By Wendy Anders During 2016, the seismographic network of the Volcanology and Seismology Research Institute at the Costa Rican National University (Ovsicori-UNA) recorded about 10 thousand earthquakes worldwide. In Costa Rica, just over 5,500 events were identified, of which 162 were reported as being felt by the population, said a report by Esteban J. Chaves, Floribeth Vega and Marino Prott...

By Wendy Anders Tamarindo Beach’s Ocaso Festival begins this week with a delicious, varied line-up of music, art, and gastronomy. Entrance is free for attendees who sign up at the festival’s site, but space is limited (www.ocasofestival.com), said event organizers in a press statement. The festival starts this Thursday, January 5, and lasts for four straight days of fun under the sun. ...

By Wendy Anders Downtown San José is a city which CNN recently described as having a bustling nightlife, and where “sex is for sale on nearly every corner.” And some of those selling sex are working as slaves. Mariliana Morales, founder of a non-profit that rescues women in sexual slavery on San José’s streets, said in an interview with CNN she was “called by God to help the women.” As Di...

By Wendy Anders On New Year’s Eve day, a pilot for Canada’s Sunwing airlines was arrested after being discovered drunk on the plane he was to have flown from Calgary, in western Canada, to the Mexican city of Cancun, reported AFP. The pilot, a 37-year-old man, fainted before taking off, and was taken off the plane and stopped by Calgary police at around 7:00 a.m., continued AFP. The airli...

By Wendy Anders Starting in 2011, San José’s largest urban park, La Sabana, began to get a dramatic makeover. It has consisted in removing entire swaths of non-native trees and reforesting with native trees. Some 3,791 Costa Rican trees are now flourishing in many parts of the park, said Icoder after a recent project update. One of the hoped for results, was to attract new native animal s...

By Wendy Anders Dec. 28: A full American Airlines flight destined from Sao Paolo, Brazil to New York made an unexpected landing when a couple having an argument in first class refused to follow crew instructions, said EFE. The resumption of the flight was delayed for almost 15 hours due to airline crew guidelines, the airline said. The plane left Tuesday night from Sao Paulo and landed at...

By Wendy Anders Tourism to Guatemala for medical, health and wellbeing services brought in over US$66 million last year, and the sector is growing quickly. This year income from these specialized health services is expected to register 12.4 percent higher than last year’s sales, said the Guatemalan Export Associaction (Agexport) to Central America’s Summa business magazine. Experts estima...

By Wendy Anders In January expansion work is slated to begin at the Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia, said the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) this week. The terminal’s upgrade will cost an estimated US$10.3 million and will be ready in November. The new facilities are expected to give the airport sufficient capacity to handle the rise in passengers over the next 5 years...

By Wendy Anders Last night at 10:22 p.m., scientists monitoring the Turrialba Volcano's latest eruption were stunned to see a brilliant streak crossing Costa Rica's skies at the same moment. The phenomenon was captured by the National University's Volcanology and Seismology Research Institute (Ovsicori-UNA) cameras and edited by scientist Javier Pacheco, and published on the Repretel TV stat...

By Wendy Anders The International Baccalaureate (IB) high school diploma offers students an internationally recognized, high quality education, that is a global gold standard of education, said a report on the program in Costa Rica’s EKA business magazine. Students at one of 26 public and private IB high schools in Costa Rica can apply to universities all over the world after graduating, and...

By Wendy Anders The Costa Rican Conservation Federation (FECON) and the Broad Front political party are preparing to file a case in the country’s constitutional court against the Costa Rican government, FECON announced in a statement on their website just before Christmas The environmental non-profit group says the government is violating the right to citizen participation in environmental m...

By Wendy Anders Costa Rica’s judicial investigative police (OIJ) detained two Peruvian men who are suspected of  robbing tourists and foreigners. The arrests were made after investigations, surveillance and follow-up into the men’s apparent participation in at least 10 cases of robberies mainly of foreigners. The loss associated with their robberies is estimated at 5 million colones, said...

By Wendy Anders According to Riteve, the company that carries out vehicle inspections in Costa Rica, there are about 125,000 vehicles that still haven’t passed inspection this year. Some of these are vehicles that failed inspection and need to undertake repairs in order to pass; and others simply haven’t bothered to make an appointment, said Riteve. "The main concern is that many of these...

By Wendy Anders Costa Rica’s Renewal Party legislator, Gonzalo Ramírez, presented last week a bill that seeks to limit the expansion of abortion in the country, reported Diario Extra, the country’s main Spanish tabloid paper. Currently, Costa Rica allows abortion only for therapeutic purposes  when a pregnancy represents a risk to a woman's life. Anyone who practices abortion under other cir...

By Wendy Anders If your house or condominium is valued at more than $231,000 you likely are required to pay an annual tax to the Costa Rican treasury, reported tax officials this week. Homeowners have until January 16 to pay their 2017 dues. Forms are available online to declare and submit payment at www.hacienda.go.cr or at public banks. Houses valued from $231,000 (126 million colone...

By Wendy Anders Costa Rica is a full member state of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), and in mid-December hosted the center’s fifth workshop on human RNA viruses. The topics in this and previous conferences include illnesses that affect humans and animals in developing countries such as dengue, zika, avian flu, rotavirus, hantavirus and others. D...

By Wendy Anders Last week, AOL.com reported that the Cuban government wants to settle a debt with The Czech Republic in a rather alternative, but perhaps attractive way: with liquor. Apparently a bit short on cash as the country emerges out of decades of communist rule, Cuba hopes to pay off this Cold War debt with none other than their famous rum. According to Bloomberg News, the debt is...

By Wendy Anders A tech researcher for IOActive, a security research firm, decided to play around on an in-flight screen to see if his investigative skills could detect any weak links in the computer systems. Well it turns out the systems do appear to be vulnerable, according to IOActive, who communicated their findings to Panasonic, one of the major creators of in-flight entertainment system...

By Wendy Anders Paris, France-based JCDecaux, the world’s number one outdoor advertizing company, and Top Media, leader in the outdoor advertizing sector in Central America, signed an agreement last week to merge their activities, said the companies in a press statement In the new venture, JCDecaux-Top Media, 71 percent of the capital is owned by JCDecaux and 29 percent controled by Top Medi...

By Wendy Anders Air Canada last Thursday added a new seasonal route to its schedule of flights to and from Costa Rica. The direct Montreal-San José flight will operate during Montreal’s winter with two weekly flights on a Boeing 767-300ER with a capacity of 282 passengers, reported the airline in a press statement. Air Canada also operates Toronto-San José, Toronto-Liberia, and Montreal-L...

By Wendy Anders A zero interest purchase promotion, photo for illustrative purposes. Costa Ricans significantly increased their credit card debt this year, and were also found to be victims of misleading special programs and promotions, said the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC) in a special report on credit cards. The Ministry’s Consumer Support Division evaluated specia...

By Wendy Anders Initial conceptual design of the proposed future international airport in Orotina off of Route 27 on the way to the Pacific coast. A delegation of aeronautical experts from South Korea gave a training to their Costa Rican counterparts as the country starts the lengthy process of establishing a new international airport in Orotina, Puntarenas. "Korea and Costa Rica are two...

By Wendy Anders Duoo Hopeful,"Underwear-designed to protect mens' balls from smartphone rays," from Facebook. While the latest craze of briefs that shield men’s genitals from cellphone radiation may work, are they really necessary?, asks The Conversation in a recent article. Sales pitches for the undergarments include claims that protecting one’s testicles from radio waves emitted by cel...

By Wendy Anders Costa Rica accepted responsibility for violating the fundamental rights of a second group of people who could not access In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) during its ban in the country, reported Elmundo.cr, a digital Costa Rican Spanish language news media. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (Inter-American Court of Human Rights) made public on Tuesday that it approved of th...

By Wendy Anders Upala Costa Rica after Hurricane Otto Rains over the past two days in northern Costa Rica are causing flooding in the same low-lying rural areas that were severely affected by Hurricane Otto less than a month ago, reported the National Meteorological Institute (IMN) yesterday morning. At least five families were evacuated from Upala yesterday morning due to flooding of th...

By Wendy Anders Rio Perdido Lodge, Guanacaste Costa RicaPhoto: FB Rio Perdido Looking to purchase a home or property in Costa Rica? Guanacaste in the country’s northern Pacific region sports many beach towns that have become havens for foreign residents to set up a second home, a retirement home, a business, or a combination of these. Before you buy, it’s advisable to get the local sc...

By Wendy Anders Delta Air Lines announced they are testing free meals on coach flights on a few selected routes, reported InvestorPlace earlier this month. If you're old enough to have flown before all the economizing started in the 1990s, you'll probably recall that flying coach was almost like flying first class today, although certainly the meals needed improvement. Delta is leading th...

By Wendy Anders Inauguration of a bridge at the entrance to Quepos, Puntarenas, photo courtesy of the Ministry of Transportation and Public Works (MOPT). Yesterday, transportation authorities inaugurated a new bridge at the entrance to the Central Pacific port town of Quepos, the gateway to Manuel Antonio National Park. The cement structure replaces a bailey bridge that spanned the Boca ...

Updated with more details on December 21, 206 By Wendy Anders FILE/ARCHIVE image for illustrative purposes only. (MSP) Yesterday police rescued two women and one man from Ecuador in Quepos near Manuel Antonio National Park on Costa Rica’s central Pacific coast. They three  appear to be victims of human trafficking. The three Ecuadorians, who were being driven in a Chevrolet car near L...

By Wendy Anders Photo for illustrative purposes, a police drug capture in Costa Rica. Costa Rican police dismantled 115 narco structures between January 1 and Dec. 14 this year, reported the Ministry of Public Safety, 37 of which were international and 78 local. Police also upped their cocaine captures from 14.5 tons last year to over 18 tons this year, along with sizeable quantities of ...

By Wendy Anders Firefighters in Costa Rica, source Facebook. The Tamarindo Chamber of Commerce and Tourism was proud to announce the opening this month of a fire station in the nearby town of Huacas, 9 kilometers from Tamarindo. The station will have one fire truck and eight firefighters, said the chamber in a press release. Prior to the inauguration, the nearest fire stations were in...

By Wendy Anders Dinoworld at City Mall Alajuela. Dinoworld is a Costa Rican-owned and operated attraction for all ages and abilities located in City Mall Alajuela. Tomorrow, Tuesday, December 20, 100 percent of  entrance fees to the exhibit will be donated to a Christmas program for low income children. Dinoworld has 22 animatronic dinosaurs on display, some up to four meters tall, in...

By Wendy Anders Costa Rican authorities seized US$480,000 as part of an international effort to local and repatriate assets of the now-disbanded Colombian rebel group, FARC. The Costa Rican Supreme Court of Justice last week turned over the assets of the guerrilla group to the Colombian Attorney General's Office, reported Bogotá, Colombia’s daily El Espectador newspaper. This was the firs...

  By Wendy Anders A river in southern Costa Rica. Last week, the Public Services Regulatory Agency (Aresep) held a public hearing on the proposed 7.25 MW San Rafael Hydroelectric Project. An estimated 400 local residents filled the communal hall of San Pedro, Perez Zeledon in southern Costa Rica to protest the project, reported Costa Rica’s TV Sur. A local group called the San Ra...

By Wendy Anders Fishermen meet with officials in northern Costa Rica to discuss the effects of shrimping boats on the ecosystem and fisheries. A group of 50 fishermen last week protested outside the Costa Rican Fishery Agency (Incopesca) in Cuajiniquil, La Cruz in the northern Pacific Guanacaste province, said CREMA, a marine conservation non-profit, in a press release. Their insistence ...

By Wendy Anders Zollner in Cartago, a new foreign investment in 2016. This year saw 40 new investment projects in the multinational services, life sciences, advanced and light manufacturing, and food industry sectors, reported the Costa Rican Coalition for Development Initiatives (CINDE), in conjunction with the Ministry of Foreign Trade (COMEX) in a press conference yesterday. The busin...

By Wendy Anders An ATM skimming device being installed in the card slot, photo from Facebook for illustrative purposes. Over the past four months, bank officials in Costa Rica have discovered at least 20 skimming devices used to steal data from ATM users' cards. Rodney Jiménez, spokesman for the Costa Rican Banking Association (ABC, in Spanish), said the figure is worrying, as it shows t...

By Wendy Anders Close up of a Marijuana plant flowering during the final stages of growth. EFE/file On Tuesday, Colombia legalized medical marijuana through a decree signed by President Juan Manuel Santos, which regulates the cultivation, processing, import and export of cannabis and its derivatives for therapeutic purposes. Colombia thus joins  Mexico, 23 states in the U.S., and Uruguay, w...

By Wendy Anders Wastewater treatment system in Costa Rica, source Aya. The Costa Rican Ministry of Health, in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and the Ministry of Finance seek to mitigate water pollution and improve the quality of wastewater. As an incentive for the creation of more domestic and/or industrial treatment plants, the institutions announced yesterda...

By Wendy Anders Nearly all species of sea turtles are endangered, reported Great Big Story, but Tortuguero, a small island on the eastern coast of Costa Rica, offers a safe place for nesting green and leatherback sea turtles. It was here in 1959 that Dr. Archie Carr opened the world's first turtle conservancy. To this day, the island is one of the world's most important breeding grounds for ...