Image Credit: Asociación de Cafés Finos de Costa Rica Costa Rican coffee made history by braking the record during the auction “Cup of Excellence 2018” (Taza de la Excelencia) in the category of fine coffee beans. The beans of Don Cayito estate closed the bid at $300.09 per pound. “With a lot of 529.11 pounds of the Geisha variety, and a honey type processing, it broke the world record esta...

Five students of the Pharmacy Faculty of the University of Costa Rica (UCR) created an innovative product as part of their class “Innovation Management”; with the use of nanotechnology that allows the manipulation of molecular structures in very small measure, the students created a mouthwash prototype that whitens teeth while at the same time regenerating dental enamel. “Apati-Dent” is the na...

This Tuesday a team lead by a technical team from the University of Costa Rica's National Laboratory of Structural Materials and Models (Lanamme) with the support of the Coca Cola company, the ALIARSE Foundation and the Municipality of Desamparados, presented their project “Green Asphalt” (Asfalto Verde), a new asphalt mix, unique in Latin America that includes within its components PET plastic f...

The Costa Rican-America Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) presented their position with regards to the fiscal crisis in Costa Rica and the proposed solutions presented by the government. AmCham considers that the legislative procedure should include sufficient space for a political negotiation of the new elements present in the Law to Strengthen the Public Finances bill, and that this process “include...

Nicaraguan college students are looking into the possibility of continuing their studies in the University of Costa Rica (UCR) to avoid having their careers interrupted as a consequence of the crisis in their country. So far ten students have been accepted by the UCR through the figure of student exchanges or student mobility, but another 45 requests have been received by the Office of Interna...

The Costa Rican Central Bank is implementing a new directive that establishes that on purchases of 15,000 colones (approx. $26.50) or less when paying with debit or credit cards with chip or contactless technology presenting the ID and/or signing the voucher will no longer be necessary. According to Carlos Melegatti, director of the Payment’s Systems Division of the Central Bank, currently clo...

The public police force in Jaco has maintained  an ample presence at this popular vacation spot since the beginning of the mid-year vacation period Constant patrols, road controls, interventions and others have been done throughout the entire district of Garabito, Puntarenas focusing specifically on areas of high visitation. As a result of these operations the police have arrested 316 people...

Costa Rican short film “Sudden Death”, directed by Kenneth Sanabria, was selected last year to compete in the New York Latino Film Festival, and now it was also picked to participate in the NewFilmmakers event in Los Angeles. NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA) is a non-profit organization “designed to showcase innovative works by emerging filmmakers from around the world”. The international e...

The Guanacaste Conservation Area announced this week that the access to Playa Naranjo in the Santa Rosa National Park has been reopened. Access to this area had been closed since November 2017 as a result of the damages suffered by Tropical Storm Nate. The actions of the Liberia Municipality, the Municipality of La Cruz and personnel of the Guanacaste Conservation Area finally allowed the roa...

The Fiscal Plan presented by the Executive Branch, is awaiting the approval of the Legislative Assembly, however, the deputies that oppose it already presented over 1000 motions to block the project. Deputy Dragus Dalanescu, part of the National Restauration Party (PRN) presented a total of 500 motions against the Project Law to Strengthen Public Finances which proposes, among other measures, g...

The Center for the Investigation of Sea Science and Limnology (Cimar) warned of strong waves this weekend and through Monday in the Caribbean and North Pacific. A high-pressure system in the Atlantic will generate strong winds in the Caribbean causing waves that could reach 3.6 meters (11.8 feet) during the weekend. In the North Pacific, gusts of wind of 45 to 50 kph (28-31 mph) could cause ...

Rocio Aguilar, Minister of Treasury, is analyzing the 330 Government institutions that are currently attached to the different Ministries, to evaluate the possibility of eliminating some of them and with this bring down the expenses. The proposal is expected to be ready by 2020 and involves the analysis of each institution and the impact they have on terms of budget. According to Aguilar, many...

Alvaro Pereira, chief of the Economic Division of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), visited Costa Rica to meet with members of the Executive Branch regarding the progress made by the country towards reaching fiscal sustainability. Pereira highlighted once again on the importance of getting the fiscal reform approved to avoid a crisis that could have “terrible con...

President Carlos Alvarado and the Minister of Security, Michael Soto, signed Law 9579 that will allow the National Coast Guard Service the use of ships, boats, speed boats and jet skies that have been or are seized from organized crime. The signing of this law took place in the Presidential House, as one of the activities that marked the official establishment of the National Security Council t...

Photo Credit: Guana/Noticias Leo Perron, a Canadian expat who lived in Tamarindo, Guanacaste, passed away in the early evening of Wednesday when, for reasons still undetermined, he crashed into a street light pole. The accident took place close to the entry to The Westin Conchal Resort, in the road that connects with the community of Brasilito. Perron was 58-years-old, lived in the area...

The General Directorate of Migration in Costa Rica will be extending the length of tourist Visas to Nicaraguan citizens from three to  six months with the purpose of giving them additional time to remain in Costa Rica legally considering the critical situation affecting Nicaragua. Raquel Vargas, director of Migration said, that the extension from three to six months for tourist Visas to Nicarag...

The Housing Promotion Foundation (Fuprovi) presented this July 3 the report “Situation of housing sector and urban development in Costa Rica in 2017”, which offers information regarding housing projects, construction, the conditions of the houses in the country, housing opportunities, quality of life in different neighborhoods and communities, etc. This report also brought to light the limited...

Taxi unions in Costa Rica protested in the streets on Tuesday and Wednesday this week requesting that the Government takes actions over Uber services. The government was clear that they will continue the dialogue with the representatives of the taxi unions as long as the roadblocks and protests that affect the transit in the streets stop completely. “We can not allow that the free transit of...

A 70-year-old U.S. man, identified as William M. Nearhoff, was found dead in the apartment he lived in in the neighborhood Barrio Latino, Grecia, Alajuela the afternoon of this Monday, July 2nd. According to the information offered to us by the Judiciary Investigative Police (OIJ) , the man had hands and feet tied and a bruised wound on his head, Nearhoff was a retiree who moved from Texas and ...

In the beginning of the year online magazine International Living named Costa Rica the Best place to retire abroad in its Annual Global Retirement Index; now, the country is included in their list of “5 Best Places to Retire on $30,000 a Year”. When the time comes to consider where to live the years of retirement, many consider Costa Rica because of the weather, closeness to North America, frie...

75 days ago the Zoo Ave Rescue Center in Costa Rica celebrated the birth of a King Vulture (Sarcoramphus papa), an event that scientists had been awaiting for years. The parents of the baby vulture have lived in captivity and isolated for over 28 years and they have attempted to reproduce for the last decade unsuccessfully. In an interview with Teletica Channel 7, Dennis Janik, founder of...

The United States citizens celebrate this fourth of July 242 years of independent life, if you are in Costa Rica and you are looking for options on things to do this Independence Day, we offer you some alternatives: Backyard Bar: The Backyard Bar between Jaco and Hermosa in Puntarenas is hosting an "Old Fashioned Backyard Barbecue" starting at 4 p.m. with an open jackpot surf contest and live m...

The Juan Santamaria International Airport will welcome travelers in a colorful and innovative way, with the incorporation of giant sculptures of Costa Rican wild animals, beautiful photographs of the country’s landscapes, technology and more. These elements are all part of the “Sense of Place 2018” campaign which has the objective of making the hours in the airport fun and entertaining while at...

The morning Monday, July 2, officers of Management Investigation of the Professional Migratory Police arrested a Costa Rican woman during a search in the area of Getsemani, Heredia, as the main suspect of human smuggling ring through the forging of documents. The woman's last name Benavides De la O, forged different documents such as bank statements, municipal permits, social security orders, w...

Officers of the Border Police in Costa Rica captured the man who had escaped from La Reforma Prison in San Rafael de Alajuela last Friday. The man, Juan Jose Palacios Rivera, a native of Nicaragua, was aboard a bus with destination to Panama. The bus was stopped by the authorities before crossing the border after receiving information that the man was on it, in the revision the police officers ...

The government of Costa Rica proposed the organization of a joint commemoration of the Central American Independence Bicentennial (Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica). Costa Rica’s initiative presented during the meeting held in the Dominican Republic, seeks to promote a historic celebration from the multiculturalism and diversity of the region. It includes defining the pri...

Ad Astra Rocket Company lead by Costa Rican physicist, mechanical-engineer and former NASA astronaut, Franklin Chang, signed an agreement with Aethera Technologies Limited, and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) to receive additional funding for the development of the VASIMR® engine. The financing of $1.5 million, “Provides a measure of Canada’s long-term vision of the importance of high-power ele...

Photo Credit: La Nacion/ Alejandro Gamboa Madrigal. Canadian company Worldwide Charter Group (WWCG) rejected the fraud accusation made by Costa Rican travel agency DestinosTV. Jose Cortes, General Manager of Destinos TV publicly accused Worldwide Charter Group of fraud in a press conference held on June 19, in reference to over 300 Costa Rican travelers that were stranded in the county after...

The LGBTI diversity parade – Pride Costa Rica 2018 takes place this Sunday, July 1st and Government officials as well as several public and private institutions have confirmed their participation in this event and also their commitment to the defense of the rights of the LGBTI community. The Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE), the Costa Rican Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers (AyA), Cost...

The alert was given after 2 p.m., when penitentiary police at La Reforma prison in San Rafael, Alajuela first realized inmate Juan Jose Palacios Rivera was missing. The man (photo included) is a native of Nicaragua, and he was incarcerated October 2017 convicted of aggravated robbery and simple theft. Palacios was in a “trust” regime and worked in the prison’s kitchen, apparently, with the h...

A 54-year-old man became the first person in Costa Rica to receive the pension of his partner with who he lived many years and passed away in February 2016. The man, Roy Calderon, presented his request to receive the benefit to the National Direction of Pensions; however, the same was rejected back in December claiming that it did not fulfill the requirements as established in Article 8 of the ...

Costa Rica's most valuable asset is still its own land. A number of persons and corporations have found that land development, lot segregation and construction of buildings and houses are a way to make good profits. There is a wide range of investing options in this field: houses, apartments, lots, farms, raw land, commercial buildings and beach areas just to name a few. However, there are also a ...

The Social Security Service (CCSS) in Costa Rica revealed that the institution invested over $246 thousand (USD) on the attention of Samuel one of the former siamese twins that underwent a separation surgery back in February 23, 2018 which extender for about 18 hours. “The data comes from an analysis carried out by the subarea of Hospital Expenses of the Financial Management, in which variables...

The Ministry of Public Security in Costa Rica, headed by Michael Soto, has been carrying out mega-operations involving the different police forces in the country with the purpose of increasing security, preventing crimes and seizing drugs and firearms, in total 12 coordinated operations have taken place, in different areas of the country, since the new government took charge, but the total number...

Lebanese, Ziad Akl, has been in preventive imprisonment in Costa Rica for over one year and  was sentenced today to over 23 years of prison for six separate crimes. Ziad, is the brother of Elias Akl the man who was assassinated back in May 2017 outside a private school in Guachipelin, Escazu alleged to be drug related.  A report in Diario Extra states that Elias was the head of the Lebanese Maf...

The community of San Ramon in La Virgen de Sarapiqui is taking matters in their own hands to promote Eco-Tourism in the area through the creation of a new trail to the Braulio Carrillo National Park. With the support of the San Carlos' headquarters of the Costa Rica Technological Institute (TEC), members of the community organized and have come up with the project that will be ready by early 20...

Image for Illustration Purposes Only Information released by Channel 7 regarding the drug trafficking cell associated with a Mexican cartel operating in Costa Rica   which was dismantled by the Judiciary Investigative Police (OIJ) on May 26, used helicopters to move the drugs between Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica. Channel 7 (Telenoticias) reports, numerous videos and photos were found on c...

Alaska Airlines announced this Tuesday the increase in the frequency of flights from three a week to daily in the route Los Angeles-San Jose, during the high season; while United Airlines confirmed the increase in frequency of the Chicago-San Jose flights. When it comes to Alaska Airlines the itinerary will operate from November 15 through the 26, 2018 and from December 16, 2018 to January 6, 2...

Usually when people visit the beach they worry about sharks or even sea snakes, crocodiles hardly every cross their minds, but the reality is that seeing crocodiles at the beaches is not uncommon, at least not in Costa Rica. Every year sightings of crocodiles swimming in the beaches are reported in Costa Rica, some of the beaches where this has happened include Tamarindo, Playas del Coco and Pa...

The morning Monday June 25th, the offices of the General Directorate of Migration in Costa Rica were abnormally crowded by Nicaraguans waiting to request refuge status. The government insists that the majority of the requests are coming from Nicaraguans that already reside in Costa Rica, however, the number of requests this Monday was of over 1,200 by 10 a.m., exceeding the normal average of 10...