American credit rating agency Moody’s announced it has "placed the Government of Costa Rica's BA2 long-term issuer ratings and the Ba2 senior unsecured bond ratings on review for downgrade. Back in 2017, Moody’s had already downgraded Costa Rica’s government bond rating from BA1 to BA2, maintaining the negative outlook of the rating and pointing as the key driver behind the downgrade “the conti...

According to the National Household Survey carried out by the National Institute of Census and Statistics (INEC), poverty in Costa Rica has gone up by 1.1% in comparison to 2017. "We are now seeing the consequences of not making decisions, poverty grows, unemployment grows, there's deceleration of the economy and a raise in the interest rates. This is why the approval of the fiscal plan is cru...

The renowned Ballet of Prague’s National Theater will have two presentations in Costa Rica next Wednesday, October 24 and Thursday, October 25 at 8 p.m. at the Costa Rican National Theater, announced Interamericana de Producciones production company. The Czech National Ballet was established in 1883, which makes it the oldest ballet body in that country and one of the oldest cultural institutio...

The multinational company Precision Concepts Medical Technologies announced during the Life Sciences Forum this week in Costa Rica that it will invest US$5 million to expand its presence in the country and build a more robust molding and engineering infrastructure. "In 1984, the company was given the opportunity to manufacture the first medical device which was the beginning of a successful pa...

Police authorities of the Ministry of Public Security and the United States Coast Guard Service intercepted this past October 15 a vessel loaded with 444 kilograms of cocaine in waters of the Costa Rican South Pacific. This was possible thanks to the joint patrol operations between the United States and Costa Rican Governments. The boat was intercepted 100 nautical miles southwest of Mata Pa...

The Monster Jam event is confirmed for December 14 and December 16 at Costa Rica’s National Stadium. It’s been four years since the Monster Jam show came to Costa Rica, this time they will have three presentations, the first one on Friday, December 14 at 8 p.m., the other two on Sunday, December 16 one at noon and the last one at 5 p.m. Tickets are already available for American Express card...

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...

Skyway Costa Rica began its operations in the country today, offering domestic flights for locals and visitors as well as flights to Bocas del Toro in Panama. "Costa Rica has much to offer and the tourism industry is growing very rapidly bringing more and more people to this beautiful and diverse country. In order to experience all there is to do, flying from San Jose to various destinations i...

Today, the Rincón de la Vieja Volcano in Guanacaste registered an eruption after several months of relative calm. The column reached close to 1000 meters above the crater, some 2916 meters above sea level (9564.48 ft), it was a short eruption that lasted close to 2 minutes. According to OVSICORI, no reports have been received of ash fall in the nearby communities, however, they recommend pre...

This Tuesday, October 16, 2018, Costa Rica’s Judiciary Branch voted and opposed the fiscal reform as long as it contains expense containment measures that affect the Judiciary Branch. The Court took five hours to discuss the situation, and concluded they will oppose the fiscal plan as long as some points they consider “affect” their operation are not eliminated, these include dispositions conta...

Back on September 25, judge Ileana Castillo Porras had ruled the strike "illegal" for employees of the Santa Ana Municipality; the labor union presented the corresponding appeal and today Judges José Adrián Calderón, Juan Carlos Segura and Manuel Rodríguez gave their resolution leaving firm the decision of illegality for these workers, however, the Municipality will not be able to collect the sala...

Edgar Mora, Minister of Education (MEP), affirmed that a total 556 employees of the Ministry of Public Education that were supposedly on strike protesting the fiscal plan, took advantage of the situation and traveled out of the country on vacation. According to Mora, all of these employees are identified, and MEP has confirmed they register migratory movements between September 9 and October 8 ...

Walter Espinoza, chief of the Judiciary Investigative Police (OIJ), confirmed today that OIJ has been investigating the disappearance of a US Expat since September 25. William Sean Creighton owner of an online sportsbook that operates in San Pedro, better known as “Tony”, was last seen the evening of September 24 when he left his work and reportedly went to drop off a co-worker in the area of C...

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...

Costa Rican Judiciary Police (OIJ) were able to confirm the identity of a body they found half-buried in Siquirres, Limón back on October 1. The remains correspond to Thomas J. Cook, a U.S. expat that had been reported missing in Jaco. Cook, who had settled in Herradura, Costa Rica back on July 20 this year was last seen and heard from on August 23 when he withdrew funds from an ATM in Jaco be...

The Municipal Band Café Tarrazú (Tarrazu Coffee) of Zona de los Santos represented Costa Rica this Sunday, October 14 in the Hispanic Day Parade in New York City. The band is made up of 120 members, most of them from the communities of León Cortés, Dota and Tarrazú, areas known for the high quality of their coffee. The group walked the Fifth Avenue of NYC for two hours playing traditional Costa...

For the fourth time, Costa Rica is the Latin American epicenter of technological convergence for life sciences. Ten international speakers will be analyzing the future of the technological manufacturing industry in the face of automation, artificial intelligence, new materials and virtualization. Organized by CINDE, the Costa Rican agency for promoting and attracting foreign direct investment t...

The 5th edition of the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week will fill Guanacaste with color and glamour on December 28 which will take place once again at Hacienda Pinilla Beach & Golf Resort. As is usually the case, the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week – Guanacaste (MBFWG) focuses on summer outfits and trends, inspired in the wonderful nature of Costa Rica. The activity is sponsored by Mastercard and prod...

Students at the Costa Rican Technological Institute (TEC) now have an interactive space for learning, the Learning Commons Library, unique in Costa Rica and Central America. A Learning Commons is defined as “an interactive space for learning that brings together investigation, games and collaborative work in order to promote the use of technology and digital resources available. It is designe...

Image credit: Wikipedi Scientists from the Clodomiro Picado Institute of the University of Costa Rica (ICP-UCR) created an antidote capable of neutralizing the venom of the black mamba snake, (Dendroaspis polylepis), an extremely venomous snake of the family Elapidae, and native to parts of sub-Saharan Africa. The antivenom is currently on its experimental stage, and consists in a “panel of ...

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...

Photo Credit: US Embassy Costa Rica The Judicial Branch of Costa Rica received the support of the U.S. Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL)in a special two-year project to strengthen the anti-corruption efforts; create a new internal ethics code, and tools to improve anti-corruption training and investigations. "As part of this project, representatives from the...

Microsoft is the first company that has confirmed it will be relocating its Costa Rica facilities to the “technological city” in San Jose, project that is being promoted by the Municipality of San Jose. Microsoft will be unifying its sales, operations and customer service business units and will install in a 21-floor tower that is being built in La Sabana, where the Universal store used to be....

Tuesday October 16 the 22 judges that form the “Corte Plena” (full court) of Costa Rica’s Judicial Branch, will have to establish their final position in regard to the proposed fiscal plan, which has already been approved in first debate by the Legislative Assembly but was sent to several institutions for consultation before it's as established by law. A report created by the Judicial Direction...

The number of Nicaraguans requesting asylum and migrating to Costa Rica shows a considerable decrease since September. June and July this year registered the highest numbers of refugee requests, however, according to Raquel Vargas, director of the General Directorate of Migration, the number of requests received in September was only of a 50% in comparison to the month of August, “During the mo...

The story had a tragic and sad end, the body of 30-year-old Massachusetts native Josh Byrne was found this Saturday several hours into a search. Byrne and his wife Bianca arrived in Costa Rica earlier this week on their honeymoon trip after just celebrating their marriage last weekend on a farm in New Hampshire. The couple chose the area of Dominicalito in the South Pacific to celebrate their m...

According to information offered today by the Costa Rican government, 98.5% of the workers still on strike are employees of the Ministry of Public Education, “The labor unions’ strike against the fiscal plan has diluted in the majority of public institutions that joined the movement in the beginning, back on September 10, and currently the protests are limited to workers of the Ministry of Educati...

30-year-old Josh Byrne and his wife Bianca traveled to Costa Rica earlier this week to celebrate their honeymoon after getting married last weekend on a farm in New Hampshire. As they were traveling over a bridge a flash flood dragged the car they were driving into the river. Bianca was able to make it out alive, but so far, there are no signs of Byrne. The couple was vacationing in the area of...

The National Emergency Commission (CNE) raised the alert in the Cental and South Pacific from green to yellow after 130 reports of floods in these areas caused by intense rainfall of tropical wave #40 that affected the country this Thursday, the red alert remains for the districts of Cobano, Paquera, Lepanto, El Roble, and the Center of Puntarenas that were considerably affected last week. The...

NOXTAK, a multinational firm specializing in nanotechnology for the control and mitigation of electromagnetic pollution from any source, has announced that it has chosen Costa Rica for setting up its operations. In the coming months, the company will start hiring personnel for manufacturing, design and engineering. At present, 11 employees are already working in the company’s administrative off...

The labor strike affecting the state refinery (Recope) came to and end yesterday after an agreement was reached between representatives of the labor union and the authorities of Recope. The operations went back to complete normality this Thursday, October 11 at 6 a.m. Employees of the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) also resumed their work after one month of striking. The Administ...

The price of the US dollar in Costa Rica has been fluctuating for the past few weeks and today if has reached the highest price of the year at 600 colones per dollar at some private and public banks. Some banks still have the price slightly under the 600 colones, BAC San Jose for example sells it at ₡599.00, Banco de Costa Rica and others such as Scotiabank has it at ₡602.00. The new preside...

Thomas J. Cook settled into his new home in Herradura, Costa Rica back in July 20 this year, a little over a month later, in August 23, the 62-year old man went missing. Cook’s sister, Sandra LeFrance and other family members have been looking for him since, the official report was filed in Costa Rica las Sunday and the Judiciary Investigative Police (OIJ) requested the assistance of the public...

The Ministry of Public Security of Costa Rica intercepted two motorboats the evening of this Tuesday and early hours of Wednesday in waters of the Caribbean loaded with marijuana. The Coast Guard Service of Barra del Colorado was in charge of the operation along with agents of the Drug Control Police. The boats were located at open sea, when the Coast Guard Patrol signaled them to stop they sp...

Police authorities of the Ministry of Public Security seized a total 428 kilograms of cocaine and arrested three suspects that traveled aboard the vessel. The vessel was intercepted in waters of the Pacific, southeast of Cabo Blanco in the Nicoya Peninsula. The ship had Ecuadorian license, according to the National Coastguard Service. Upon inspection, the Drug Control Police found the packet...

The Turrialba Volcano in Costa Rica has been presenting a more constant and intense activity since the beginning of October. The activity began today at 6:30 a.m. and its still ongoing. The ash column reached close to 500 meters above the crater of the volcano, 3,840 meters above sea level, (approx. 12,595 ft. above sea level). The National Seismology Network reported that the volcano mainta...

This Tuesday, Judge Francisco Quesada ruled that labor strike sustained for over a month by members of the Ministry of Public Education (MEP), illegal, considering that the movement was not carried out in a peaceful manner. The labor unions will have three days to appeal once they have been legally notified and after the appeal is presented the labor court will have another five days to dictat...

An investment of close to $13 million made possible the construction of the Costa Rican Oncology Center (Centro Oncológico Costarricense) a medical center in La Uruca, San Jose, that will open doors this Novemeber offering the latest in treatments for cancer patients. The five floor medical tower is equipped to treat an approximate 1200 patients a month, and it offers unique medical equipme...

The National Emergency Commission (CNE) recommended prevention as two new tropical waves will be arriving to the country this week. According to the National Meteorology Institute, tropical wave number 40 will hit this Thursday while the effects of number 41 will be felt during the weekend, affecting mainly the Central and South Pacific as well as the Central Valley, this type of phenomenon is ...

During a press conference today The Nacional Soccer Federation (FEDEFUTBOL) officially presented today the new head coach of the male national soccer team,"La Sele" Uruguayan born Gustavo Matosas. Matosas is a formal professional soccer player, he is 53 years-old and has managed 14 soccer teams, among them Mexican soccer club America and the Saudi Arabian team Al Hilal FC, this will be the firs...