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A.M. Costa Rica Second newspage |
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Police target drunk drivers
leaving Carrillo concert By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Fuerza Pública officers detained 26 drivers under the new, stiff anti-drunk driving law after a weekend concert in Carrillo. Persons whose blood alcohol level measured .75 grams or more per liter of blood face from three to 15 years in prison. Those with an alcohol level of .5 grams per liter face a fine of 227,000 colons, about $420. Officers said two of the motorists were on motorcycles. Officers said they were waiting outside a venue where a "megaconcert" was held on the grounds of a hotel there. Carrillo is on the west shore of the Nicoya Peninsula near Sámara. Police were careful to spell out that the new traffic law was published in the La Gaceta official newspaper Dec. 23. The anti-alcohol and anti-speeding provisions appear to have become active upon publication. Many other changes will not take effect for six to nine months, according to the law. An anti-drag racing provision also is active, police said. There was some question if the law actually had been published because it was not found in the daily official newspaper or online. But the Fuerza Pública pointed out that it had been published as an addendum to the regular book-like La Gaceta. The new law is 32,500 words and requires a copy of the present law to be intelligible. Elsewhere, the Policía de Tránsito report that they have bagged 88 drunk driving suspects in the seven days the law has been in force. Three persons are dead due to water accidents By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
At least three persons have died in water accidents over the holidays. The Judicial Investigating Organization said that a woman with the last name of González died at Punta Cocles in Puerto Viejo de Limón Sunday. A man with the last name of Astúa died in the Río Sixaola further south. Monday morning an unidentified woman believed to be a foreigner was found dead in a swimming pool at a Liberia hotel, the agency said. Suspected robber killed in Desamparados shootout By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A man believed to be a robber suffered a head wound in a shootout about 10 p.m. Sunday and has been declared neurologically dead. The owner of the robbery target also suffered a bullet wound as did a customer. The shootout involved three robbers in Jericó de Desamparados. The business was described as a lookout point that has been commercialized as a bar and resturant, a mirador in Spanish. The owner, identified by the last name of Cantillo, suffered a bullet wound in the stomach. The customer, identified by the last name of Piedra, took a bullet in the shoulder. HIV infections increase but are seen leveling off Special to A.M. Costa Rica
Three million people were living with HIV in the Americas as of 2007 — the latest year for which data are available — up from 2.7 million in 2001. This represents a leveling off of the epidemic in the Western Hemisphere, a top Pan American Health Organization expert said. "We do see progress in our region," said Gottfried Hirnschall, a physician and head of the Pan American Health Organization's regional HIV program. "But there is still an unacceptable number of new infections, and mortality has not decreased as expected." Approximately 214,000 people contracted HIV in the region in 2007, Hirnschall said, or about 586 people per day. Some 100,000 died from the disease the same year. "That number should be lower, given the availability of treatment," he said. In Latin America and the Caribbean, Pan American Health Organization estimates that 62 percent of people who need antiretroviral treatment are receiving it. Brazil comes close to having 100 percent coverage, and being a large country, its rate of coverage boosts the regionwide average. However, in many countries coverage is much lower than the regionwide average. Prenatal testing for HIV in pregnant women is about 50 percent regionwide, and in many countries, it is much lower. Only 36 percent of pregnant women living with HIV receive antiretroviral treatments, said Hirnschall, adding "This is really an unacceptable situation." Compared with men, the proportion of women with HIV has increased over the years, but this trend also is leveling off, said Hirnschall. In the Caribbean, half of people with HIV are women. In Latin America, the proportion is one in four, he said. "In Latin America and the Caribbean, we should speak of epidemics, not one epidemic," said Hirnschall. "In the vast majority of countries, there are concentrated epidemics in specific populations rather than a generalized epidemic." The most at-risk groups are men who have sex with men, transgender individuals, sex workers, injecting drug users, incarcerated populations, vulnerable children and youths, and ethnic minorities.
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A.M. Costa Rica third newspage |
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Weather network by volunteers will cover entire country
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By Dennis Rogers
Special to A.M. Costa Rica A retired physics professor is creating a network of weather stations connected by Internet to cover all of Costa Rica. The plan is to complement the national meteorological institute’s limited coverage and to aid in disaster planning. José Brenes, the retired professor, is coordinating the system of amateur climate buffs with interests in global warming and their local environment. The concept and international connections are with the Automatic Weather Map System based in Austria. The small measuring station is made by Oregon Scientific and records temperature, wind strength and direction, rainfall, humidity, barometric pressure, and ultraviolet ray exposure. Software can then calculate dew point, evapotranspiration rates, wind chill, and wind gust rates. The information is sent to a computer via a wireless connection and from there to the Internet with updates on local conditions every 10 minutes. The software displays a wide range of data including daily highs and lows in each category with graphs covering the last 24 or 72 hours. After that the information is archived on the computers of the Instituto Meteorológico Nacional. At present nine stations are operational in addition to the institute's 11 spread around the country with more to go on-line in the near future. At present emphasis is on the Central Valley but Brenes is interested in reaching the whole country. Most of Puntarenas, Limón, and Guanacaste provinces remain uncovered. He will travel to install the system. Schools are a special focus now with the aim of interesting future scientists, and sponsors are needed. Prospective participants must have a full-time Internet connection with a computer on 24 hours. This need not be a modern computer. A Pentium 4 processor and some hard disk space will do. No monitor is needed, though some sort of battery backup helps maintain the system function. A shutdown due to a power lapse means a break in the data, as the system itself does not store data in a manner that allows it to be recovered. Cost of the station and accompanying software is $250. Data archiving is $10/month. Information and displays of local weather conditions from the operational sites are HERE! |
A weather station is set up at the Asociacion de Desarrollo Integral de La Fortuna, for use by the local tourist office, local technical students and others. The web site is in Spanish but communication in English is welcome. Automatic Weather Map System sites worldwide can be seen on Google Earth using a link at the bottom of the page. |
You need to see Costa Rican tourism information HERE! |
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U.N. food agency says that
world crisis needs more money
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By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The United Nations World Food Programme is appealing to governments to come up with the $5.2 billion it needs to feed 100 million hungry people next year. The agency said that amount is only a fraction of what governments are spending on their financial rescue packages. The U.N. World Food Programme warns it will run out of food by March without a quick injection of funds. Spokeswoman Emilia Casella says millions of people in Africa, Asia, Latin America and other global hunger hot spots will go hungry when the warehouse stocks run out. "A mere one percent of the money that has been spent for financial bailout packages in recent weeks would completely fund the World Food Programme's 2009 budget. And, in addition, permit us to provide hot meals in school for 59 million children around the world, which is what we would aim for in our school feeding program," she said. "Our school feeding program now feeds about 19 million children around the world. But, it is about 59 million who need it." Ms. Casella says the agency would like to use some of the money for which it is appealing to set up a reserve fund for fast acquisition of food stocks for emergencies. The spokeswoman said money also is needed to boost the agricultural production of small farmers who can no longer afford to buy seeds and fertilizers. She says the price of |
these commodities has more than
doubled since 2006. Ms. Casella notes at the beginning of 2008, the agency was expecting to feed around 69 million people around the world. But, more than 100 million actually need food aid, she said. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization reports high food prices have pushed 40 million more people into hunger this year, bringing the total number of those going hungry to nearly one billion. Ms. Casella says it takes about 90 days from the time a donation is made for the food to actually reach the people who need it. "So, we are not being precipitous here with this call. It is something that is actually quite urgent. The countries that are at most risk right now in terms of either further food ration cuts or new ration cuts are Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, also Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti," said Ms. Casella. "As you all would know, these are all countries that are in an extremely fragile state to begin with. So, the idea of further cutting rations is kind of like adding insult to injury." The World Food Programme warns hunger can lead to civil unrest. Soaring food prices have led to riots in dozens of countries around the world. One of the worst situations was in Haiti where food riots caused the death of a number of people and drove the prime minister out of office. |
Petroleum prices take a jump
which is blamed on the fighting in Gaza
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By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Oil prices rose sharply Monday as Israel continued attacks in Gaza for a third day. U.S. light sweet crude was up about $3 to more than $40 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent North Sea crude for February delivery jumped nearly $3 to more than $41 a barrel in late morning trade in London. The price increase reverses the trend of recent months when the global economic downturn slashed world demand |
Traders say prices rose as
Israeli-Palestinian violence raised fears of wider tensions in the
oil-rich Middle East. The United Arab Emirates on Friday gave notice of output cuts in compliance with production cuts agreed earlier this month by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The organization announced the cuts last week to stabilize oil prices that have plunged 76 percent from a record high of more than $147 a barrel in July. Chakib Khelil, president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, has said the cartel could meet next month and cut production again, if needed. |
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to become Spanish citizens By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Hundreds of Cubans lined up outside the Spanish Embassy in Havana Monday, hoping to apply for citizenship based on their Spanish ancestry. A law now in effect in Spain offers citizenship to the descendants of Spaniards who fled the country for political reasons. The measure targets families who emigrated during and after the Spanish Civil War and the ensuing dictatorship of Gen. Francisco Franco. Those accepted do not have to renounce their current citizenship. But citizens of Communist Cuba must get permission from the Havana government to travel to Spain if they are accepted for Spanish citizenship. Officials estimate that some 500,000 people living in Latin American countries such as Cuba, Argentina, Mexico, Venezuela, Chile and Uruguay are eligible for citizenship. Argentina alone is expected to have some 300,000 eligible beneficiaries. Shining Path implicated in killing of soldier in Perú By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
An official in Perú says Shining Path rebels have killed one soldier and injured two others in an attack on a helicopter in a jungle area southeast of the capital, Lima. Defense Minister Antero Flores said Monday that the rebels carried out the attack a day earlier in the region of Vizcatan. He said rebels opened fire on the supply helicopter, killing one of the soldiers defending it. In November, suspected Shining Path rebels killed at least four policemen in a jungle attack. In October, the rebels staged one of their deadliest attacks in recent years when they killed 19 people, including seven civilians, in an ambush in the southern Huancavelica province. The Maoist Shining Path started its brutal insurgency in 1980, eventually killing tens of thousands of people. Violence declined sharply after the capture and conviction of their leader in 1992, but the rebels continue to carry out smaller attacks. The attacks occur primarily in remote areas used to produce coca, the raw material in cocaine. |
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