SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (Reuters) - Laura Chinchilla, a protege of Nobel peace laureate President Oscar Arias, won a landslide election victory in Costa Rica on Sunday to become the country's first woman elected president. Chinchilla, formerly Arias' vice president, has vowed to continue his pro-business policies in the Central American nation, expanding free trade pacts and courting investment. The ...

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (Reuters) - A protege of outgoing President Oscar Arias could be elected Costa Rica's first woman head of state on Sunday, though a conservative rival has upped his challenge ahead of the election. Opinion polls show ruling party centrist Laura Chinchilla, who has promised to expand Costa Rica's free trade pacts beyond the Western Hemisphere ...

PLAYA GRANDE, Costa Rica (Reuters) - "Forty-nine." On a Pacific beach in Costa Rica, a researcher whispers the number after counting the slimy, round white eggs just laid by a rare leatherback turtle in a hole dug in the sand under bright moonlight. Turtles like this 1.5 meter (5 ft) female have probably been struggling out of the surf at ...