First female set to win Costa Rica presidency

February 07, 2010
SAN JOSE: Costa Ricans vote for a successor to President Oscar Arias in general elections on Sunday, with a woman poised to become the Central American nation's first female head of state.

Pre-election surveys showed a strong lead for ruling National Liberation Party's Laura Chinchilla, a former vice president, over right-wing opposition candidate Otto Guevara and Otton Solis, from the center-left.

They have both accused her of being a puppet of Arias, and many see the elections as referendum on the legacy of the internationally-recognized former Nobel Peace Prize winner.

The leading candidate needs 40 percent of the vote to avoid a second round, which, if necessary, would take place on April 4.

Six others are also running in a race that will again test the popularity of the National Liberation Party (PLN), which has dominated politics in Costa Rica for the past six decades.

Rising insecurity is a key concern for voters in a country which prides itself on its stability in a region wracked by drug trafficking, gang violence and awash with guns from decades of civil wars.

Some 2.8 million inhabitants of the nation famed for its lush vegetation and fauna can vote for a new president, two vice presidents, as well as lawmakers and municipal leaders.

Almost 40 percent of the 57 parliamentary seats are currently occupied by women.

Polling stations are set to open from 6:00 am (1200 GMT) to 6:00 pm (0000 GMT).

First exit polls, of around 10 percent of the vote, are due two hours after closing.

Some 200 international observers, including members of the Organization of American States (OAS), are due to oversee the elections.

Thousands of children have been encouraged to take part in simultaneous mock voting under a project to promote democratic participation in Latin America's oldest democracy.

The new president is due to take over on May 8.

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Cuba's world-famous cigar festival closes in Havana

Sunday, February 28, 2010 HAVANA: Hundreds of wealthy merchants and cigar aficionados from all parts of the world gathered in Havana this week to bid high stakes for humidors full of premium cigars. Cuba's annual Habanos festival ended on Friday night with an auction of ornate humidors of cedar and mahogany stacked with hand-rolled stogies that raised 800,000 euros ($1.09 million dollars). Habanos S.A. executives this month said cigar sales fell 8 percent to $360 million in 2009, so they have created the Julieta, a smaller, milder version of the Romeo y Julieta cigar, aimed specifically at female smokers. Women now make up only 5 to 10 percent of customers for Habanos. But even with the creation of the Julieta, Garcia said Habanos has only modest hopes for 2010 sales, due largely to a weak economy in Spain, the biggest market for Cuban cigars. The flavor of premium tobacco relies on the soil and climate in which it is grown. The western province of Pinar Del Rio, famous fo...

Snake bite deaths

Monday, July 06, 2009 COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan government recorded some 33,000 snake bites in 2008, with most of the victims coming from remote villages.The Department of Government Information said in a statement that most of the snake bite cases could be fatal if neglected.The statement said snake bites are often neglected in Sri Lanka as victims do not seek treatment at hospitals where advanced medication is available. Instead, the victims rush to traditional type of treatment which could be a risk, reports Xinhua.Snake bites death at domestic level, outside hospitals, go unrecorded, said the statement.Most victims of snake bite are from the rural and remote villages where there is no electricity after dusk.Statistics show that Sri Lanka has over 90 species of snake with around 10 species possessing venom capable of killing a human being.In Sri Lanka the annual death rate due to snake bite envenoming is one of the highest in the world being 6 in 100,000 population.

Last phase of Sri Lanka war killed 6,200 troops: govt.

COLOMBO: More than 6,200 soldiers died and nearly 30,000 have been wounded since the last phase of Sri Lanka's 25-year war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) began in July 2006, the defence secretary has said.Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa gave the figures for the first time during an interview late on Thursday with the state-run Independent Television Network.By comparison, in the six years and one month since the United States went to war in Iraq, nearly 4,600 U.S., British and other nations' troops have been killed.Sri Lanka had only given its own casualty figures erratically if at all during the final 34-month phase of the war, dubbed Eelam War IV, and stopped giving them altogether last year.The military had said several months ago it had killed at least 15,000 Tamil Tigers in the course of fighting but has not given a final tally.Much of the fighting over the last year took place as troops crossed tall earthen dams and moats to break through into LTTE-...

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