| ARCHIVE | Published
Thursday, September 20, 2018 - First news
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No increase in
marchamo this year
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 By A.M. Costa Rica staff The Insurance Institute has agreed to keep the vehicle tax, marchamo, unchanged even though road accidents have increased in the last year. The tax must be paid in December. The institute reported that 31,531 traffic accidents were recorded by December 2017. By July this year 19,175 accidents had been reported, 61 percent of last year’s total. Motorcycle accidents also showed an increase with 10,674 accidents by July or 61 percent of the total accidents for 2017. Elian Villegas, president of the institute, said that the proposal to maintain the rates will be sent to the General Insurance Superintendence where the authorization of the rates is expected. "In relation to the statistics for 2017 and this year, it was reported that in 2017, 458 people died. In the first seven months of this year, 256 people died," said Villegas. Villegas added that 21,739 people have been injured in traffic accidents this year and that 11,587, or 50 percent, were motorcyclists. The institute figures show that the cost in patient care and compensation to the beneficiaries of the deceased during 2017 was approximately $96 million while the payments in the first six months of this year have been about $50 million.
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 Insurance
Institute courtesy photo
The 21,739 people have been injured in traffic accidents this year, the 50 percent, were motorcyclists. The Institute will start collecting this tax beginning Nov. 1, and the final date to make the payment without penalty is Dec. 31st. The tax payment is related to the value of the vehicle, so drivers must report to the institute or any bank with the number plate of the vehicle to determine the amount. |
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Strike
continues amid
complaints,
protests, blockades, marches and police action |
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 By A.M. Costa Rica staff The first meeting between government representatives and union leaders began at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Archbishop's Palace in downtown San José. The objective of this first meeting was to explain the demands of trade unions and the government's position regarding strikes. Wednesday marked the 10th continuous day of strikes and blockades on main roads. "With this meeting we take an important step in the direction of dialogue that will lead us to recover the social peace that defines our country," said the minister of Labor, Steven Núñez The parties met at the headquarters of the Catholic Church in Costa Rica due to the mediation that religious leaders are making. At a press conference, before the meeting, the Rev., representing the San José Archdiocese said: "Our role will be to facilitate the process and help the meeting go through an attitude of listening and respect between the parties. Mediation is not being a judge and is not a third position, is to help the parties understand … and be a guarantor of the agreements that can be reached." At the end of the meeting, the Labor Minister Nuñez, gave a brief summary of the talks. "This was a preliminary meeting. We are going to address this issue in stages. This first meeting was to know the position of the unions and they listened to the position of the government. We were clear in talking about the fiscal problem and the situation that is facing the country and that must be resolved," said Nuñez. The government and unions agreed to start a second meeting today but that does not mean the strike has stopped. Nuñez acknowledged the effort by Catholic leaders in seeking a solution to the crisis, through dialogue. "I thank the church for providing space for dialogue," said Nuñez. "The government's position is to end the strike, before starting any kind of negotiation," said Nunez. Union officials say the strike will continue despite the meeting. During the day, government institutions reported on the impact of the strike.
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 San
Jose Archdiocese courtesy photo
The
objective of this first
meeting was to explain the
demands of trade unions
and the government's
position regarding
strikes.
Michael Soto, minister of Security, said: “We had to intervene to ensure the operation of the ports and facilitate vehicular traffic at the blockades, as well as to allow the supply of fuel throughout the country." Roman Macaya, president of Social Security, reported, "there have been delays in medical appointments and cancellation of surgeries, as well as the public health danger represented by the paralysis of laundries in several hospitals." Regarding to the situation of the laundries, which have not been working because of the strike, Social Security said that the decision was taken to transfer 25 employees from the administrative area to work in the laundries for clothing classification functions, flattening, carrying clothes, moving clothes, collecting clothes, security, cleaning and coordination between the different hospitals, all with the aim of delivering clean laundry to patients. The president of the state petroleum refinery, known as RECOPE, Alejandro Muñoz, stated that "investigation has been started on acts of sabotage against the infrastructure of the fuel plants and an effort has been made to maintain the fuel supply in the country." According to the latest report from the Ministry of Public Security, trade union members made fewer blockades Wednesday. The main affected areas were: San Jose down town, Pérez Zeledón, Ciudad Cortés, Buenos Aires de Puntarenas, Quepos, Ciudad Quesada, Guatuso, La Fortuna de San Carlos, at the Chirripó River bridge, on the Interamericana Highway kilometer 37, and on the Puente del Danta River. |
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Aspirin does not
reduce heart attack, stroke risk, says
study
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By A.M. Costa Rica staff
Taking aspirin daily does not reduce the heart attack or stroke and has no benefit in prolonging life free of disability, a study has found. Aspirin-related compounds have been used for the treatment of pain since the 16th century BC, when it was reported that people chewed on the bark of willow and papyrus. It was first synthesised in 1898, and since the 1960s has been known to lower the risk of heart attack and stroke among those who had previously experienced heart disease or stroke. This protective capacity of aspirin was extrapolated to people who were otherwise healthy to prevent a first heart attack or stroke, despite the evidence supporting this to be sparse. In three studies, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers showed that daily low-dose aspirin (100mg), when initiated in otherwise healthy people from age 70 onwards, has no benefit in prolonging life free of disability, or substantially reducing the risk of having a first heart attack or stroke. Over 19,000 people in Australia and the US were studied over seven years for the study was called ASPREE--Aspirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly. The results showed that low-dose aspirin did not prolong healthy life. Nor did it prolong life or substantially reduce the incidence of heart attack or stroke--with little difference between the placebo and aspirin groups. “The take-home message of such a complex, large, placebo-controlled study is that healthy older people contemplating how best to preserve their health will be unlikely to benefit from aspirin,” said John McNeil, a professor at the Monash University in Australia.
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 A.M. Costa Rica
wire services photo
Researchers showed that
daily low-dose aspirin, when
initiated in otherwise healthy
people from age 70 onwards,
has no benefit in prolonging life. However, bleeding, a well-known side-effect of aspirin, was borne out by the study, with a small increase (3.8 per cent) in cases of serious bleeding among aspirin takers versus (2.8 per cent) in those who took placebo. “It means millions of healthy older people around the world who are taking low-dose aspirin without a medical reason may be doing so unnecessarily, because the study showed no overall benefit to offset the risk of bleeding,” McNeil said. While aspirin remained a relatively safe medication, it was not benign and patients should follow the advice of their doctor about daily low-dose use, researchers said. |
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My thoughts
on the Las Olas case
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Dear A.M. Costa Rica:
The Las Olas case, obviously, was uniquely decided on its facts and may or may not be a precedent looked to for deciding future similar cases. Now that the decision absolving the Republic of Costa Rica of wrongdoing has been issued, we must take a step back and reappraise the investment climate for outside investors. This verdict of 240 pages also raises many questions which cannot be addressed here as they are complex and many - allegations of forgery, bribery, obfuscation, failure to pursue "internal remedies'' among them. It should be noted that David Aven also was the target of an assassination attempt after having left the courthouse. This remains a mystery and begs the question: why? For too long foreign entrepreneurs (absent homeowners too) have been targeted by unscrupulous plutocrats and their minions in the legal community. This internationally well-known case has now been adjudicated. However many questions remain as to the integrity of the judicial system. As one who has been in and out of court on several connected property disputes for nearly two decades with no result, I can attest to the unsatisfactory nature of the judicial system. Investors need to know and feel comfortable in the knowledge that their positions are protected from a legal standpoint. Once embroiled in the system we often find out too late that this is not a given. Costa Rica is currently under the microscope: Its fiscal house is in disarray, the country is on strike and the public purse is out of control. Such a situation allows the country to look in the mirror and turf out the causes of these impediments to foreign investments, be it in manufacturing, real estate, tourism, et al. Far be it for me or other visitors to preach, but it is clear that the country need to put its house in order. The country is blessed with many attributes that others would dearly love to have. We all know and enjoy them. To throw these God-given gifts away is ignorant, selfish and self-serving. Is it not time for these so-called politicians and civil servants to show some responsibility? To start to behave like honest representatives of the people rather than anticipating their absurd pensions and lining their pockets on the way? |
Corruption here is an open secret, and now with the enveloping developments perhaps someone with some courage can try and put things to rights. Streamlining a suspect judicial system would be a positive step in the right direction for as history has taught us society without the rule of law collapses under its own weight. It is not for us as outsiders to interfere. However our love for the people and the country surely allows us to voice an opinion - for not to do so would be like leaving a wounded victim on the street. We must all endeavor to make things better. Sheldon Haseltine Escazú, San Jose --------------- Editor’s note: The views or opinions expressed by the author are the sole and exclusive responsibility of the sender and do not necessarily represent the opinion of A.M. Costa Rica. Therefore, the newspaper does not accept liability for reader's opinion letter content.
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| Two tourists drown in Guanacaste |
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By A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Belen police in Nicoya de Guanacaste received a 911 emergency call at noon Wednesday. Carlos Hidalgo of the Security Ministery press, said that people in the area of Cararata el Salto reported seeing two bodies at the bottom of the lagoon. El Salto waterfall is 20 minutes from Zamara beach in Nicoya de Guanacaste and is often visited by tourists because of its lush tropical vegetation. Immediately after the call, local officials and members of the Red Cross responded, the report said. Hidalgo said that when aid workers arrived they found two people, a man and a woman, who appeared to have drowned. According to the police report, rescuers spent several hours recovering the bodies. The tourists did not have identification, but local people stated that they had seen them above the El Salto waterfall and then lost sight of them. Later, one of the people who was near the bottom of the waterfall saw the body of the man sunk between the stones, the report said. According to Hidalgo, other visitors at the waterfall saw the couple together and reported that they spoke in English. |
 Fuerza Publica
courtesy
photo
El Salto waterfall is often
visited by tourists because
of its lush tropical vegetation. However
the nationality of the deceased
could not be confirmed.
The police report
states that judicial police
officers were called to remove the
bodies which were taken to the
judicial morgue in Heredia.
Investigation into the deaths is continuing. The identities of the deceased are sought so that their deaths can be reported to their respective embassies. |
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Fuel distributed nationally without incident |
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By A.M. Costa Rica wire services The state oil refinery reported that it ran a full 24 hours Wednesday and that fuel was distributed in the country without any record of attacks against trucks or facilities. Distribution trucks were sent all over the country to guarantee fuel for gas stations and airplanes and to continue the distribution of LPG gas. According to the report of the refinery, known as RECOPE from its name in Spanish, the operations are being maintained 24 hours a day and sales activities are continuing in El Alto, Ochomogo de Cartago, and La Garita in Alajuela. A refinery spokesman said that the firm had the support of the Ministry of Security so that fuel could be distributed without attacks or blockages on truck routes. In addition, all the facilities are slowly returning to normal after acts of vandalism against some of the sites in Limón and Barranca, the spokesman added. The union members, who continue with the strike, have limited themselves to protests in the vicinity of the main plants, but the blockades in the roads and at the entrances of the plants no longer occur. |
 The operations are being maintained 24 hours a day |
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Small plane found hidden on Osa
Peninsula
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By
A.M. Costa Rica staff
The police report that they discovered a small plane during a routine patrol in the area of Playa Carate on the Osa Peninsula in Puntarenas. According to the report, the officers observed something covered with a piece of black fabric at a farm. They uncovered the object and found an ultralight aircraft. Following protocol, the police reported the situation to the officers of the Air Surveillance Service of the Security Ministry, who came to the area with dogs to check on the presence of drugs and/or money inside the plane. According to the Ministry report, this is the second plane that has been found in the last three months adding that, "In July, a similar plane was also found hidden on a farm in Bagaces de Guanacaste." The investigators of the Security Ministry said it will continue to work to determine the owner of the plane and the reason for it being left on the farm. |
  Security
Ministry courtesy
photo
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Dear readers: We know this may be
frustrating, but the new dedicated server is
necessary to cover the large number of readers we
have world wide as they read the news
simultaneously. A.M. Costa Rica staff
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