell in Costa Rica a couple of days ago. Mr. Saatio was taken into custody by Fuerza Publica officers on foot patrol in San Miguel of Desamparados, not far from the workin...

Wikimedia Commons Although Costa Rica has a fully developed and mature electronic dance music (EDM) scene that sees international artists perform regularly, the reception given to DJ Sasha Grey at Club Vertigo was quite enthusiastic for a very late Monday night. According to a news report filed by entertainment reporter Ariel Chaves Gonzalez of daily tabloid Diario Extra, Ms. Grey took the ...

Zoo Ave A brightly colored male toucan that suffered a mutilated beak after being attacked by thuggish youths in Costa Rica is getting a new home in Alajuela. Wildlife rescue experts at Rescate Animal Zoo Ave, located in La Garita, recently announced that Grecia will be housed in a new enclosure where it will have plenty of room to fly around, climb branches, hide, enjoy the sun, feed, prac...

Wikimedia Commons One of the most mysterious and dangerous crime figures in the world is currently in the custody of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and his life of crime may have been encouraged by an attorney from Costa Rica. The life of Paul Calder Le Roux, a 43-year old Caucasian man born in the former African nation of Rhodesia, seems to have been envisioned by...

Bruce Irons at the Bali X-Games Bruce Irons, a Hawaiian pro surfer who once defeated the legendary Kelly Slater at the Billabong Pipeline Masters, will be in Costa Rica next month for the Airborn Huck & Hack Tour. The surfing event will be a first for Costa Rica in terms of how the heats are scored. The venue will be Playa Hermosa, precisely on the breaks in front of Backyard Bar, a spo...

Source: Fuerza Publica A slippery sex offender and fugitive from the United States is once again on the run in Costa Rica, and allegations of an inside job in this matter have not been answered. The fugitive is known as John Wesley Saatio. As reported by The Costa Rica Star on June 17, Mr. Saatio was arrested as the result of an investigation conducted by by a neighborhood watch group and p...

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica – Last year, Costa Rica received over one million North American visitors who arrived in the country by air, and over 13 percent of these directly associated to business related travel. In recognition of the key role that the meetings industry has on the country, Costa Rica joined hundreds of other nations around the world to support the first ever Global Meetings Industry Day...

(Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica) - The Sloth Institute (TSI), located in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica announces its collaboration with Toucan Rescue Ranch (TRR) to begin a Sloth Release and Education Program at TRR to enhance its Sloth Release and Education Program. TRR’s release site is located in Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, which is one-hour from their rescue center. This release site has 40 acres of rainf...

Online PR News – 18-June-2016 – Montezuma, Costa Rica – Ylang Ylang Beach Resort will join millions around the globe in celebrating the International Day of Yoga on Tuesday. The United Nations declared June 21 each year as the International Day of Yoga, with the aim of raising awareness of the many benefits of practicing yoga. This is the second year the special day has been officially observed by...

Source: GoFundMe Julie Lee Lambert, a highly esteemed science educator at Florida Atlantic University (FAU), is slowly recovering from a brain aneurysm that kept her hospitalized in Costa Rica for 49 days. As previously reported by The Costa Rica Star, Professor Lambert came to our country as an academic tourist to attend a conference. During her visit, she suffered a brain aneurysm that re...

Despite a Presidential Decree issued last week, the exit tax charged at Costa Rica airports for international travelers will remain at $29. The Decree seeks to increase the airport exit tax by $2, which will benefit the National Animal Welfare Service (Spanish acronym: SENASA), a government entity.   According to a news report by Fernando Muñoz of national radio station Monumental 93.5 ...

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — CooperVision has opened a new, 100,000 square-foot, high-volume manufacturing facility at Coyol Industrial Park in Alajuela, Costa Rica, the company announced earlier this week. The Costa Rica plant is the company’s second site for clariti 1-day silicone hydrogel lens manufacturing, joining an existing facility in Budapest, Hungary. CooperVision also maintains high-volume...

Source: Fuerza Publica A scene straight out of a circus strongman act unfolded in Costa Rica about 10 days ago. John Wesley Saatio, a citizen of the United States, tried to bend the prison bars of the cell he was thrown into after an investigation by a neighborhood watch group and police in the coastal community of Jaco Beach. According to an official press release issued by Fuerza Publica,...

Both mature and developing alcoholic drinks categories in Costa Rica experienced increased competition in 2015 - a development which, along with product innovation and changing consumer value expectations, were the main sales drivers within the area during 2015. Volume and value growth remained limited in 2015, with there being a clear trend towards modest pricing and an increase in the penetratio...

SAN JOSE, C.R./TAMPA Fla. (June 16, 2016) – IRONMAN announced today the addition of a new licensed race in Central America with IRONMAN® 70.3® Costa Rica. The inaugural event will take place on Sunday, June 18, 2017, in Playa del Coco, Guanacaste, located on the Pacific Coast. “With its beautiful natural landscape and indigenous flora and fauna, Costa Rica is the ideal place to host an IRONMAN ...

Huawei P9 China State Council Information Office - Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei launched Thursday its new dual-lens P9 smartphone in Costa Rica for the Latin American market. Huawei unveiled its new P9 at a shopping center in west San Jose, where potential buyers and the press also got a chance to view an exhibit of photographs taken with the smartphone's innovative Leica-made ca...

Wikimedia Commons University of Cambridge Media Release - Have humans underestimated the intelligence of birds? A new study suggests one species of bird - the great-tailed grackle - may be able to learn to adapt its behaviour when faced by new challenges. The research, published in the Royal Society Open Science journal today, is the first to test the cognitive abilities of great-tailed gra...

Flickr Commons STOCKHOLM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Millicom, the telecommunications and media company dedicated to emerging markets in Latin America and Africa, today announced a strategic partnership with Netflix, the world’s leading Internet television network, that will bring Netflix app preloads to Android smartphones from TigoSmart and provide promotions to TigoStar and TigoSmart customers in Lat...

Bull shark. Wikimedia Commons MIAMI, June 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The most 'fintastic' time of the year is back and making a huge splash! LA SEMANA DEL TIBURÓN (#semanadeltiburon) returns in its 28th anniversary and will keep viewers on the edge of their seat with all-new jaw-dropping and compelling stories about everyone's favorite marine predator. Featuring new research from Mexico, Florida...

Source: Flick Commons By Britt Nelson Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff The horrific Orlando murders are echoing and vibrating messages of love around the world like a stone thrown into a pond. Massive rallies are being held around the world in memory of those killed. United States Pre...