Through May 24, 2018 the Costa Rican police register a total of 247 violent deaths, 27 more in comparison to the same period of 2017. In a period of just 25 hours, between Tuesday and Wednesday 10 people were killed, half of them in San Jose, and the rest outside the Great Metropolitan Area (GAM). The violent deaths in the past days include the shooting of an Italian citizen as he was leavin...

The bill to block cell phone signals in Costa Rican prisons was presented more than one year ago to the Legislative Assembly, today it received the approval in first debate and therefore could soon become a reality. The bill which is promoted by the Executive Branch, received the support of the 50 deputies present in congress at the moment of the voting. It has the goal of reducing the number o...

The creation in Costa Rica of a specialized court to combat organized crime was supposed to be ready by October 14 this year, however, the president of the Supreme Court of Justice, Carlos Chinchilla, requested that this is held back for another year with the purpose of getting the necessary funding. Chinchilla explained that the Supreme Court had already made the request to the Legislative Ass...

President Carlos Alvarado met with five deputies from Limon to work on a work agenda for the development of the Caribbean province. “The development of Limon is one of our priorities”, commented Alvarado. Also present in the meeting were Greivin Villegas the new executive president of the Atlantic Zone Development and Port Administration Group (JAPDEVA in Spanish), the Minister of Public Works ...

Costa Rica is known for many different reasons, most of them positive, but when it comes to having to deal with government institutions anyone will tell you bureaucracy is crazy and they will make you jump through 100 hoops, 90% of them unnecessary. Costa Rica is the country with the worse average in Latin America when It comes to the number of processes that are required to start a constructio...

The non-governmental organization Volcanes Sin Fronteras (Volcanos without Borders) has suggested the possibility of creating geoparks in the areas involving the Poas, Turrialba and Irazu volcanoes with the purpose of reactivating the economy in these communities. As it has been reported recently, the closure of the Poas Volcano for more than a year now has resulted in losses not just for the N...

Costa Rica is a perfect spot for bird-watching, and it offers a number of great places where exotic and unique species of birds can be appreciated in their natural habitat, one of this places is the Alexander Skutch Biological Corridor in Quizarra, Perez Zeledon. This biological corridor also known as Los Cuisingos is managed by the Tropical Scientific Center, the land was donated by Alexander ...

A foreign couple was shot as they were leaving the Italian Embassy in San Pedro, San Jose, Costa Rica this Wednesday afternoon. The victims were identified as Salvatore Ponzo, an Italian citizen who ran a business in Costa Rica and a woman of last names Lopez Toaquiza from Ecuador who was Ponzo’s girlfriend. According to a witness the couple left the embassy and were walking to their vehicle...

Costa Rican police raided 29 locations this Wednesday morning to bring down a drug trafficking operating the southern zone of the country which was headed by two former Coast Guard officers. According to the District Attorney office, the investigation began in 2016; as a result of today’s operation, the police arrested 22 suspects, among them four Coast Guard officers from Golfito and a female ...

Ezequiel and Samuel Nuñez, the Costa Rican siamese twins who underwent a separation surgery at the National Children’s Hospital three months ago are almost ready to leave the hospital. The twins who are now 2 years and 5 months old have slowly made progress to the point that Samuel could be going back home as early as next week; Ezequiel still requires to get some infections under control but c...

By the name of “Minnerva”, HP Inc. inaugurated its innovation center in Costa Rica. This site was created to develop creative ideas and promote innovation processes oriented to solve internal necessities of the company, as well as, in a second phase, support the academy’s innovation processes for products and services. The grand opening event included the participation of Justin Ferrell, an int...

The Costa Rican Supreme Electoral Court (TSE in Spanish) made it possible for citizens to change the name that appears in their identity card (cédula) to match their gender identity, following the advisory opinion given by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. With this change all personal documents of the transgender population must also be modified according to show the name as it appears...

Two United States citizens tried to leave Costa Rica through the Juan Santamaria Airport with a kilogram of ketamine hidden in baby powder containers. According to the Ministry of Public Security, officers from the Drug Control Police intercepted the suspects at the Juan Santamaria Airport, two men of last names Santoyo, 35 years-old and Morales, 38 years-old. The drug which is used as an an...

A bill analyzed by the Legislative Assembly proposes a change in the Transit Law to allow the Public Force (Fuerza Publica) to act as traffic cops when necessary and have the ability to extend tickets and fines for law violations. The bill received the support of 51 deputies. The project establishes the cooperation between both police forces and gives one year for the Ministry of Public Works a...

Puntarenas receives many tourists from cruise ships every day, however, the majority of these visitors choose to take tours in nearby areas due to the lack of attractions and activities to enjoy in the pier and Paseo de los Turistas; solving this situation is what is motivating the building of a new park that will receive the tourists and hopefully get them to spend more time in this zone. The ...

The financial services firm, Encore Capital Group, will become the first multinational company to open its operations very close to what will be San Jose’s Technological City, as part of the Special Zone for Economic Growth, promoted by San Jose’s Municipality. It will relocate its operations to Yaohan’s old building, by next November. Encore is part of the Municipality’s initiative to promote ...

The Turrialba Volcano in Costa Rica has been in a period of relative calm throughout the past weeks with the constant emission of gas as vapor. On Sunday afternoon, however, the volcano had another eruption of importance with emission of ash and a column that reached 500 meters above the crater (3,800 meters above sea level). Another eruption was registered at 9 a.m. of Monday morning, with ...

Philip James Layfield, 44, a personal injury attorney, was indicted on federal charges accused of stealing the majority of a multi-million dollar settlement, most of which should have been paid to the victim of a car accident. Layfield was arrested in New Jersey late April, when he returned to the United States from Costa Rica, where he relocated when his law firm Layfield & Barrett located...

All evidence indicates that the dead body found under the Rio Sucio bridge on Route 32 (San Jose-Limon) is the Italian citizen that went missing on May 14, Stefano Calandrelli. The body was badly decomposed and this complicated the proper identification of the same through traditional measures such as fingerprints; however, other characteristics of the body as well as items found along with it,...

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Costa Rica, stated through a press release on Sunday evening, their position regarding the presidential elections that took place in Venezuela that same day. “Costa Rica does not recognize the legitimacy of the electoral process carried out this Sunday, May 20 in the Republic of Venezuela”. Costa Rica considers the election processed lacked transparency sinc...

Today's travelers want to bring home more than tan lines and souvenirs. They aspire to achieve personal enrichment through life-changing experiences that create a shift in perspectives—of the world and the self. Enter transformational travel, the key to meaningful interactions, immersive encounters and genuine communion with nature and culture. According to the Transformational Travel Council, "we...

Once again, the bridge over the Virilla River on the road that connects Lindora, Santa Ana with San Antonio de Belen, Heredia will be closed at night time starting this Sunday May 20th through Thursday, May 24 from 10 p.m. through 5 a.m. This time, the closure is for the installation of the central part of the new bridge; in order to do this cranes will be working on both the existing bridge as...

The Judiciary Investigative Police (OIJ) found the body of a man under the Rio Sucio bridge on route 32 (San Jose-Limon). According to the information given by the police the body was badly decomposed and therefore they require time to confirm the identity of the victim. As of Saturday, OIJ officers were conducting a search in this area after receiving information that the Italian citizen St...

1,276 Venezuelan citizens are registered to vote in Costa Rica, however, the majority chose not to cast their vote and this was evident in the movement at the Venezuelan embassy in San Pedro were very few made an appearance. Even though they preferred not to vote, members of this community gathered at the Plaza de la Democracia in San Jose to protest against this election process/ “None of us ...

Get up close to see a heart, lungs, skull and even a brain, at the “Yo Humano: All Bodies”  exhibit at the National Gallery in Costa Rica that will be open through June 17. “With the clear objective of raising awareness among the public on the importance of the care, protection and proper use of the different structures that make up the human body, the exhibit shows how our body is formed biol...

A group of tourists found the baby sloth alone in Playa Cocles, Puerto Viejo, Limon, and brought him to the Jaguar Rescue Center, where the personnel and volunteers took on the task of searching for the mother. The baby sloth weighed only 400 grams. They recorded the baby sloth’s cry and went into the forest armed with speakers playing the recording over and over. It took them two days but they...

The Shnit Worldwide ShortFilmFestival is taking submissions from short film producers who want to participate in this years’ edition which will take place at the Magaly theater, October 17 through the 21. All Central American directors and production companies that are interested in exhibiting their short film as well as national filmmakers are invited to take part of this excellent platform. ...

The crisis in Nicaragua continues after one month despite the initial attempts of a national peace dialogue that took place this week. The confrontation between the Nicaraguan government and the protesters has left so far over 63 deaths. Nicaragua is the fourth commercial partner of importance for Costa Rica, where exports reach close to $500 million a year. The repercussions of the crisis...

The Judiciary Investigative Police in Costa Rica (OIJ) are making progress on the case of the Italian businessman, Stefano Calandrelli, who went missing the evening of May 14. Evidence indicates that Calandrelli, 51-years of age and co-owner of the Italian restaurant L’Incontro, was kidnapped; OIJ have detained 4 men and 1 woman in relation to this case yesterday evening in an operation carried...

“Let’s Tour Costa Rica” is the new video created by LCA Productions for the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT) which aims to promote national and international tourism in the country. The new Minister of Tourism, Maria Amalia Revelo, has commented that the objectives for the next four years are focused on working with small and medium size companies through the tourism chambers in the different r...

Back in March 35 members of congress approved in first debate a project that would allow trawling practices once again disputing the previous ruling of the Constitutional Chamber which annulled the trawling permits that had been issued by Costa Rican Fisheries and Aquaculture Institute (Incopesca). Today, the Constitutional Chamber, known as Sala IV in Costa Rica, declared unconstitutional the ...

The San Jose Marathon will take place this Sunday, May 20, and this will cause the closure of several streets in downtown San Jose from 4 a.m. through noon. This year the marathon will have the participation of 3000 athletes, out of these, more than 100 are international athletes representing 20 countries, among them: Ecuador, Chile, Argentina, USA, Mexico, Kenia, Panama, Nicaragua, France, Ven...

The government claims that efforts are being done to comply with the security and safety requirements established by the National Emergency Commission necessary to reopen the Poas Volcano National Park to the public. Tourists and tourism businesses are impatient and tired of waiting, in fact, neighbors and business owners are planning to march this Sunday at 9 a.m. as a protest to demand the pr...

This Saturday, May 19 at the National Stadium parents will have the possibility of having 20 private schools in one location offering information on their educational offer during the ‘Feria de Colegios” or School Fair. The event is hosted only on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will include also stands for other companies all related to education and children such as Genius Lab; Tutor Doc...

The changes in the regulation regarding the sale of ammunitions in Costa Rica went into effect today, with the publication of the same in the official newspaper La Gaceta. According to this regulation those businesses authorized to sell ammunition have the obligation of registering for all sales the name and identification number of the physical (of legal age) or legal corporation acquiring them....

In the frame of the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, the Executive Branch announced the naming of attorney Luis Eduardo Salazar Muñoz as the Commissioner for Matters Relating the LGBTI population. “One of the biggest challenges of the Bicentennial Government will be to deepen the culture of respect and non-discrimination, as well as the understanding and the cons...

Low-cost airline Volaris inaugurated its new route San Jose, Costa Rica to Washington D.C. via El Salvador this Wednesday, May 16. The flights will travel from San Jose twice a week on Monday and Wednesdays at 1:30 p.m. arriving in Washington D.C. at 11:35 p.m. While from the U.S. capital to Costa Rica the flights are scheduled from Dulles Airport on Tuesdays and Thursdays leaving at 1:52 a.m. ...

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the population in the American continent has won 16 years of life in average in the last 45 years; today, life expectancy in this region is of 75 years. BBC launched a calculator that shows a person’s life expectancy based on the country you were born in, and using this tool and analyzing the results for Latin America, Costa Rica is in the firs...

On October 15th and 16th, Costa Rica will gather high-level exhibitors from the life sciences industry, as well as decision makers from the companies that are global leaders in the sector, key suppliers, consulting firms, and others, in the fourth edition of the Life Sciences Forum Costa Rica 2018, organized by the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency (CINDE). The recently inaugurated Costa ...

Information released by the Municipal Consulting and Development Institute (IFAM) as part of the VI Recycling National Encounter, shows that Costa Rica is currently recycling close to 264 tons of ordinary waste out of the 4000 generated on a daily basis, which represents close to 6.6%. The numbers have improved from previous years, back in 2014 the Ministry of Health estimated that only 1.26% o...