Our Lady of Los Angeles Pilgrimage
People hike, drive, ride horses, skate or run from their hometowns to the basilica in Cartago. Concerts during the day today and special mass on Saturday. 

Orchids exhibit
Noon-8 p.m.; Saturday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sunday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m., Gymnasium, Escuela República de Colombia, south side of the park, Naranjo, Alajuela. Info: 2451-0012, 8380-6481.

18th Credomatic Music Festival
Features, Aspro Dolce, Saturday, 5:30 p.m., Villa Caletas Hotel,Central Pacific; Berlin Brass, Aug. 2, 5:30 p.m., Cristal Ballena ( Ballena Bay ).

Trigal con cuervos
Drama based on Vincent van Gogh, Thurs.-Sat 8 p.m., Sun 5 p.m., Teatro de la Aduana. Info: 2257-8305.

“ Faust ”
Opera by Charles Gounod, with the National Symphony Orchestra and the National Symphony Choir, 5 p.m., National Theater. Info: 2240-0333. 

Concert honoring trova singers Edgar Oceransky and Alejandro Filio
8 p.m., Cuartel de la Boca del Monte, Barrio La California, opposite, Cine Magaly. Info: 2221-0327.

Pointing to “external shocks” and an increase in the colón-dollar exchange rate, the Central Bank revised its projections for year-end inflation, moving its target from 8 percent to 14 percent.

The rising price of imported goods, such as basic grains and petroleum, was directly linked to spiking prices in the first half of 2008, according to the Central Bank.

While exports grew by 6.5 percent in the first half of 2008 compared to 2007, they could not keep pace with a 28.3 percent increase in imports over the same period.

Accrued inflation is already at 6.55 percent for the year, and year-to-year inflation reached 12.82 percent at the end of June.

Despite its 14 percent projection for this year, the Central Bank is shooting to achieve 9 percent inflation for 2009.

NICARAGUA – Police are investigating the shooting of a journalist of the state-affiliated TV channel Multinoticias at protests that turned violent when opposing political protestors clashed Wednesday in Managua.

“We're working on that,” said police spokesperson Vilma Reyes, “we're waiting for criminal investigators to complete a report.”

Channel 4 reporter Antenor Peña was hit in the knee Wednesday when shots broke out as police broke up clashes between Sandinista student protestors and opposition protestors. Wielding signs with slogans like “Daniel, you're ugly. We don't want to see your face. We want food,” Ortega opponents decrying the president's ubiquitous publicity campaign crossed paths with another group of picketing Sandinista youth.

Local press reported that the violence began when Sandinistas began throwing stones at a bus full of anti-Ortega protestors, while the state-affiliated news sources reported that the opposition protestors provoked Sandinistas.

The state-run Web site www.elpueblopresidente.com reported that shots were fired from a white truck. Police haven't confirmed that report.

The shooting came after marchers protesting the prohibition of minority parties in upcoming municipal elections flipped a Channel 4 car in June.

Out of 3,193 English teachers working for the Public Education Ministry (MEP) only 1,981 of them (62 percent) possess the training and knowledge necessary to teach that language properly, according to the results of an evaluation commissioned by Education Minister Leonardo Garnier.

The evaluation consisted in having teachers take the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC), a standardized English proficiency exam, followed by an oral interview in English. The evaluation was paid for by nonprofit Fundación CR-USA.

Thirty-seven percent of teachers (1,212) scored in the beginner and elementary levels, meaning they are unfit to teach English. Forty-eight percent of teachers (1,550) scored in the intermediate and high intermediate levels. Only 13 percent (431) scored in the advanced level.

Garnier justified the results saying MEP's English program has existed in a systematic way for only 12 years. At the same time, 62 percent of teachers ranked at a level that regards them as qualified to teach English at an “intermediate high” level.

With the intent of getting the remaining teachers up to the intermediate level, MEP will at the end of this month hold a large teacher training exercise with help from public universities. Once teachers currently in the lower ranges make it to the intermediates range, the emphasis will switch to upgrading them to the next level, which Garnier described as “ideal.”

At the same time, MEP plans to promote exchanges with teachers from English-speaking countries.