The director of the National Meteorological Institute (IMN), Juan Carlos Fallas, after meeting with the President's Governing Council today, said that there is possibility of afternoon rains today, tomorrow, and Wednesday, and a possible arrival of a tropical weather system over the weekend. "We are assessing the presence of tropical system number 43 for the weekend, which means that we are monit...

With more than six thousand kilos of cocaine and 692 kilos of marijuana confiscated from export shipments over the past five years, according to the Costa Rican Ministry of Public Security, exporters are concerned about the impact on Costa Rica's competitiveness. Infiltration of merchandise with illegal drugs and other substances not only affects the export sector, but is a national security co...

A stretch of highway north of the turnoff for Puntarenas along Costa Rica's Northern Inter-American Highway will be completely closed to traffic from 9 a.m. and until 12 noon Monday, October 9, said transportation officials. The closure at the Seco River is necessary to make repairs to the bridge over this river along this highway linking Central America which suffered damages from Tropical Sto...

All Cen-Cinai programs except for seven will resume services tomorrow, Monday, October 9, said the Ministry of Health this evening, Sunday, October 8, 2017. And one will re-open Tuesday. The women, infant and children centers will return to their provision of nutritional assistance for pregnant and nursing women, and infants; and child development programs - both daytime, and evening services -...

Public school students along most of Costa Rica's Pacific coast have classes suspended until further notice in the aftermath of the destructive tropical storm that dumped massive amounts of rain late last week, announced the Costa Rican Ministry of Public Education late Sunday afternoon. The storm, called Nate, which touched ground in Nicaragua Thursday, October 5, and now is a category 1 hurri...

Having left 11 confirmed deaths in Costa Rica, many still disappeared and cut off from aid, thousands in shelters, and dozens of roads and schools destroyed, Nate, now a Category 1 Hurricane, touched down last night on the Mississippi-Louisiana border in the southern U.S. At least 32 are reported dead throughout Central America in what is now the 9th hurricane of the relentless 2017 Atlantic hu...

Monday, October 9, the Embassy and Consular Section of the United States will be closed in honor of Columbus Day which is celebrated in the United States that day. In 1937 the President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt, proclaimed October 12 as a day of homage to the first European explorer in the Americas, Christopher Columbus. It was President Richard Nixon who declared the day a n...

The estimated 65 Costa Ricans who will be repatriated from Puerto Rico Saturday, Oct. 7 will be leaving behind destruction caused by Hurricane Maria, and entering into a Costa Rica battling the aftermath of Tropical Storm Nate. Such is life in the hurricane-hounded Caribbean basin. This is the Costa Rican government's first ever humanitarian repatriation flight held for its citizens, said th...

As of yesterday, management regulations went into effect for four species of sharks (silky sharks and three species of thresher sharks) included in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) during the XVII Conference of the parties (CoP) in Johannesburg, South Africa last year. The measures require that any future export of th...

The new U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica Sharon Day presented her credentials to President Solis this week on Wednesday, October 4, 2017, and thus began her official duties as the highest ranking representative of the U.S. Government in Costa Rica. In her meeting with President Solis, Ambassador Day reiterated the United States’ commitment to a strong and enduring partnership with Costa Rica. A...

Costa Rica's National Meteorological Institute (IMN, in Spanish) said rains were abating in much of the country in their 7 p.m. report on Thursday, Oct. 5, with Tropical Storm Nate drifting northwards. The storm is located 75km west of Puerto Lempira in Honduras and continues to move at a speed of 17km/h north-northwest towards the Gulf of Honduras. The storm is expected to traverse the Gulf of...

At a meeting this morning, Thursday, October 5, of emergency officials to discuss the heavy rains from Tropical Storm Nate, the President of Costa Rica Luis Guillermo Solís, declared that all public employees, except emergency and essential workers, will have off today and tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 6. The decision was based on predictions by the Costa Rican National Meteorological Institute (IMN, ...

A total of 2,430 gas cylinders were destroyed recently by the Costa Rican Public Services Regulatory Authority (Aresep), because they presented some problem and were considered dangerous. This is done as part of the Gas Quality Assessment Program of Aresep, which reviews the condition of the cylinders. Among the considerations used to determine if cylinders should be discarded include: Havin...

Police made eight arrests this weekend thus breaking up two alleged groups of delinquents operating in the Jacó Beach area of Garabito, Puntarenas on Costa Rica's central Pacific coast. One group targeted focused on stealing cell phones, mainly in tourist areas and also apparently targeted tourists, and the other apparently was dedicated to breaking into vehicles. Both groups had Costa Rican an...

With an eye to receiving more and larger ships in the near future, the pacific port of Caldera, in the province of Puntarenas, is getting a much-needed boost to its facilities. The US$20 million improvements aim to decrease wait time for ships to load and unload, thus making the port an attractive option by saving ships money. President of the Republic, Luis Guillermo Solís and the First Lad...

Heavy rains this afternoon and evening due to a tropical storm in the Caribbean ocean caused two planes so far to be rerouted from the main Juan Santamaria Airport (SJO) near San José, Costa Rica. Stormy weather today, Wednesday, October 4, caused such low visibility at the Alajuela airport, civil aviation authorities have temporarily closed the airport. The flights were re-routed to the northe...

The Costa Rican Ministry of Finance sent a reminder to all business owners that Monday, October 2 was the deadline for paying this year's portion of the annual corporation tax that went into effect Sept. 1, 2017. Anyone with an active and inactive registered business. also known as an "S.A.", in Costa Rica should have paid by Monday, Oct. 2 the tax amount corresponding to the months of Septembe...

Eight months of night-time and early morning patrols along Costa Rica's Caribbean beaches paid off for turtles and their eggs, thousands of which were rescued from poachers, said Commander Alexis Umaña, officer of the Barra del Pacuare Coast Guard Station. From February to September 2017, Coast Guard officials and volunteers with the environmental non-profit organization, Widecast, saved an est...

Costa Rican emergency officials have placed the entire country on alert for heavy rains predicted for later this week and possibly into the weekend. The central and Pacific regions of Costa Rica are expected to take the brunt of the effects of a storm expected to form later today in the western Caribbean Sea. Hurricane experts in the U.S. said the system, currently called Invest 90L, "will bring ...

The Costa Rican Social Security Agency (CCSS, in Spanish) said they will publish later this year a tender in order to select the company that will design, build and equip a 70,000 square meter hospital in Puntarenas, on Costa Rica's central Pacific coast. The new hospital will be located in Barranca, and will open in 2021 with a substantially larger and improved infrastructure, and more service...

The Ministry of Housing and Human Settlements (MIVAH) recently approved changes to regulations that increased the income cap for housing assistance in Costa Rica. Now, households with a total combined income of up to ₡776 thousand colones (about $1,000) can qualify for a "bono familiar de vivienda" or a family housing grant. This expands the number of household eligible for such assistance. ...

Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) released an update of its annual child labor report, 2016 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor, which includes research on child labor in 135 countries, and is accompanied by the release of the updated Sweat & Toil mobile app. Costa Rica is listed in the report as one of 23 countries that made "sign...

On average, companies in the Central American region pay 45.8 percent of their profits in taxes, while companies in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries on average pay 41 percent. A study on the evolution of the fiscal situation in Central America by the Federation of Central American Chambers of Commerce (FECAMCO, in Spanish) revealed the fact that in Costa Ri...

Starting TODAY, Tuesday, October 3, at 10 a.m., the electronic form to participate in the Diversity Visa Lottery program, also known comply as the U.S. Visa Lottery, will be available. The program, organized by the United States Department of State, will be accepting applications from Costa Rica until Tuesday, November 7, 2017 at 10 a.m. Those interested should log-on to the website <www....

The United States Embassy in Costa Rica posted the following message yesterday on their Facebook page as the embassy prepares for the new ambassador, Sharon Day, to assume her post: "It is a real pleasure to introduce you to Ambassador Sharon Day "Ambassador Day was sworn in as United States Ambassador to Costa Rica on September 25 at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. "She has worked for more ...

Five men in the northern region of Cañas, Guanacaste had their Sunday afternoon deer hunting spree put to a quick end by police who were tipped off on the subjects entering the forest with hunting dogs and rifles, said the Ministry of Public Security. Police were aided by officials of the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC, in Spanish), who have been on alert in recent weeks for deer ...

For all of you readers who are tired of news saying to quit eating red meat, this story's for you. A recent study by researchers at the Center for Animal Nutrition Research (CINA) at the University of Costa Rica confirmed that beef produced in Costa Rica contains a significant amount of linoleic acid conjugate (LAC) or rumenic acid, a substance that can boost immunity, protect against cancer an...

Santa Ana and Mora counties in the western outskirts of the Greater San José Metropolitan Area will be without water on Tuesday, October 3, according to Costa Rican Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers (AyA, in Spanish). The agency will be carrying out work on a 300 mm water pipe that supplies the areas. Drinking water service will be cut from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the following areas: Lindora...

Multiplaza Escazú and Curridabat will be the first commercial centers in Costa Rica to join Costa Rica's National Strategy on Eliminating Single-Use Plastics, such as non-biodegradable straws, cups, bags etc. Currently, half of Multiplaza stores use paper or cardboard packaging, and the malls have a history of responsible waste management and environmental policies. The shopping centers, one lo...

Over the past decade, Costa Ricans are living on average an extra year, according to data from the Institute of Health Metrics at the University of Washington in the northwestern U.S., which analyzed health and longevity in 195 countries. The average life expectancy in Costa Rica is now 71.1 years versus 70 years a decade ago. While Costa Rican health authorities and others are working to en...

Tons of garbage clogging the rivers that traverse San José has caused some quite severe flooding in recent weeks with bridge closures, damage to homes, and landslides plastered in the headlines. A recent report estimated that in the San José metropolitan area, there are 136 clandestine trash dumps where residents and companies deposit their waste in open air mounds, according to a report on Cha...

At around 8:30 a.m. this morning, two trains crashed along the single track that runs from Belén, Heredia via Pavas and into the Pacific train station near the Bíblica Hospital in downtown San José, said reports in local media. Preliminary reports by eyewitnesses indicate that two trains were traveling in the same direction when a vehicle impulsively crossed the train track as the first train w...

The brother of Stephen Paddock, the suspected gunman in the shooting deaths of at least 50 people at a Las Vegas concert - which also left at least 400 injured, said he cannot understand his brother's motive. Eric Paddock of Orlando gave a statement Monday to local police regarding his brother Stephen who shot himself to death as police entered his Las Vegas hotel room. Stephen Paddock, 64, ...

Update at 10:30 a.m., Monday Oct. 2: The death toll in the shooting has risen to 58, according to national U.S. media. Las Vegas, Nevada was the scene last night of the deadliest mass killing in modern U.S. history. More than 50 concertgoers were killed and hundreds were injured late Sunday at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip. The gunfire began around 10 p.m. on the south end of La...

Elementia S.A.B. de C.V., a Mexican company led by magnate's Carlos Slim and Antonio del Valle Ruiz, announced a US$17 million investment in a cement plant in Costa Rica. The company plans to expand its cement business in Central America with new facilities whose operation will begin in the first half of 2018 under the Fortaleza by Plycem brand. The new facilities will have a capacity to pro...

A public-private partnership led by the multinational company Cuestamoras aims to make the urban areas of Heredia, Costa Rica greener, and more livable for residents, with a big reforestation effort. The Costa Rican National Institute of Biodiversity (INBio), with headquarters in Santo Domingo de Heredia, has determined that the city of Heredia has the least amount of green space per inhabitant...

The Criminal Court of Quepos and Parrita in Costa Rica's Central Pacific region sentenced Freddy Cortés Peña, yesterday, Thursday, September 28, to 25 years in prison for assaulting and raping a U.S. tourist, according to the public prosecutor's office. The crimes date to April 20, 2006 when the American tourist and her boyfriend were on the beach at Manuel Antonio National Park adjacent to the...

Update; Sunday, October 1: The suspect in this case, Andrew Roy Willis, will be kept in detention for 4-months while the case is investigated, report the courts. Andrew Roy Willis, a U.S. citizen, was charged with homicide yesterday, Thursday, September 28, in the southern Costa Rican town of Pérez Zeledón after his sentimental partner, Melania Calvo Víquez (33), was discovered buried near thei...

Costa Rica's first shipload of golden pineapples set sail for China in June of this year, and demand for the sweet variety is growing. Costa Rican pineapples face competition in the Chinese market from the Philippines, but exporters say their main concern is boosting production in order to meet both existing and new demand. "Our challenge is the increase in production ... At this moment the ex...

The Costa Rican Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), with the support of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), is launching a farm-to-table initiative to improve food quality at schools and also support family farms. "For the MAG .. it is important that children learn to consume and produce vegetables. In addition, this pilot plan demonstrates that it can beco...