By Wendy Anders Late Wednesday, the U.S. Embassy in San José, Costa Rica sent out a brief notice that Ambassador Haney will continue in his post. The news flies in the face of a recent announcement by president-elect Donald Trump that every Obama appointee would be immediately replaced as soon as he took office. No further details were forthcoming immediately from the Embassy as to why th...

Madrid, Jan. 16 — Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC said Monday it will pay a total of around 671 million pounds sterling ($810 million) to law enforcement authorities in the United States, United Kingdom and Brazil to settle bribery and corruption charges, according to a report from Dow Jones Newswires. The company, which manufactures jet engines and marine diesel engines, said it had reached deferred ...

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 “United we stand, divided we fall.” How many times have we heard that one? Politically the United States of America is split with Democrats fighting Republicans at fever pitch. Not much has changed in the U.S. Congress other than th...

Berlin, Jan. 15 — U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said in an interview with the German daily Bild that NATO is "obsolete" and accused Chancellor Angela Merkel of committing a "catastrophic mistake" with her refugee policy to allow some 890,000 refugees, many of them from Syria, into the country in 2015. "I think she made one very catastrophic mistake and that was taking all of these illegals, y...

By Wendy Anders The annual Big Mac Index published by The Economist revealed its most recent data on the fast food product Thursday. And, not surprisingly, here in Costa Rica, we pay a relatively high price for McDonald’s emblematic meal. According to the index, a big mac in Costa Rica costs 2,250 colones, which is $4.06 at the current exchange rate of 554.33 colones to the U.S. dollar. ...

Part of President Barack Obama's motivation in ending a practice that gave undocumented Cuban migrants who reached US soil the right to remain appears to have been a desire to discourage Donald Trump from reversing the process of normalization with Cuba. Trump, who takes office Jan. 20, "will notice that the steps we've taken (with Cuba) make sense, they are serving our interests," Obama advise...

The more than 70 Cubans at an inn operated by the Catholic charitable mission Caritas asked Friday for the United States to make an exception for those who had left the island and were already crossing Central America before the "wet foot/dry foot" immigration policy was revoked. "We only ask that they make an exception for those of us who were already on our way, that they let us continue and ...

Chicago, IL, Jan. 13 — An investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice has determined that the Chicago Police Department often uses deadly force in ways that violate the country's Constitution, Attorney General Loretta Lynch said here Friday. The DoJ probe was launched after a white CPD officer was indicted for murder in the shooting death of African American teenager Laquan McDonald. The d...

BEIJING, Jan. 13 -- China's state tabloid accused U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's pick for secretary of state of "rabble rousing" and warned of "war," after Rex Tillerson condemned Beijing's construction of artificial islands in the South China Sea during his Senate confirmation hearing. The Global Times editorial published Friday called Tillerson's suggestion to block China's access to the...

As Juan walked to school one morning a year ago in El Salvador, two men on a motorbike sped by and fatally shot a boy on the street in front of him. The shooter took a good look at Juan's face. As a witness to a gang murder, Juan was now in the firing line. "They said I had to be part of their gang," said Juan, 15, who declined to give his real name for security reasons. Juan's mother, Te...

By Wendy Anders The U.S. Embassy in the western San José district of Pavas is hiring three full-time bodyguards. The position is open from now until January 24. Bodyguards provide armed protective security to the U.S. Department of State to ensure the safety of the U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica or the Chargé, in the absence of the Chief of Mission. The position requires both regular sched...

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 In a week President-elect Donald Trump will take the oath of office in Washington, DC to become the 45th President of the United States. Before him is the challenge he asked for to ‘Make America Great Again,’ and the voters gave him the ...

Former ExxonMobil Corp. Chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson, nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to be secretary of state, said Wednesday that he believed that the risk of climate change exists but that the effect of greenhouse gas emissions on global warming was hard to predict. Tillerson was asked several questions about climate change during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreig...

Mexico City, Jan. 10 — Investigators have not determined why a U.S. citizen, who was arrested and later deported, shot the U.S. vice consul in Guadalajara, the capital of the western Mexican state of Jalisco, last week, Mexico's Foreign Relations Secretary Luis Videgaray said Tuesday. "I have no information that allows me to speculate on the motive for this person's actions," Videgaray said in an...

HYATTSVILLE, Md., Jan. 6, 2017 – A former member of the Guatemalan army, whom witnesses say participated in a massacre there more than three decades ago that claimed over 200 lives, was arrested today by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and charged in immigration court with having assisted or otherwise participated in extrajudicial killings du...

The Jamaica Tourist Board has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with United States-based online company Airbnb Inc. for the promotion of the country’s tourism product, particularly in the area of accommodation. Airbnb is an online marketplace that connects people wanting to rent their homes and spaces with people needing affordable accommodations. Minister of Tourism Hon. Edmund Bartlett ...

Detroit, Jan. 9 — South Korean automobile manufacturer Kia announced on the weekend the official debut of its new Stinger sports sedan, to be revealed at the North American International Auto Show, which kicked off on Monday in Detroit. Kia said that it is planning to sell the Stinger, which is based on the same-named prototype that the firm presented at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, in the Un...

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 Why did the alleged shooter at the Fort Lauderdale airport put down his gun, drop to the floor and give up to police unharmed? Did he simply run out of bullets or is there a bigger plan? This mass shooter didn’t shoot himself nor was h...

By Wendy Anders During 2016, the Costa Rican economy benefited from a favorable macroeconomic environment, allowing the country's economy to maintain stable behavior; however, according to economists at Costa Rica’a ACOBO Financial Group this could change in 2017, causing some indicators such as the exchange rate, interest rates, and inflation to rise. According to Luis Diego Herrera, econom...

By Wendy Anders Universities in the U.S. are stepping in the fill needs of foreign companies with branches, plants and offices in Costa Rica to train their workers in specialized technologies and digital innovations, reported Costa Rica’s business daily El Financierio. From 2015-2016, for example, at least 40 Costa Ricans attended the University of Wisconsin Stout’s specialization program in...

Taipei, Jan. 7 — The president of Taiwan on Saturday embarked on a trip to Central America, with controversial stopovers in the United States, in a bid to strengthen the island nation's ties with Latin America after the re-emergence of its diplomatic war with China. Tsai Ing-wen, accompanied by businessmen and officials, will travel to Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador - four of Ta...

By Wendy Anders By January 20, Donald Trump said all U.S. ambassadors appointed under outgoing Democratic President Obama must leave their posts, something no other president has ever done, reported several U.S. media last week. Normally though changes are always made to some appointments, these are done gradually so that transitions are smooth, projects can be completed, and out of respect ...

Havana, Jan. 6 — The U.S. airline Alaska Air began flying commercially to Cuba Thursday with daily flights linking Seattle, Washington and Los Angeles, California with the Cuban capital of La Havana, following the resumption of regular flights between the two countries in August 2016 after half a century. The new route makes Alaska Air the eighth airline authorized to operate regular flights to...

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 There’s a new gunslinger in town named Tomi Lahren. She delivers machine-gun style conservative political commentary and she’s getting a lot of attention these days. Better put your sunglasses on. Kelly and FOX News announced this w...

Miami, Jan. 6 — The man who fatally shot five people and wounded eight others Friday at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) appears to have acted alone, authorities said, stressing that it was too early to say whether the motive was terrorism. Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel told a press conference at the scene that the shooter offered no resistance when officers arrested ...

La Habana, Jan. 5 — The Cuban Coabana Trading Company LLC, a subsidiary of Reneo Consulting, will export charcoal produced in Cuba from an invasive plant to the United States in a historic step as part of the countries’ improving relations. An agreement was signed Thursday with the state-owned Cuba Export company. The charcoal is produced by private cooperatives from marabou, an invasive pla...

Scientists have shown conclusively that treatment not only improves the health of people infected with HIV, it also stops transmission of the virus that causes AIDS. That public health issue is just one of the challenges Republicans face as they attempt to overhaul the Affordable Care Act, a law that brought health insurance coverage to some 20 million people - including tens of thousands of Am...

President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to impose a "big border tax" on General Motors Co <GM.N> for making some of its Chevrolet Cruze compact cars in Mexico, an arrangement the largest U.S. automaker defended as part of its strategy to serve global customers, not sell them in the United States. Trump's comments marked his latest broadside aimed at an American company over job...

Mexico City, Jan. 3 — The Mexican government expressed disappointment following Tuesday's announcement by the Ford Motor Co. that it was abandoning plans for a $1.6 billion assembly plant in Mexico. Mexico will see to it that Ford reimburses the San Luis Potosi state government for any expenditures of public money made in furtherance of the project, the Economy Secretariat said in a statement. ...

Los Angeles, Jan. 4 — Singer Janet Jackson, 50, has given birth to her first child, a boy named Eissa Al Mana, her publicist announced. "Janet Jackson and husband Wissam Al Mana are thrilled to welcome their son Eissa Al Mana into the world," a representative for the singer said in a statement published late Tuesday in People magazine. "Janet had a stress-free healthy delivery and is resting c...

Mexicans overwhelmingly say they oppose the wall U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to build along their northern border. But in Mexico's Ciudad Juarez, where extensive fencing was erected by the United States to secure the border between 2007 and 2010, residents have a more nuanced view of what a wall can mean. They say the Juarez fence has both caused and relieved problems in the ...

By Wendy Anders Time to act if you want to nab some low fares on Southwest air which flies daily from several U.S. cities into the northern Liberia, Costa Rica airport or the San José capital airport. A 21-day advance purchase is necessary, says the airline on their site, and these low fares are available for purchase only until January 26, 2017, 11:59 p.m. in the respective time zone of the...

The hundreds of thousands of people who rang in 2017 in New York City's Times Square were treated to performances by a long list of big-name artists on New Year's Eve. Mariah Carey, Gloria Estefan and Silentó headlined the traditional celebration in Times Square on New Year's Eve, with partiers standing on their feet for hours and unable to leave their chosen spots amid frigid temperatures. ...

US President-elect Donald Trump wished a Happy New Year for all American citizens, including his "many enemies" and those who fought and lost the battle against him and now "don't know what to do." Trump, who takes office as president of the United States on Jan. 20, used his Twitter account to post his message. "Happy New Year to all, including to my many enemies and those who have fought m...

By Wendy Anders Dec. 28: A full American Airlines flight destined from Sao Paolo, Brazil to New York made an unexpected landing when a couple having an argument in first class refused to follow crew instructions, said EFE. The resumption of the flight was delayed for almost 15 hours due to airline crew guidelines, the airline said. The plane left Tuesday night from Sao Paulo and landed at...

Hackers linked to the Kremlin accessed the system of US electrical utility Burlington Electric, the company admitted Friday. Burlington Electric said in a statement that the attack did not put its grid at risk as was previously reported by The Washington Post, which cited officials close to the White House on grounds of anonymity. "Last night, US utilities were alerted by the Department of H...

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 Mexican-American border wall remains a high priority for President-elect Donald Trump. He continues to talk about it, but without specifics, and he still maintains that Mexico will pay for it in one way or another. What would it...

The US government needs to present evidence that Russia interfered in last month's elections, a spokesman for President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday. "If the United States has clear proof of anyone interfering with our elections, we should make that known," Sean Spicer said in a conference call with reporters. "Right now we need to see further facts," the future White House press secret...

Beijing, Dec. 28 — Fast-food restaurant chain McDonald's is considering selling its China franchise either to the Chinese state-owned financial conglomerate CITIC or the American investment fund Carlyle, official newspaper China Daily reported Wednesday. McDonald's operates more than 2,200 establishments in China and Hong Kong, valued at around $2 billion, according to the newspaper, which provid...

The U.S. Senate Special on Aging found hikes as high as 5,000 percent in prices of some prescription drugs. The panel's 2016 investigation looked at four pharmaceutical companies and public hearings on sudden price spikes in decades-old medications, and the pricing imposed by drug industry entrepreneur Martin Shkreli and other healthcare industry executives. The high prices are making vital ...