On March 26, U.S. President Joe Biden invited 40 world leaders to the Leaders Summit on Climate he will be hosting on April 22 and 23, the White House informed; this is the first action taken by Biden to return the United States to the Paris Agreement after former President Donald Trump announced the decision to leave in 2017 which didn’t become effective until November 2020. “The Leaders Summi...

The US Embassy in Costa Rica has the following message for US Citizens in Costa Rica that wish to submit their vote for the upcoming elections in the USA: If you plan to vote in the November 2020 election it is important to ACT NOW! Don’t wait, return your voted ballot right away! Remember U.S. embassies and consulates are not polling places; same-day in-person voting is not available outside t...

Doctors and patients have been wondering for months if it was possible to contract the coronavirus twice. We now know the answer is – YES. A 33-year old man, young and healthy, was re-infected with the virus 4.5 months after the first episode, according to University of Hong Kong researchers and reported to the New York Times and Japan Times. The first time his symptoms were mild, and the second t...

In Costa Rica, businesses that require face coverings for entry allow either a mask or a shield – "mascarilla" or "careta", in Spanish. Which one is better protection for you and others? Most experts agree that masks are much more effective in stopping the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19. Commented infectious disease expert Luis Romero on the radio show “Nuestra Voz”, “I don’t know who invente...

The United States Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, expressed during a press conference this Wednesday, his concern about the situation of Covid-19 in Nicaragua and particularly how this country has chosen to handle the pandemic. “ (regarding Nicaragua) We’re concerned about numerous credible reports of hospitals filling up and bodies being buried under cover of night, pointing to a much more se...

Corona-virus....no pun intended Grupo Modelo, the company that makes the popular Corona beer (Mexican), announced via Twitter on April 3 that they were suspending marketing and manufacture of their iconic brew, in keeping with the Mexican Government’s 30-day moratorium on all manufacture of non-essential products and foods. Mexico decided to close these factories and industries after the number...

As of April 4, Costa Rica has had 435 confirmed cases of coronavirus COVID-19, 25 still in the hospital, and 13 who have recovered and gone home. People have gone cuckoo, wondering when or if there will be a vaccine (probably in 18 months), and when there will be a cure. This pandemic panic has laid the groundwork for an amazing array of fake treatments and snake oil salespeople. One of the fir...

Where did the coronavirus come from? The origin of the virus which has caused the current global pandemic remains elusive. Bats are considered the most likely source of the virus, but some researchers believe it came from pangolins, small scaly anteaters. Both animals are illegally trafficked for food and non-traditional medicine in China and other Asian countries. These two animals are the only ...

UPDATED: Feb/4/2020 The cases of deaths due to coronavirus in China have reached 427, while the Center for Disease Control, (CDC) has confirmed 11 US cases, 12 Cases in Australia and 4 Cases in Canada. This has health authorities worldwide in alert and Costa Rica is not the exception. In total almost 21,000 Cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed of which 2700 are in critical condition. ...

The sports world mourns the death of NBA legend, Kobe Bryant, age 41 who died in a helicopter crash that occurred the morning of this Sunday, January 26, 2020 in California, USA. According to the TMZ Sport, “Bryant was among at least four people traveling in his private helicopter over Calabasas when a fire broke out, sending the chopper spiraling from the sky”. Apparently, the crash saw no ...

The Pentagon confirmed the airstrike perpetrated at Baghdad International Airport this January 2nd and which killed General Qasam Soleimani, key Irani military commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force and Abu Mahdi al Mohandis, vicepresident of Kata’ib Hezbollah and other seven people, was an order of President Donald Trump. “At the direction of the President, the US milit...

Congratulations to Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado Quesada for his recent nomination to TIME Magazine’s 100 NEXT for his “great ambition in tackling climate change.” This honor comes on the heels of the United Nations recognizing Costa Rica this year as a “United Nations Champion of the Earth”, for its trailblazing approach and ambitious climate policies. Alvarado became president in 2018...

Sloths. We love them in Costa Rica. They are the spokes-animals for many tourist campaigns, and their adorable faces adorn t-shirts, mugs, change purses, and other souvenir/tourist objects visitors to Costa Rica take home with them after their vacations. Now, they have been made famous by two biologists from University of Wisconsin: Jonathan N. Pauli and M. Zachariah Peery, whose study of sloths h...

Last year NBC News named cigarette butts as the single greatest source of ocean pollution – far surpassing the recently demonized plastic straws or single use plastic bags. The momentum of banning plastic straws continues to grow with major corporations taking up the fight and gradually phasing out straws completely. However, many experts believe that the focus of ocean pollution and litter should...

Two individuals from Costa Rica were sentenced to 25 and 20 years in prison this Tuesday, April 30, for their roles in a $10 million telemarketing scheme that defrauded primarily elderly victims in the United States from call centers in Costa Rica. Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney R. Andrew Murray of the Western Distric...

Among Costa Rica’s fun accomplishments such as Inventors of the Zipline Tour, Discoverers of a lizard who breathes underwater, Creators of the catchy salutation “Pura Vida”, Owners of the title of “Happiest Country on the Planet” – comes a truly serious and remarkable achievement. Costa Rica ranks tenth in Press Freedom, as ranked by the prestigious Reporters Without Borders, a French nonprofit or...

Costa Rica has contributed yet another amazing animal to the field of Herpetology – a river anole lizard that can remain underwater for up to sixteen minutes, seemingly by using an air bubble on the top of its head to refresh the air in its lungs. Two scientists were filming anole lizards hurling themselves off of rocks and branches in Coto Brus, when they realized the little guys were staying un...

All of a sudden FBI Special Counsel Robert Mueller went from good guy to bad guy. His findings in the Trump Campaign/Russia collusion left Washington Democrats dismayed, broken and vowing to carry on Mueller’s Trump/Russia probe despite his findings that leaves President Donald Trump vindicated of any involvement with criminal collusion, conspiracy or obstruction of justice before or after his ele...

The world is reeling again after a “white nationalist” gunman opened fire on two Muslim mosques killing 49 worshipers and injuring dozens more in peaceful Christchurch, New Zealand halfway around the globe. News reports say the 49 Muslim homicides outnumber more than all other gun-related murders last year in this country. There is no justification for such blatant and miserable hatred in New Z...

The United States Congress approved $40.7 million to be given to Costa Rica to battle organized crime during 2019, informed the Costa Rican Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This amount represents an increase of 33% over last year’s aid; this increase obeys to the good results obtained by the Ministry of Public Security and the different police bodies in the country in their battle against drug tr...

Earlier Wednesday, January 23, 2019, President Donald Trump, recognized the President of the Venezuelan National Assembly, Juan Guaidó, as the Interim President of Venezuela and affirmed he will be using the weight of the United States economic and diplomatic power ¨to press for the restoration of Venezuelan democracy¨. ¨Today, I am officially recognizing the President of the Venezuelan Nationa...

The Government of Costa Rica joined the Governments of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and St. Lucia in not recognizing the start of a new government of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela for the 2019-2025 period. The countries, part of what is known as "Grupo de Lima", consider that the electoral process that took place in Venezuela in M...

The Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the OAS, ambassador Montserrat Solano who is currently functioning as President of the Permanent Council (through Dec. 31), confirmed today that she received the request of the Secretary General, Luis Almagro, to apply the Inter-American Democratic Charter in Nicaragua’s Case. “We received the request from the Secretary General, and as it correspon...

Air Force One -- back from the G20 Summit of world leaders – arrived Monday October 3rd to Ellison Field near Houston to pick up the body of former President George H.W. Bush died Friday November 30th at his home in Houston surrounded by family and friends. He was 94. Soon after the 41st president passed away it was announced by the White House that President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania...

A Costa Rican woman of name, Sandra Diaz, has been in the eye of the public light this week along with Guatemalan Victorina Morales, after they both spoke to The New York Times admitting they were undocumented workers at one of President Trump’s Golf Resorts, National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. Sandra Diaz worked at the golf club from 2010 to 2013 and is now a legal resident of the Un...

The United States announced economic sanctions against Nicaragua’s Vice-President and First Lady, Rosario Murillo and President Ortega’s National Security Adviser, Nestor Moncada Lau, for “engaging in rampant corruption, dismantling of democratic institutions, serious human rights abuse, and exploitation of the people and public resources of Nicaragua for private gain”, states the press release. ...

Stan Lee has passed away at the age of 95, the comic book writer, editor and publisher as well as film executive producer and actor leaves behind a gap that will be difficult to fill. Stanley Martin Lieber was born December 28, 1922 in New York, he passed away in his home in Los Angeles, California this Monday, November 12, 2018. Stan Lee is known to the world as the father of Marvel Comics ...

The ongoing crisis in Nicaragua motivated the decision of Canadian airline  "Air Transat" to cancel all flights to this Central American country during the upcoming winter. The information was confirmed by Air Transat this Thursday, October 25, and justified their decision “due to the ongoing civil unrest and the weak demand of service”. This airline had three flights a week scheduled from T...

Photo Credit: Reuters/Jon Nazca Six tons of cocaine were hidden in a banana shipment that originated from Limon in Costa Rica, arrived to the port of Setubal in Portugal and was transported by truck to Malaga, Andalucia in the South of Spain. The drug was seized by Spanish police as well as 300,000 Euros, firearms and vehicles, in an operation that also concluded with the arrest of 16 peo...

This Wednesday, October 17, 2018, Canada made history with the “Cannabis Act” which legalizes recreational marijuana, in doing so Canada became the second country in the world, only after Uruguay (2013), to allow the use of cannabis for recreational purposes. In the United States, consumption of recreational marijuana is legal in 8 states, but it is still illegal at a Federal level. The use o...

On Sunday, October 14 the Nicaraguan Police repressed protesters  in a violent manner, a situation that concluded with the arrest of 38 people, among them a Costa Rican and an American. In response to the situation, the Costa Rican government called on an immediate cease of the repression and arbitrary detentions against those participating in protests. “Costa Rica backs the concerns express...

Nicaraguan Police repressed today a group of protesters and detained some 38 people, among them 2 Costa Ricans, when they planned to march on the streets of Managua against President Daniel Ortega. The movement denominated “United for liberty” began at 9 a.m. in Managua and it was organized by the National White and Blue Unit group that is constituted by close to 40 organizations including stud...

The U.S.Embassy in Managua Nicaragua urges American citizens living or visiting Nicaragua to stay informed of scheduled demonstrations, which many times are also subject to change with little or no notice. The U.S. Embassy constantly provides information on these activities through their website and social media channels with the idea that citizens take all necessary precautions. These are so...

OAS: The Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) today passed a resolution on the "Recent Events in Nicaragua". Member States express their "strong condemnation regarding acts of violence, repression and human rights violations and abuses" committed against the people of Nicaragua, as documented by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Office of the United Na...

STATEMENT BY HEATHER NAUERT, SPOKESPERSON The United States condemns the Ortega government’s recent arbitrary detention of six prominent student members of the National Dialogue. These students are the latest example of the thousands of citizens who are peacefully and democratically protesting government actions, only to be harassed, detained, disappeared, or even killed. Five of these students...

President of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega denied in an exclusive interview with EFE in Managua that his government has used repressive measures to suppress protests and said he does not feel responsible for the deaths that have resulted from the confrontations on the streets between the civil and the authorities that began back in April this year; Ortega, instead, blames the United States and internat...

Manitoba Premier, Brian Pallister was recently penalized by Costa Rican Treasury and had to pay nearly $8,000 in unpaid taxes for his vacation home in the country. The Premier explained he was never advised or informed that he had he obligation to update the evaluation of his property in Tamarindo, Guanacaste, which falls under the “luxury tax” law in Costa Rica. The “Impuesto Solidario” (S...

The Government of Nicaragua informed this Friday that they consider the mission of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in their country as "terminated", this comes only two days after the OHCHR filed a critical report regarding the repression in the Central American country. This past Wednesday, the OHCHR had stated that it had encountered obstacles “in conducting its...

A group of congressmen (bipartisan) from the House Committee on Foreign Affairs urged Trump’s Administration to use its authority under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act to sanction six individuals from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico for their involvement in corruption and organized crime. One of these individuals is Remigio Angel Gonzalez, Mexican businessman he...

The Working Group on Nicaragua of the Permanent Council of the OAS (Organization of American States) formed by representatives of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guyana, Mexico, Panama, Peru and the United States, sent out the following press release: "The OAS' Working Group on Nicaragua reiterates its strong condemnation of the acts of violence, repression, hum...