UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY United Nations, Sept. 20 - U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told world leaders attending the General Assembly Tuesday that the Syrian government was to blame for the majority of the deaths in Syria and that that country's future should not depend on President Bashar al-Assad. "There is no military solution. Many groups have killed many innocents but none more than the gov...

By Jessica Farber, Research Associate at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs  To download a PDF version of this article, click here. In an opinion piece that appeared in the New York Times on August 11, titled “How the Most Dangerous Place on Earth got Safer,” Sonia Nazario paints a misguided picture of Honduras as a country that was once ravaged with violence, but has since been bravely resc...

By Wendy Anders Wikimedia Commons “A computer geek who ran a website for the massive Internet-based Platinum Sports Book was fined $400,000 for his involvement in the illegal gambling scheme,” wrote Sam Pazzano for The Toronto Sun last Tuesday. The London, Ontario native, 59-year-old Gordon Baird, pleaded guilty to bookmaking and contributing to a criminal organization. The organizati...

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Sept. 19 (UPI) -- Gas prices have jumped in six states across the Southeast after a pipeline leak in Alabama forced a shutdown that created major fuel shortages. Colonial Pipeline Company System Map. Image courtesy of Colonial Pipeline States of emergency have been declared in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia with prices jumping as m...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  By Britt Nelson A wave of terrorist bombings in New York City and New Jersey over the weekend plus a mass stabbing in Minnesota have once again placed the political spotlight on U.S. national security with the first presidential debate only a week away. ...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 14— Leonardo DiCaprio joins protest of Dakota Access pipeline. Industry leaders said moving forward with the Dakota Access pipeline is central to keeping the U.S. shale oil sector a strong component of the national economy. Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders participated in demonstrations in Washington, D.C., against the Dakota Access pipeline. "We cannot allow ...

Los Angeles, USA, Sept 18 - The 68th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony, the 'Oscars of TV,' began at the Microsoft theater in Los Angeles Sunday night, with Jimmy Kimmel as the host. The epic fantasy series 'Game of Thrones' rocks the Emmy's again with the most chances to win big on the night with 23 nominations. After Game of Thrones picked up a record-breaking 12 awards at the 2015 Emmy's, the ser...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  By Britt Nelson With 11 days until the first presidential debate between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump, and 54 days until the national general election in the USA, recent nationwide polls show Trump not only gaining on Clinton but in ...

By Wendy Anders The University of Washington will partner with the Costa Rican Federation of Fisheries (Fecop) to study sport fishing in Costa Rica, reported Central America's Summa business magazine. The study aims to understand the environmental, social, and economic issues and dynamics involved with sport fishing, an industry that the University of Costa Rica estimates provides employment...

VANCOUVER, Canada — Health Canada will now allow doctors to prescribe heroin to people who are severely addicted to opioids as per a recent amendment of their regulations, reported The Canadian Press last week. Photo for illustrative purposes, Flickr. The amendment was included in light of the country’s opioid overdose crisis, stated the Canadian daily, and prescription heroin treatment all...

Washington, Sept. 14 - Ride-sharing service Uber started offering customers rides in self-driving cars Wednesday in Pittsburgh, in the first pilot test of this technology in the U.S.  For now, just four self-driving Ford Fusions will be used to provide service in the western Pennsylvania city, marking the company's first real test of the groundbreaking technology. Rides will be free during t...

By Wendy Anders In November 2006, Costa Rica and the state of New Mexico in the United States formed a civil-military partnership under a United States Department of Defense program managed by the U.S. National Guard to exchange and develop best practices in disaster response, emergency management, education, drug demand reduction, border security, and counternarcotics. The National Guard St...

By Wendy Anders Each year, the United States determines the major illicit drug producing and major drug-transit countries; the major sources of precursor chemicals used in the production of illicit narcotics; and major money-laundering countries, according to the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) published today on the U.S. Department of State’s website. Costa Rica was ...

Paris, Sept. 13 - One person was killed and four were seriously injured in an accident near a French port involving a lifeboat on the world's largest cruise liner, Royal Caribbean International, a Marseille Fire Department spokesperson told EFE today. The five victims, who were crew members of the MS Harmony of the Seas, were presumably taking part in a security drill when the lifeboat they wer...

Beijing, Sept. 12 - The U.S.-led war against terror has "led to more terrorism," and must be corrected, warned China's state-run news agency Xinhua yesterday on the 15th anniversary of the downing of the World Trade Center towers in New York City. An opinion piece by the news agency says military intervention in Iraq, Libya, Syria, and other places has led to European allies (of the U.S.) "to b...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  By Britt Nelson The 15th sad anniversary of the World Trade Center tragedy has come and gone, while Hillary Clinton is making excuses for her ‘deplorable’ comments about Trump supporters and Trump continues his rise in national polls. All this just as th...

By Wendy Anders EFE reported today on a CNN report that John Hinckley, the man who tried to assassinate U.S. President Ronald Reagan on March 30, 1981 - wounding the president and three other people in the process - was released from a Washington, D.C., psychiatric hospital on Saturday. Hinckley was released from St. Elizabeth's Hospital, CNN said, Attorney Barry Levine, who had earlier c...

Part II in a series on 2018 Winter Olympic hopeful, Andre Moreno Hamm. By Wendy Anders It’s not the way most colllege students start their year in the U.S., but bi-national Andre Moreno Hamm, Costa Rica’s Winter Olympic hopeful slopestyle skier, isn’t your usual student. And right now, his studies at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah are on hold while he's in South America for a sk...

Los Angeles, Sept. 8.- Veteran Hollywood actors Robert De Niro and Al Pacino revealed secrets of filming Heat, the 1995 classic Michael Mann film, on Wednesday night, during a tribute organized by the Hollywood Academy and moderated by British filmmaker Christopher Nolan, who called the film a 'masterpiece' and an 'American classic'. The greatest revelation of the evening came from Pacino, who ...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  By Britt Nelson Wednesday night’s ‘Commander-In-Chief’ Forum in New York between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump did little to change minds about which candidate would best serve as the next president of the United States. Neither Clint...

MIAMI, Sept. 7  -- At least two people have died due to Tropical Storm Newton, which is spreading heavy rains into Arizona and New Mexico on Wednesday after making landfall as a hurricane in Mexico's mainland. A shrimp boat capsized in the Gulf of California amid rough seas. At least two people died and three others were missing. BBC News reported that officials said the five people ignored war...

Pixabay Commons The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Friday, September 2, 2016, issued a final rule establishing that over-the-counter (OTC) consumer antiseptic wash products containing certain active ingredients can no longer be marketed. Companies will no longer be able to market antibacterial washes with these ingredients because manufacturers did not demonstrate that the ingredients are b...

MSU Today, Michigan State University Contact(s): Hui Liu and Andy Henion Having sex frequently – and enjoying it – puts older men at higher risk for heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems. For older women, however, good sex may actually lower the risk of hypertension. That’s according to the first large-scale study of how sex affects heart health in later life. The federally fund...

By Wendy Anders Anti-crime efforts in Costa Rica’s southern Caribbean region are getting a boost with recent funds pledged by the U.S. government, said the Ministry of Security in a press statement this weekend. During a visit to the National Guard Substation in Sixaola, canton of Salamanca, in Limón province, Minister of Public Security, Gustavo Mata, as well as several police chiefs, met w...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.    By Britt Nelson Politics or religion -- take your pick – both can boil your oil faster than anything else, bursting gaskets, and causing humanity to come apart at the seams. Both have been the basis for unending wars throughout the world li...

Los Angeles, Sep 3.- The story of the legendary motorcycle brand Harley-Davidson is coming to the small screen in a three-episode mini-series that aims to bring TV viewers the sounds and sights of the iconic American bikes. Produced by Discovery Channel, "Harley and the Davidsons" will premiere tomorrow, Monday September 5, in the United States, and features "Game of Thrones" actors Michiel Hui...

By Wendy Anders This morning at 7:02 am, 8 miles northwest of Pawnee in northern Oklahoma, U.S. near the Arkansas River, a 5.6 magnitude earthquake was registered by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Earthquake Hazards Program. Only one injury was reported by a man who was hit by bricks falling from a chimney inside his home, said The Oklahoman, Oklahoma’s daily. One building lost its brick facad...

02/09/2016--18:36 GMT  Miami, Sep 2.- Residents of northern Florida could breathe a mild sigh of relief after reports that Hermine, which made landfall in that state early Friday as a Category 1 hurricane and is still a tropical storm threatening the rest of the U.S. Southeast, did not leave more victims or damage in its wake. In a brief statement to the media, Florida Gov. Rick Scott said a h...

By Wendy Anders Interpol estimates that human trafficking earns between $5-6 billion a year, said EFE today. The United Nations Fund for Children said in a statement today that an estimated 500,000 children used traffickers to reach Europe over the past year and a half, reported EFE today. Meanwhile, the United States Department of States placed Costa Rica on its Tier 2 Watch List for the...

By Wendy Anders Marketwire reported today that Toronto, Canada-based Bravo Multinational Incorporated earlier this year partially acquired the Centro de Entretenimiento y Diversion Mombacho S.A., located in Managua, Nicaragua. Bravo to date has purchased 150 of a total contracted 500 slot and video poker gaming machines to be operated and managed under a long-term national license throug...

By Wendy Anders High-level Costa Rican judicial, police, immigration, and other government officials met today with Canadian experts to discuss and plan actions towards a stronger and more coordinated effort on curbing human trafficking in the country, stated the judiciary branch in a press release. The experts reviewed a report on the human trafficking mapping project which began in Septemb...

Santa Clara, Cuba, Aug 31.- The first regularly scheduled commercial flight between the United States and Cuba since 1961 landed today, Wednesday, August 31, at this central city's Abel Santamaria airport at 10:57 a.m. local time (1457 GMT). U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuba's President Raul Castro shake hands during their first meeting on the second day of Obama's visit to Cuba, in Havan...

By Wendy Anders Source: US Embassy Next week, the American Citizens Unit of the United States Embassy in Costa Rica will be in Puerto Viejo, Limón for two main events of interest to U.S. citizens living the area. Several times a year, the Embassy holds such outreach events in different parts of the country to facilitate access to their citizens services. Next Thursday, September 1 fro...

By Wendy Anders This afternoon, the Washington Post reported from Havana, Cuba that an agreement was reached by the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) leftist rebel group to end the continent’s longest conflict after after 52 years of fighting. After nearly four years of negotiations and a ceasefire announced in June, “'We have finished fighting with w...

By Wendy Anders Costa Rica’s President Luis Guillermo Solís and U.S. Navy Adm. Kurt Tidd, commander of U.S. Southern Command, greet each other prior to the opening ceremony for the Central American Security Conference April 7 in San Jose. Photo by Jose Ruiz, SOUTHCOM Today President Obama and Vice President Biden received Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solis at the White House. Enc...

By Wendy Anders Source: Wikimedia Commons Wednesday police responded to an alert received on their free anonymous report line, 1176, regarding suspicious activity in a house in San Antonio de Escazú, a mountainous suburb west of San José, according to official sources. The Security Ministry’s anti-drug police reported discovering hydroponic marijuana being cultivated by a 60-year-old U.S...

By Wendy Anders AT&T Inc., the Dallas, Texas-based multinational telecommunications conglomerate, was granted a 10-year data transfer and leased line license last week by Costa Rica's telecom regulator Sutel, reported Costa Rica’s Spanish daily La Nación today. This newest operator in Costa Rica’s telecom market will not offer services to individual consumers, rather will “Focus on offer...

ICR-CRS Archive/FILE (Pictured: Workers at a multinational medical device manufacturing company's facility in Heredia, Costa Rica) By Wendy Anders The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in its most recent edition of an annual series on Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America (June 2016) reported that FDI flows to Central America were up by 6 pe...

By Wendy Anders Source: Flickr PLEASE SEE SALES FOR OCTOBER 4TH HERE Airfarewatchdog.com announced today a one-day 99 percent discount on Spirit Airway round trip flights from several U.S. cities including Atlanta, Boston, and Minneapolis for Tuesday and Wednesday travel between Aug. 23 - Oct. 5, 2016 (Sept. 6 is a blackout date). Book this fare on Spirit.com using promo code 99PCT. ...

Cartoon by Clay Jones Milwaukee police reported on Sunday that the armed man an officer killed after a traffic stop on the weekend was black. The city is trying to recover its calm after a night of disturbances on the weekend that have made it a new focus of tension as a result of police violence. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on Sunday ordered the National Guard deployed in Milwaukee to p...