Source: OWC Sportsfishing teams from around the world are getting ready for the 2015 edition of the Offshore World Championship, which takes place in Quepos, one of the best offshore fishing spots in our planet. The press release below was issued by a Caribbean team that is very serious about winning this year’s championship: Christiansted, USVI (PRWEB) April 12, 2015 - Cane Bay Partners VI...

A baby volcanic rock in Costa Rica from the Turrialba volcano. Source: RSN Earth scientists at the National Seismology Network (Spanish initials: RSN) of the University of Costa Rica issued a statement yesterday that underscores the need for emergency planning and disaster preparedness in the communities near the Turrialba volcano, in the province of Cartago. Magmatic levels at this active col...

OECD member nations as of mid-2015. Wikimedia Commons The Republic of Costa Rica may soon be shedding her “Third World” geopolitical label and join the ranks of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). As you can glean from the official OECD press release below, Costa Rica is getting closer to joining a forum of nations that are committed to uphold democracy as well a...

Source: Facebook On the same day that Jewish and Christian faithful in Costa Rica were celebrating their respective religious holidays of Passover and Good Friday, a tragic accident claimed the life of Matthew Kritzer, an expatriate from the United States who resided in the Southern Pacific coast, specifically in the town of San Josecito in the Osa Peninsula. As recently posted by Nicole Hi...

Wikimedia Commons Source: Unites States Embassy in San Jose, Costa Rica Please note that the US Embassy will be closed on Friday, April 10th 2015 in observance of Juan Santamaria Day ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: 2015-014 Open to: All Interested Candidates Position: Telephone Operator, FSN-5; FP-9* Opening Date: March 25, 2015 Closing Date: April 15, 2015 Work Hours: Full-time; 40 hour...

Source: Wikimedia Commons (US Department of Justice Press Release) - A U.S. citizen charged in connection with the operation of a series of fraudulent business opportunities was extradited from Costa Rica to the United States, the Justice Department announced today.   John White was charged in a Nov. 29, 2011, indictment in the Southern District of Florida with conspiracy to commit ...

Source: Facebook Author's Note: Regrettably, The Costa Rica Star did not know about the life of Matthew Kritzer, a gentleman from the United States, until it was too late. We first learned about his tragic demise from a report filed by the medical examiner. While conducting research for the news article, we came across Mr. Kritzer's digital footprint, which paints the picture of an amazing hum...

File photo According to field reports filed by the forensic section of the Office of Judicial Investigations (Spanish initials: OIJ), a 67-year old man from the United States passed away from massive trauma sustained after a tragic road traffic accident in Costa Rica. The crash reportedly took place in the Osa Peninsula, which is located in the southern Pacific region of Costa Rica. More sp...

On April 4th, 1885, the international Red Cross and Red Crescent movement formally inaugurated operations in Costa Rica. On this Holy Saturday, Red Cross staff and volunteers in Costa Rica would certainly like to take a moment to celebrate their 130th anniversary of providing a most noble service in our country; alas, they are very busy rendering emergency medical service to residents and visitors...

Source: OVSICORI Various seismic events in Costa Rica scared churchgoers and tourists across the country, who were either preparing for the solemn Good Friday ceremonies or enjoying time off at crowded vacation spots. The first earthquake took place at 12:32, in the midst of lunchtime; it was recorded with a magnitude of 4.7 on the moment magnitude scale (MMS), and its epicenter was located...

Wikimedia Commons OTTAWA (Division of National Defence Press Release) - Her Majesty's Canadian Ship Whitehorse, in collaboration with the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy, assisted with the interception of more than 5200 kg of cocaine in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean off the coast of Costa Rica as part of Operation CARIBBE in early March. Quick Facts The crew of a coasta...

Intensity map by RSN (UCR) UPDATE: The 11:05 earthquake, magnitude 4.2 with an epicenter north of San Ramon in the province of Alajuela, is not part of the Cinchona cluster. It is important to keep in mind that Costa Rica is a seismic country. Three strong earthquakes followed by more than 70 aftershocks rudely awakened residents of a seismic region of Costa Rica on the final day of March. ...

The magnificent Turrialba in April 2012. Source: RSN A nighttime period of gaseous exhalation followed two minor ash eruptions from the Turrialba volcano, which is currently the most active colossus of Costa Rica. The first of the two eruptions, which took place over the weekend, was registered at 2:45 pm on a Saturday afternoon. That volcanic event mostly consisted of fine ash being expelled,...

Three out of ten municipal councils in Costa Rica have resolved that they will not allow the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages in the most solemn days leading up to Easter. As of Palm Sunday, only a handful of municipalities had not yet issued a decision on whether they should apply “dry laws” in their communities, and the total number of cantons and districts that will go dry this Thursd...

Source: Pixabay Commons One of the most talked-about headlines coming from Costa Rica in recent days is an announcement from the Ministry of the Environment and the national electricity monopoly ICE. The announcement explains that electricity generation thus far this year has been realized without resorting to fossil fuels, which means it mostly came from hydroelectric plants and wind turbi...

Source: Facebook Adrian Grenier, the star of the hit series Entourage, which is soon to be released as a feature film, arrived in Costa Rica this past Sunday for the purposes of swimming with sharks. That much can be gleaned through a series of social media updates posted by the famous actor, producer and musician on his Facebook and Instagram accounts. The famous actor is diving off Isla d...

Source: Wikimedia Commons In the wake of a terrible shooting that sent a United States expat to an intensive care unit in Costa Rica, the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) of the United States has issued a security message warning to travelers. As previously reported by The Costa Rica Star, the recent shooting took place in Escazu, an affluent municipality that serves as an upscale sub...

Source: Facebook It's official: The Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XLIX is currently relaxing and having a great time with his family in Costa Rica. Tom Brady of the New England Patriots is probably one of the most recognized professional athletes within the National Football League (NFL), and his connection to Costa Rica dates back a few years. As previously reported by The Costa Rica ...

Source: PriceSmart A batch of boxed instant meals sold at PriceSmart stores in Costa Rica may contain dangerous metal fragments. Such was the message recently communicated by the Risk Management division of PriceSmart in Costa Rica by means of an online document  (PDF) that has also been posted in the company's store locations in our country. The alert issued by PriceSmart to its members in...

The Irazu crater First there was the Poas, then  the Turrialba and now the Irazu. These three volcanoes are located in the Central Mountain Range of Costa Rica, and they are among the most visited in our country. Unfortunately, these three volcanoes have been presenting increased volcanic activity recently, which often leads to closures and restricted access to tourists. Readers of The Cost...

Source: Flickr Commons An expat from the United States is in the intensive care unit of the San Juan de Dios Hospital in San Jose after being gunned down in San Rafael of Escazu, one of the most affluent neighborhoods in Costa Rica. According to a report filed by Angie Guerrero of online news daily Costa Rica Hoy, the incident occurred on Wednesday morning, right after the victim stepped ou...

Source: RSN A reasonable level of surface seismicity detected in the vicinity of the active Turrialba volcano in Costa Rica suggests that future eruptions could take place. Earth scientists from the National Seismology Network of the University of Costa Rica (Spanish initials: RSN), along with colleagues from the Observatory on Seismology and Volcanology of the National University (Spanish acr...

Source: MSP Officers assigned to the Bagaces cantonal precinct of the Guanacaste province rescued four baby parrots, which were in danger of suffocation. According to a press release issued by the Ministry of Public Security (Spanish initials: MSP) the baby birds were being peddled by a suspect who has a history of trafficking in exotic species. The rescue took place in the community of San...

Source: MSP A 20-year old hiker from the United States, who got lost while hiking in La Fortuna of San Carlos, was rescued along with a companion by members of the local Tourism Police and Fuerza Publica detachment. According to a press release issued by the Ministry of Public Security, the tourists were identified as David Yinglun and Alicia Borga Alvarez, the latter a young lady from Spain. ...

Wikimedia Commons A tourist from the United States passed out and passed away from an apparent cardiac arrest while trying to summit the highest mountain in Costa Rica. The 65-year old man was a lone hiker who entered the Chirripo National Park without proper authorization.   According to a report filed by Pablo Rojas of online news daily Costa Rica Hoy, the U.S. tourist was about s...

Source: RSN Following five months of relative calm, the Turrialba volcano has awakened with an intensity that has not been recorded in more than a century. It all started on Sunday, March 8th with a phreatic (ground water) eruption that would later include exhalations of gas and ash. Two late-night eruptions on Wednesday resulted in moderate ash columns, but the most spectacular events took pl...

Source: RSN Two nighttime ash exhalations that occurred while neighbors were sleeping on Wednesday make the Turrialba volcano of the province of Cartago one of the most active in Costa Rica. According to a report filed by Alejandro Fonseca of daily tabloid Diario Extra, the first slight eruption occurred at 1:00 am and the second happened nearly 15 minutes later. According to the Observator...

Source: Fuerza Publica A male fawn that became separated from its mother was rescued earlier this week by officers from Fuerza Publica, the national police force of Costa Rica, along with field agents from Ministry of the Environment. The officers and field agents were conducting routine patrols in the Pocosol district of San Carlos, near the border with Nicaragua, when they were alerted about...

Source: Pixabay Commons The stereotype of sexual tourists in Costa Rica being older, gray-haired, North American and European men long past their primes is being shattered in the 21st century by a new generation of libidinous travelers who happen to be younger, and -in some cases- female. In a recent article by Tim Rogers of online media network Fusion.net, the author visited two well-known...

Jungle Jam 2015, Jaco Beach, Costa Rica Jaco Beach, Costa Rica (March 8, 2015) - Jungle Jam V returns to Jaco, Costa Rica for its fifth consecutive year with a stellar line-up on the grounds of the beautiful Hotel DoceLunas for 4 days of music in paradise March 19-22, 2015. This year’s performers include: Slightly Stoopid, Thievery Corporation, Steel Pulse, Morgan Heritage, Mykal Rose (of Blac...

Source: AmoLatina.com International online dating service AmoLatina has reported that an increasing number of European men are seeking to meet, date and marry a Latin partner. Latin women have always been highly regarded by men in Europe for their wonderful qualities when it comes to finding the perfect partner. Often with a traditional outlook and abundant positive energy, genuine beauti...

Jaco Beach A man from the United States was killed in a road traffic accident near the expat enclave of Jaco Beach, located on the Central Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Preliminary reports suggest that the U.S. citizen may have been performed a reckless overtake and pass maneuver in the vicinity of a bridge without realizing that a propane gas delivery truck was coming in the opposite direction...

Source: Aeris If you must park your vehicle at the Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO) in Costa Rica, please note that your parking costs recently went up by more than 100 percent. According to a report by Fabio Mena of online news daily Costa Rica Hoy, the new daily parking fee increased from $14.75 to $35, and the hourly rate climbed to $2.48 from $2.14.   If you choose to...

Source: Fuerza Publica A female sloth insistently trying to cross a busy road in northern Costa Rica was helped to the other side by police officers who are thoroughly experienced in this task. According to press release CP-0270-2015 from Fuerza Publica, the national police force of Costa Rica, the sloth posed a danger to herself and to traffic since she hesitantly hugged the edge of the road ...

Source: Cruz Roja Costarricense A five-year old boy from the United States tragically lost his life while on a family vacation in Costa Rica. According to a news report filed by Patricia Durán of daily tabloid Diario Extra, the unfortunate incident occurred in a rural hotel located about 13 kilometers away from the town of Buena Vista, in the Liberia canton of Guanacaste. The news report ex...

Bing Commons In Costa Rica, a few drug rehabilitation centers offer a controversial treatment that consists of taking certain amounts of Ibogaine, a substance extracted from a few plants that are native to Western Africa. Ibogaine is extracted from these flowering shrubs, and the result is a substance with psychoactive and psychedelic properties. Research on the therapeutic potential of Ibogai...

Source: Wikimedia Commons Agents assigned to the Alajuela Regional Delegation of the Office of Judicial Investigations (Spanish initials: OIJ) are investigating the death of a 53-year old man who was found dead upon landing in Costa Rica. The 53-year old man has been identified as a Costel Comana, a wealthy Romanian citizen. In an institutional communique, OIJ agents provided preliminary in...

Source: Fuerza Publica From oceanic creatures to sports car logos and from mythology to astrology symbols, the imagery used by drug cartels in their packaging of illegal drugs has been on the rise in the last few years. In Costa Rica, this practice is known as troquelado, and it involves the creative use of logos and packing materials when shipping their products, particularly powdered cocaine...

Source: Baxter International The following corporate press release is kindly provided by Baxter International, a global healthcare firm that develops, manufactures and markets products that save and sustain the lives of people with hemophilia, immune disorders, infectious diseases, kidney disease, trauma, and other chronic and acute medical conditions. Baxter has a presence in Costa Rica and m...

K-9 Officer Lyra After a dangerous shootout that left two policemen wounded and an alleged robber dead in the eastern suburbs of San Jose, a tactical unit was tasked with looking for an armed suspect who fled the scene. It all happened during the morning rush hour of Thursday in the municipality of Curridabat, and the Directorate of Special Units became resolute on finding the suspect on the r...