The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an entity that belongs to the United Nations and is the world's central intergovernmental forum for scientific and technical co-operation in the nuclear field. It works for the safe, secure and peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology, contributing to international peace and security and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Every two ye...

Costa Rica claimed a spot in the 2018 list of The World’s Ten Best Ethical Destinations, a ranking created by Ethical Travel, an all-volunteer non-profit organization and project of the Earth Island Institute. “Every year, Ethical Traveler reviews the policies and practices of hundreds of nations in the developing world. We then select the ten that are doing the most impressive job of promoti...

Even though the Poas Volcano has maintained a relative calm in the past few weeks, the unstable conditions of the same makes the possibility of reopening the National Park remote. The Poas Volcano, which remains closed since April 13, 2017, was the second most visited National Park in Costa Rica with close to 400 thousand visitors a year, only behind Manuel Antonio National Park. Lidier Esq...

A Canadian man and one of his workers are being investigated for the shooting of two Nicaraguan men outside the Banana Beach Bar in the beach town of Santa Teresa de Cobano, Puntarenas, as a result of the shooting one of the man died and the other was injured. According to the authorities, one of the Nicaraguan men worked as a security guard at the liquor store where the Canadian arrived to buy...

In 1985, the United Nations issued a declaration, which established certain guidelines that must be fulfilled to ensure the rights of consumers by participating governments. It was not until 1995, that the Government of Costa Rica initiated a new law dictating the Promotion of Competition and Protection of the Consumer, which established the rights of consumers and the obligations of merchants. T...

A North American man was rescued by Costa Rican Tourist Police Officers when they found him trapped in a swimming hole in La Fortuna, San Carlos. A group of officers were patrolling the area of Poza El Salto in La Fortuna as part of their routine operations to offer more safety in areas commonly visited by tourists; they saw a vehicle parked in a lonely area and therefore decided to stop to che...

Since the early hours of this Monday, January 22, 2018 the Turrialba Volcano in Costa Rica has maintained a passive emission of ash with a column that reaches close to 500 meters above the active crater, 3,840 meters above sea level (12,595.2 ft.). The information was released this morning by the National Seismology Network (RSN), “The ash is dispersed from West to Northeast, according to dat...

La Luz Gastronomy Festival in Barrio Escalante will take place this year on February 18 starting at 11 a.m. and through 8 p.m. This year the Festival will have the participation of 15 restaurants and the usual food trucks and picnic area. According to Carolina Rojas, part of the organization of the event, this year the Festival will have just this one date, while in previous years the Festiva...

Lucas Peterson, the Frugal Traveler columnist for the New York Times stood up for Costa Rica describing his trip to the country and how in his opinion “Experiencing, the ‘pure life’ of Costa Rica is a unique experience”; this after some publications in U.S. media in the past weeks have questioned the security and regulation of domestic flights in the country, following the tragic light aircraft cr...

Romance and love never go out of fashion, no matter how much times change there are still many woman that dream of a beautiful wedding and couples that decide to get married simply because they can’t image their lives apart and saying “I Do” in front of family and friends is a way of honoring this beautiful bond. If you have chosen Costa Rica as your wedding destination, there are many options ...

“I can’t take care of her, I resign my rights. Don’t judge me. God will forgive me”. These were the words in a note found with a newborn baby who was abandoned in one of the benches of the Cartago cathedral on Friday morning. The identity of the mother and the baby are still unknown, but the investigation continues; the baby, Red Cross personnel that evaluated the baby’s health first estima...

The U.S. Embassy San Jose is pleased to announce three upcoming outreach events – two in La Fortuna and one in San Ramon. Our Consular staff will be on hand to provide routine services and answer any questions. To RSVP for passport renewals, notary services, and federal benefits inquiries, please indicate your preference by writing to [email protected]. Any applicable fees must be paid in ca...

The constant rainfall of the last few weeks and the closing of the internal ducts allowed the hot water lake in the crater of the Poas Volcano to reappear. The information was released by the National Seismology Network and the Observatory of Volcanic and Seismic Activity in Costa Rica (OVSICORI) this Saturday at noon. According to the National Seismology Network the activity registered at t...

Swiss airline Edelweiss part of Lufthansa group, reached occupation levels of over 85% in the first nine months operating the direct flight between Zurich and San Jose, Costa Rica, this result has motivated them to increase the number of weekly flights from two to three starting September 30th, 2018. Currently, Edelweiss flies between Costa Rica and Switzerland on Tuesdays and Fridays, as of Se...

Photo Credit: Cusuko fotografía and Iván Meza Photography, members of Volcanes Sin Fronteras-VSF. Volcanes sin Fronteras (Volcanoes without Borders) a non-governmental organization in Costa Rica dedicated to the study of volcanoes shared impressive images of the Turrialba Volcano in Costa Rica and its constant activity. The video and the corresponding report regarding the findings by the vul...

Costa Rica is this year’s best destination to retire according to International Living, the country’s many advantages continue to charm foreigners who choose to retire or relocate abroad. The great weather, the political and economic stability, its beautiful beaches and natural attractions as well as the friendliness of its people are just some of the reasons that make the country an attractive...

The Superior Notarial Council in Costa Rica has agreed that for now all public notaries in the country are forbidden from celebrating same-sex marriages, despite the resolution of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights until a legislative reform is made or a constitutional annulment sentence is emitted regarding the norms that regulate marriage in Costa Rica. The Council refers in particular ...

An ambitious project by the National Seismology Network (RSN) in conjunction with the National Laboratory of Advance Computer Studies (CNCA) and the National Center of High Technology (Cenat) aims to offer answers to some long standing questions that lay underground at the country’s South Zone (Zona Sur). According to an article by Rebeca Madrigal for the University of Costa Rica, the objective...

Canton “The New Chinese Restaurant”, opened its second location in Costa Rica, this time in Plaza Itskatzú, Escazú. Canton’s first restaurant opened doors six months ago in Tibás, the restaurants are part of the company Canton Brand that has been present in Costa Rica since 2016 with a retail line of soy sauce, this brand was developed along with YHY Hong Kong that for more than 100 years and...

Evelop Airlines will begin operating a new route connecting San Jose, Costa Ria to Lisboa, Portugal in April 2018. The airline will fly once a week at first, in a 330-300 plane with capacity for 388 passengers, “We have studied the Costa Rican market, and we believe in this great destination”, stated Diamantino Pereira, chief of Avoris (company that owns Evelop Airlines) in Portugal in an inter...

After the resolution of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights which established that same-sex couples should be recognized and guaranteed all the rights including the right to marriage, a same-sex couple will be celebrating their marriage for the first time in Costa Rica this Saturday, January 20, announced daily La Nacion. The couple is formed by Mario Arias ( Costa Rican) and Robeth Castil...

Scuba diver instructor and photographer of Ecotourism agency Marea Alta based in Playas del Coco, Rolbin Garcia, had always heard of the existence of the giant albino manta ray (Manta birostris), the largest type of ray in the world, in the waters of the North Pacific, but had never had a chance to see it until last January 12. On that day while he was working at sea he had the great luck of ...

Officers of the Fiscal Control Police (PCF) and Treasury (Ministerio de Hacienda) seized fake shirts from the Costa Rica National Soccer Team that were for sale at three different stores at the Juan Santamaria Airport. Irving Malespín Muñoz, chief of the Fiscal Control Police, stated that the inspection was done with the help of specialized personnel that confirmed the articles were not origina...

The Judicial Investigation Organism (OIJ) in Costa Rica conducted a raid in the offices of the Costa Rican Train Institute (Incofer) to collect information and evidence regarding the accident where two loaded freight wagons detached and went out of control dragging a vehicle and causing the death of two people and leaving a third victim, a pedestrian, in critical condition. The police is inves...

On Monday, January 15 at 4:11 a.m. the cameras of the National Seismology Network (RSN) recorded the moment of an eruption at the Turrialba Volcano that lasted for 14 minutes. “Although the visibility was scarce, the surveillance camera of the National Seismology Network located closest to the active crater was able to partially capture the process. It wasn’t possible to estimate the height of ...

A 6.1 magnitude earthquake was registered at 9:03 a.m. according to data by the National University's Volcanology and Seismology Research Institute (OVSICORI) 96 km west from Conchal, Guanacaste or 78 km southwest of San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. The movement was felt mostly in the Central and North Pacific of Costa Rica. Earlier this Tuesday at 7:34 a.m. another earthquake of magnitude 4.4 ...

There is still not a specific date to begin the work, but the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation expects to have them ready by May, and has confirmed that as part of the works to extend the road San Jose-San Ramon, changes will be done to the accesses close to the Juan Santamaria Airport in Alajuela. The plan was designed by the General Directorate of Transit Engineering, and will be e...

Pornhub, based in Canada and one of the biggest pornography sites in the world released its annual report showing the details of consumption of its material during 2017. According to the porn site, despite the fact that Costa Rica is a small country, it takes an interesting position in the traffic ranking, 69. PornHub received 28.5 billion visits to its website last year, averaging about 81 ...

Rain hasn’t stopped since Saturday night in the province of Limon, the most affected by the cold front in Costa Rica. The National Emergency Commission (CNE) declared yellow alert in this province as well as the North Zone and Sarapiquí on Sunday night. Communities such as Matina and Cineguita in Limon flooded and over 130 families had to be evacuated and transferred to some of the shelters av...

The popular platform AirBnB continues to grow in Costa Rica, a country that according to Shawn Sullivan, director of Public Policies for AirBnB, is the most import and the biggest in the Central American region. Every day more and more travelers opt for AirBnB services versus other alternatives, price and convenience are usually the main reason since for families or groups the difference in pr...

As the Costa Rica Star reported a few days ago, the General Directorate of Civil Aviation in Costa Rica, suspended the operations of Nature Air considering that the company currently doesn’t have the structure to operate properly and efficiently to guarantee the execution of the flight operations with safety; in particular since they are missing key personnel after the death of pilot Juan Manuel R...

The National Emergency Commission (CNE) elevated from green to yellow the alert for the Caribbean, North Zone and Sarapiquí due to the strong influence of the cold front in these areas of Costa Rica. Rainfall hasn’t ceased in the Caribbean, and according to the National Meteorological System (IMN) in the last 24 hours it has rained already half of what it normally rains in a whole month. Ar...

On January 11, The Costa Rica Star reported on the change of coloration of Rio Celeste, which was caused apparently by material that had feel in the rivers consequence of a landslides that were caused by an earthquake swarm that registered at least 42 movements in the area of Guanacaste from January 9th and through January 11th. Authorities of the National System of Areas of Conservation (SINAC...

As it had been informed by the National Meteorological Institute, a cold front entered the country on Saturday night and has affected mainly the province of Limon with heavy rainfall and strong winds, these conditions are also seen in the different beaches in this province which currently present strong swell. Route 32 which leads to Limon, and route 10 which connects Turrialba in Cartago to th...

This Monday, January 15 is the deadline for owners of luxury houses in Costa Rica to pay the “Impuesto Solidario” (Solidarity Tax) without fines. Best known as the luxury home tax, this tax is to be paid by people who own residential properties in Costa Rica with a total value of ¢129 million colones (approximately $229,600.00 USD) or higher. The value of a property is determined by consider...

The Costa Rica Ministry of Security launched the prevention campaign “Verano Seguro” or Safe Summer with the objective of bringing down the number of crimes and accidents in this vacation season. “The purpose of this campaign is that through different operations and actions we can offer national and foreign tourists more safety during their vacation time in the country, but at the same time we...

As The Costa Rica Star reported last year, Costa Rica averaged over 1 death daily in road accidents last year; by December 31st the number was of 457. This number has continued to go up year after year and has reached a rate of 9.16 per every 100,000 inhabitants; motorcyclists make up for almost 50% of those fatal accidents. In addition to the number of people that have lost their lives on the...

Individuals and companies that wish to build a house or are involved in the development of real estate projects of any kind, residential, commercial, tourist places, etc. may have to invest in an additional requirement, a hydrogeological study that has a cost of between US$5,000.00 and up to US$100,000.00. The new requirement (Matriz Genérica de Protección de Acuiferos or Generic Matrix for the...

The United States’ Embassy and the Department of Labor of the US, will be donating US$2 million to improve the implementation of labor laws in the Costa Rican agricultural sector. The Bureau of International Labor Affairs of the Department of Labor describes the objectives of the project: “The project’s goal is to improve enforcement of minimum wage, hours of work, and occupational safety and h...

The Directorate of Civil Aviation in Costa Rica suspended the operations of Nature Air effective as of today. “The General Directorate of Civil Aviation received copy on January 9, 2018 of the notification of the resignation presented by Mr. Jorge Valverde Esquivel, Director of Operations of the company Nature Air S.A.; this Administration is also aware of the death of Mr. Juan Manuel Retana ...