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By Alberto PEÑA Agence France-Presse TURRIALBA, Costa Rica (AFP) — In the tropical mountains of Costa Rica, scientists guard a treasure trove of seeds collected over decades as a bulwark against food insecurity and climate change. Some 6,200 samples from 125 species of squash, chilli, tomato and other edible plants are held at the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) near the town of Turrialba. In temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees […]
By Alberto PEÑA Agence France-Presse MONTEVERDE, Costa Rica, June 7, 2023 (AFP) – The “cloud forest” of Monteverde, in the center of Costa Rica, will soon no longer be worthy of the name: climate change threatens this unique ecosystem, and its fauna and flora face an unclear future under a brilliant blue sky. In the forest, what a visitor should hear is the constant drip of moisture falling from the trees. Instead, it is the […]
by Alberto PEÑA Agence France-Press CAHUITA, Costa Rica (AFP) — The fur of Costa Rican sloths appears to harbor antibiotic-producing bacteria that scientists hope may hold a solution to the growing problem of “superbugs” resistant to humanity’s dwindling arsenal of drugs. Sloth fur, research has found, hosts bustling communities of insects, algae, fungi and bacteria, among other microbes, some of which could pose disease risk. Yet, experts say, the famously slow-moving mammals appear to be […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – The White House on Tuesday announced an international “Summit for Democracy” to be held next March, co-hosted with Costa Rica, the Netherlands, South Korea and Zambia. The summit, which follows on from a first one held in 2021, will showcase the ability of democracies to handle “the world’s most pressing challenges,” the White House said. President Joe Biden has made the contest between democracies and autocracies, such as China and Russia, […]
SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica (AFP) — At least nine people were killed and four left missing when a bus and two other vehicles plunged into a ravine in a mountainous part of Costa Rica, the Red Cross reported Sunday. The bus, car and motorcycle slid into the 75-meter-deep (245-foot) ravine on Saturday when heavy rain caused a landslide at the El Hundimiento mountain pass, around 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of the capital San Jose. […]
PANAMA CITY, Panama (AFP) – Panamanian authorities announced Thursday that as part of an operation to disrupt a sex trafficking ring, 10 children were rescued and three people in Panama and Costa Rica were arrested. “The victims in this case range between the ages of four and 16 and the people involved are close relatives” of the minors, said Emeldo Marquez, a senior Panamanian prosecutor. He explained that the relatives “facilitated” the shipment of the […]
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AFP) — A volcano in northwest Costa Rica erupted on Monday, spewing an enormous column of smoke into the air in what could be its biggest outburst in years, authorities said. The Rincon de la Vieja volcano’s nearly three-minute eruption in the early hours of the day belched a column of smoke almost two kilometers (1.2 miles) high, depositing ash on surrounding areas but causing no damage or injuries. The volcano, […]
SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica (AFP) — A 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit the Panama-Costa Rica border around midnight on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said, revising earlier warnings of “significant damage”, as the tremor cut power supplies near the epicenter. The quake struck at a depth of 26 kilometers (16 miles), about two kilometers from the nearest town of Progreso in Panama, USGS said, updating a previous alert that estimated the depth at 10 kilometers. […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP)–Brazil cruised through to the World Cup last 16 on Wednesday, topping Group E to set up a match against Mexico as Switzerland also progressed to the first knockout round where they will face Sweden. Five-time winners Brazil beat Serbia 2-0 in Moscow while the Swiss drew 2-2 against Costa Rica in Nizhny Novgorod.
by Marco Sibaja Agence France-Presse SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AFP) — A conservative, evangelical lawmaker who fiercely opposes gay marriage emerged as the frontrunner to become Costa Rica’s next president, according to partial results from a first round election Sunday. Fabricio Alvarado of the right-wing National Restoration Party received 26 percent of the vote, according to a count of over half the ballots, according to the country’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal. That placed him in the […]
PUNTA ISLITA, Costa Rica (AFP) — Strong winds were seen as a factor in the crash of a small plane in Costa Rica that killed all 10 US passengers on board and two local crew members, according to officials and witnesses. The accident, which occurred Sunday in the country’s northwestern Guanacaste region popular with tourists seeking pristine tropical beaches, killed all on board the small Cessna 208 Caravan owned and operated by domestic airline Nature […]
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AFP)– A doctor and a pizzeria owner were sentenced by a Costa Rican court Monday for recruiting poor people to sell their kidneys for transplants to foreigners, mainly Israelis. The Costa Rican doctor found guilty of conducting illegal transplants, Francisco Mora Palma was jailed for 12 years under the verdict reached by a panel of three judges in the capital San Jose. A Greek businessman, Dimostenes Katsigiannis, was ordered imprisoned for eight […]
