All about jade
Workshop on Jade Jewelry, ages 7 and up, July 6, 9-11:30 a.m., at Jade Museum, leaving from National Museum at 9 a.m.; Nature Explorers, July 6, 1-3 p.m.

Adventures Under the Sun
Adventure Kids Camp, ages 5-12, nature, sports, games, swimming, surf lessons, July 6-10, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., University for Peace, Ciudad Colón, 2289-0404, www.adventuresunderthesun.com.

Vacaciones Felices Camps
Ages 3.5-13, July 6-10 and 13-17, 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Children's Museum, register at 2258-4929, ext. 125, educacion@museocr.org.

Technology Workshops
Making Robots, ages 6-8, July 6-10, 8 a.m.-noon or 1-5 p.m.; “Scratch,” ages 9-13, July 6-10 or July 13-17, 9 a.m.-noon, 1-4 p.m.; Telling Stories with Videos, ages 10-13, Aug. 7-30, 2-5 p.m., Instituto Innova, Omar Dengo Foundation, San José. Info: 2527-6006, institutoinnova@fod.ac.cr.

Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was turned away from his country during a suspense-filled attempt Sunday afternoon to land his plane near the capital Tegucigalpa one week after Honduran soldiers rousted him from bed and forced him on a plane into exile in Costa Rica.

The Honduran military and thousands of Zelaya supporters clashed outside of Tegucigalpa's Toncontín Airport, resulting in the first death in what has become one of Latin America's biggest political crises in decades. Nineteen-year-old Isis Obed Murillo died from a gunshot wound in the head and approximately 10 others were injured in the standoff, newswire EFE reported.

Minutes after the fatal injury, the Venezuelan jet carrying Zelaya appeared circling in the sky above the Tegucigalpa airport. On orders from Honduras' de facto government, the armed forces blocked the runway with military vehicles, thwarting the deposed leader's landing.

En route to Honduras, in an interview with Venezuelan TV station Telesur, Zelaya tried unsuccessfully to order the military personnel to clear the way.

“I am the commander of the armed forces, elected by the people, and I ask the armed forces to comply with the order to open the airport so that there is no problem in landing and embracing my people,” Zelaya said from the plane, according to the daily Miami Herald's Web site.

A delegation with U.N. General Assembly President Miguel D'Escoto,

Argentine President Cristina Fernández, Paraguay's Fernando Lugo and Ecuador's Rafael Correa was to accompany the deposed leader home.

Following several attempts at landing, the jet carrying Zelaya turned around and touched down in Managua, Nicaragua, before heading to the Salvadoran capital of San Salvador, where he participated in a news conference with his fellow leaders.

Roberto Micheletti – who was named president in Honduras just hours after the military ousted Zelaya – called an emergency curfew at about 7 p.m. Sunday, extending by three hours the curfew it implemented in the days following the ouster, the BBC reported.

Earlier, Micheletti alleged Nicaragua was mobilizing troops near its border with Honduras, a charge Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega swiftly denied. “The idea is to divert attention by creating the idea that the conflict is with Nicaragua,” Ortega said. “ Nicaragua has no intention of firing a single shot at Honduras,” the Sandinista president said, in statements later echoed by a Nicaraguan military spokesman.

On Saturday, Nicaragua's envoy to the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington, D.C., denounced an alleged plot of Micheletti's administration to blame Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela of providing weapons to Zelaya loyalists (http://www.ticotimes.net/dailyarchive/2009_07/0703094.cfm).

The capture and exile of Zelaya has been widely condemned as a military coup. Members of the Micheletti administration have rejected such accusations, defending the move as a legal, court-ordered arrest and removal of Zelaya from office, which was necessary to prevent further violence.

Nica Times editor Tim Rogers and news agencies contributed to this report.

A thousand miles from the shores of the United States and three months into the rainy season didn't hamper the Independence Day celebration for many U.S. expatriates living here.

Beer flowed freely and hotdogs were served in sets of two or three as U.S. citizens gobbled up anything that would remind them of 4th of July.

Mechanical bull-riding, square dancing, volleyball and a rock band grabbed the attention of the hundreds of guests for the four-hour event, beginning at 8 a.m. Friday.

An array of nonprofits and businesses arranged booths on the grounds of the Cervecería de Costa Rica, the national brewery, and interspersed between them were food stands and children's games.

People walked around with U.S. flags hanging out of their bags, holding the hands of their kids, who were dressed in red, white and blue and wearing face paint.

“This isn't so much of a formal, rehearsed national event,” said Peter Brennan, chargé d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy. “It's really a party for everyone…a reminder of the good, ole fashioned 4th of July.”

The July 4 festivities (held on July 3) weren't without a touch of historical context and recognition for veterans, as event planners complemented the festivities with a flag raising ceremony, the national anthem and the pledge of allegiance.

“I looked out in the crowd and I noticed that people really felt emotional when the flag was taken up. They remember. They remember where our liberty and where our freedom came from. And I think it is very important,” said Susan Tessem, American Colony Committee president, relating her favorite part of the day.

The only thing missing were the fireworks.

Maybe next year, some event organizers said, as it will be the 50th Independence Day event in Costa Rica for United States citizens.

Just as the celebration was nearing its noontime end, the rain started to break loose from the clouds; and the blue, red and white-dressed patriots disappeared into the crowds of San José.

Osael Romero scored twice, including the game-winner in the 86th minute, as El Salvador upset Costa Rica 2-1 in the opening game of the Gold Cup tournament.

The contest opened in physical fashion, as within the first seven minutes, Costa Rican defenders Freddy Fernández and Leonardo González both received yellow cards following blatant fouls. The early physical play set the tone for a game that saw neither side settle into an offensive rhythm nor enjoy any stretches of significant possession.

El Salvador opened the scoring in the 19th minute, when goalkeeper Miguel Montes sent a long punt to forward William Reyes who headed the ball into the path of Romero in the left side of the penalty area. Romero faked a shot with his left foot, beating Costa Rican defender Pablo Herrera, cut the ball back to his right foot and fired a shot into the far corner for a 1-0 lead.

After falling behind, the Costa Rican attack improved. Celsio Borges hit the post with a header in the 40th minute and, in the 64th, Costa Rica tied the score when Esteban Sirias crossed the ball into the path of substitute Warren Granados, who hit a sliding right-footed volley into the top of the net.

In the waning minutes of the match, as the game seemed destined for a tie, Romero struck again. Salvadoran midfielder Rudis Corrales picked off a pass at midfield and hit a through ball down the right flank to Reyes. Reyes sent a cross into the Costa Rican penalty area where it appeared Costa Rican defender Herrera would be able to clear the ball and extinguish the threat. But Herrera mishit the clearance attempt and the ball rolled right to Romero at the top of the box, who hit a first time strike into the bottom right corner of the net.

Costa Rica was unable to muster any significant threats in the final four minutes and lost the opening game in the Gold Cup for a third time in team history. Costa Rica hadn't lost to El Salvador since 1997, a stretch of 12 games.

The Costa Rica team, known as La Sele, will play again Tuesday against Jamaica at 7 p.m. (5 p.m. local) at Columbus Crew stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Jamaica lost 1-0 to Canada on Friday. Canada and El Salvador are atop Group A with three points.

Happy to be here? Costa Rica tops a new list of the happiest countries on the planet compiled by an independent research group in Britain.

In the second Happy Planet Index (HPI) calculated by the New Economics Foundation, Costa Rica shot ahead of its third-place spot in the original index released in 2006 (TT, Aug. 4, 2006). Vanuatu, an archipelago in the south Pacific, was the happiest and Colombia placed second in the 2006 index.

The country scores 76.1 out of 100 on the new HPI, which measures life expectancy, satisfaction and a country's environmental footprint. The index was released Saturday.

“As well as reporting the highest life satisfaction in the world, Costa Ricans also have the second-highest average life expectancy of the New World (second only to Canada). All this with a footprint of 2.3 global hectares,” reads the HPI (available for download at www.happyplanetindex.org ).

Another reason to cheer in this region: Earth's 10 happiest countries are all – with the exception of one – in Latin America and the Caribbean. Following Costa Rica, they are the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Guatemala, Vietnam, Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, Brazil and Honduras.

Nicaragua came in 11th.

Some of the wealthiest nations fell somewhere in the middle of the 143-nation list. The United States, however, ranked 114th, sandwiched between Madagascar and Nigeria. The researchers placed their native United Kingdom 74th, just after Slovakia and before Japan and Spain.

Considering the hardships this region has endured over the years, what are Latinos smiling about?

The report explains, “Survey data reveals two key features of Latin American culture. One is the presence of relatively unmaterialistic (sic) aspirations and values, compared to countries with similar economic conditions. Latin Americans report being much less concerned with material issues than, for example, they are with their friends and family. Secondly, social capital is particularly strong in the region. Civil society is very active, from religious groups to workers' groups to environmental groups….”

African countries are at the bottom of the list, with Zimbabweans ranked as the saddest (143) in the world, according to the Index.

Anticipating questions about why developed nations rank poorly, the research group argues on index Web site, “governments have been concentrating on the wrong indicators for too long. If you have the wrong map, you are unlikely to reach your destination.”