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| A.M. Costa Rica's Second news page | |
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San
José, Costa Rica, Monday, April 14, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 73
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 Ministerio de Gobernación,
Policía
One of three robbery suspects is
led into a police station.y Seguridad Pública Trio came to prey, not pray, at this religious procession By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Sunday was Domingo de Ramos, the time when Christians mark the Biblical story of Jesus Christ arriving at Jerusalem. There were a number of processions and outside events put on by various congregations Sunday, but three persons did not attend the one in Parque de República de el Salvador in western San José with religion on their minds. The Fuerza Pública said that two women and two men were robbed at knife- and gunpoint in the park during a religious event. The park is on Avenida 9 at Calle 40 just about 300 meters north of the General Cañas highway. Police, which are providing security for the religious events, acted quickly, and a woman and two men were detained as suspects in a vehicle just north of the northwest corner of Parque la Sabana. Both men have records of aggravated robbery, said police. The trio were en route to Pavas, police said. Officers said they recovered a BB gun that was used to simulate a firearm and also two cell telephones taken from the robbery victims. The trio were remanded to the flagrancy court. String of motorcycle deaths continue over the weekend By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Three persons on motorcycles perished from Thursday night through Sunday morning, said the Judicial Investigating Organization. Dead in Caldera was a 32-year-old man with the last name of Álvarez. He died when his motorcycle collided with an automobile headed in the opposite direction about 9:30 p.m. Thursday. In Guácimo, Pococí, a 22-year-old man with the last name of Campos died about 8:30 p.m. Saturday when his motorcycle collided with a bus. About 8 a.m. Sunday a motorcycle driver died in Limoncito de Coto-Brus. He was identified by the last name of Morera and was 54 years old, agents said. His motorcycle fell under the wheels of a truck, they said. Baby died after arrival at children's hospital By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Law enforcement agents said that they are looking into the death of a 9-month-old baby. The child died minutes after Cruz Roja officials took the child into Hospital Nacional de Niños Friday morning. According to a representative from the Judicial Investigating Organization, the baby had fractures of the right arm and foot and showed evidence of abrasions on the head and back. Agents removed the body from the hospital and took it to the judicial morgue. Investigators have detained the child's 26-year-old mother and her 25-year-old boyfriend. The two will be brought before the Ministerio Público as investigations into the child's death continue. Security guard wounded as he kills an intruder By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A security guard engaged an intruder in a shootout Saturday night, and the intruder died. The security guard suffered bullet wounds to the stomach, said the Judicial Investigating organization. The scene was in the upscale Villas de Ayarco in Curridabat. The dead man who is believed to be about 25, has not yet been identified. The security guard, identified by the last name of Moreno, is 34. He was in Hospital Calderón Guardia. Judicial agents said that the guard confronted the intruder when two men entered a home in the subdivision. A second man fled, agents said. Unmanned mini-sub to seek missing passenger jet remains By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The head of the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 said an Australian ship will deploy an unmanned mini-sub as soon as possible to determine if signals detected by sound-locating equipment were from the missing jet. Angus Houston, who heads Australia's Joint Agency Coordination Center, said today that the "Ocean Shield" will stop towing a U.S. Navy ping locator and launch the underwater vehicle "Bluefin 21" later in the day. Houston told a news conference in Perth, "We haven't had a single detection in six days, so I guess it's time to go underwater." The small sub will use sonar to chart any debris in the search for the plane's flight recorders on the floor of the Indian Ocean. Houston also said an oil slick was found in the area Sunday evening, but it would be several days before the oil could be tested for its origin. Authorities have warned that investigators will have lost their chief means of detection when the flight recorder transmitter batteries lose power. Those batteries are designed to operate for 30 days, possibly a little longer. The plane disappeared 38 days ago. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott continues to sound notes of caution, stressing that trying to find anything nearly five kilometers below the surface of the Indian Ocean a thousand kilometers from land is a huge task that will not likely end any time soon. The Boeing 777 with 239 people on board disappeared March 8 during a scheduled flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Two-thirds of those on board were Chinese nationals. A leading Malaysian newspaper has said investigators probing the plane's disappearance suspect the co-pilot attempted to make a cell-phone call after the jetliner deviated from its original course. The pro-government New Straits Times has said investigators believe the call ended abruptly after the phone made contact with a communications tower, as the jetliner flew at low altitude northwest of the island of Penang. The newspaper said its sources declined to reveal who the caller was trying to reach. Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has cast doubt on the report, telling reporters he would have been informed about such a call if it had taken place.
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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A.M. Costa Rica Third News Page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, April 14, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 73 | |
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| Agreement signed to guarantee security for famous Alajuela
statue |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The historic "Monumento al Agricultor" will be returned to Alajuela after the municipality can insure that the large bronze work will be safe. That is the outcome of an agreement reached Friday with the municipality, the Ministerio de Cultura y Juventud and the Museo de Arte Costarricense. Culture officials removed the bronze from Alajuela two years ago and placed it at the museum in Parque la Sabana for safekeeping. The monument had suffered from the ravages of time and of vandals. The monument is the work of Francisco Zúñiga and depicts a family of farmers with the wife working in the soil as a child clings to her. The monument marks the way agriculture built the country. The monument is in the process of being restored. The agreement signed Friday among the three parties was mostly ceremonial to mark the Día de Juan Santamaría because there always have been plans to return the statute. This time it will be located in Parque Próspero Fernández in the center of Alajuela Centro, which is presumed to be a safe location. Restoration of the monument is not finished, and that also is a condition of moving it back to Alajuela. The original location was at a park not far from Juan Santamaría airport in full view of passing cars. |
 Ministerio
de Cultura y Juventud photo
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| Semana Santa already in full swing for the religious and for
vacationers |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Most government offices are closed or with a skeleton staff because this is the start of Semana Santa, Holy Week, which ends with legal holidays both Thursday and Friday. The Easter season began with Domingo de Ramos, Palm Sunday, and religious processions all over the country. Still a percentage of the Central Valley already was at the nation's beaches and other vacation spots. The Festival de las Artes ended its 10-day run last night with a fireworks show. Despite the approaching holiday, the festival at Parque la Sabana was packed all weekend. |
The Catedral
Metropolitana will have prayer services and processions each evening
leading up to the photogenic twin processions Friday, the first marking
the journey of Jesus Christ to his death of the cross and the second
for the burial of Jesus. Both are around the downtown of the capital. These are major tourism attractions even for the less religious because they feature a whole cast of characters, including apostles, Roman soldiers and other characters from the Christian Gospels. Tourists might have some trouble finding needed services. Many restaurants will be closed the entire week. But other aspects of tourism are in full swing in anticipation of one of the major paydays of the year. |
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| You need to see Costa Rican tourism information HERE! |
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, April 14, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 73 | |||||
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| Park in Italy honors Costa Rican physician who died fighting
Nazis |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Italians in Casalecchio di Reno have dedicated a park with the name of Costa Rica and in memory of the young Costa Rican physician who fought against the Nazis with Italian partisans and was executed. The foreign ministry reported on the creation and dedication of the park. The ministry said that the park, República de Costa Rica, also represents Italy's recognition of this country's tradition of peace and democracy. Some former partisans and a number of Costa Ricans resident in Italy attended the ceremony, said the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Culto. Also there was Costa Rica's ambassador, Jaime Feinzaig The young physician was Carlos Collado Martínez, who was executed along with 12 Italian partisans Oct. 10, 1944. Collado began his studies in 1938 in Bologna. He was a student of Professor Armando Businco, according to a summary of his life released last October on the anniversary of his execution. He appears to have been an excellent student and won a major prize for his graduation thesis. After Businco was arrested by the facists, Collado was detained and interrogated. The experience was enough to radicalize him and he joined the 63º Brigada Bolero Garibaldi as a doctor, according to the Associazione Nazionale d'Amicizia Costa Rica. |
 Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Culto
photo
A plaque at the República
de Costa Rica park is about to be unveiled by Costa Rican ambassador
Jaime Feinzaig and the local mayor, Simone Gamberini.He was captured with other partisans, tortured and then killed in the plaza of Casalecchio di Reno. There is a monument there now commemorating the sacrifices. |
Here's reasonable medical care
Costa Rica's world class medical specialists are at your command. Get the top care for much less than U.S. prices. It is really a great way to spend a vacation. See our list of recommended professionals HERE!amcr-prom
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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| A.M. Costa Rica's Fifth news page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, April 14, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 73 | |||||
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| Low testosterone levels linked to long relationships By
the University of Michigan news service
Many people assume that the more testosterone, the better, but a new University of Michigan study finds that might not always be the case in romantic relationships. Low testosterone levels may be a good thing for both men and women, who reported more satisfaction and commitment to their relationships when they had lower levels. Higher testosterone is generally thought to be associated with attracting sexual partners, but might not be compatible with some kinds of long-term relationships, said Robin Edelstein, an associate professor of psychology and the study's lead author. "The assumption is generally that high testosterone is good for sexual relationships," she said. "These findings suggest that once people are in a relationship, lower levels of testosterone may be beneficial — or may reflect better ongoing relationship dynamics." Previous studies have examined how testosterone levels are associated with the quality of men's relationships, but the latest research is among the first to demonstrate the association among women. The study used data from 39 heterosexual couples whose ages ranged from 18 to 31 and were in relationships from two months to seven years. They answered questions about their satisfaction ("My relationship is close to ideal"), commitment ("I want our relationship to last forever") and investment ("I have invested a great deal into our relationship that I would lose if the relationship were to end"). Participants also provided their saliva for analysis. Researchers concluded that the quality of a person's relationship was associated with his/her own and his/her partner's testosterone levels. Both men's and women's testosterone was negatively correlated with their own and their partner's satisfaction and commitment. The couples were more satisfied and committed when they or their partner had low testosterone levels, the research indicated. The findings appear in the April issue of Hormones and Behavior. Valparaiso blaze kills 12 and levels 500 homes By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Chilean officials say a huge fire has killed at least 12 people and destroyed 500 homes in the port city of Valparaiso. More than 10,000 people have been evacuated, including more than 200 female inmates at a prison. The fire began Saturday in a forested area above ramshackle housing on one of the city's many hilltops. Firefighters were struggling to bring the blaze under control, as Pacific coast winds fan the flames. Chile's president, Michele Bachelet, has declared a state of emergency, placing armed forces on the city's streets to maintain order and prevent looting. Authorities have set up shelters. Valparaiso Mayor Jorge Castro described the blaze as the worst fire in the city's history. Valparaiso is a U.N. world heritage site, 120 kilometers northwest of Chile's capital, Santiago. Mexican bus crash claims 36 lives in Veracruz state By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
At least 36 people were killed when a bus crashed into the back of a broken-down truck in Mexico and caught fire. Mexican officials said four people survived the overnight crash with injuries in the southeastern state of Veracruz. The state civil defense agency said the victims were business people who were traveling from the Tabasco state capital of Villahermosa to Mexico City. Via Twitter, President Enrique Peña Nieto sent his deepest condolences to the families of the victims. Francis begins Holy Week with off-the-cuff homily By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Pope Francis inaugurated Holy Week, which culminates with Easter, by celebrating Palm Sunday Mass with pilgrims in St. Peter's Square Sunday. The pontiff ignored his prepared homily and spoke entirely off-the-cuff in a remarkable departure from practice. Later, he hopped off his pope mobile to pose for selfies, self-snapped photographs with young people in the crowd. Francis called on people, himself included, to look into their own hearts to see how they are living their lives. In a crowd of around 100,000 locals, pilgrims and tourists, people clutched olive tree branches, tall palm fronds or tiny braided palm leaves shaped like crosses that were blessed by Francis at the start of the ceremony. For Christians, Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem, when palm branches were strewn in front of him. Later, according to the Holy Scriptures, he would be arrested and crucified. Heartbleed bug brings alert from many governments By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The United States is warning businesses to be on alert for computer hackers trying to steal data exposed by a newly discovered glitch in Internet security. A statement Friday from the Department of Homeland Security asked organizations to report any attacks related to the breakdown, known as the Heartbleed bug. The glitch is in a vulnerable version of software known as OpenSSL, and potentially exposes millions of passwords, credit card numbers and other sensitive bits of information to theft. In a Web site message, Larry Zelvin, the director of Homeland Security's National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center, said there has not yet been any reported attacks from the bug, which was discovered earlier this week. However, he said it is still possible that malicious actors could exploit unpatched systems. Canada's government Friday ordered all its agencies to disable public Web sites that are susceptible to the Heartbleed bug until a security patch has been put in place. Also Friday, the United States said it has charged nine people in a different cyber security breach. The Justice Department says the nine, including nationals from Ukraine and Russia, took part in a scheme that stole millions of dollars by hacking into online back accounts. It said the suspects used a malware called Zeus to steal passwords, account numbers and other details to log into online banking accounts. CIA's cultural initiatives against Soviet were many By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The recent revelation by the Washington Post that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency published and distributed Boris Pasternak’s epic novel "Dr. Zhivago" to undermine the Soviets made headlines. But to Cold War historians and those who lived on the other side of the Iron Curtain, it was yesterday’s news. As it turns out, the CIA decided long ago that a good way to topple the Soviet Union was not with bombs, but canvases, symphonies and prose. During the heyday of the Cold War in the late 1940s, the CIA began to realize that the Russian revolution’s promises of social equality had won over many Western European artists, writers, scientists. In 1950, the CIA set up the Congress for Cultural Freedom with a goal of undermining the Soviet government and winning over the hearts and minds of Europe’s left-leaning intellectuals. “The idea was to try and contradict notions that America was this sort of capitalist, commercial, philistine society that lacked a high cultural tradition, because the U.S. government was concerned that European intellectuals, especially, who were inclined to neutralism in the Cold War had that kind of anti-American cultural prejudice,” said Hugh Wilford, an author of several books on covert CIA operations during the Cold War era. Books were one weapon and "Dr. Zhivago" was just one of many that were clandestinely subsidized. “I think that 'Gulag Archipelago' was even bigger than 'Dr. Zhivago,' as an example of, from the American point of view, successful propaganda,” said Sergei Khruschev, son of former Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and senior fellow at the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University. He refers to the landmark novel, which detailed hardships and abuses in Soviet prisons, by former Soviet labor camp detainee and Nobel laureate Alexander Solzhenitsyn. “And I would also say that about the Svetlana Alliluyeva’s 'Twenty Letters to a Friend,' which was most painful to the Bresnev era,” he said, adding that Svetlana was paid nearly a million dollars for her novel. She is Joseph Stalin's daughter. 'Twenty Letters' came as a devastating blow to Soviets, Khruschev said, as it exposed the flaws of Josef Stalin, the architect of communism. “I think it was very effective because Russians are different from the Americans,” he said. “Americans, when they watch something on TV or listen to the news, they usually believe the news. “But in Russia, all the time there was censorship,” he said. “They never believed what they heard on the official news, so they tried to find out what was the truth and why they were lying in the Soviet Union. So all the Soviet people listened to the so-called enemy voices.” Getting these books into the Soviet Union turned out to be relatively easy, Khruschev said. “The people from the U.S. embassy and journalists, they liked to meet with artists, and of course they told them about the so-called unofficial arts in the Soviet Union, when you are talking about sculpture, about painting, music, writing, and they would usually distribute books and pamphlets around the Soviet people,” Khruschev said. “It was illegal at that time, but in reality, everybody knew that they were doing this,” he said. The congress funded a host of literary and cultural magazines, including Britain's Encounter magazine and, wittingly or not, the Paris Review. It was the shadow behind sponsored concerts, such as a Boston Symphony Orchestra’s April 1952 performance at a Paris music festival. The choice of music for the performance was surely no accident: "The Rites of Spring" by Igor Stravinsky, one of the most famous composers of his day and an avowed critic of communism. The CIA even funded the animated film version of author George Orwell's "Animal Farm." To fund these activities, the CIA, secretly laundered money through a variety of cultural organizations in America and Europe. In the Soviet Union, modern art was considered to reflect the decadence of the West, i.e., democracy, and modern artists were viewed as subversives — including Pablo Picasso, who ironically was communist himself. Many artists fled the Soviet Union, among them Wassily Kandinsky and Mark Rothko. The CIA dumped millions of dollars to subsidize the 1950s New York art movement known as abstract expressionism, an unrestrained and expressive style of painting as practiced by Rothko and Jackson Pollack — artists who were not particularly appreciated by Americans of the era. The intelligence agency supported them, organizing showings of these and other painters across Europe and helping to spread abstract art as a global trend. “In making sure that abstract expressionism, which was incontrovertibly highbrow art — it was so difficult to understand —that if it got out there, that might contradict those European notions and help get European intellectuals on our side in the Cold War,” said historian Wilford, a professor of history at California State University. Today, it is difficult to imagine America’s spymasters as patrons of the art. “There were some pretty sophisticated types knocking around the CIA back then,” Wilford said. “I think they quite possibly enjoyed the role of cultural patrons because they were drawn from the sort of prep school, Ivy League classes that people like Nelson Rockefeller and John Hay Whitney were,” he said. Whitney was the New York Herald Tribune publisher. “So, it made sense in a way that this then-rather-aristocratic organization, the CIA, should be doing this,” Wilford said. Just how effective were these activities? “Actually, it was a pretty smart thing to be doing,” Wilford said. “And I think it worked up to a point because it did get stuff out to Europe that otherwise might not have made it. “Because you had local affiliates in various countries around the world that made sure that local intellectuals who were friendly to the U.S. and admired it and that there were platforms for them,” he said. But these CIA efforts, when finally revealed in the mid-to-late 1960s, did come back to haunt the intelligence agency, because it not only embarrassed the U.S., but made those intellectuals receiving CIA funds look bad, Wilford said. The Congress, which had once boasted offices in 35 countries and nearly 300 employees, was shut down shortly afterwards. Thousands pose in Boston for photo at site of bombing By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Sports Illustrated magazine is marking the upcoming anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings with a cover shoot that drew thousands of people, including survivors, emergency workers and city officials. Saturday's Boston Strong photo shoot was held at the marathon finish line, where on April 15, 2013, two blasts killed three people and injured 260 others. Boston Mayor Martin Walsh and Police Commissioner William Evans posed with the group. Survivor Marc Fucarile, who lost his right leg above the knee in the bombings, sat in the crowd with his son in his lap. Boston bombing suspects Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his brother Dzhokhar came to the United States from Chechnya about a decade ago. Tamerlan was killed in a shootout with police a few days after the bombing. Dzhokhar was later captured and is in federal prison awaiting trial. New York City planning immigrant ID card system By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Immigration advocates in the United States continue to press for sweeping reforms that will clear a path to citizenship for all immigrants, including those without valid visas, and grant them access to many of the benefits and protections that U.S. citizens enjoy. In immigrant-rich New York, the new mayor is hoping to implement a new universal identity card program that will help undocumented immigrants move into the city’s mainstream. Mere blocks from City Hall, immigration advocates rallied for what organizers billed as A National Day of Action. Nisha Agarwal, New York City’s immigration commissioner, represented Mayor Bill de Blasio. He has made sweeping immigration reform a centerpiece of his policy agenda. “So we’re here to support and also to show that New York is leading the way in terms of leading a pro-immigrant equality agenda but hopefully that hopefully the nation will follow,” said Agarwal. Carlos Menchaca, chairman of the City Council’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, sponsored legislation to issue municipal ID cards to every New Yorker. “This legislation is designed to bring people out of the shadows and give them identification. This is for every New Yorker, it doesn’t matter your status. If you reside here, and you want to prove your identity, we want to give you a card,” said Menchaca. Advocates — like Bakari Tsandia — say this will help the city’s African diaspora community. “… Because if you are undocumented, a person with an expired national ID, you will not be able to have access to certain buildings," said Tsandia. "You will not be able to open a bank account. You will not be able to have a regular life as a normal New Yorker.” Proponents argue that ID’s are key to economic empowerment in other ways. Without a valid ID, many new immigrants who drive taxis cannot get their driver’s licenses renewed. Without identity papers, parents cannot enter their children’s schools for parent-teacher conferences. And advocates say children not born in the U.S. have another disadvantage. Bronx community leader Abrourazakou Bowa took a group of high schoolers to an event where IDs were examined at the door. “The youth who were born here were able to enter. But those who came without any ID, we left them outside. Because of the ID. I was so sad about those two youths,” said Bowa. Not everyone at the rally was in favor of reform. Peter Katalenas of New Yorkers for Immigration Control and Enforcement, has little sympathy for undocumented immigrants of any age. “We believe anybody who comes to this country without permission shouldn’t be here and shouldn‘t stay here. I wouldn’t want somebody to come to my house and live here without my permission. I am sure most people don’t want that either,” he said. Analysts agree that the ID law and other immigration reforms are likely to pass the New York City Council and be signed by de Blasio in the near future. Federal overhaul of immigration laws has been stalled for months in the U.S. Congress, however, and little action is expected from Washington prior to November’s midterm elections. Spinal device can restore some lower body movement By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Severe spinal cord injuries usually lead to total loss of control of lower extremities, as well as bladder, bowel and sexual functions. But scientists at the University of Louisville, Kentucky, say an implanted electrical device is helping the patients regain at least some of that control. A dirt bike accident five years ago left Ken Stephenson paralyzed from the chest down. Doctors told him that he would never be able to stand up again. “They said, based on what they've diagnosed and how I broke my back and everything, that I wouldn't be able to move my legs again or feel anything ever again,” said Stephenson. Another blow to the young man was the loss of sexual function. Now, however, thanks to a small device implanted in his back that electrically stimulates his spinal cord, Stephenson has regained some ability to enjoy activities he thought were left behind forever. Roderic Pettigrew, of the National Institutes of Health, explained, “The goal was to modulate those damaged nerves in the spinal cord so that they once again could, would, become receptive to stimuli.” The stimulator is turned on with a remote control and allows Stephenson to move one leg at a time. Other functions improved, too. “The sexual function thing was huge for me because it was basically nothing before and, I mean, now, like, it's a lot better,” said Stephenson. Three other patients reported similar improvements, although none of them can walk. Pettigrew stresses that the device is not a cure and that more research is needed before it can be widely available. He said a spinal cord injury, though, may no longer mean a lifelong sentence of paralysis. “What we see today with these four individuals now being able to have voluntary motion and voluntary control of their limbs and involuntary control of functions like bladder and bowel is very exciting,” said Pettigrew. Researchers now plan to implant the device in eight more patients and try to stimulate more than one muscle group at the time. Global poverty standards said to be arbitrarily low By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
New research suggests that global poverty figures, which the World Bank defines as people living on less than $1.25 a day, could be underestimated by up to one-third. The World Bank figures are widely used and play a significant role in global strategies to reduce poverty. But critics argue the dollar a day poverty standard is too arbitrary and does not take into account many basic human needs. Researchers at the University of Bristol looked at shelter, sanitation, water, nutrition, health and education for those living on the Pacific island state of Vanuatu, which is largely rural. They called the poverty standard rosy in light of what they found. According to the study, 5 percent of all children in Vanuatu live in poverty as defined by the World Bank. But 17 percent live in poverty as defined by a national food and basic needs benchmark. Absolute poverty, where people are deprived of two or more basic human needs, affects 16 percent of children in Vanuatu, say researchers. The study was published in the Journal of Sociology. The findings challenge the $1.25 measure, which is being used to the monitor progress of nations in achieving the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals. The goals include reducing by half the number of people who live in extreme poverty and hunger by 2015. The World Bank is calling for robust measures to end the extreme poverty of at least one billion people by 2030. Researchers at the Australian National University, University of New South Wales, U.N. Children's Fund's Pacific and the Vanuatu National Statistics Office carried out the study. 15-cent tax on kilo of CO2 put forth to curb pollution By
the University of Gothenburg news service
Despite climate change, most polluters still pay little or nothing when they release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. A cost of 15 U.S. cents per kilo CO2 would be enough to solve the whole climate change problem, says Thomas Sterner, professor of environmental economics at the University of Gothenburg. Sterner is the only Swedish researcher to serve as a coordinating lead author of a new report that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will present next week. The third part of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s fifth assessment report, Working Group III on the technical and socio-economic aspects of climate change concerns measures to reduce or eliminate emissions of greenhouse gases. The report covers the most important economic sectors — energy, transport, construction, industry, agriculture, forestry and waste management. Compared with the last assessment in 2007, many countries now have ministries in charge of climate issues. Numerous measures to combat climate change have also been introduced, many of which the authors of the report have been able to evaluate. The scientists' summary for politicians will be finalized and presented in Berlin next week. "We have explored the new policy instruments introduced around the World. Some of my colleagues have felt very enthusiastic – rather like botanists discovering new species. I am not equally optimistic because most of the new instruments are too weak to be meaningful. What we need to avoid dangerous climate change is the application of strong policy instruments," says Sterner. One potentially strong measure policy instrument according to the report is to make emitters of CO2 pay a price in relation to the amount emitted — but it all hinges on this price being sufficiently high. In most countries, there is virtually no cost to emitting CO2 and other greenhouse gases. At the same time, studies from, for example, the International Energy Agency show that if a sufficiently high emission tax of abou15 cents per kilo CO2 (or an equivalent permit trading scheme) were introduced in all sectors across the world, the total emissions could be reduced by half by 2050. The difficulty, however, lies in establishing sufficiently strong international agreements, Sterner said.. Another effective intervention identified in the report is to stimulate research on new technologies. One dilemma, says Sterner, is that companies know they will have problems patenting new environmentally friendly technologies. This realization of course affects their motivation negatively, implying that they will not do enough research and therefore there is a need also for state-funded research. Today, CO2 taxes are relatively unusual being limited mainly to a few countries in northern Europe. Sectoral taxes – on transport fuels are more common and have been shown to have very significant effects. On the other hand, many countries are in fact still subsidizing fossil fuels. Sterner says that one important policy instrument would be to remove these subsidies. The measures discussed in the report also include voluntary agreements. 'I really don’t believe in voluntary measures since they imply letting business and industry do as they please. Overall, I feel that our report may come across as too modest compared with the report from Working Group I, which was presented last autumn and described the climate situation in the world as catastrophic. But there are indeed real opportunities to limit the emissions', says Sterner. Watson wins the Masters for second time in three years By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
American golfer Bubba Watson has won the Masters for the second time in three years. Watson claimed the prestigious green jacket that goes to the champion of golf's first major tournament each year by shooting three-under-par 69 in the final round on Sunday. That gave him a four-round total of eight-under-par, 280, and a three-stroke victory over countryman Jordan Spieth and Sweden's Jonas Blixt, who had 283. At 20 years old, Spieth was bidding to become the youngest-ever champion at the Augusta National Club in the southeast U.S. state of Georgia. He was tied with the 35-year-old Watson to start the fourth and final round, and led by two shots after seven holes. But then the tournament swung in Watson's favor. He grabbed the lead after nine holes and stayed in front the rest of the way to win the first prize of $1.62 million. Finishing alone in fourth place was 50-year-old Spaniard Miguel Ángel Jiménez. |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, April 14, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 73 | |||||||||
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 Ministerio de Gobernación,
Policía
Passengers watch police check
out their bus.y Seguridad Pública photo Three drug cases appear to originate in Limón By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Fuerza Pública officers have confiscated three lots of marijuana and made four arrests in efforts over the weekend. Drug-sniffing dogs inspected baggage at a bus that arrived in San José Sunday morning from Limón. One dog led police to a suitcase that contained 6.5 kilos of marijuana. But there was no arrest because no one on the bus claimed the suitcase. Friday police officers at the same bus terminal discovered a traveler who carried what they said was half a kilo of cocaine. The man was remanded to the flagrancia court for a quick resolution of his legal situation, officers said. Also Friday police officers engaged in a short chase to capture three persons in a pickup on Ruta 32 in Tibás. The three persons in the vehicle were detained after police found four 6.5 kilos of marijuana. Police did not say if the marijuana is the imported variety or the type normally grown in the Talamanacas. There is a steady flow of smuggled marijuana into Limón but residents in the Talamanca mountains are known to take advantage of the naturally growing crops there. |
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| From Page 7: Business community awaits Solís decisions By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
When president-election Luis Guillermo Solís announces at least some of his cabinet selections later today, the business community will be watching to learn his choice to head Hacienda, the budget ministry. This critical appointment is the key to reducing the annual budget deficit and the enormous national debt. The current minister, Edgar Ayales, who would have stayed in the job had the Partido Liberación Nacional candidate, Johnny Araya Monge, won the presidency. He has a plan to reduce the deficit in five years with careful spending and more taxes. The party of Solís, Acción Ciudadana, is less than two decades old, and the party has not held the presidency. So Solís is hard-pressed to find experienced individuals to head ministries. Most of the experienced members of the party chose to seek legislative spots because no one really expected Solís to win. There is a precedent for naming a sitting lawmaker as a minister, and Solís may choose to do that. The tourism industry also is awaiting his selection to head the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo. They said they want someone with tourism experience instead of a politician. |
