Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) today announced Global Projects For All, a university-wide initiative that will provide all students with access to an off-campus project experience. To serve the growing demand for off-campus projects, the Global Projects Program has added 18 new project centers since 2009. This year WPI will add programs in Massachusetts, Costa Rica, Japan, and Switzerlan...

Just two months after the establishment of Costa Rica's Pacific coast Cabo Blanco Protected Marine Area, a shrimp trawler, the Maria Aurelia, was arrested by the Costa Rican Coast Guard after being caught red-handed trawling in this area where trawl activities are banned, said the conservation group CREMA in a press statement today. The illegal fishing activity comes two months after the protec...

Nayara Resorts near Arenal Volcano have expanded their resident sloth population to 15 recently, reported the travel news industry. The resorts, Nayara Springs and Nayara Resort, Spa & Gardens, which have won numerous awards and recognition for their stunning natural surroundings and luxurious amenities and service, give guests views of Arenal Volcano while soaking in mineral springs. St...

The ferry connecting Puntarenas with Paquera on the southern Nicoya Peninsula is out of service for an indefinite amount of time, said the Ministry of Transportation and Public Works (MOPT) this week after a ferry caused damage to the Paquera dock. Paquera is adjacent to the beaches of Tambor, the Curu Wildlife Refuge, and other areas. Those wishing to cross the Gulf of Nicoya from Puntarena...

Costa Rica's Amazon Support Services announced today it plans to hire 2,500 people in the second half of the year, according to a press release from the Foreign Trade Ministry, COMEX. New positions require mastery of at least two languages; in addition to Spanish, applicants should speak either English, Portuguese, Italian and/or French. In addition to customer service, Amazon offers positio...

When U.S. citizens Luda and Rome Gimelfarb's son David disappeared after heading on a hike in northern Costa Rica, they never thought they would still be searching for him eight years later. The couple continues to hold out hope they will locate their son whom they say they feel is still alive. On August 11, 2009 David Gimelfarb set out for a hike in Rincón de la Vieja National Park, never t...

Those eligible to get a foreign driver's license validated in Costa Rica can do so at any of the COSEVI's 13 regional offices, said the Ministry of Transportation and Public works in a press release. Regional offices of the Road Safety and Education Council (COSEVI) are taking such applications on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 7 - 11 a.m. A list of the regional offices and phone numbers can be f...

Jean Todt, acting in his capacity as the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety, met with stakeholders in Costa Rica to promote United Nations road safety legal instruments and share established road safety best practices, said the Costa Rican Ministry of Health. Todt is president of the Geneva, Switzerland-based Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA, an association found...

International acclaimed concert pianist, Markus Groh, will perform this weekend at the Costa Rican National Symphony Orchestra's seventh seasonal concert to be held at San José's National Theater. The concert will include music by Strauss, Haydn and Brahms for two performances - Friday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 10:30 a.m. - under the direction of the orchestra's lead conductor, Carl St. Clair. ...

On July 26, 2010, an American couple was arrested when trying to enter Nicaragua from Costa Rica over land; according to reports in local and international media. They were William Dathan Holbert (b. September 12, 1979), also known as Wild Bill, described by Wikipedia as a self-confessed murderer from Hendersonville, North Carolina,and his ex-wife, Laura Michelle Reese. They have been held i...

Accenture, named this year by Fortune Magazine as the world's most admired information technology services company, will be establishing a new delivery center in Costa Rica for the 70+ Search Technologies big data engineers based in the country, said a company press release. The Fortune 500 company announced earlier this month their acquisition of Search Technologies, a Herndon, Virginia-...

Costa Rican producers and exporters are in Colombia this month for a round of visits and talks to search out new markets for their products, reported the Costa Rican foreign trade promotion agency, Procomer. A recent market study conducted by Procomer, "Colombia: analysis for the marketing of pastas, snacks, cookies, and sauces," has been a tool for businesses in Costa Rica over the past year t...

About 80 representatives from the Costa Rican Social Security Agency (CCSS) will gather later this month to analyze the agency's role in addressing different forms of violence facing communities across the country, said the state public health entity in a statement. The event is part of an institutional program to standardize a public health approach to violence prevention at a time when differ...

Costa Rica's drug control police unit raided the home of an alleged mother-daughter drug dealing duo Friday, bringing the number of family-run narco rings they have busted since the start of last year to 311, reported the Public Security Ministry. The team presumably led a drug dealing operation out of their home in a neighborhood in Sixaola, Talamanca, in the Caribbean province of Limón Pol...

Costa Rica's Administrative Court last week threw out a case filed by the San José Municipality, the Costa Rican Chamber of Commerce (UCCAEP), the Chamber of Construction, the Costa Rican Chamber of Commerce, and others against the Costa Rican National Groundwater, Irrigation and Drainage Service (SENARA), according to a report in the daily Costa Rican Elpais.cr. The plaintiffs challenged a 201...

Tucked in the hills west of San José, beekeepers producing organic honey in San Ramón, Alajuela are petitioning the local government to ban herbicide use in the region to avoid contaminating their products, according to a report in the digital daily elmundo.cr. Association of Organic Beekeepers for the Conservation of the Environment (Asocapico, its initials in Spanish) made a request to the Sa...

HP Omen is hosting the fourth edition of the Connecturday gamers' tournament this weekend in Costa Rica, according to a report in Central America's Summa business magazine The event, taking place at the National Children's Museum in downtown San José, offers players some 48 different video game tournaments in which to participate Saturday and Sunday, August 12-13. A special one-on-one tourna...

One of the main recommendations of a recent report on Costa Rica by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) relates to the country failing to fulfill its human rights obligations regarding women's access to in vitro fertilization treatments. Gladys Jiménez, director of the ombud's office on women, reiterated the report's call for the state to act ...

Foreign direct investment in the region continues downward trend for a total of US$167.043 billion in 2016. In its annual report, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) projects a fresh decline in 2017, of around 5 percent, and calls on countries to create policies to attract flows that support national processes of sustainable development. The flo...

A mega rail and road cargo transportation project that would completely bisect Costa Rica east-west through its northern region seems to have the makings of a future conservationist versus businessman standoff. The details of the project's location have been kept nebulous, while those in the shipping, trade and transport sectors tout the economic benefits of a future rapid interoceanic system t...

How, and why, would a jaguar paint? Staff at the Las Pumas wildlife rescue center in Cañas, Guanacaste, Costa Rica got inspired with the idea when trying different things to ease the stress of captivity on one of their rescued female jaguars, named Curubanda. They spray a canvas with pheromones, which attract the jaguar to roll on it. Add some color - and boom, a unique wildlife painting is ...

A Belgian boy who was on vacation with his family died Tuesday afternoon, August 8, apparently from causes related to having eaten prior to entering his hotel swimming pool in La Fortuna, San Carlos, Costa Rica. The 8-year-old apparently jumped into the pool soon after eating, was rescued alive from the pool and his vital signs were kept going by a doctor on site and emergency rescue workers be...

Costa Rican leaders met last week to analyze the country's progress on the situation of refugees in the country, said the Foreign Relations Ministry press office. As of June 30, 2017, there are a total of 4,414 persons recognized and living as refugees in Costa Rica; however, in recent years there has been a marked increase in the number of refugee applications. In 2015, 2,203 applications were...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDQPZL_SKlk The 61-year-old Oscar winning U.S. film actor and director, Mel Gibson, has re-listed his oceanside mansion on Costa Rica's northern Nicoya Peninsula for the same price he was asking in 2014: US$29.75 million. He also had the mansion on the market in 2012 and 2013. Gibson nabbed the 400-some acres of coastal jungle when searching for sites to fi...

Costa Rica's ambassador to the newly inaugurated embassy in Azerbaijan, Jairo López Bolaños, stepped into his new role this week, reported the Azerbaijan State New Agency, Azertac. Ambassador Jairo López Bolaños met with Parvin Mirzazade, head of the State Protocol Department of Azerbaijan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to discuss the development of the newly kindled diplomatic relations betwee...

  The low-cost airline, Volaris Costa Rica, announced this week the launch of a new route connecting  San José, Costa Rica (SJO) with Mexico City (MEX). "In addition to strengthening its connectivity in the region, the service will encourage social, cultural and economic exchange between both nations," the company said in a statement. Starting September 14, the service will operate three...

Yesterday, some 80 migrants entered Costa Rica through Paso Canoas on the southern border with Panama, reported the Public Security Ministry. The men, women, and some children, who are in transit to the United States by foot, are from a number of African and Asian countries, said officials. According to immigration authorities, the migrants are from Nepal (43), Eritrea (21), Congo (8), Angola (...

This fall, a new kind of yoga retreat will be offered at Vida Asana Eco-Lodge Retreat in Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica. Body, Mind, and Spirit Yoga retreat offers a journey of recovery from compulsive overeating and food addiction. This fall, Fort Lauderdale, FL yoga teacher Helene Kopel is offering a retreat connecting the body, mind, and spirit. But, this isn’t your ordinary yoga and meditation r...

Local Costa Rican media revealed the sorrow in the small rural community of Los Angeles, outside of the tourist town of La Fortuna, San Carlos near Arenal Volcano, unleashed by a fatal accidental shooting of a teen yesterday. According to police testimonies, a 14-year-old was with a childhood friend on his family's farm and was showing his friend his dad's gun. Thinking it was not loaded, he fi...

Crowley Liner Services will begin fixed-day, weekly sailings on Wednesday, Aug. 9, directly between Florida and Costa Rica and Panama. The new service offers fast transits to speed cargo to market at peak times to better connect customers' U.S. and Central American supply chains. Crowley's vessels will sail southbound from Florida on Wednesdays from the Port of Jacksonville, and Fridays from Port...

Costa Rican authorities yesterday reported the discovery at the Pacific port of Caldera of 1.3 tons of cocaine in a container hailing from Buenaventura, Colombia. Costa Rican security minister Gustavo Mata said Monday at a press conference that the seizure occurred on Sunday during a routine container inspection, and that it is the first time that drug has been found at the Caldera port in the ...

The Washington, DC-based Indian photographer, Tarun Sinha, captured the contrasting hues of crocodiles and sand on the banks of the Tárcoles River along Costa Rica's Pacific coast, and took a third prize in the 2017 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest. "This image was captured in Costa Rica when I was traveling from Monteverde to Playa Hermosa . As you cross over this rive...

With an eye to improving the experience tourists have in the country, and to help visitors have a safe visit, Costa Rica's tourism authorities sought assistance from the Organization for American States (OAS) in drafting a pilot plan. Leaders from Costa Rica's tourist police branch and the tourism institute (ICT) met last week with international experts to draw up an action plan to improve serv...

At least two men's college basketball teams will be in Costa Rica next week for a tournament. Lamar University's (LU) Cardinals from Beaumont, Texas, and the University of Texas at El Paso's (UTEP) Miners will face off against Costa Rica's national team as well as teams from McGill University and the University of British Columbia. This early preseason tournament has emotions among the Texan...

Southwest Airlines announced yesterday a sale on nonstop flights to and from San José, Costa Rica during their winter season which starts November 5. Grab a low fare to the Miami area (via Ft. Lauderdale), to Houston (Hobby), and/or Baltimore/Washington, DC (BWI), with some new nonstop routes being offered, and some great advance fares. Current daily nonstop Southwest service between both Liberi...

The leading U.S. travel magazine, Travel+Leisure, published their top Central America picks this week, with Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica's Hacienda AltaGracia topping the list. The resort, which received a score of 97.33 by the magazine, is described as follows: "Set on 865 acres of land in southern Costa Rica, this remote spot caters to its travelers from the moment of arrival — via its private ...

The annual Credomatic Music Festival is a great opportunity to beat the rainy season blues in Costa Rica. Concerts by a wide range of world class performers are offered at some of the country's best hotels throughout the month of August. Many venues offer packages that combine a hotel stay with concert entrance and other amenities. If you haven't taken advantage of green -or low - season ...

Results of a poll conducted for the Costa Rica digital news outlet Elmundo has found that 84 percent of Costa Ricans support sex education being taught in schools. The findings from the OPol Consultores poll are similar to results of the Second National Sexual and Reproductive Health Survey carried out by the Ministry of Health in 2015 which found 85 percent supported sex education, said Elmund...

Costa Rica's national park system is about to get a major boost with the inauguration of top notch new facilities in a northern lowland protected area teeming with biodiversity. A visitor's center and a series of accessible walkways spanning parts of the wetlands and seasonal lakes at Costa Rica's spectacular Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge will be inaugurated Friday, August 4, reported the National...

Costa Rica established a committee tasked with monitoring governmental commitments on responsible   pineapple production and trade Monday, July 31 at a forum supported by the United Nations Development Program.   The initiative - led by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG)- also involves the Ministry of Environment and Energy, the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, and th...