ACROSS the isthmus

David. Twelve homeless indigenous people were taken by the municipal authorities to a shelter in the Chiriqui capital where they were given food, medicines and “orientation”. There has been an increase in the number of homeless people in David in the last few months, many of whom may be drug addicts, alcoholics or with mental problems. On occasion members of the public have reported being threatened.

Panama. The white powder that was sent to the Panamanian Consulate in Florida earlier this week was not anthrax, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Meliton Arrocha, said. She said that investigations would continue to determine if the substance was some kind of explosive.

Chiriqui. The Ministry of Health is equipping hospitals and health centres on the border between Panama and Costa Rica to be able to cope with an anticipated rise in the number of cases of A/H1N1 victims among the indigenous population. In the last week two Ngobe Bugle babies have died of the virus and it is thought that the virus is likely to spread rapidly due to poverty and the often poor sanitary conditions of the people in the comarca.

Panama. The government is investigating possibilities of merging the Transport Office (ATTT) with the Ministry of Public Works (MOP). Minister for MOP, Federico Suarez, said that the move is in keeping with government policy to avoid duplication. He said that both the ATTT and MOP often overlap in the scope of their studies and the state ends up “paying twice” for the same information.