Free Republic

Costa Rican President Oscar Arias has been diagnosed with the H1N1 virus, commonly known as the swine flu, the government said in a televised statement on Tuesday. Arias fell ill on Sunday, complaining of a sore throat and temperature, Presidential Minister Rodrigo Arias said. A doctor's visit on Tuesday revealed that the president had the H1N1 virus, cases of which had been reported earlier in the Costa Rican capital of San Jose. The president's overall health was good, but following his doctor's advice, he will rest at his home until Sunday, Rodrigo Arias said. The president is expected to return...

Last Two Embassies Move to Tel Aviv Both El Salvador and Costa Rica, the last two bastions of political recognition of Israel’s capital, have decided to move their embassies from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv. They, like many other nations, succumbed to pressure from Arab and Moslem nations which refuse to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital or deal with countries who do.

San Jose, Aug 15 (EFE).- Costa Rican President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oscar Arias dismissed here Tuesday an insult proffered by Cuba's vice president and reiterated his desire to see democratic change on the Communist-ruled island. "I have many defects, but I'm no liar," Arias told reporters in response to Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage's characterization of him as "a liar." "I plead for, and have always done so, I haven't changed my mind, for a regime change and not for a monarchical succession" in Cuba, said Arias, who won the 1987 Nobel Prize for his efforts to end...

The election of Evo Morales as president of Bolivia in December prompted a rash of headlines declaring that Latin America has tilted to the left. Latin Americans are fed up, some say, with the "Washington Consensus" of free markets and fiscal discipline, which has failed to erase all their poverty and inequality, and as a result their governments are reverting to protectionism, state ownership of industries and unlimited social spending. But judging from the victory of my social-democratic National Liberation Party in Costa Rica's Feb. 5 elections, our country didn't get the message that all of Latin America is veering...

(Hartford-WTNH, Mar. 20, 2003 10:08 PM) _ Some people recognized for their efforts in the name of world peace spoke out Thursday night about the U.S. led war with Iraq. Three Nobel Peace Prize laureates took part in a forum. When a group known as the Connecticut Forum had planned this event two months ago, they had no idea how timely it would be. During a time of war, three Nobel Peace prize recipients spent the evening at the Bushnell, speaking to an audience about their reservations about war. "Whenever people suffer, we must intervene," said Elie Wiesel. Wiesel is...