United Kingdom

The Realities of Socialism in Global Politics

There is a strong effort underway in the British parliament to remove Prime Minister Theresa May from office and then conduct a second referendum vote on the United Kingdom leaving the European Union. Sounds familiar doesn’t it? The British people already voted last year to exit the EU, but the pro-EU forces cannot accept the vote and they are fighting tooth and nail to remain in the EU despite th...

Across the Pond, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Stole the Spotlight off Washington, DC

Across the pond, Prince Harry and his Hollywood-dream-girl Meghan Markle stole the spotlight off Washington, DC -- giving us a break from you know what – all the lawyers, politicians and investigations. It’s nice to see a young couple obviously in love about to embark on their public life. At 36-years-old Miss Meghan shines bright in the spotlight. Mainstream media began doing live remotes from...

Ostional Costa Rica BBC’s Documentary Blue Planet Showcases The Wonder of the Arribadas in Ostional Costa Rica

Blue Planet II is a documentary series produced by the BBC Natural History Unit, presented and narrated by David Attenborough which explores de planet’s oceans; the filming of the documentary series was done over the course of four years and involved 125 expeditions across 39 countries, one of these was Costa Rica. Costa Rican photographer Sergio Pucci was the person in charge of filming the wo...

8 Costa Rican Scholars Head to UK to Pursue Graduate Studies

The British Ambassador organized a special send off for eight Costa Rican scholars, announced the British Embassy. Chevening is the UK government's global leadership program, offering fully-funded scholarships for future leaders and influencers to study in the UK. On August 21, 2017, British Ambassador to Costa Rica, Ross Denny, hosted a farewell event for the eight Costa Rican scholars who ...

Non-stop Costa Rica to London Fares of £299 on Thomson; Time Limited Offer

Nonstop flights from London's Gatwick airport to Costa Rica's Daniel Oduber Quiros International Airport in Liberia are available from £299 round-trip. Hurry before they are gone! These dirt cheap fares are for travel from August 29 – September 5, 2017. The flights can be found on SKYSCANNER According to the airline website, "Thomson Airways was set up in 1962 (formally Britannia) and has...

New International Airport orotina Costa rica Masterplan for New Orotina Airport Now in Costa Rican President’s Hands

The British engineering firm, Mott MacDonald, announced yesterday the delivery of the much-awaited masterplan for the proposed new international airport in Orotina, Alajuela, Costa Rica. The project will replace Costa Rica’s Juan Santamaria International Airport, which will be unable to meet future passenger demand beyond 2026. The 12-month feasibility study forecasts a demand of 7.8 million...

Costa Rica Lawyer Looking for an English Speaking Lawyer in Costa Rica?

The British Embassy in Costa Rica has released an updated list of lawyers and law offices in Costa Rica whose staff speak English. The list includes only lawyers who are affiliated with the Costa Rican Lawyers Professional Association (Colegio de Abogados). While the list is by no means intended as a recommendation of any lawyer or law office, the professionals on the list have expressed an ...

Europe Faces Weight of Terrorism in Wake of Deadly Manchester Suicide Bombing

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  No sooner had President Donald Trump spoken about the continuing threat of radical Islam in Saudi Arabia – the heart of Islam -- a lone suicide bomber walked right up to a pop-music concert in Manchester, England and blew himself up along with 22 others, mostly ...

Doubts Surround Ariana Grande Costa Rica Plans After Deadly Terrorist Explosion in UK

Ariana Grande, the Italian-descent singer from Florida, U.S. is scheduled to perform at Parque Viva in La Guácima, Costa Rica on July 9. The concert's official Facebook page hinted at the possibility of a cancellation, but had no specific information in the wake of the violent UK incident that took the lives of at least 19 people, and injured at least 50, according to international press reports. ...

Explosion Ariana Grande Concert Manchester Several people killed after an explosion at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester Arena (Updated)

A reported explosion at the Ariana Grande’s concert in the packed Manchester Arena in England happened towards the end of the concert late this Monday night, causes are still unknown. The police said in a statement which was also posted on twitter: “Police responded to reports of an incident at Manchester Arena. Emergency services responding to serious incident at Manchester Arena. Avoid the ar...

Costa Rica’s National University Works to Eliminate Pesticide Use in Coffee

Glyphosphate is an herbicide used on coffee plantations in Costa Rica and other Central American countries. The chemical is included in the international Pesticide Action Network’s "List of Highly Hazardous Pesticides" and is targeted for global phaseout. Endosulfan is also used in Central American coffee production. It is “an off-patent organochlorine insecticide and acaricide that is being...

Culture Clash: A Brit in Honduras Encounters ‘Masculinity Crisis’

“Sí vos no pisas majé, sos marica! Así pensamos nosotros,” said a friend of Ben Anson's during his stay on Honduras' northern Caribbean coast. Which translates to, “If you don’t f*** man, you’re a faggot. That’s how we think.” This, and many other incidents experienced by the young and girlfriend-less Brit, drove Anson to write up his thoughts on masculinity, and publish them this week in Hondu...

Trump Hopes Post-Brexit UK Remains a Leader in Europe

US President Donald Trump would like to see the United Kingdom remain engaged with Europe following Brexit, the White House said Wednesday after the British government formally notified the European Union that it was starting the process of withdrawal from the bloc. "Whatever the future EU-UK relationship looks like, we want the UK to remain a strong leader in Europe," spokesman Sean Spicer tol...

Rolls-Royce to Pay US, UK, Brazil $810m to Settle Bribery Case

Madrid, Jan. 16 — Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC said Monday it will pay a total of around 671 million pounds sterling ($810 million) to law enforcement authorities in the United States, United Kingdom and Brazil to settle bribery and corruption charges, according to a report from Dow Jones Newswires. The company, which manufactures jet engines and marine diesel engines, said it had reached deferred ...

UK Residents Can Win Trip to Costa Rica in Photo Competition 

By Wendy Anders The Guardian’s recently announced 2017 travel photography competition gives readers the chance to win a fantastic 16-night wildlife holiday for two to Costa Rica with Exodus Travels – and see the photos from the trip published in Guardian Travel, reported the U.K. paper Friday. Guardian Travel’s monthly readers’ photography competition is an opportunity for amateurs and profe...

US Boat Captain Charged for 1978 Murder of UK Tourists in Belize

Christopher Farmer and Peta Frampton left the coast of Belize on June 26, 1978, aboard a boat named the Justin B. Photo for illustrative purposes. The young British couple in their mid-20s had decided to spend a year traveling abroad. They traveled to Australia and then went to the Americas. They toured Guadalajara, Mexico, and later wound up in Belize City, where they met an American named...

Central American Frequent Travelers to UK Granted Express Entry

By Wendy Anders Wikimedia Commons In contrast to most European Union members who are tightening entry requirements for visitors, the United Kingdom just announced they are expanding their list of countries eligible for fast-track entry to include 12 Latin American countries, reported BBC Mundo. Rolando Drago, Chile’s Ambassador to the UK, was one of the main protagonists of the recent mo...

New BBC Documentary Showcases Costa Rica’s Nocturnal Wildlife

By Wendy Anders Jaguar, image by Wikipedia. Tomorrow the British Broadcasting Corporation will show the first episode of a new documentary, “The Dark: Nature’s Nighttime World,” highlighting Costa Rica’s diverse nocturnal wildlife. Scheduled for 4:15 p.m. (which would be 10:15 a.m. in Costa Rica) on BBC Two, the "Central America Jungle" episode brings viewers up close to Costa Rica's rar...

WhatsApp down Costa Rica Facebook Suspends WhatsApp Data Sharing After UK Probe

Facebook has agreed to suspend sharing personal data from WhatsApp in the UK for ads and product development, following an investigation by the UK privacy regulator. Facebook Britain’s Information Commissioner said already in August, shortly after Facebook announced the change in WhastApp's privacy policy, that it would investigate the matter. ICO Elizabeth Denham said she had concerns "tha...

Costa Rica UK Tourism Costa Rica’s Tourism Board takes part in London’s World Travel Market event.

Press Release// With the objective of intensifying the promotion in Europe and to take advantage of the potential of the English market, Costa Rica’s Tourism Board (ICT) along with 47 tourism companies are taking part in the World Travel Market (WTM) that is taking place in the Excel Convention Center in London from November 7 through November 9. Mauricio Ventura, Minister of Tourism, explaine...

Costa Rica Adult Film Coventry University Will Pay You to Have Sex in Public

By Wendy Anders 1 in 5 Canadians enjoy sex on the beach in Costa Rica, file photo. To create a realistic film for young people promoting condom use for safer sex, Coventry University in England is recruiting couples who are willing to be filmed having sex in ‘natural settings', reported England’s The Daily Mail last week. The university is offering £400 in compensation to three young cou...

Made in Chelsea Crew Was on Downed Plane in Tambor, Costa Rica

By Wendy Anders The Cessna that crashed into the sea off the coast of Tambor, Puntarenas on Wednesday, Oct. 19 around 6:00 p.m. due to bad weather. Photo courtesy of Teletica. England’s Daily Mail reported today that yesterday’s plane crash near Tambor Beach involved four crew members of the British reality TV show “Made in Chelsea.” The crew was on their way to prepare things in advance...

7 Years Since Brit Vanished in Tamarindo, Costa Rica; No Answers

LONDON, Oct. 18 — Today marks the 7th anniversary of Michael Dixon’s disappearance in the seaside holiday town of Tamarindo, Costa Rica, on the country’s northern Pacific coast. Michael Dixon's parents pictured at press conference in London. (PRNewsFoto/David Dixon) His family is still seeking answers on what happened to their loved one, a British journalist. Evidence indicates he was th...

World’s First Baby Born With DNA From Three Parents

BRITAIN SCIENCE Photo for illustrative purposes only. London, Sept. 27 — The United Kingdom saw the birth of the first baby in the world conceived by an assisted reproduction technique which used DNA from three different parents, revealed the British science magazine New Scientist on Tuesday. The publication noted that Abrahim Hassan, a five-month-old baby, was the result of a controvers...

Brexit Could Take a Lot Longer Than Expected

Britain could remain in the European Union until the end of 2019, almost a year longer than anticipated by the British government, according to The Sunday Times newspaper. The Theresa May-led Conservative government is preparing to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which provides for a two-year period to negotiate cutting off of ties with Brussels. London has publicly stated that it ha...

Scotland Yard: Terror Attack in the United Kingdom is Imminent

Scotland Yard, the London Metropolitan Police, believes that a terrorist attack in Britain is a matter of time. The Metropolitan police commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said, in an article published on the Mail on Sunday, that he could not promise that there will never be an attack, noting that the security forces are working hard to avoid what may occur. Hogan-Howe added that he understo...

Don’t Look Back in Anger, But Hurry Up With That Brexit

Cartoon by Clay Jones The European Union leaders have agreed that Brexit is irreversible in a summit where accusations were exchanged on both sides about who bore responsibility for the decision, and pressure was exerted on London to activate the divorce process as soon as possible. British Prime Minister David Cameron said after attending his last European Council summit that he would have...

Hate Crimes on the Rise in London Following Brexit

Wikimedia Commons The Metropolitan Police, or Met, is on heightened alert following reports of xenophobic incidents after the Brexit victory in the referendum on the European Union, reported the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan. The mayor has asked the Met to be "extra vigilant" after the Polish embassy in the United Kingdom expressed its shock at xenophobia against the Polish community in this ...

British Girl Missing Since 2007 Tracked Down in Paraguay

Wikimedia Commons Asuncion, Mar 8 (EFE).- Paraguayan media reported Tuesday that Madeleine McCann, the British girl who suddenly went missing in Portugal in 2007, has been found in the South American nation, though the Asuncion office of Interpol told EFE they know nothing about the private investigator said to have tracked down the girl. The case of the missing girl caused a stir in the me...

ISIS Video Appears to Show Executions of 5 “British Spies”

ISIS fighters in Iraq. Source: Wikimedia Commons London, Jan 3 (EFE).- The Islamic State jihadist group on Sunday released a videotape online in which it allegedly executes five men it described as British "spies," going on to threaten one day to invade the British Isles, the BBC reported. In the video, which British media showed portions of, a masked man - pistol in hand and speaking with ...

WikiLeaks Founder to be Questioned by Sweden About Rape Charges

Wikimedia Commons Quito, Dec 11 (EFE).- Ecuador and Sweden have signed an agreement that will enable Swedish prosecutors to question WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at Ecuador's embassy in London, the Andean nation said Friday. Negotiations began in June and the agreement was reached on Thursday, Ecuador's Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding that it will enter into force "in the c...

Multiple Stabbing in London May be Linked to Terrorism

Wikimedia Commons London, Dec 6 (EFE).- The stabbings of three people at a London metro station are being investigated as a "terrorist act," the Metropolitan Police said Sunday. One of the three people stabbed on Saturday at the Leytonstone station on the east side of London is listed in serious condition. Investigators are looking at the possible terrorist connections of the assailant, ...

Britain recognizes Syria opposition coalition: Hague

LONDON | Tue Nov 20, 2012 7:50am EST LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has officially recognized the fledgling Syrian National Coalition opposition group, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Tuesday. "Her majesty's government has decided to recognize the national coalition of Syrian revolution and opposition forces as the sole legitimate representat...