The University of Costa Rica (UCR) will launch a project that seeks to revolutionize the transportation sector in Central America through a new computer application and a web page, announced the institution yesterday. The official launch will take place Friday, April 28, 2017 at the Wyndham Hotel at 8 a.m. At the event, the Caravana application will be officially presented to the Secretariat of...

As the demand for private health services grows by both Costa Ricans and tourists alike, leaders in the sector felt a broader approach to aid in coordination and communication was needed. Earlier this year at its annual assembly, Promed, Costa Rica's long standing medical tourism promotional body voted to change its statutes and to create an expanded body called the "Cámara Costarricense de la Sa...

Costa Rica's Drug Control Police announced they have attacked 40 criminal structures dedicated to illegal drug trafficking since January Of these, seven were dedicated to international drug trafficking, and 33 to local drug dealing, of which 16 were family-based operations. The Ministry of Public Security said the criminal groups detected and broke up by police involved arrests in different ...

Copa Airlines announced they will offer the only nonstop direct airline service between Denver, Colorado and Panama, with convenient connections to more than 55 destinations in Central America, South America and the Caribbean through the airline’s Panama hub. The service will consist of four weekly flights between Denver and Panama beginning Dec. 11, 2017. Denver will be Copa's 13th U.S. de...

Last night, Guanacaste police chased a car from Sámara along the northern Pacific coast of Costa Rica to the district of Nicoya, also in the province of Guanacaste after being alerted by tourists that their car was robbed. After the "intense" chase, police detained the car and arrested three male suspects in the robbery by the last names Morales, Zúñiga and Prieto. After receiving the alert,...

Doctors from the Costa Rican Social Security Agency (CCSS) are joining a medical mission from Texas this week to provide a variety of health services to residents of several indigenous villages in the Chirripó de Turrialba region, said Heylin Quesada Alvarado, medical director of the Turrialba-Jiménez Health Area The medical team with visit the Cabecar indigenous communities of Boyei, Grano de ...

The Offshore World Championship in Quepos, Costa Rica is the largest and most prestigious sport-fishing tournament in the world. The world-class event, held for the fifth consecutive year in Quepos, Puntarenas near Manuel Antonio National Park includes 55 of the world's best sport fishing teams. From April 24 - 28, at Marina Pez Vela, in Quepos, more than 300 people will compete to see who has ...

Updated: The concert begins at 8 p.m., not 8:30; and discounts with ID are available for students and seniors at the box office. Inti-Illimani, the famed instrumental and vocal Latin American folk music ensemble from Chile, will fill Costa Rica’s National theater with their rich and colorful Latin American rhythms and distinctive fusion of modern world music Friday, May 12 at 8 p.m. As part ...

This week, Costa Rican public health officials are launching an “intense information and education campaign … with the goal of having Ticos incorporate in their daily diet more salads and fruits, water as a main drink, use weekly meal plans, and internalize the concept of a ‘healthy plate’,” said the Costa Rican Social Security Agency (CCSS). The most comprehensive data on obesity shows a 275 p...

Costa Rican Minister of Foreign Affairs Manuel A. González Sanz met today, April 20, 2017, with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, on the sidelines of the meeting of ministers of foreign affairs of the Central American Integration System (SICA) in Istanbul, Turkey. At the meeting, the Turkish chancellor offered his support for the reconstruction of damages caused by Hurricane Otto in Co...

Health officials point to a disturbing continuation of high teenage pregnancy rates, and ready access by children in Costa Rica to pornography, and are calling for stronger sexual education in the country’s schools. On any given day, around 35 teenagers give birth to a child in Costa Rica, according to public health data. And though the trend has seen some recent declines, the numbers are fa...

Costa Rica's National Coast Guard officers rescued this morning an American family drifting in a kayak in Pacific waters near Penca Island, in the northern jurisdiction of Santa Cruz, Guanacaste, near the Nicaraguan border. The four tourists, two adult males and two young girls, headed out in a sail kayak to enjoy the beauties of this coastal area, but didn't count on a sudden change in weather...

Santa Ana's new public recreational park will be ready in December of this year, according to local news reports. It will be located in the downtown plaza in front of the Santa Ana Catholic Church. Once completed, the facility a will include several exercise options as well as areas to gather and socialize. Work got underway on March 20, and organizers said the park project will be completed...

The Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) and Siemens Costa Rica S.A. yesterday signed a commercial agreement at the ICE head office in Sabana Norte, near downtown San José to define and delimit the terms for carrying out joint projects in different areas of the electricity sector. "The agreement seeks to foster synergies, build on each other's individual strengths and complementary services ...

Earlier this month, one of San José, Costa Rica’s main public hospitals, the México Hospital, installed new modern ophthalmological units, in addition to other equipment. The Costa Rican Social Security Agency (CCSS) which runs the state medical system, said an estimated 20,000 patients per year will benefit from the upgrade to the latest technologies for eye procedures and exams. The over U...

Laureate International Universities, through the Latin American University of Costa Rica, will invest more than US$40 million in infrastructure this year in the construction of a new campus in Heredia, and THINK, an innovative higher education center focused on online education and with a center at Terrazas Lindora. "In a globalized world, it is vitally important that universities seek to stren...

Playas del Coco, Guanacaste, Costa Rica: Guanacaste tourism operators and artisanal fishermen and women sent a letter today to the Legislative Assembly's environmental commission, calling on its members to vote against bill N° 19,838, known as the Sustainable Shrimp Trawling Bill, saying it will jeopardize the socio-economic livelihoods of thousands of Guanacaste families. The letter was signe...

Since February, the Osa Peninsula has finally had regular Internet connectivity thanks to a new 60-foot radio tower installed on Cerro Osa, or Mount Osa, by the state-owned Costa Rican Electric Institute (ICE). The tower is linked by microwave with Mount Adams (Cerro Adams) in Golfito, and improves communication and connectivity for local residents, tourists, as well as government institutions ...

Spanish national police dismantled the largest international child pornography distribution network to date though pioneering research examining instant messaging groups and WhatsApp messages. The operation monitored 135 users in 18 countries in Europe, Central America and South America who participated in some 96 online pedophile groups. A total of 39 people have been arrested: 17 of them i...

The Second Judicial Circuit’s Criminal Court has set a September date for the trial of four doctors from Costa Rica’s public health system and a man of Greek origin for allegedly contacting poor people to illegally extract their organs, reported national Costa Rican media today. The Public Security Ministry, who made the accusation against the Costa Rican Social Security Agency (CCSS) doctors a...

The 8th Edition of the Copa Summa, or Summa Cup, one of the region's most popular golf tournaments will be held Friday, April 28 at the Cariari Country Club, with a 7 a.m. tee time. The Cariari Country Club in Ciudad Cariari northwest of San José near the Juan Santamaría International airport, and situated on a former coffee plantation, was the first 18-hole golf course built in Costa Rica. ...

— The Tortuguero elementary school needs your help! Sustainable tourism agencies in Costa Rica have teamed up to support an elementary school serving 200 students in the far northeast corner of Costa Rica. In the lush, canal-filled town of Tortuguero, the school suffers from serious deterioration of its roof and structure mainly from sea water corrosion. ARA Tours, an innovative, multilingu...

What better place to celebrate the holiday season than on the sandy beaches of a Four Seasons resort in Costa Rica? Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo has a Book Once, Stay Twice promotion on, which offers guests who booking a stay at any one of the participating Four Seasons Resorts in Costa Rica, Mexico or the Caribbean during the festive holidays a bonus three-night vacatio...

The Royal Dutch Airlines, KLM, annoucend today they will start flying directly to Costa Rica later this year. Two weekly direct flights connecting Amsterdam and San José, Costa Rica will be served by a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, the most modern aircraft in the KLM fleet, said the airline. The flights will operate from October 31, 2017 until March, for the duration of Europe’s winter season. ...

After Colorado native Cody Oser was found dead in a creek earlier this month near his Peace Corps site in northern Panama, local residents and Peace Corps members have rallied to pay tribute to the young idealist. His death has been determined accidental. Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela said at a memorial service held at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute on Wednesday, April 12...

Costa Rica hasn’t invested in its prison system since 1999, not for a lack of prisoners though. Overcrowding in Costa Rica’s prisons, among other problems experienced by prisoners, have garnered negative attention for the country in human rights reports in recent years. The Minister of Justice and Peace Cecilia Sánchez said last week that a new approach is being taken to the penitentiary system...

Hospira Costa Rica Ltd., a subsidiary of Pfizer Inc., announced last week they are shifting their production in the Dominican Republic to Costa Rica this year. The multinational, which manufactures medical infusion and transfusion equipment, said it will gradually close its manufacturing plant in the Dominican Republic over the course of this year, and transfer most of those operations to its B...

Southwest Airlines says Volaris Costa Rica’s application for permits to start U.S. flights should be discounted as they claim Volaris doesn't fulfill ownership requirements under the existing U.S.-Costa Rica air transport agreement, as reported in airline industry news recently. The Dallas-based airline file an objection with the U.S. Transportation Department (DOT), arguing that the bilateral ...

A Utah man and his fiancée say they got the booted from a United flight Saturday out of Houston en route to their Costa Rica wedding after changing seats, reported local Utah media, the New York Daily News, and other national media outlets. The company has been spotlighted for a series of recent customer service disasters in recent weeks, including an incident where a 69-year-old doctor was dra...

Poás Volcano had its two biggest eruptions this morning in this recent phase of activity, said the Volcanology and Seismology Observatory at the Costa Rican National University (Ovsicori-UNA). A blast at 7:39 followed by a bigger one at 7:57 a.m. sent gases in both a westerly and easterly direction, and would possible be felt, or rather smelt, in the towns of Zarcero, Naranjo, San Ramón, Palmar...

Nearly half a million dollars will go into the first stage of post-Hurricane-Otto environmental clean-up, announced the Costa Rican President’s office this week. Work began this week in the Upala region. The C253 million job of cleaning and channeling the Zapote River as it wends in and around the communities of Yolillal, San Isidro, San Judas, El Carmen and Upala center, is overseen by the Min...

The Boston Globe detailed a report released yesterday on alleged cases of sexual abuse and assault on Choate Rosemary Hall students by former educators at the New England private boarding school over the past more than four decades. One of the cases detailed includes jaw-dropping allegations by a former female student whose story was confirmed by eyewitnesses about how her former Choate Spanish...

Work on the Calderón Guardia Hospital’s new East Tower will begin in mid-April and will last approximately three years, said officials from the CCSS, the Costa Rica Social Security Agency. The new infrastructure, measuring approximately 21,000 square meters and costing an estimated US$83 million, of which US$18 million will be for equipment, will bolster the country's public health care system....

With growing demand for organic produce in the United States, Texas-based Pasco Foods is stepping up to fill the niche market. The company, which began packing private label French-Fried onions and Crispy-Fried Onions for U.S. retailers, wholesale clubs and industrial customers in 1999, has since expanded to supply pineapple and hearts of palm imports from Costa Rica to U.S. consumers, accordin...

Costa Rica’s state-owned Banco Nacional has taken steps to encourage employees to bicycle to work, reported the entity this week. The initiative, launched this year at the bank’s downtown main and La Uruca offices, includes a bike parking area, dressing rooms with showers, and lockers, said Carlos Abarca Rivera, deputy general manager of operations. This year 10 - 15 employees have been cycl...

Max Machum started learning Spanish when, at age 7, he and his parents relocated to Guanacaste, in northern Costa Rica, from Alberta Canada's Rocky Mountains. By the time he was 12, the Canmore native had pioneered a local effort to eliminate plastic straws from restaurants and hotels to protect Guanacaste's Pacific beaches and wildlife from the often deadly effects of human pollution. After...

Albert and Keith Toney may seem like an ordinary gay couple. But when the Massachusetts men moved to Costa Rica’s northern Pacific coast, their new cultural surroundings held some surprises. While being interviewed and photographed recently by the regional newspaper La Voz de Guanacaste, the couple garnered reactions from passersby that spanned the spectrum from shock to warmth. “Not five...

The Costa Rican Red Cross together with the American Red Cross met last week with residents in Guanacaste to follow up on a climate change mitigation project, reported the Red Cross in a news bulletin. Community leaders from the coastal towns of Corralillos and La Guinea in the district of Filadelfia, Guanacaste province discussed their progress and advances on a project called "Actions to Redu...

 - Researchers and teachers throughout the country are developing a tool to prevent, detect and eradicate racist practices in Costa Rica's classrooms. An initiative called "Racial-Discrimination-Free Educational Centers," is under development with workshops being held in the country's different provinces with over 200 teachers to gather input on the cirruclum and discuss its importance. The ef...

The fall in economic activity is attributed to negative growth in agriculture, forestry and fisheries, the manufacturing industry, and financial and insurance activities. In February, economic activity in Costa Rica increased 3.9 percent, almost 2 points below last February's growth of 5.4 percent, according to the monthly index of economic activity (IMAE, Incide Mensual de Actividad Económica) c...