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| The vote must go on: Hundreds of people yesterday protest outside Nicaragua's Supreme Electoral Council in Managua, demanding that municipal elections in the North Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAN) be held in November. The council ruled last Friday to suspend elections in three indigenous towns until April 2009, a move that sparked violent clashes in RAAN that caused several critical injuries and property damage. |
| Mario López | EFE |
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| Police note drop in crime against tourists |
Public Security Ministry officials said crimes against foreigners have dropped 30% in San José. |
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| DNA testing confirms Tico blood well-mixed |
It's not surprising that Costa Ricans' DNA, just as that of their neighbors, is made up of a mixture of Spanish, indigenous and African genes. But just how much of each? |
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| Nicaragua awards exploration
contracts to U.S. energy firm |
The Nicaraguan government has awarded two exploration and production contracts to U.S.-based MKJ Exploraciones Internacionales S.A., which will search for oil and gas in the Caribbean, the company said. |
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| U.S. beats Ticas in women's soccer |
Costa Rica lost 3-0 yesterday in Juárez, Mexico to the U.S. women's soccer team. While the latter will be going to the Beijing Olympics, the Costa Ricans will not. |
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Edited By Alex Leff
Tico Times Staff | aleff@ticotimes.net |
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| April 10 |
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Luz de Luna Festival in Santa Ana
Libertango, EMAI Jazz Band; tomorrow, Boby Costa Band, Jazz Latino, EMAI Experimental Group; Saturday, EMAI Theater Group, Dance with Alex Guerrero; Sunday, Tango Show and Cirko Vivo, all at 6:30 p.m., in front of Santa Ana Church, 2282-8662, 2233-3235.
Free film at university
“El Látido del Corazón,” 2 p.m., Casa del Estudiante, Universidad Nacional campus, Heredia.
Concert by beloved Tico-Mexican singer, actress Maribel Guardia
Ranchero music, 8 p.m., fairground, Platanar, San Carlos, Northern Zone, tickets at HSBC branches.
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| Police note drop in crime against tourists |
By Nick Wilkinson
Tico Times Staff | nwilkinson@ticotimes.net |
Public Security Ministry officials said crimes against foreigners have dropped 30% in San José.
A press release states police reports filed by foreigners dropped from 169 in January to 119 in February in San José, which has the highest incidence of crime against foreigners.
Reported petty thefts were down from 78 to 45, while assaults were down from 43 to 36.
Many victims, however, do not file reports because of disillusionment with law enforcement. Police statistics coordinator Mario Solano estimates 13% should be added to crime numbers to reflect the underreporting.
Hotels, public roads and bars are the most likely places for foreigners to be victimized, the press release states. |
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| DNA testing confirms Tico blood well-mixed |
By Alex Leff
Tico Times Staff | aleff@ticotimes.net |
| It's not surprising that Costa Ricans' DNA, just as that of their neighbors, is made up of a mixture of Spanish, indigenous and African genes. But just how much of each?
Costa Ricans in the Central Valley, where the nation's capital is located, are 65% European, 30% indigenous and 5% African, according to new DNA research led by Ramiro Barrantes, biology professor at the University of Costa Rica.
A study published recently in Plos Genetics magazine maps out the genes of some 20 different Latin American populations, offering a breakdown that traces back to genetically differentiated populations.
Ticos often refer to themselves as being white, but the biologists researching across the continent were looking beyond skin tone.
Barrantes said the racial breakdown is not entirely new, but the DNA testing confirms, with more advanced technology than before, that today's Ticos' indigenous genes are the same as their Amerindian ancestors of 7,000 years before.
But why worry about genetic makeup?
“Besides the pleasure of learning more, in recent years we've been preoccupied with the makeup of the population – and subpopulations – to pinpoint the relationship between genes and certain hereditary diseases,” the biologist said.
He cited Type 2 diabetes as an example of a known Amerindian-gene-related illness.
It's also important for Costa Ricans to consider their diverse heritage “because they tend to be chauvinistic people,” he said, referring to many Ticos' insistence on being “white.”
“Sure they're white, if you take away the Amerindian and African part.”
The study, however, isn't about race.
“(If you define populations by color) you're assuming the genes that determine skin color are the ones that predominate or the ones that define. But the color of one's skin is determined by two or three pairs of genes – the genome has more than 20,000 genes.” |
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Nicaragua awards exploration
contracts to U.S. energy firm |
The Nicaraguan government has awarded two exploration and production contracts to U.S.-based MKJ Exploraciones Internacionales S.A., which will search for oil and gas in the Caribbean, the company said.
The six-year contracts were signed Tuesday by Attorney General Hernán Estrada and MKJ chief Eric Conrad.
MKJ, a unit of Louisiana-based MKJ Xploration, will look for oil in two areas of the Caribbean shelf, one located some 120 kilometers (74 miles) east-southeast of Puerto Cabezas, capital of the Caribe norte region, and the other 170 kilometers (105 miles) northeast of Bluefields, the capital of the Caribe sur.
The two areas cover a combined 800,000 hectares (1.97 million acres), or nearly 8,000 square kilometers (3,088 square miles).
If the U.S. company finds commercially viable reserves, it will have the right to produce oil and gas for 30 years.
Under the contract terms, MKJ will pay a 15% royalty to the Nicaraguan central government and the Caribbean regional autonomous governments.
MKJ will also pay a 30% tax on its profits to the Nicaraguan state and 3% for environmental protection, health, education and infrastructure development projects in Caribbean communities.
Conrad said the project's first phase, which will last for about a year and involve seismic studies, will require investment of $5 million to $10 million.
The second phase, when drilling will take place, is expected to cost $25 million to $50 million and take one to three years to complete. |
-EFE |
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| U.S. beats Ticas in women's soccer |
Costa Rica lost 3-0 yesterday in Juárez, Mexico to the U.S. women's soccer team. While the latter will be going to the Beijing Olympics, the Costa Ricans will not.
The CONCACAF qualifying tournament semifinal match saw two goals by Natasha Kai and third by Heather O'Reilly for the United States.
The U.S. team will face the winner the Canada-Mexico match in the tournament final Saturday night.
The finalists head to the Olympics. |
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