Aug 25, 2008

Guerra gives ‘Vida': Spanish singer-songwriter Pedro Guerra Thursday at Costa Rica's National Theater in San José, the first of two nights in which he delighted a Tico audience with material from his latest album “Vida.”

Ronald Reyes ¦ Tico Times

Bye-bye, Beijing: Fireworks fill the night sky outside the Beijing National Stadium Saturday to mark the end of the Olympics. Costa Rica's last bouts by mountain biker Federico Ramírez and taekwando fighter Kristopher Moitland failed to bring home any medals.

Michael Reynolds ¦ EFE

As Costa Rican lawmakers return today from a weeklong vacation, time grows tight to pass two laws required to implement the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA).

Lawmakers must pass a bill amending the agreement, as well as a bill that strengthens intellectual property rights, before an Oct. 1 deadline.

The Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court (Sala IV) is now deciding whether the intellectual property bill is constitutional and will likely release an opinion in mid-September. Lawmakers then must pass the bill in a second and final debate.

If the Sala IV finds that the bill violates the Constitution, Costa Rica will miss its deadline.

The amendments bill, which would enable Costa Rica to enter CAFTA 90 days earlier than the treaty now allows, was approved by the Sala IV this month and awaits a second debate in the Legislative Assembly.

CAFTA was ratified in a referendum last October, and lawmakers have passed 11 of the 13 bills required to implement the pact. The initial deadline for implementing CAFTA was Feb. 29, but President Oscar Arias had to ask his trading partners for an extension.

Astronauts and space tourists may soon enjoy Costa Rican-style coffee while in orbit thanks to a recent invention that works without gravity and uses natural convection to heat water.

Josué Solano, age 23, and Daniel Rozen, 24, have hatched the new “ Infusor Espacial,” their thesis project for an electromechanical engineering degree at the Costa Rica Technology Institute.

It took Solano and Rozen six months to create, but the idea has been percolating for years since Costa Rican former astronaut Franklin Chang became tired of microwave-made instant coffee, and drew up a preliminary design.

Without giving away too many specifics, the young creators said the coffeemaker is made of stainless steal, in three functionally parts: a heating chamber, a piston-like device to push hot water into ground coffee beans and a container for the ready-to-drink coffee.

“What we did was create a device to simulate natural convection, which is a method to transfer heat that doesn't exist in space due to the characteristics of microgravity,” Solano told newswire EFE.

The device works by infusion, much like the system used to make herbal tea. “You can also put plants, leaves or stems in to extract medicinal substances, flavors or vegetable oils,” Solano explained, adding that in addition to creating beverages the invention should be used to help find cures to diseases.

Chang's brother Ronald Chang, director of the ex-astronaut's Ad Astra Rocket Company, said the invention still needs the financing from “a big pharmaceutical or coffee company” to manufacture the device to be used in spaceships.

MANAGUA – The U.S. Democrats have invited Nicaraguan politicians, including former presidential candidates Eduardo Montaelegre and Edmundo Jarquín, to take part in the International Leaders Forum that coincides with the Democratic National Convention this week in Denver, Colorado.

The Liberal Party's runner up in the 2006 Nicaraguan elections, Montealegre told newswire EFE he had to turn down an invitation by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright because he is in the middle of campaigning to be mayor of Managua.

Jarquín, however, is already on his way. The Sandinista Renovation Movement candidate in the 2006 elections, won by Daniel Ortega, Jarquín is set to attend the leaders forum organized by the U.S. National Democratic Institute, presided over by Albright.

Jarquín's trip to Denver was confirmed via a statement by his party, which opposes Ortega's ruling Sandinista National Liberation Front.

The Sandinistas have been celebrating the 30th anniversary of their takeover of the congressional National Palace (see the latest Nica Times print or digital edition).

Other Nicaraguan invitees to the U.S. event include the Sandinistas' head congressman, Edwin Castro, who declined the invitation, and Liberal congressman Maximino Rodríguez, whom EFE was unable to reach for comment.

A radio program near Costa Rica's border with Nicaragua is making waves for its dialog on public security problems.

National Policeman Wilfur Roblero received a certificate of recognition for starting and hosting “Police Journal” in the region of Los Chiles. It runs every Wednesday from 10 to 11 a.m. on local radio station 88.3 FM.

The program brings in experts to talk on security matters and encourages community members to call in to express their concerns and ask questions.

Roblero started the show earlier this year in an attempt to improve the security situation in the area. He said he gets four to five call-ins per program.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Cooperation Commission awarded the certificate to Roblero and the station. The commission, not officially a UNESCO body, was created by the Costa Rican government to further the U.N. agency's goals to promote “a culture of peace,” according to Secretary General Carmen Claramunt.

She said the award does not grant any additional funding to the project but that she hopes future awards will.

Roblero said he is emboldened by the award but that he is also seeking additional sources of funding to try to take the project nationwide.

“For me, it gives me an incentive to keep working on it,” he said. “There are talks with the Costa Rican Radio Institute (ICER) and the U.N. Refugee Agency (ACNUR) to fund similar programs on 12 community radio stations throughout the country.”