by Rod Hughes
Take care where you invest your money, even if interest yields seem too good to be true.
They probably are.
On the heels of the arrest of Italian millionaire Matteo Quintavalle, the daily paper La Nación issued this warning today in an article about illegal financial operations in Costa Rica. The advice is hardly new […]
by Rod Hughes
Update: Matteo Quintavalle has been remanded to preventive detention for six months by the court. His lawyers have announced they will appeal.
Coolly protesting his innocense and with lawyer in tow, Italian millionaire and accused con artist Matteo Quintavalle turned himself in to judicial authorities yesterday after being the subject of an international manhunt.
(See […]
by Rod Hughes
In one of the most under-promoted events in this country, 50 boats ranging from oar-powered parangasto fishing boats and even a ferry participated in the annual honoring of the Virgen del Carmen, or Virgin of the Sea yesterday in the Gulf of Nicoya off the Pacific port of Puntarenas.
Although this Roman Catholic celebration […]
by Rod Hughes
In a measure long overdue, the Cabinet Council has ordered the Tourism Institute (ICT) to install 138 signs warning of dangerous currents at 30 of the country’s most hazardous beaches on both coasts. The signs are coated with salt-resistant reflective aluminum on sturdy bases to foil vandals and are in both English and […]
by Rod Hughes
Every souvenir bought by a tourist at an airport duty-free store means more support for social welfare by the government agency IMAS. And sales set a new high last year, 21% more than in 2006, reports the daily La Nacion.
The sales go to support orphanages, senior citizen homes, indigent shelters, development programs such […]
by Rod Hughes
Severe flooding in parts of the Caribbean zone and northern Costa Rica has left 1,300 homes, 2,000 kilometers of roads, more than 130 bridges and sources of potable water destroyed or damaged.
Although no one was reported killed, the government has declared a national emergency and Presidency Minister Rodrigo Arias said the damage […]
by Rod Hughes
Some years ago, the respected business magazine, The Economist, came up with a novel measure of monetary value and comparison, which they call the “Big Mac Index.” The magazine reasoned that, since everything about McDonald’s food is standardized worldwide. one should be able to measure one nation’s currency with another by using Big […]
by Rod Hughes
This must irk Costa Rican President Oscar Arias no end…
Panama’s National Assembly has ratified a free trade treaty with the United States barely two weeks after it was signed in the Organization of American States headquarters in Washington D.C. June 28. And the issue was not in doubt—58 Panamanian congressmen voted for it […]
by Rod Hughes
Work accidents happen, even on the other side of the law.
A thief climbed to the roof of El Gollo home furnishing store in San Pedro Tuesday night, removed a couple of sheets of tin roofing and lowered himself to the ceiling of the showroom.
But police say he had not calculated what his weight […]
by Rod Hughes
A manhunt is on by judicial detectives for fugitive Italian millionaire and accused con artist Matteo Quntavalle, a resident of and investor in Costa Rica. The flamboyant businessman was accused last April by 17 U.S. investors of cheating them with unauthorized deposit slips on a fictitious bank, according to Judicial Branch spokesman […]
