A Chinese official Thursday expressed here China's willingness and determination to work with the international community to promote sustainable development. Speaking at the opening of the 6th "Environment for Development" (EfD)annual meeting, China's diplomat in Costa Rica Zhai Yue highlighted his country's commitment for the world's sustainable development, and also stressed the right to a fa...

While on a visit to San José, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian had a meeting with the President of the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica, Victor Emilio Granados Calvo. Greeting the Armenian Foreign Minister, the Chairman of Costa Rica’s Parliament attached importance to Edward Nalbandian’s visit, which, according to him, marks a new start in the bilateral relations and will undoubte...

The Chinese government donated $1.3 million in medical equipment to Costa Rica’s security ministry, the Central American country’s government said in a statement. China, which established diplomatic ties with Costa Rica in 2007, donated medical equipment including ultrasounds, X-rays and defibrillators, according to today’s statement. Since diplomatic relations were established between the c...

AMA Pro road racer Skip Salenius will be re-entering the race scene this coming weekend after taking the 2012 race season off. ‘Furia de Motores’ Costa Rica is scheduled for the 27th and 28th of October, 2012 at the Autódromo La Guácima and will feature car shows, drifting rallies, car tuning and of course motorcycle racing. Salenius was approached by local rider Roger Diaz to come down and ...

The registration deadline approaches to join industry colleagues and the National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA) board of directors at the first-ever coffee origin tour in Costa Rica, Feb. 6 to 10, 2013. "We really look forward to the fascinating, value-added education NAMA operators will experience from this unique, behind-the-scenes look at our industry. The inaugural coffee origi...

In the past The Costa Rica Star published about Stone Spheres found in farmers fields in Costa Rica. Costa Rican archeologist Ifigenia Quintanilla confesses those mysterious pre-Columbian stone spheres found in the country's southern Pacific zone still stump her after two decades of study. The scientist has lived in Spain since 1998 but confesses her fascination with the spheres that apparen...

A newly identified Latin plant is going Gaga. Duke University biologist Kathleen Pryer has named a new genus of ferns found in Central and South America, Mexico, Arizona, as well as Texas after pop singer Lady Gaga. The genus of ferns, in this case 19 species, will carry the name of the Grammy Award-winning star. According to Duke University, the fern has more in common with Lady Gaga than j...

Copenhagen-based Bacon has filmed in Costa Rica and found room for a George Clooney cameo, in a new spot for DNB Bank. The Treasure starts with a pirate chase and ends with a flash-forward to Clooney and his new wife finding the riches on a beach holiday. "The main part of the commercial was shot in Costa Rica in a small town called Puerto Viejo on the east coast." Mari Grundnes Paus, Produ...

On offer in Juan Santamaria International Airport are spaces for a gift shop, an ice cream parlor and coffee shop, a fast food outlet, and spaces for ATMs. Aeris Holding Costa Rica, the company managing the Juan Santamaria Airport, has opened a contest for 3 commercial spaces: a gift shop, with flowers, cards and other items, an ice cream parlor and coffee shop, selling juices and the like, and...

Negotiations are being conducted with the National Network of Spanish Railways for a passenger train to join the urban centers of Cartago and Alajuela. A statement from the Presidency reads: Vice president Liberman seeks options for passenger train between Alajuela and Cartago. Madrid, October 22, 2012: The Vice President, Luis Liberman, participated this morning in a series of meetings w...

The Financial Affairs Committee of the Legislative Assembly passed out a 6.4 trillion colon budget for 2013 in a special session last Saturday by a seven to one margin. But the fact that 43% of the cost must be paid by debt promises a stiff floor fight. The main opposition in committee came from Citizen Action Party (PAC) deputy Jeannette Ruiz. That Ruiz was speaking for PAC was underscored by ...

The Nationa Animal Health Service (Senasa) now has a new tool to halt illegal sail fishing. A three-year-old law has banned catching and selling the fish. But despite this, commercial fishermen have continued the practice, aided by the fact that, cut up into pieces and frozen, the meat is often passed off as that of legal species, including tuna. But a year ago, the Pronature organization do...

This article graciously provided to The Costa Rica Star by EmbassyMag.ca, written by Ally Foster. Observers raise concerns over academic freedom, but company says this shouldn’t be used to hurt the reputation of businesses Calgary-based extractive company Infinito Gold Ltd. has been involved in a legal storm in Costa Rica, launching lawsuits against two university professors in a move it has...

SANDY, Utah (Oct. 24, 2012) - Herediano withstood a barrage from Real Salt Lake, outlasting the hosts in a cold, rainy Rio Tinto Stadium for a 0-0 draw Tuesday that advanced it to the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals. The Costa Rican side finished atop Group 2 with 10 points, reaching the knockout stage for the first time in three CONCACAF Champions League appearances. After Houston drew...

ALAJUELA, Costa Rica (Oct. 24, 2012) - With plenty of optimism and hopes of qualifying for the quarterfinals of the 2012-13 edition of the CONCACAF Champions League, Alajuelense departed Monday for Mexico, ahead of a Wednesday night showdown with Tigres in Monterrey. It's all come down to this final match in Group 6, with the Costa Ricans sitting atop the table on seven points, and the Mexican ...

Senior thesis research conducted last spring by Audrey Haynes at Costa Rica’s National University, under the tutorship of Johan “Joop” Varekamp, has shown that many residents of the Central American nation have levels of mercury in their hair that far exceed those recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Varekamp, whose student made the discovery as part of a broad evaluation of en...

Dear friends and colleagues of Pretoma: Pretoma hereby wishes to express its sincere thanks to each one of you, whom at one time or another, for over a year, supported the campaign “Shark Fin Imports…Is Shark Finning.” With the signing of the decree “Ban on Shark Finning, importation and transportation, and transfer and possession of fins on board any vessel inside territorial waters”, Octob...

Seven Costa Rican properties take coveted spots on the list’s top resorts in Central and South America. The Costa Rica Tourism Board is thrilled to announce that Costa Rica was the most celebrated destination in Central America in the 2012 Condé Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Awards released this week. The top honors went to the region’s favorite hotels and resorts, as voted by the readers of ...

The president of a Costa Rican company that sold reinsurance bonds to life settlement companies was sentenced today in Richmond, Virginia, to 60 years in prison for carrying out a half-billion-dollar fraud scheme that affected more than 3,500 victims throughout the United States and abroad, announced U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Neil H. MacBride and Assistant Attorney General...

Halloween with Little Theatre Group (LTG) will be happening this year at the Tin Jo Restaurant on Saturday November 3rd 2012. Starting at 8pm, the talented actors of LTG will be providing suitably scary entertainment for your enjoyment. Under the management of our favourite ghoul (Kevin Huey), LTG will be offering its members a very special night of horror.  Scary stories, silly skits, 'Name that ...

Recently The Costa Rica Star has published on SENASA and Humane Society International partnering on animal welfare here in Costa Rica. According to a Unimer survey, 73% of Costa Rican’s claim to own pets. In 1994, the Law for Animal Welfare was established to maintain standards for the protection of animals. Since then, the National Animal Health Service, SENASA, has been protecting the rig...

In the past The Costa Rica Star has published on women appealing the Court of Human Rights to overturn in-vitro fertilization laws in Costa Rica. Data from World Bank (WB), claims that female employment in Costa Rica increased 15 percent from 2000 to 2010. A representative of the World Bank, said that the report entitled “The effect of the economic power of women in Latin America and the Car...

In the past The Costa Rica Star has published on Costa Rica Cybercrime Law 9048. Ticoblogger, a community of Costa Rican bloggers, invites everyone to attend the forum “Online Anonymity, Pseudonyms and Freedom of Expression” on Wednesday, October 24, 2012, at 9:00 PM (GMT-03:00) at the Legislative Assembly in San José, Costa Rica. The forum will discuss (Facebook) Article 230 of the ‘Cybercrime...

The state fuel company Recope will begin importing natural gas within 6 months, to sell it to industrial clients. According to Jorge Rojas, general manager of Recope, research is still being conducted over how many tons of gas will be brought into the country and at what prices it will be marketed locally. The product will serve as an alternative for large scale energy consumers, who have se...

An Akron-based satellite telecommunications company has won its lengthy fight to do business in Costa Rica. VSAT Systems has been trying to get a license from the Costa Rican government for more than three years to offer satellite services in the Central American country. Company attorneys received a call “out of the blue” recently from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative saying the ...

Recently The Costa Rica Star published an article on a breakfast smoothie recipe, the one below involves liquor. Congratulations to Adrian Vega, head bartender at the Costa Rica Marriott San Jose, for winning 1st place at the Costa Rica National World Class bartender competition by Diageo. Find his winning drink recipes below: “Magma Fusion” -1 ½ oz Tanqueray Ten (gin)...

SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica (Oct. 22, 2012) –Humane Society International- Latin America and the Servicio Nacional de Salud Animal (SENASA), the Costa Rican animal health service, celebrated the signing of an agreement to join together to work for improved animal welfare standards. “In recent years, SENASA has become increasingly involved in the fight against dogfighting, an activity which oftentimes ...

Article originally found on BirdingCraft.com. In the past The Costa Rica Star has published on bird watching excursions in Costa Rica and how Nature Air is supporting this fantastic hobby. Time flies just like the migrants that zip through Costa Rica. Although I haven’t listened to the night skies as much as the previous year, the Spring Peeper-like notes of Swainson’s Thrushes have drif...

Thick cloudy skies subdued the sunlight on an autumnal day in Paris. That did not stop the group of representatives from the public and private sector attending the 5th Carbon Fund Meeting of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) from making a decision that is a major milestone. Costa Rica is set to become the first country to access performance-based payments through the FCPF. This is the...

The intention would be to overcome the paralysis of $320 million from the Development Banking System of Costa Rica by giving over its management to the Central Bank. The fund consists of 17% current accounts from commercial banks in Costa Rica, known as the "bank toll" amounting to $320 million which is supposed to be used to grant loans to micro-entrepreneurs, within the Development Banking ...

You relocated to Costa Rica to enjoy a relaxing and peaceful lifestyle, the weather, to allow your money to go further, or some combination of that, plus other factors. Yet, you brought your old eating habits along with you. The fact is that eating processed meats, cheeses, and packaged goods costs a lot more in Costa Rica, as many of the brands you are used to are imported. Well, do yourse...

Help SASY! stop animal suffering by bidding high and bidding often at this year’s Annual Charity Auction. It is guaranteed to be a groovy party with over 200 items up for bid. Take part in our Live and Silent Auctions with hundreds of items in health, beauty, travel and much more! Don’t forget – all proceeds raised benefit the all-volunteer SASY! Organization working hard to end animal suf...

UPDATED 8/20/19 -The Costa Rica Star has recently published updated  information here about receiving your residency  residency in Costa Rica to avoid border runs, wasting time, and money. The article below is not intended to be legal advice, it is simply a guide outlining the process of applying for residency in Costa Rica. Always seek advice from a lawyer in good standing with the Colegio...

Undisclosed Pacific Coast Location 6:22am It's early enough that even the guard isn't at his post yet. After about 10 minutes of driving through a series of shallow ponds wrongly called a road, we're at the access gate. We've already ignored one “No public access” sign, what's a unmanned guard shack? It's not as bad as I think, the driver has already called ahead. We pull up to a gover...

This week, BBC Mundo included Costa Rica as one of the top places in Latin America for technology start ups, in an article titled "What is the Silicon Valley of Latin America?".  This was a follow through based on an Economist article on Chile, dubbing it "Chilecon Valley". The BBC piece highlighted Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Costa Rica and Mexico.  Chile made a strong case for being the...

You are invited to join us for the 2012 Costa Rica International Festival of Terror ("TerrorFest"), October 25th to 31st 2012 in Montezuma, Costa Rica. If you don't have Halloween plans, this could be your ticket, and a great way to meet new people and see the country. TerrorFest presents the best in short and feature horror, sci-fi, suspense, thriller, animation, horror-comedy, and more fr...

SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA – October 19th, 2012 – Phone companies now have approval to charge for prepaid mobile phone Internet service by the amount of data consumed, instead of the current flat-fee model based on the speed of connection. Last week, the Telecommunications Superintendence Council (SUTEL) approved the new rate model. The maximum rate will be 0.0076 colons (plus sales tax) for each Kiloby...

SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA – October 19th, 2012 – A new law is in process in the Legislative Assembly, which lawmakers say is aimed at cracking down on fraud. Lawmakers say they want to remove the “veil” that currently exists around Costa Rican corporations, known as sociedad anonimas, or S.A.’s, in order to defend the rights of third parties. The proposal was submitted by the legislator Jose Maria Vill...

October 19th, 2012 – As a result of flooding caused by heavy rains on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, as well as a report issued by the National Meteorology Institute (IMN, in Spanish) on Thursday, the National Risk Prevention and Emergency Response Comission (CNE), declared a “green alert” for the Pacific and Central Valley areas. The heavy rains, as well as bad waste management, caused riv...

A TACA Airbus A321, similar to the one which landed with a flat tire yesterday at Juan SantamariaSAN JOSE, COSTA RICA – October 19th, 2012 – An Airbus A321 belonging to TACA airlines, carrying 146 passengers and 7 crew members, skidded while landing yesterday at the Juan Santamaria International Airport, in Alajuela. The incident occurred around 4 p.m.  Hector Chaves, chief of the Costa Rican Fire...