Credomatic Music Festival
Vocal Sin Tiempo, Colombian a capella. Aug. 13, 8 p.m. National Theater, downtown San José . For tickets, call 2283-1000. 

Sushi Workshop
Sushi, Aug. 13, 6-9 p.m., Estudio Gastronómico Mucho Gusto, Barrio Dent. Info: 2207-6036, 2207-6196.

Flower Exhibits
Talks, demonstrations, Aug. 13-14, 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Exhibit Center , San Antonio de Belén. Info: 8833-7681.

Expo Arte 2008
Art fair, with works by Roberto Fontana, Johnny Aguirre, Adrián Cotroneo (Argentina), Mario Peraza, Richard Stocker (U.S.), Rebecca Walk, Carolina Coto, Carolina Samania and Mario Fonseca, Aug. 13-17, La Aduana, Barrio California. Info: 2296-4206, 8838-8448.

Costa Rica broke this week with the United States over fighting between Russia and Georgia.

Costa Rica, which currently sits on the United Nations Security Council, rejected calls by the United States for a U.N. resolution condemning Russia for its attack on Georgia. Accusing Georgia of attacking civilians in the separatist province of South Ossetia, Russia began rolling troops into Georgia on Friday.

“A condemnation seems inappropriate to us when Georgia started the hostilities,” Foreign Minister Bruno Stagno told The Tico Times.

Still, he added, “Any incursion by Russia or another power … beyond South Ossetia would be very unfortunate.”

According to press reports, Russian troops have gone past South Ossetia, dropping bombs deep into Georgia.

Russian President Dmitiri Medvedev agreed yesterday to a cease-fire that would withdraw troops to the positions they occupied before fighting broke out Thursday. Still, newswires reported that violence in Georgia continued even after Medvedev's announcement.

The conflict has again exposed the weakness of the U.N. Security Council, which met five times last weekend and Monday to try to end hostilities. Faced with a Russian veto, the council failed to reach an agreement by yesterday afternoon.

Stagno said he supported an end to the fighting under terms that respect Georgia's “sovereignty and territorial integrity,” so that South Ossetia remains an autonomous province within Georgia.

He said Russian peacekeepers should remain in South Ossetia under a 1992 agreement by Russian, Georgian and South Ossetian authorities that gave the province effective autonomy. Stagno also suggested that the United Nations send a team to the region to ensure that all parties are respecting the cease-fire, South Ossetia's autonomy and Georgia's borders.

Long-simmering tensions in South Ossetia have been revived under Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, a U.S. ally who has sought to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, to the chagrin of Moscow, which has given South Ossetians aid, military protection and even passports to the mostly pro-Russian population.

The Japanese government donated $82,500 to Costa Rica to create the country's first public dermatopathology lab specializing in early cancer detection. Dermatopathology is the study of skin diseases at the microscopic level.

“For four years, we've been trying to get these funds and we finally got them from the Japanese,” Social Security System ( Caja ) spokeswoman Susana Saravia said. “Previously, our dermatology department had to handle all the different skin ailments, including cancer. Soon, people will be able to get their skin cancer screenings done faster at this new lab.”

Caja officials are still in the process of acquiring all the equipment necessary to have the lab functioning at the México Hospital in San José. Saravia did not have a timeline for having the lab up and running but she said the staff is already available. The lab will be headed by Dr. Jairo López.

The México Hospital can be reached at 2232-5419 x3117 or x3618, or at 2247-6700.

Amazon.com, the U.S.-based online vender of books and a million other things, announced yesterday it plans to open a customer service center in the city of Heredia, just north of San José.

Amazon said the center, its ninth around the world and first in Costa Rica, would create 300 jobs over two years, with an additional 400 jobs for the year-end holiday season.

However, business leaders complained last year of a shortage of English speakers in the country's rapidly growing services sector. The Costa Rican Investment Board (CINDE) said the service industry would need another 7,000 English speakers by this year (TT, Sept. 21, 2007).

Moreover, a recent report found that 40 percent of the nation's English teachers working for the Education Ministry are unqualified to teach the language (TT, Aug.1).

Amazon's call center, scheduled to open in November, will provide mostly telephone support and some e-mail support for the company's Web site, according to a statement released yesterday.

“Costa Rica has developed a great infrastructure that meets our needs and is home to a number of existing customer service centers which means we'll be able to draw on an experienced talent pool,” said Brent Jaye, director of Amazon's North America Customer Service.

“As a result, we believe our new facility in Costa Rica will enable us to continue to serve our customers quickly and efficiently,” he said.

CINDE officials said they have been helping Amazon evaluate the Costa Rican market since January.

Noting that Amazon's sales in the second quarter of 2008 exceeded $4 billion, a 41 percent increase over the year before, CINDE said the company's decision to open a customer service center here is a testament to Costa Rica's attractiveness to foreign investment.

“The figures demonstrate the dimension and importance of Amazon,” said Gabriela Llobet, CINDE's general director. “The fact that it has the confidence in Costa Rica to install its ninth global customer service center is a clear signal of the advantages the country offers, among them the quality of our human resources.”