By Rachelle Younglai WASHINGTON | Tue Dec 4, 2012 5:26pm EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican lawmakers on Tuesday blocked a treaty to protect people with disabilities from discrimination despite a passionate plea from former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, who was severely wounded in World War Two. The Senate voted 61-38 to pass the United Nat...

San Jose Mayor Johnny Araya and ex-Presidency Minister Rodrigo Arias were in full cry during the weekend, both National Liberation Party primary candidates for the presidential nomination. Both held rallies before the unofficial holiday "cease fire" on the trail. Araya put forth his program before an estimated 4,000 educators brought to Belen in chartered buses, a base the Araya campaign believ...

By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON | Mon Dec 3, 2012 7:10pm EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans proposed steep spending cuts on Monday but gave no ground on President Barack Obama's call to raise taxes on the wealthiest in their first formal proposal to avert a "fiscal cliff" that could push the U.S. economy into recession. After days of stalemate, t...

Everyone likes change in diet and institutional cafeteria food sucks! This was the thrust of convict demands this week at La Reforma prison. Some 1,700 minimum security section prisoners at La Reforma ended a peaceful 24-hour hunger strike with an accord with Reynaldo Villalobos of the prison system to be more flexible in allowing families to bring them food. The strike brought out 160 extra...

By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON | Mon Dec 3, 2012 1:04am EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Watching the events of the past few weeks, you could have gotten the idea that the United States is not only going to slip from the "fiscal cliff" but jump lemming-like off it. President Barack Obama presented last week a proposal that upset Republicans with its $1.6 ...

Geneva, Switzerland, December 2 2012 – IECEE, the IEC System of Conformity Assessment Schemes for Electrotechnical Equipment and Components, welcomes the Republic of Kazakhstan as its newest member country. Kazakhstan’s membership in IECEE puts it on a par with its partners in the EEC (Eurasian Economic Commission), a three-member Customs Union also consisting of the Republic of Belarus and the...

By Aruna Viswanatha and Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON | Sun Dec 2, 2012 3:25pm EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner pushed Republicans on Sunday to offer specific ideas to cut the deficit, and predicted that they would agree to raise tax rates on the rich to obtain a year-end deal and avoid possible economic doom. But the to...

At last! The government is seeking a constitutional amendment that has nothing to do with politicians feathering their own nests, or robbing taxpayer coffers or gathering power like squirrels do pine nuts. Instead, the amendment sought is one that would allow Costa Ricans who commit crimes elsewhere and take refuge here to be extradited to the scene of their judgement. President Laura Chinch...

Plans are being pushed forward to reform government structure on two fronts: ex-President Jose Maria Figueres would like to gather plans from a number of people for a referendum and the National Agenda group would like to pursuade lawmakers. The avowed goal of both groups is to create a more "governable" nation because, in the words of University of Costa Rica professor Jaime Ordonez, the "coun...

WASHINGTON | Sun Dec 2, 2012 9:50am EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House Speaker John Boehner said White House and Republican negotiators had made no progress in talks to avert the "fiscal cliff" of sharp tax hikes and deep spending cuts that looms early in January. "We're nowhere" Boehner, the top House Republican, said on "Fox News Sunday.""We've put a ser...

By Mark Felsenthal HATFIELD, Pennsylvania | Sat Dec 1, 2012 12:06pm EST HATFIELD, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - With barely a month left before the "fiscal cliff," Republicans and Democrats remained far apart on Friday in talks to avoid the across-the-board tax hikes and spending cuts that threaten to throw the country back into recession. While Presi...

Recently The Costa Rica Star has published about the 2013 Marchamo insurance rate increase. Controversy over the 2013 Marchamo – circulation permit or sticker – continues as vehicle owners, supported by workers unions and at least one legislator, Luis Fishman, continue to press the Instituto Nacional de Seguros (INS) and the government to justify the rate increase. The argument is that the i...

By Terry Baynes Fri Nov 30, 2012 7:52pm EST (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court's nine justices met in private on Friday to consider whether to enter the legal fray over same-sex marriage but made no announcement about any decision they may have reached. The high court is considering whether to review five separate challenges to a federal law that prevents...

By Alina Selyukh WASHINGTON | Fri Nov 30, 2012 3:57pm EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bill to create a permanent visa program for foreigners with advanced science and technical degrees cleared the House of Representatives on Friday, the latest salvo in the broader fight over U.S. immigration reform. The Republican-backed measure proposes reserving 5...

By Stephanie Simon Fri Nov 30, 2012 3:29pm EST (Reuters) - Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush soared to rock star status in the education world on the strength of a chart. A simple graph, it tracked fourth-grade reading scores. In 1998, when Bush was elected governor, Florida kids scored far below the national average. By the end of his second term, in 2007...

WASHINGTON | Fri Nov 30, 2012 2:50pm EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior senator is pressing Hyundai Motor Co and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp on their plans to compensate customers for inflated fuel-efficiency claims the two companies admitted earlier this month. Hyundai and Kia have agreed in negotiations with the Environmental Protection Agency to re...

Seven robbers surprised and tied up two guards at a customs car park in Barranca, Puntarenas, and made off with four brand new autos recently imported. But they did not have it all their own way. Despite the ease of the robbery itself in the wee hours of Monday morning, the robbers had to abandon two of the stolen vehicles, one destroyed by fire to eradicate traces--and two suspects are in cust...

By Kim Dixon WASHINGTON | Fri Nov 30, 2012 1:07am EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Divisions among Democrats are undermining President Barack Obama's push to raise the U.S. estate tax on inherited wealth, just weeks before the arrival of the "fiscal cliff" could drive the present estate tax rate even higher than Obama proposes. Action on the estate tax...

Tuesday's protests by several hundred motorcyclists demanding negotiations with the government to lower the price of the marchamos (circulation permit that must be renewed annually) boiled over. The demonstration lasted most of the day and resulted in five arrested and the windshield and driver's window of a minivan broken out. It is presumed that a helmet and a barrel were used in breaking the...

By Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON | Thu Nov 29, 2012 6:07am EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group of Democratic senators on Thursday will urge the Obama administration to propose rules to cut smog-forming emissions from gasoline, regulations opposed by many Republicans. The lawmakers, led by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand from New York, want the Environment...

By Fred Barbash WASHINGTON | Thu Nov 29, 2012 1:30am EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, President Barack Obama's chief negotiator in talks to avert the "fiscal cliff," will meet with Congressional leaders on Thursday amid signs that the market-rattling uncertainty about the outcome could go down to the wire. "It is no...

By Doug Palmer WASHINGTON | Thu Nov 29, 2012 1:05am EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S.-led talks on a free-trade pact in the Asia-Pacific region are entering a potential make-or-break stage, putting pressure on President Barack Obama and other leaders to sacrifice sensitive domestic interests for a big deal to boost growth. The 11 countries involved...

By Richard Cowan and Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON | Wed Nov 28, 2012 9:05pm EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican unity against raising tax rates for the wealthy began to show cracks on Wednesday after a conservative congressman said he would back an agreement with President Barack Obama to raise rates on the rich but extend tax cuts for income belo...

WASHINGTON | Wed Nov 28, 2012 1:41pm EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Wednesday he hopes he can reach agreement with the U.S. Congress before Christmas to avoid the looming "fiscal cliff" and shrink the budget deficit, and urged supporters to pressure lawmakers via Twitter and other social media. "Our ultimate goal is an agreemen...

The Costa Rica Star has recently published information about receiving your permanent residency in Costa Rica to avoid border runs, wasting time, and money. Rick and Lorraine have been coming to Costa Rica for the last ten years. Like good tourists they fueled the country’s top industry, tourism. And like many Canadian tourists, they fell in love with paradise. Since their first arrival in C...

From reading the laws of the land, one would think that women in Costa Rica are pretty well protected against violence, once not only permitted but encouraged by the old machismo of society. Not so, say marchers Sunday on the International Day vs. Violence Against Women who put the court system directly in the sights for allegedly winking at violence when a case is denounced. Sylvia Mesa of ...

It appears that it takes modern Costa Ricans as long to build a road as it took Medieval Europeans to build a cathedral. And the results are not nearly as pretty... The new road, currently under construction, to San Carlos has been promised for 23 years and the plan and contracts must be revised because of intervening wetlands encountered by surveyors along the route. The much-needed road to...

Costa Rica’s Ministry of Public Security, alarmed at rising drug use among Costa Rican teenagers, now conducts unannounced random drug searches in high schools. Since March, the ministry’s Regional Anti-Drug Program (PRAD in Spanish) has found illegal drugs – usually marijuana – in 65% of its raids, said program coordinator Fernando Córdoba Brenes. Nine percent of Costa Rican teens admit to ...

President Laura Chinchilla has long been a fan of natural gas due to its low carbon emissions, so it came as no shock when she signed a decree this week declaring importation of the fuel "in the public interest." She said that the fuel would be an "transition" measure until the country develops alternative fuels. No doubt she has her eye on the 2021 deadline for the country to become carbon neu...

By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON | Mon Nov 26, 2012 3:54pm EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans in the U.S. Congress on Monday called on President Barack Obama to detail long-term spending cuts to help solve the country's fiscal crisis, while holding firm against the income tax rate increases for the wealthy that Democrats seek. The White House has ...

WASHINGTON | Mon Nov 26, 2012 2:51pm EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama spoke with House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner over the weekend on efforts to avert the looming "fiscal cliff" of budget cuts and tax rises that threatens to tip the U.S. economy back into recession. A White House official said on Monday that Obama also spoke...

A police under-lieutenant at Los Chiles was recalled from his post by Deputy Security Minister Celso Gamboa for allegedly giving a most un-Costa Rican order -- "Shoot to kill." Supposedly, the order was given by the officer identified as Efrain Sanabria in an eviction of squatters from farmland. The operation was carried out Friday without a hitch and with the arrest of four squatters. This ...

WASHINGTON | Sun Nov 25, 2012 11:16am EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers have made little progress in the last 10 days toward a compromise to avoid the harsh tax increases and government spending cuts scheduled for January 1, a senior Democratic senator said on Sunday. The United States is on course to slash its budget deficit nearly in half next ...

By Susan Heavey and Richard Cowan WASHINGTON | Sun Nov 25, 2012 1:02am EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's re-election this month gave supporters of comprehensive immigration reform an immediate dose of optimism. They hoped that Obama, bolstered by the 70 percent-plus support he received from Hispanic voters, might now feel ready ...

The abortive firing of Constitutional Judge Fernando Cruz by a vote of the Legislative Assembly still simmers in some highly academic circles. The session that contained that vote by representatives was declared invalid by the president of the Assembly. But the move still resulted in a demonstration Thursday morning in front of the Supreme Court building -- not a march but a gathering of magist...

Sat Nov 24, 2012 10:45am EST (Advisory: please note strong language in paragraph seven) By Louis Charbonneau and Susan CornwellUNITED NATIONS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Susan Rice has had a series of diplomatic triumphs as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. President Barack Obama, an old friend, showed he has her back when last week he publicly challenged her Rep...

Sat Nov 24, 2012 12:45am EST (Advisory: please note language in paragraph seven) By Louis Charbonneau and Susan CornwellUNITED NATIONS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Susan Rice has had a series of diplomatic triumphs as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. President Barack Obama, an old friend, showed he has her back when last week he publicly challenged her Republican...

By Kim Dixon WASHINGTON | Fri Nov 23, 2012 4:12pm EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senator Saxby Chambliss this week became the latest Republican lawmaker to loosen his ties to Grover Norquist, the anti-tax lobbyist famous for getting elected officials to sign a "taxpayer protection pledge." The rebellion, albeit a modest one, comes as Republicans prep...

By Terry Baynes Fri Nov 23, 2012 12:41pm EST (Reuters) - The Supreme Court on Monday will hear arguments in a case that could determine when a company is liable for harassment by its employees. The case turns on the definition of a single word - "supervisor" - under a federal civil rights law that prohibits racial, religious or sexual harassment in the wo...

Brace yourselves: It may be merely a political ploy or it may be a mega-scandal brewing. But prosecutors are investigating whether a million dollars of building funds for poverty housing may have been hijacked by the Arias Foundation. The original $2,488,500 donation was earmarked for the Housing Ministry by Taiwan to fund housing in Pavas. In 2007, the money was supposed to have been deposited...