Source: Wikimedia Commons Since 2012, the cryogenic chambers of the Forensic Pathology section of the Judicial Branch in Costa Rica have served as the final resting place of 37 deceased individuals whose bodies have never been claimed. Many of the dearly departed were citizens of the United States, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Italy, Bulgaria, and ten other nations; however, a few Costa Rican citiz...

After brief deliberation and disagreement, geologists from the two main Earth science research centers in Costa Rica have come to the agreement that the recent eruptions of the Turrialba volcano in the province of Cartago are magmatic rather than phreatic. They also agree that the ongoing activity could result in stronger volcanic eruptions such as the one that sent heavy ash clouds over the Centr...

A few hours after a 4.2 MW earthquake scared Halloween revelers in Guanacaste, residents of the Central Valley in Costa Rica were jolted awake by a 4.3 MW seism that occurred at 1:23 am. This geological event was followed by a number of aftershocks that culminated in a stronger temblor at 3:27 am. The epicenter of these seismic disturbances, which happened just hours before people in Costa Rica pr...

Source: Wikimedia Commons Dozens of United States citizens and former expatriates have been charged with different criminal offenses for their alleged participation in telemarketing schemes based in Costa Rica. Most of the case are being handled in the Western District of North Carolina. As previously reported by The Costa Rica Star, some individuals are being indicted while others are enterin...

Grupo Enjoy, an investor group in Costa Rica working with 100 percent domestic capital, is preparing to unveil its latest $2.5 million investment in early November. According to finance reporter Evelyn Fernandez of business weekly El Financiero, Grupo Enjoy will welcome diners to the very first P.F. Chang's China Bistro in Costa Rica, located in the ritzy Avenida Escazú, on November 3rd. Reader...

Source: OVSICORI Trick-or-treaters and costumed revelers in the Gold Coast beaches of Costa Rica were shaken up by a 4.2 MW earthquake, which was felt in the communities of Santa Cruz, Nicoya, Cerro Negro, Diria, Nambi, Playa Samara, Playa Grande, Hojancha, and Playas del Coco. The epicenter was located inland, about 9 km south of Diria, between Liberia and the Nicoya peninsula, at a depth of ...

Source: OVSICORI Volcano tourists take note: The Turrialba, Poas and Rincon de la Vieja (Old Lady’s Corner) volcanoes of Costa Rica are currently very active and not safe to visit. As recently reported by The Costa Rica Star, the Turrialba volcano came alive a few days ago with a spectacular midnight eruption that sent thick clouds of ash as far as the capital city of San Jose. Nearby communit...

In late 2014, the sashay will no longer be confined to San Jose. The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week is Costa Rica’s most prominent event for the haute couture and prêt-à-porter industries, but until recently this extravaganza only took place in the lovable city of San Jose. In recent years, however, the Guanacaste region has been flourishing in terms of fashion design. To this end, Allan Andino of nat...

The exclusive and stylish Redken brand of hair care has a new location in Costa Rica, specifically at the Paseo de las Flores shopping plaza in Heredia. Redken Laboratories is a global leader in the hair salon industry, and the company’s certified salons are subject to rigorous standards of quality. The first Loft Redken salon opened in Escazu at the Plaza Golden shopping center a few years ago; i...

The casino experience in Costa Rica is becoming modernized and will soon match the level of gaming seen at some Las Vegas game rooms. Earlier this year, International Game Technology announced that it had been selected as the primary provider of games for the upcoming Croc's Casino Resort in Jaco Beach, slated to open later this year. Nonetheless, casino players in Guanacaste may be able to experi...

Following the midnight eruption of the Turrialba Volcano in Costa Rica, the Directorate of Civil Aviation has issued a warning to pilots, controllers and members of air crews about the lingering ash clouds that have formed in some air corridors over the country. Civil Aviation Director Alvaro Vargas explained that the volcanic ash could affect flights and airport operations in Costa Rica. At th...

The eight missing hikers who disappeared under mysterious circumstances on Monday have been located alive and stable. As previously reported by The Costa Rica Star, seven men and one woman were seen entering the Braulio Carrillo National Park at Bajo de la Hondura, an entry point located in the mountainous Zurquí area of San Jerónimo. Red Cross rescuers and paramedics will spend the night with ...

In the wake of widespread reports of phishing attacks perpetrated against online banking customers in Costa Rica, one financial institution has responded by teaming up with a Spanish biometrics provider to add extra security to online transactions conducted on smartphones and tablet computers. Grupo Mutual, a major retail bank traditionally known for its mortgage solutions, is the first financial ...

A dairy cow is evacuated as the Turrialba rains down ash. Photo: RSN About 20 minutes before midnight on October 29th, the Turrialba Volcano in the province of Cartago woke up from its slumber without warning and delivered the strongest eruption in the last 150 years. The quiet agricultural town of Turrialba was shaken by a few seismic movements, which were followed by massive ash clouds that ...

The Office of Judicial Investigations (Spanish initials: OIJ) is currently in hot water for their alleged illegal espionage on star goalkeeper Keylor Navas, but there is yet another case winding through the courts that is casting this law enforcement agency, which has considerable power in Costa Rica, in a negative light. In this criminal case, four OIJ agents by the last names of Quesada, Luna...

The upscale and vibrant Municipality of Escazú is home to some of the most affluent and luxurious residential communities in the Greater San Jose Metropolitan Area (Spanish acronym: GAM). Unfortunately, Escazú is also home to a significant number of overweight residents. With nearly 20 percent of the population of Escazú significantly overweight or morbidly obese, municipal, educational and health...

Source: Wikimedia A scandalous finding revealed by an internal investigation within the Office of Judicial Investigation (Spanish initials: OIJ) in Costa Rica is being reported and mocked by sports journalists around the world. The news concern Keylor Navas, the star goalkeeper of the National Men's Football Team, whose amazing performance in the FIFA World Cup in Brazil earlier this year prom...

The Superintendency of Telecommunications (Spanish acronym: SUTEL) of  Costa Rica is the government agency in charge of issuing technical approvals for new devices entering the national wireless spectrum. Approved devices are known as celulares homologados in Spanish, and the highly anticipated iPhone 6 and the extra-large iPhone 6 Plus recently received such approvals. Not all smartphones are ...

The national deficit in Costa Rica is threatening to freeze future performances by the National Symphony Orchestra (Spanish initials: OSN), but its directors and musicians are moving forward with the current season and preparing to deliver a magnificent performance featuring the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven and Carlos Jose Castro Mora. Beethoven and Mozart certainly do...

Mountaineers and rescue technicians from the Red Cross in Costa Rica are stepping up their efforts to locate eight people who went missing this past Monday in the vicinity of the Braulio Carrillo National Park, specifically in the mountainous region near the Zurqui tunnel. What little is known about these eight missing hikers in Costa Rica is shrouded in mystery. The facts thus far reported by ...

Amid reports of vandalism, gunfire, fiery roadblocks, arrests, canceled negotiations, criminal infiltration, political posturing, and civil disobedience, the dock workers strike at the main seaport of Costa Rica continued on Monday evening with no end in sight. One of the latest developments of this strike, which has been going on for a week, is the possibility of the International Transport Worke...

Source: WikiMedia Commons The Directorate of Intelligence Services (DIS), a shadowy agency in Costa Rica that operates with barely any oversight, may or may not have known that the infamous “Google Maps Invasion” of Isla Calero by a Nicaraguan Army infantry squad since 2008. Such was a recent report filed by journalist Manuel Sancho of online news daily CRHoy.com. While testifying before th...

Source: Flickr CC If you find traffic jams in Costa Rica exasperating, you may not want to drive in Rio de Janeiro, ever. This magnificent and populous Brazilian megacity is among the most beautiful in the world, but gridlock has been tarnishing Rio's facade; particularly after news media reported on the horrible traffic conditions during the FIFA World Cup earlier this year as well as during ...

San Jose, Costa Rica (PRWEB) October 26, 2014 Skål International announces Rios Tropicales, Costa Rica’s leading adventure company, as the winner of its 2014 Sustainable Tourism Award in the category of Tour Operators. What began in 1985 as a simple dream to pursue a love of paddling, provide jobs for fellow Costa Ricans and support rainforest land protection developed into Rios Tropicales, Cos...

Tamarindo Beach in Guanacaste Costa Rica On the third installment of Kristine Gorman's real estate adventure in Costa Rica, she runs into a snag in her plans of acquiring an investment property in the Gold Coast beaches of Guanacaste. Still, the Boston accountant persevered and is now one step closer to her goal of retiring in our country with her family. You can read Part One here and Part...

One of the most pristine coastal areas of Costa Rica will be partially shut down after dark from now until March 15, 2015. The Las Baulas (Leatherback Turtles) Marine Park in the Osa Peninsula will close down beach access to Playa Grande, Playa Ventanas, Playa Langosta, and Playa Carbon from 6:00 pm to 5:00 am to allow for the massive arrivals of Dermochelys coriacea during nesting season. The ...

President of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega Members of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) have issued a resolution that calls for the immediate cessation of all activity related to the construction of the controversial Nicaragua Canal, a quixotic project to build an interoceanic waterway to rival the Panama Canal. The ATBC resolution is based on what the organization estimat...

Source: Wikimedia Commons Dr. Monica Guardo, an expert in communicable diseases at the Pan American Health Organization, is currently in Costa Rica for the purpose of training groups of physicians and nurses on the proper treatment of patients infected by the Ebola virus. According to health reporter Lady Rojas of online news daily CRHoy.com, Dr. Guardo shared her personal experience trying to...

Source: FEDEFUTBOL The United States Women's National Football Team is one of the best and most dominant in the world; this was clearly proven yesterday at PPL Park in Chester, Pennsylvania. Team USA won the CONCACAF Women's Championship by routing Costa Rica six goals to none. Las Ticas did not have high hopes going into this final game and should have parked the bus from early on; however, c...

Despite inflation being out of control in Costa Rica, our country still manages to attract North American expatriates, and quite a few end up staying here to enjoy their retirement. Such is the case of Jen, a published author who has kindly provided The Costa Rica Star with an excerpt of her eBook Costa Rica Chica: Have you ever wanted to quit your job and “retire early”? Fed up with the “m...

Source: IL3 Design Jones Soda is a sparkling beverage company based in Seattle that was originally founded in British Columbia, Canada, in the late 20th century. Until recently, the company mostly catered to the lucrative North American soda market, but in recent years it has been involved in testing international marketplaces in the United Kingdom, Bermuda, and Ireland. Costa Rica is the late...

Even though the National Women's Football Team of Costa Rica has delivered an amazing performance at the CONCACAF qualifiers and earned a spot for next year's FIFA World Cup in Canada, Las Ticas will not get a financial reward for their efforts. Such was the report by sports journalist Graciela Fonseca of online news daily CRHoy.com. By advancing to the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup for the first...

Source: MSP CR Twitter The following press release is being published exactly as it appeared on Defense.gov, an online information portal serving the United States Department of Defense. The article quotes Marine Corps General John F. Kelly, Commander of the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), and his thoughts on the Ebola virus passing through Costa Rica on its way to the U.S. General Kelly ...

Source: Wikimedia Commons Earlier this week, the Animal Planet cable television network premiered a new, two-hour documentary focusing on primate intelligence, particularly among the simian species. This engrossing TV program, which travels to Borneo, Thailand and Costa Rica, shows us how apes are smarter than we think, and that humans still have a lot to learn from our fellow species. Let's p...

Source: Wikimedia Commons One day after health officials from the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) confirmed that a kind physician and volunteer for Doctors Without Borders has been diagnosed with an Ebola virus infection, the New York Times published a story on the patient's fiancee, a liberal and kind-hearted woman whose efforts to help those in need have brought her to Costa ...

Source: Sea Shepherd Readers of The Costa Rica Star are very familiar with our extensive reporting on the saga of Paul Watson, the controversial founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. In late September, we reported on the Sea Shepherd chapter in Costa Rica, which is actively involved in the protection of sea turtles in our Caribbean coast. We now bring you an update by Sea Shephe...

A stem cell research company firm is opening an office in Costa Rica, according to a press release issued by the Global Stem Cells Group, Inc. In Costa Rica, clinical trials and stem cell research on humans was a gray area of the law for about four years. One of the last Executive Decrees signed by former President Laura Chinchilla gave more freedom to stem cell research in Costa Rica, which ha...

File photo At a grungy Chinese restaurant near downtown Alajuela this Friday afternoon, a group of construction workers are enjoying ice-cold bottles of Imperial and Pilsen beers with snack-sized portions of greasy fried rice and chicken wings; their eyes are affixed to a small flat screen television that hangs from the wall. They are watching the National Women’s Football Team of Costa Rica, ...

Even though ratings agency Moody’s recently downgraded sovereign bonds issued by the Central Bank of Costa Rica as junk, President Luis Guillermo Solis has been busy courting investors from the United States and is planning on visiting Canada soon for the same reason. Costa Rica plans to issue $1 billion more in bonds next year, and President Solis is still intent on gaining entry into the Organiz...

Illustrative purposes only. Source: Wikimedia Commons. The following information is being provided by the Office of Public Affairs of the United States Department of Justice:   Two Individuals Charged, Third Pleads Guilty For Roles In Costa Rican Telemarketing Schemes Targeting U.S. Residents   A California woman pleaded guilty today for her role in a half-million-dollar “swe...