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Dhofar University in Oman invites applications for vacant Research and Academic Positions, the first private university in the

The U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica named Jennifer Savage as its new chargé d’affaires yesterday. She steps in to lead the diplomatic mission until the next ambassador arrives. Savage, a career Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State, brings close to 30 years of experience in consular, political, economic, and management positions. Her career spans assignments in Haiti, Vietnam, Ireland, Ecuador, the Philippines, Mexico, Uruguay, and Zimbabwe. She most recently directed the Office of Canadian Affairs at the State Department. Before that, she served as chargé d’affaires and deputy chief of mission in both Uruguay and Zimbabwe. A graduate of The American University, Savage entered the Foreign Service in 1996. Savage replaces Michael Flores, who managed the role for the past seven months until the end of last month. The embassy shared that Savage looks forward to settling in Costa Rica with her family and building on the strong relationship between the two nations. She fo...

Representatives from 184 countries began negotiations on Tuesday at the UN headquarters in Geneva to draft, within ten days, the first global treaty aimed at reducing plastic pollution that threatens to choke the planet. At the official opening of the debates, Ecuadorian diplomat Luis Vayas Valdivieso, who chairs the negotiating committee, urged states to take responsibility for addressing a “global crisis.” “ Plastic pollution is damaging ecosystems, contaminating our oceans and rivers, threatening biodiversity, harming human health, and unfairly impacting the most vulnerable. The emergency is real (…) and the responsibility lies with us,” he said. In discussion for three years, this “legally binding” text for states “will not be achieved automatically,” Vayas Valdivieso warned Monday, as he welcomed delegates from more than 600 NGOs attending the talks in the Swiss city. Amid significant geopolitical and trade tensions, this additional negotiation session, called INC-5.2, was co...

IKEA plans to open its first store in Costa Rica after signing a franchise agreement with Sarton Group. The deal announced today gives Sarton exclusive rights to build and run IKEA operations in the country, along with Panama. Sarton Group already handles IKEA stores in places like the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and the Spanish Islands. This move marks IKEA’s entry into Central America, where no stores exist yet. Company leaders say the expansion aims to make affordable home goods available to more people in the region. The expansion manager at IKEA shared her thoughts in the announcement. “We are pleased to further expand our work with Sarton Group and welcome Panama and Costa Rica to join the IKEA family,” she said. “As owners of the IKEA concept and franchisors worldwide, we continually seek opportunities to expand our reach and improve accessibility for more people. Together with IKEA franchisees, we enhance and develop IKEA to make it more relevant and inspiring.” From Sa...

Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence in United Arab Emirates invites applications for vacant Postdoctoral and Academic

The Costa Rican government has asked the US government to pause the tariffs announced last Thursday while negotiations between both countries continue. Costa Rican authorities believe this would alleviate the concerns of exporters and enable them to design a strategy that will allow the country to face this challenge. “Costa Rica, like 184 other nations around the world, is affected by the recent decision of the US government to impose tariffs on goods exported to that market. Although the 10 percent tariff on our exports is the minimum, we are aware of the concerns it raises for our export sector,” said the country’s Minister of Foreign Trade, Manuel Tovar. Meanwhile, the Costa Rican government has assured that it will continue working to defend the country’s interests, mitigate the effects of this decision, and protect the competitiveness of national exports. Along the same lines, Tovar has indicated that, in response to a request from the Presidency, his team is already working ...

A robot explores the dark, cold, deep sea floor of the South Atlantic, transmitting images of vibrant coral and fish never seen before as scientists give live commentary via YouTube. And Argentines can’t get enough of it. The Argentine-American scientific mission is for the first time exploring the Mar del Plata canyon, a submarine gorge which plunges nearly 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) deep, off the coast of the seaside resort of the same name. The awed conversations between scientists leading the expedition and the explanations they give to viewers allow the public a rare insight into the hidden wonders of marine biology. In one instance, the camera on the SuBastian underwater robot shows a weird-looking, little white animal. One of the scientists on the team can be heard asking her colleagues, “Do we want it?” “Yes, yes, we want it!” reply dozens of messages in the live stream chat before the image shows the suction device being activated to suck up the specimen for study.  “O...