The Costa Rican National Tourism Board, Canatur, met with canopy tour operators from throughout the country this week to discuss a recent court ruling on the patent rights over use of the canopy invention in Costa Rica. Monday, Canadian national Darren Hreniuk, who developed the canopy tour mechanics and invention in the first such tour developed in the country in Monteverde in the 1990s, recei...

Over the past week alone, six foreigners have been detained by police, and some already have their deportation orders approved, said the Public Security Ministry press office. A directive was issued to tighten controls on foreigners with criminal records or behaviors by Costa Rica's Minister of Public Security Gustavo Mata Vega in the wake of the May 15 shootout in Guachipelín, Escazú. The shoo...

The Costa Rican judiciary celebrates five years of a successful restorative justice program that has now earned its place as part of the country's public policy, said the judiciary press office in a statement this week. The nationwide program has linked its efforts to all sectors of the government as well as private and civic groups, and its work to rehabilitate adult and juvenile criminals ove...

- United States Embassy in Costa Rica celebrates sexual diversity month with rainbow flag. "In previous years we have displayed this flag at the entrance to our embassy, ​​but starting last year, we hoisted it along with the United States flag, so that Costa Rica can see this powerful and symbolic demonstration of our commitment to tolerance, acceptance and equal rights for all citizens, regard...

While pineapple growers downplay the social, and also environmental, issues behind the monoculture’s activity in Costa Rica, local communities continue to share firsthand experiences of human and labor rights violations. “One of the most worrying complaints that is systematically repeated in the plantations visited in Limón province - in Guácimo, Siquirres, Pococí, and Talamanca - as well as th...

The next time you go to Taco Bell don't be surprised if you see employees using sign language to communicate with one another. This is because the company has a strong policy of including people of different abilities as part of its workforce. Taco Bell Costa Rica continues to expand its operations, and also its philosophy of inclusivity, giving greater participation to individuals with disabil...

The Solís government continues to work on delayed infrastructure projects throughout the country, and is moving forward with two bridges in the Drake area of the Osa Peninsula, the biodiversity hotspot in Costa Rica’s southern Pacific region and home to Corcovado National Park, said the president’s office this week. A program of the Office of the First Lady of the Republic called “Tejiendo Desa...

- Inventor of the Canopy Tour® recovers invention patent in Costa Rica after lengthy legal battle, meaning local tour operators must receive authorization to continue to offer such tours in Costa Rica. After almost 20 years of wrangling through the administrative and judicial channels in Costa Rica, a legal resolution ended the conflict that arose after the canopy patent held by Canadian national...

While it might be tempting to grab a bag of inexpensive fruit from a street vendor on your next trip to downtown San José, you should think twice about the quality of what you are buying. San José municipal police are amping up their operations in the center to curb informal sales of products along the streets. On a patrol this week, police on bicycle retrieved bags of fruit hidden in storm ...

An American citizen wanted by authorities in Texas on charges of pedophilia was arrested Friday in the northern Chiriquí region of Panama near the Costa Rica border, according to Panama national media. The American has been identified as Carl Anthony Barroso, 68. After his arrest by the Panamanian national police he was sent to immigration authorities for his deportation to the U.S., said the S...

Costa Rican Public Security Minister Gustavo Mata Vega spoke to the Horizontes Costa Rica radio program yesterday to urge more resources for combatting cocaine trafficking and related crime. A satellite image produced by the radio program and published on their website depicts Pacific sea routes from cocaine-producing South American countries that are thought to be drug-related. So many routes ...

Costa Rica's EKA business magazine has released its 2017 rankings of private schools in Costa Rica. Of the at least 500 private educational institutions in the country, about 180 offer a K-12 education according to the Ministry of Public Education (MEP). Schools are ranked in different categories including the 50 best schools in the country, the top 50 of the last five years, the best school...

Starting September 1, 2017, the annual tax on corporations, including inactive - or "shelf" or holding - companies will begin to be collected, said president of the Association of Public Accountants, Ronald Artavia in a statement. The law exempts micro and small businesses from payment; and a one-time exemption is included for the first year of the tax on people who close their companies or tra...

Starting this Saturday, June 3, urban passenger train service will be available Saturdays between Cartago and San José, announced the Costa Rican Railways Institute (INCOFER) this week. Saturdays, trains depart starting at 6:30 a.m from the Atlantic station in downtown San José and from the Cartago station, and from then on every hour on the half hour until 1:30 p.m. Tickets are ¢550 - less ...

María del Rocío Sáenz Madrigal, executive president of the country's social security agency (CCSS), noted that Costa Rica's health care system stands out for its provision of pain management, saying it is, "one of the few countries that provides palliative support to the population that is in terminal phase or that has chronic pain," said Saénz. Her observations come as the new headquarters of ...

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in August 1962, Costa Rica and South Korea have had a successful cooperation partnership which was bolstered during the visit of the President of the Republic, Luis Guillermo Solis, to the Asian country in October 2016. During last year's visit, the countries agreed to a Comprehensive Cooperation Alliance that outlined concrete political, economic...

The Government of Panama announced Friday it will reduce the stay in the country for Nicaraguan, Colombian and Venezuelan tourists from 180 to 90 days as part of a policy of tightening controls over foreigner visitors. This, and other controls by Panama, may lessen some of the flow of undocumented migrants into Costa Rica over its southern border. The Panamanian migration service has detected f...

Do you or your child need a cédula, or to register other vital statistics? People living in the area of Paquera, Cóbano and Mal Pais/Montezuma can access these services this month and next on a field visit by Costa Rica Civil Registry / Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE - Registro Civil) officials, without having to make a trip to San José. Door-to-door visits to Mal Pais will take place May 2...

The consular section at U.S. Embassy in San José announces a consular outreach event in San Ramón on Wednesday, May 31. "Embassy staff will be available to accept adult passport renewals, perform notarial services, and take your inquiries on federal benefits and voting," said the consular section in a statement. "Got questions? ACS Chief Ben Peracchio and representatives of the con...

Sustainable Costa Rican tourist enterprises will now be eligible for a European certification, issued by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, reported the agency last week. The international certification, called TourCert, was developed in Germany, and is based on international standards of quality and environmental management including EMAS and ISO, specifically the ISO 26000 guide for soci...

Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solis inaugurated Saturday a US$2.5 million Coast Guard Station in the country's south Pacific. The station was donated by the United States military's Southern Command (Southcom). The president's office said in a statement that the station, located in Golfito, Puntarenas province, was inaugurated by President Solis, Public Security Minister Gustavo Mata, Na...

Costa Rica's pineapple sector employs about 32,000 people directly and generates exports of about one billion dollars a year, which is the equivalent of 10 per cent of the country's total exports, according to a report released today. The study, "Economic, Social and Environmental Impact of Pineapple in Costa Rica", conducted by the Central American Institute of Business Administration (INCAE) ...

The U.S. Peace Corps program in Costa Rica is searching for local talent to fill a new position. The program manager would be responsible for, "Building a Response Corps program of 10-15 Peace Corps Response Volunteer positions per year. Work in close collaboration with other PC Staff and local organizations to support Peace Corps/Costa Rica programs. Train and oversee the Peace Corps Response ...

This week Maureen Clarke Clarke, National Liberation Party legislator made a strong statement in the digital Costa Rican news outlet Elmundo.cr, saying, “Public transportation in Costa Rica is one of the biggest arenas of sexual violence against women.” She criticized the Solís administration for “not seeming to care,” about the situation which negatively impacts women’s quality of life and imp...

Whereas last month, meteorologists saw a possible El Niño effect slowing down the formation of storms in the Atlantic-Caribbean region, they now say the probable lack of development of the phenomenon may bring on a heavier than usual hurricane season. Last year brought the unusual late season hurricane - Otto - the first to touch land in Costa Rica in recorded history. For the Atlantic, 2016...

Data from the Costa Rican Health Ministry for the first nearly five months of 2017 show a decrease in the number of new dengue cases compared to last year. Additionally, last year there were three strains of the virus circulating, and this year only two have been detected. Atenas and Montes de Oro in the Central Pacific foothills are the top two counties with dengue cases this year. Miramar nea...

While it's no secret to Costa Ricans that the country's public universities are the top ranked, and offer the widest selection of academic disciples and degree programs, what isn't talked about so openly is that their students disproportionately hail from the country's upper echelons. A recent report indicates that 57.8 percent of students at the country's state universities come from household...

Costa Rica lead the redaction of the first draft text of a legally binding instrument at the United Nations to ban nuclear weapons, which was presented to the international community this week for review, said the Costa Rican Foreign Ministry. According to Foreign Minister Manuel González, the presentation of the draft proposal is an important milestone resulting from years of efforts to prohib...

Costa Rica’s Ministry of Public Works and Transportation received a petition this week from the president of the Costa Rican Commission for Cooperation with UNESCO, Rocío Solís, requesting authorities consider raising the minimum age for a driver’s license to 21 in an effort to reduce road-related injuries and fatalities. Road transit laws in Costa Rica set the minimum age for obtaining a regul...

The Costa Rican Tourism Institute announced the opening of a direct air connection between Costa Rica and Peru, the first direct connection to South America. The LATAM flight between San José, Costa Rica and Lima, Peru will facilitate connections to other South American countries. LATAM Airlines Group S.A. is a South American airline holding company incorporated under Chilean law and headqua...

Costa Rica's Foreign Minister continued on from his meetings in Qatar last week to other regions of the Middle East to continue to court economic interests in Costa Rica's markets.   Costa Rican Foreign Minister Manuel González held a private meeting last week as part of his participation at the World Economic Forum in Jordan with His Majesty King Abdallah II of Jordan and Jordanian For...

Off the Osa Peninsula in southern Costa Rica, scientists experiment with reviving coral reefs. Last year things turned pretty bad for coral reefs throughout the world due to ocean warming caused by El Niño and human activities that bleached and caused death in many reefs, including those in the Golfo Dulce. By "reforesting" the coral reef with fragments of coral "planted" in ceramic discs, a...

The University of Costa Rica's School of Pharmacy has invited an internationally renowned export on market regulation of cannabis, Julio Calzada, to lead a free conference on the topic. Calzada is a Uruguayan sociologist and politician with over 30 years experience in health promotion projects notably those designed to reduce harm in the use of illicit drugs. Such programs, known as "harm reduc...

Countries in the Central American region are the favored recipients of direct foreign investment by Costa Rican firms. According to figures from the Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR), over the last 10 years the flow of investments abroad reached US$1.96 billion, and 56 percent of these investments were in Central America. Panama is the top destination, with US$541.1 million over the last dec...

The Costa Rican Medical Professionals Association (Colegio de Médicos y Cirujanos) recently issued an alert to drivers in Costa Rica to avoid scams when getting the medical certificate required to obtain or renew a license. There have also been changes to the medical certificate procedures, as now all certifications are entered into a digital system. To avoid falling victim to a scam, and pa...

Costa Rican authorities announced they would reinforce security, including streamlining procedures to expel foreigners linked to criminal activities, following a series of recent crimes that have shocked the country. "Acts of violence in recent days have raised a justified alarm in the population and motivated new calls for attention to all authorities to intensify the fight against drug traffi...

The U.S. dollar continues to gain strength against the Costa Rica colón with a 4.1 point rise over the weekend, according to figures published by the Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR). Monday's dollar-colón exchange rate of sale averaged ¢590.57 after strong currency trading, reported the country's business daily El Financiero. The purchase exchange rate stood at ¢577.98. The last time such ...

Ariana Grande, the Italian-descent singer from Florida, U.S. is scheduled to perform at Parque Viva in La Guácima, Costa Rica on July 9. The concert's official Facebook page hinted at the possibility of a cancellation, but had no specific information in the wake of the violent UK incident that took the lives of at least 19 people, and injured at least 50, according to international press reports. ...

Two children received cochlear implants earlier this month in successful operations at the Liberia, Costa Rica public hospital, reported the Costa Rica Social Security Agency (CCSS), the entity charged with running Costa Rica's public medical facilities. Early auditory screenings are being implemented nationwide to detect hearing problems early on, as such corrections are more successful when m...

U.S. conductor, Arthur Fagen, will lead six functions in Costa Rica of "La Traviata" (literally, The Fallen Woman), the most performed opera in the world. The 3-act opera by Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi, with libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, will be performed by the Costa Rican National Lyric Company (CLN) at the Melico Salazar Theater in downtown San José in July. Fagen serves as the p...