Oxfam's Vanuatu director Colin Collet van Rooyen: "This is likely to be one of the worst disasters ever seen in the Pacific, the scale of humanitarian need will be enormous...entire communities have been blown away."
Most Turrialbeños say they're unaffected by the neighboring volcano's activity. But during times of emergency, dairy farmers are often required to evacuate down the mountain with their herds.
Most of the 7,000 people who had been evacuated after Chile declared a state of emergency Friday were permitted to return home. The port city, visited by thousands of tourists every year, is still rebuilding following deadly blazes last April that killed 15 people.
The president said he didn't want his cancelled plans to elicit concern, but wanted to be around to coordinate any potential emergency response related to the volcano.
The euro has already fallen to a 12-year low of $1.06, and should keep falling for at least another year. In fact, it shouldn't be long until the dollar is worth more.
I have been a real estate agent since before condominiums and gated communities even existed in Costa Rica. Even in those days, security was an issue. Due to a lack of social welfare and being a developing country, petty thievery and breaking and entering has always existed in Costa Rica, so the creation of condominiums was a good idea.
One of the major proposed changes would swap the current sales tax for a value added tax that would encompass services as well as goods. Tourism activities would be exempt for the first year after the law goes into effect, then charged 5 percent in the second year, 10 percent in the third and 15 percent starting the fourth year.
