Data from the Costa Rican Health Ministry for the first nearly five months of 2017 show a decrease in the number of new dengue cases compared to last year. Additionally, last year there were three strains of the virus circulating, and this year only two have been detected. Atenas and Montes de Oro in the Central Pacific foothills are the top two counties with dengue cases this year. Miramar nea...

While it's no secret to Costa Ricans that the country's public universities are the top ranked, and offer the widest selection of academic disciples and degree programs, what isn't talked about so openly is that their students disproportionately hail from the country's upper echelons. A recent report indicates that 57.8 percent of students at the country's state universities come from household...

The National Emergency Commission called a yellow alert for the county of Tilarán in Guanacaste since it has suffered the effects of heavy rainfall that has caused landslides, flooding and different emergencies that have forced the closure of some roads and the evacuation of families. The road between Nuevo Arenal and the touristic area of La Fortuna in San Carlos is currently closed due to sev...

Costa Rica’s Ministry of Public Works and Transportation received a petition this week from the president of the Costa Rican Commission for Cooperation with UNESCO, Rocío Solís, requesting authorities consider raising the minimum age for a driver’s license to 21 in an effort to reduce road-related injuries and fatalities. Road transit laws in Costa Rica set the minimum age for obtaining a regul...

The Costa Rican Tourism Institute announced the opening of a direct air connection between Costa Rica and Peru, the first direct connection to South America. The LATAM flight between San José, Costa Rica and Lima, Peru will facilitate connections to other South American countries. LATAM Airlines Group S.A. is a South American airline holding company incorporated under Chilean law and headqua...

A Costa Rican court today sentenced a Costa Rican man named José Enrique Ríos Pérez to 10 years in prison on finding him guilty of raping a female Canadian tourist on March 31, 2016. On the day of the incident, the man and the tourist, whose identity was not disclosed by officials, met and talked in a bar, and then went to the defendant's house where she was going to pick up some coconut oil, a...

The Costa Rican government celebrated yesterday the National Culture Awards ceremony at the National Theater. These awards are given every year and they recognize the work, effort, achievements and excellence of individuals or cultural-artistic groups in different cultural disciplines such as visual arts, audiovisuals, dance music, theater, literature, cultural research, culture promotion, to n...

Costa Rica's Foreign Minister continued on from his meetings in Qatar last week to other regions of the Middle East to continue to court economic interests in Costa Rica's markets.   Costa Rican Foreign Minister Manuel González held a private meeting last week as part of his participation at the World Economic Forum in Jordan with His Majesty King Abdallah II of Jordan and Jordanian For...

Off the Osa Peninsula in southern Costa Rica, scientists experiment with reviving coral reefs. Last year things turned pretty bad for coral reefs throughout the world due to ocean warming caused by El Niño and human activities that bleached and caused death in many reefs, including those in the Golfo Dulce. By "reforesting" the coral reef with fragments of coral "planted" in ceramic discs, a...

The University of Costa Rica's School of Pharmacy has invited an internationally renowned export on market regulation of cannabis, Julio Calzada, to lead a free conference on the topic. Calzada is a Uruguayan sociologist and politician with over 30 years experience in health promotion projects notably those designed to reduce harm in the use of illicit drugs. Such programs, known as "harm reduc...

Countries in the Central American region are the favored recipients of direct foreign investment by Costa Rican firms. According to figures from the Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR), over the last 10 years the flow of investments abroad reached US$1.96 billion, and 56 percent of these investments were in Central America. Panama is the top destination, with US$541.1 million over the last dec...

The Costa Rican Medical Professionals Association (Colegio de Médicos y Cirujanos) recently issued an alert to drivers in Costa Rica to avoid scams when getting the medical certificate required to obtain or renew a license. There have also been changes to the medical certificate procedures, as now all certifications are entered into a digital system. To avoid falling victim to a scam, and pa...

Costa Rican authorities announced they would reinforce security, including streamlining procedures to expel foreigners linked to criminal activities, following a series of recent crimes that have shocked the country. "Acts of violence in recent days have raised a justified alarm in the population and motivated new calls for attention to all authorities to intensify the fight against drug traffi...

The U.S. dollar continues to gain strength against the Costa Rica colón with a 4.1 point rise over the weekend, according to figures published by the Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR). Monday's dollar-colón exchange rate of sale averaged ¢590.57 after strong currency trading, reported the country's business daily El Financiero. The purchase exchange rate stood at ¢577.98. The last time such ...

Are you due for a U.S. passport renewal in 2017? If so, better get going on it soon. The U.S. State Department is expecting a tsunami of applications for either renewals or new passports this year. Why the hordes of people? No, it’s not due to the Trump presidency. U.S. passports last for ten years, and it was ten years ago that rules were changed requiring Americans traveling by air to Mexico,...

Two children received cochlear implants earlier this month in successful operations at the Liberia, Costa Rica public hospital, reported the Costa Rica Social Security Agency (CCSS), the entity charged with running Costa Rica's public medical facilities. Early auditory screenings are being implemented nationwide to detect hearing problems early on, as such corrections are more successful when m...

U.S. conductor, Arthur Fagen, will lead six functions in Costa Rica of "La Traviata" (literally, The Fallen Woman), the most performed opera in the world. The 3-act opera by Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi, with libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, will be performed by the Costa Rican National Lyric Company (CLN) at the Melico Salazar Theater in downtown San José in July. Fagen serves as the p...

Costa Rica and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) have agreed to develop a joint groundwater exploration and evaluation project to improve resource management and minimize the impact of climate change, reported the Spanish news agency EFE last week. The Costa Rican Environment and Energy Ministry (MINAE) said in a press release that the Geological Survey expert, Saud Amer, who carried o...

Animal Rescue Zoo Ave and the Minister of Environment and Energy (MINAE) confirmed the release of 16 red macaws in the Bosque Escondido Wildlife Refuge in the Nicoya Peninsula. Each of the birds released has a coded identification ring on their leg to enable their monitoring. The macaws were born in the Endangered Species Reproduction Center of the Zoo Ave where they were cared for until the...

Finally! That’s what the vast majority of Costa Ricans exclaimed when the news was released that the bridge Alfredo González Flores, better known as “La Platina”, will finally open on Thursday, May 25. The bridge over the Virilla river in the General Cañas highway which connects San José to Alajuela, will open to allow normal transit on this date, some last detail work though, will have to be d...

Turrialba Volcano had a new eruption the afternoon of this Friday, May 19, breaking its period of "relative calm". Although both eruptions are considered small, they are a reminder of the fact that this volcano continues with high activity and precautions and security measures should be taken seriously. The eruptions from the Turrialba volcano usually contain ash, yet, because of the rai...

The traffic in certain areas of the metropolitan area of Costa Rica is usually difficult on a Friday afternoon, but the heavy rains that affected the country caused floods that made the problem much worse. San Rafael and San Antonio de Belén in Heredia; Desamparados, Pavas, Santa Ana and Paseo Colón in San José are just some of the areas affected by the rains, which are caused, according to the...

According to a report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) there are 3,812 endangered species of flora and fauna in Costa Rica ranging from those considered Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, Extinct and of Least Concern. The IUCN Global Species Program assesses the conservation status of species, subspecies, varieties and even selected subpopulations on a gl...

The pharmaceutical transnational, Allergan, recently awarded its Costa Rica manufacturing plant for its excellent performance. Allergan was founded in 2015 through the acquisition of Allergan, Inc by Actavis, Plc, according to corporate information. The company manufactures branded and generic pharmaceuticals, and conducts pharmaceutical research and development. After an evaluation of its p...

A deadly shooting this Monday at the entrance to a private school in the densely populated district of Guachipelin, Escazú to the west of San José, Costa Rica, has safety officials scrambling to increase security measures at schools throughout the country. Thursday, May 18, Minister of Public Security Gustavo Mata, said such an incident should never happen again in Costa Rica, and to this end i...

Costa Rica's tourist minister, Mauricio Ventura, announced today a new direct route on Southwest between Florida and Costa Rica. Starting November 5, just in time for winter travel from the U.S., the airline will operate a daily connection between the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and the Juan Santamaria International Airport in San José, Costa Rica. To celebrate this new r...

This year’s doses of flu vaccines are on there way to Costa Rica, and the public health system announced they will launch a US$5.3 million seasonal immunization campaign in June. The Costa Rica Social Security Agency (CCSS) which runs the national public health system of clinics and hospitals, said they aim to vaccinate 1.3 million people this year. Because influenza viruses change from year to...

The Poás Volcano near Alajuela has been sending up columns of water vapor over the past several days after becoming more active on May 13, making for some great photography, and not causing any problems for neighboring areas, reported the Volcanology and Seismology Observatory at the Costa Rican National University (Ovsicori-UNA). Meanwhile, further south along the Central Volcanic mountain cha...

  The National Consultative Council on Social Responsibility was established in July 2008, and is considered an organization of national public interest. The council has 60 members hailing from the business sector, public sector, civil society, and international development agencies. Its mission is, “To be an effective, multi-sectoral platform that promotes the culture and practice o...

Even a place called Pocosol (literally, “little sun”) is sunny enough in Costa Rica to support a solar energy project. Thus the Costa Rican consortium of electricity producing cooperatives, Conelectricas R.L., is investing in two solar energy generation plants in Costa Rica's central-western region that will benefit 7,000 homes. The first is a project with Coopelesca R.L., in Santa Rosa de P...

This note summarizes preliminary findings and recommendations of the IMF mission that visited Costa Rica during May 2-15, 2017. The mission is grateful for the high quality and openness of the discussions and for the cooperation and hospitality of the Costa Rican authorities and private sector. I. Recent Developments 1. Both output and growth are at potential, while inflation has reemerged...

The government of Costa Rica will ban the use of the herbicide bromacil throughout the country to avoid groundwater contamination, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) reported in a statement yesterday. The decision was made due to the high risk that the chemical will contaminate groundwater. Bromacil, a possible human carcinogen, is used on many pineapple farms in Costa Rica. In ...

-- A UCR student research project looks at factors that influence the microbiological stability of bottled hot sauce to prevent problems like botulism. Carolina Zúñiga Arrieta's dissertation research at the University of Costa Rica's School of Food Technology was selected as one of six finalists in an annual research competition organized by the U.S.-based Institute of Food Technologists (IFT),...

If you were near Guachipelin, Escazú Monday, May 15 around 7 a.m. and saw motorcycles or men like the ones in these pictures, your testimony could help solve this shocking shootout outside a private school. The photos were published this evening by the Judicial Investigative Police OIJ. The suspects, as can be seen in the photos, were wearing black exercise suits with broad white stripes alo...

Note - Several details have been updated in this article according to new police reports. This story was updated May 19, to include a correct name for the Lebanese homicide victim, whose name is not Akleh, as originally reported, but Akl, according to new police reports. A shootout this morning involving two cars, two dead men, two at-large suspects, and two aids on motorcycles outside a privat...

Seven local aqueducts in the Central Pacific region of Costa Rica are now functioning with solar energy, thanks to support and funding from a number of institutions including the Costa Rica-U.S. Foundation (CRUSA). The panels are expected to allow the rural water supplies save up to 50 percent on their electric costs, thus freeing up much needed funds to invest in repairs and improvements, said...

After midnight Saturday, a "Breaking Chains" police operation took place in Tamarindo, Guanacaste, a popular surf town on Costa Rica's Pacific coast. The plan - called ROCA in Spanish - is a targeted attempt to rescue victims of human trafficking and is led by Costa Rica's Judicial Investigative Police (OIJ). ROCA is an inter-institutional effort which also involves Interpol police, and a ho...

According to preliminary reports by police and in local media, a shootout took place this morning, Monday, May 15, at 7:30 in Guachipelín de Escazú in front of the Mount View Educational Center, a private school. Two people are reported dead. In the incident, a Lexus 4x4 driven by Elias Akl was shot at outside the school in the upscale western district of San José, and then entered the facility...

An average 45 percent of financial flows out of Costa Rica are considered illicit. This and other data compiled for hundreds of developing countries around the world by the nongovernmental research organization Global Financial Integrity (GFI) was detailed in a report released last week. Illicit funds are estimated to comprise about 2.5 percent of incoming funds to Costa Rica. In regional...

Anthony Fillingim took the male open competition while Leilani McGonagle was the winner in the female open in the fourth date of the “Kölbi” National Surf Tournament that took place in Playa Guiones, Nosara, Guanacaste. Fillingim, was in the fourth position when he reached the final and needed an 8.83 to take the first place, he caught the perfect wave at the right time and scored a 9.17 with o...