Honduras' interim President Roberto Micheletti will step down for a week to allow time for public “reflection” during the presidential electoral process, Micheletti said Thursday.

The surprise announcement came late Thursday, as the country gears up for the Nov. 29 elections. Micheletti said he will resign from Nov. 25 through Dec. 2.

“My purpose with this measure is for the attention of all Hondurans to be focused on the electoral process and not on the political crisis,” Micheletti said during a speech he gave early Thursday evening.

The crisis remains, however, after talks broke down last month between Micheletti and ousted President Manuel Zelaya, who has said he refuses to recognize the winner of the upcoming vote and accuses the United States of backing Micheletti's “coup” government.

The U.S. government says it will support the elections as the way out of the crisis, which is the region's worst political debacle in years. However, the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama is beginning to find itself isolated on that position. Guatemala became the latest Latin American country this week to announce it has withdrawn plans to send observers to the elections in protest of Honduras' reluctance to allow Zelaya's reinstatement as president. Other countries could follow.

The Monthly Economic Activity Index (IMAE) for September showed signs that the Costa Rican economy has begun to recover. Though the economy contracted 0.1 percent, the miniscule decrease in activity is a significant improvement from the past year's monthly average decrease of 3.6 percent.

The improved outlook was based on a better showing by the manufacturing sector, which reported a small 1.1 percent decrease in the annual rate during September. The improvement in manufacturing came thanks to increased exports by businesses located in free-trade zones.

Other increases in economic activity during the month of September included sales of electric energy and hotel revenues, which sparked by improved tourist spending.

Thirty-one runners from as far away as Canada, France and Australia arrived in Costa Rica this week to participate in the second running of the cross-country Transtica.

The race begins on Saturday in the central Pacific town of Manuel Antonio and crosses 250 kilometers of terrain to arrive in Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean side on Nov. 26. Runners travel either 20 or 40 km (equivalent to a half or a full marathon) each day, depending on the group they've chosen to compete with.

What makes the competition unique is not necessarily the distances or the difficulty of the race, but the fact that runners stop in select locations to participate in social projects.

“Running is a self-absorbed sport,” said competitor Brenda Williams, 46, from the Canadian Rockies. “The thing that attracted me to this competition was its humanitarian angle. To me, it's a beautiful combination.”

Williams, who trains with full-day runs through the mountains in her hometown, said she only began running five years ago. She's steadily built up her mileage, competing in ultra-marathons and three-day treks.

“I like mixing athletic events with vacations, and I've always wanted to come to Costa Rica,” said Williams during a welcome event at the residence of the French ambassador on Thursday. “I am hoping to see a cross-section of Costa Rica, but I am sure it will just be a tease and I'll want to come back for more.”

The first running of the Transtica hit intense rain storms that caused bridge outages and uneven terrain, but race director Vincent Gallois called it a success. Gallois is hoping for better luck this year. “The competitors' spirits seem high,” he said.

Gallois helped coordinate the 10-day trip through the French tourism company Authentic Tour and said he's indebted to the Costa Rican fire fighters for use of their vehicles as well as several sponsors, including NBC Car Rental and Chalet d'Orosi.

MANAGUA – Amid calls for peace and concerns of violence, as many as 100,000 Nicaraguans from pro and anti-government political factions are expected to march on Managua Saturday, while National Police will shutdown much of the capital to try to keep the two groups separate and maintain some semblance of order.

Civil society, the private sector and the various opposition political parties united Thursday to reaffirm their commitment to march “against re-election, against electoral fraud, against disrespect to the constitution, against hunger and unemployment, and against the dictatorial actions of the government of Daniel Ortega.”

The Sandinistas, meanwhile, have called a countermarch of 100,000 government supporters – including state employees from across the country – to allegedly “celebrate” last year's municipal election results and other “Sandinista victories.” Some Sandinista supporters have gone so far as to suggest Saturday's event will be as monumental as the July 19, 1979 celebration of the revolutionary victory over the government of Anastasio Somoza.

Following the Sandinistas' call to march along the same route as civil society, the National Police convinced the anti-government protest march to change its route, which it did in exchange for promises of police protection.

The National Police have come under increased criticism for their failure to ensure people's constitutional right to protest; past demonstrations against the government have fallen under repeated attack by Sandinista mobs, none of whom have been arrested after more than 30 incidents of attack in the past year.

President Ortega gave a national address Nov. 18, issuing a characteristically confusing message filled with calls for peace tinged with threats of aggression. Ortega insisted that freedom of expression exists in Nicaragua and that everyone has the right to march peacefully, “without converting Managua into a battlefield, into a theater of war.”

But Ortega also accused the opposition of “only wanting liberty (of expression) for them.” Referring to the incident several weeks ago, where several anti-Sandinista youth protested the controversial re-election decision by egging Sandinista magistrate Francisco Rosales, Ortega said: “They think they have the right to throw eggs at the magistrate … that's fine, that's their right! But why are they going to get annoyed if they get eggs thrown at them?”

To minimize possible bouts of violence, police are banning people from carrying firearms, ammunition and flammable liquids, and are imposing a liquor ban in the city.

The ban, however, doesn't prohibit the use of homemade mortars, which the Sandinistas have been using with increasing frequency and firepower to attack the opposition.

Education Minister Miguel de Castillo Thursday defended the use of mortars in protests, saying “they are part of the culture,” even though there is a law against their use.

“It's difficult to apply the law because the phenomenon of (mortar use) is complex,” de Castillo told The Nica Times, when asked if he thought the law should be applied. “You'd basically have to put a police officer behind every student and protester.”

The U.S. Embassy, meanwhile, released an alert to all its citizens traveling to and around Nicaragua tomorrow to “maintain a high level of security awareness and to avoid large crowds due to the potential for violence.”

U.S. citizens are also urged to “not drive through barricades encountered on the street, to keep windows up and doors locked in their vehicles, and to carry a cell phone at all times.”

The warning notes, “Activities observed during past demonstrations include, but are not limited to the use of tear gas, rubber bullets, firing of improvised projectile launchers ( morteros ), rock-throwing, tire burning, road blocks, bus/vehicle burning, and other types of physical violence between law enforcement and protestors or between rival political factions.”

Nicaragua's Catholic Bishops Council is also calling for peace. In a strongly worded communiqué released Nov. 18, the bishops expressed concern about Nicaragua's “growing moral deterioration … the predominance of force over reason, disrespect and manipulation of people, the threat to fundamental rights such as free expression and mobilization” and a general “social decomposition.”

For a related story on how former contra fighters are regrouping in defiance of Ortega, click here.

Costa Rica's coastal waters pose great risks to visitors who are not familiar with their power.

In May 2009, Jermaine Zimmerman, 21, and his brother Darnell, 25, from Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States, drowned off the coast of Playa Azul in the northern province of Guanacaste.

During the same month, a strong riptide swept 21-year-old University of South Florida student Aly Zain Lakdawala out to sea near the popular Guanacaste beach of Tamarindo.

Last month, British journalist Michael Dixon, 33, also went missing in Tamarindo. Hotel officials said they last saw him on his way to the beach with a towel in his hand on the morning of Oct. 19. The investigation into his disappearance is ongoing.

Between 50 and 70 people drown yearly in Costa Rican waters, according to a 2009 study by researchers at the National University (UNA) in Heredia, north of San José. The U.S. Department of State says that strong riptides cause the deaths of eight to 12 U.S. tourists in Costa Rica annually.

Few beaches have warning signs, and the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT) has been under fire from visitors for not taking more precautionary measures to help prevent the deaths of more tourists in open waters.

But a project recently undertaken by the International Ocean Institute based at the UNA could better advise swimmers about the sea's ebb-and-flow hazards.

The project, begun in September, will establish an index of riptides for the main beaches along Costa Rica's Pacific and Caribbean coasts. Researchers hope the outcome will guide key governmental and tourism institutes in implementing a system to alert swimmers about the strength and patterns of currents.

“This is an important project, and it is the first of its kind for Central America and the Caribbean region,” said Alejandro Gutiérrez, director of the institute and collaborator for the study. “It could save a lot of lives.”

The project has four major objectives and is in its first phase of visiting and monitoring coastal zones where riptides appear to be most hazardous. Waterfronts in Jacó, Manuel Antonio, Quepos, Dominical, Esterillos, and Isla Damas are shores where the majority of deaths by drowning occur, according to the project's proposal.

All of these beaches are in the central Pacific province of Puntarenas, and that's where scientists will begin their study.

Researchers will examine wave and tidal conditions and gauge the motion and force of currents in order to identify the most dangerous areas under normal weather conditions.

The results of the work will be presented to critical government agencies and emergency groups such as the Costa Rican Red Cross, the ICT and the National Emergency Commission. The oceanic institute will also host conferences with high schools and academic institutions and work with tourism companies and hotels interested in the information.

Researchers hope to complete the project and begin presenting the index by Aug. 31, 2011.