I will update with USGS information once it becomes available.

Updates Information:

USGS information

Magnitude    5.3

Date-Time    Monday, July 06, 2009 at 04:10:38 UTC

Sunday, July 05, 2009 at 11:10:38 PM at epicenter

Location    9.640°N, 78.980°W

Depth    39 km (24.2 miles) set by location program

Distances   96 km (59 miles) NE (37°) from PANAMA CITY, Panama
106 km (66 miles) ENE (72°) from Colon, Panama
165 km (103 miles) NNW (327°) from La Palma, Panama

Parameters    NST= 21, Nph= 21, Dmin=0 km, Rmss=0.86 sec, Gp= 61°,
M-type=body wave magnitude (Mb), Version=A

Magnitude    6.0

Date-Time    Saturday, July 04, 2009 at 06:49:36 UTC
Saturday, July 04, 2009 at 01:49:36 AM at epicenter

Location        9.654°N, 78.983°W

Depth            43.1 km (26.8 miles)

Distances      97 km (60 miles) NE (36°) from PANAMA CITY, Panama
106 km (66 miles) ENE (71°) from Colon, Panama
167 km (104 miles) NNW (327°) from La Palma, Panama

Location Uncertainty    horizontal +/- 5.2 km (3.2 miles); depth +/- 8.6 km (5.3 miles)

Parameters    NST=209, Nph=209, Dmin=108.3 km, Rmss=0.95 sec, Gp= 43°,
M-type=teleseismic moment magnitude (Mw), Version=7

If someone cares to translate this for me…I am all ears…I mean eyes.

The Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) is supposedly trying to find a few good recruits in Panama.  According to published reports in the Panamanian newspaper, La Critica – flyers and posters are appearing along frontier towns in the Panamanian province of Darien seeking recruits.

Officials of the Ministerio Publico and National Police are investigating the origin of these flyers and posters that actively invite Panamanians to participate in the guerilla warfare campaign against Colombia.

The report states that a group of men identified as member of FARC delivered the flyers and poster to various Panamanians that were traveling on the shores of the Rio Tuira towards Boca de Cupe.

The flyer contain the message “join the army of the people, we are waiting for you to create a grand socialist country.”

Frank Abrego of the Servico Nacional de Fronteras is quoted as saying that the flyers are asking for recruits against Colombia and does not specifically mention Panamanians.

Abrego indicated that there have been no confirmed reports of Panamanians joining the guerilla struggle against Colombia.

President-elect Ricardo Martinelli already has plans to advance the country’s economy, which after years of aberrant growth is beginning to show signs of slowing down.

Among the measures Martinelli is contemplating are changes to the laws governing fiscal responsibility that would allow the government to increase the country’s debt ceiling, an expansion of the banking system Financial Stimulus Program and a 20 percent reduction to the budget of the National Assembly.
Currently the absolute debt limit is 1 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, however Martinelli is seeking to raise the ceiling to 3 percent.  This would allow the government to absorb and additional $500 million to $700 million of debt per year.  The additional money would be used to advance the Martinelli’s administration of aggressive projects planned in the next five years.

Martinelli affirmed, “The economic situation is that we require that the government have more financial flexibility and liquidity, so we need to modify the terms of the current budget ceiling.”

Economist Guillermo Chapman has stated that accretion of government spending is the proper response when a country’s economy beings to lag or become stagnant.

However, analyst Sifon Arevalo said that altering the nation’s debt ceiling could set an alarming precedent.

“It’s one of the weaknesses that we have ever seen in Panama,” Arévalo said. “The new government always seems to find a reason to change the rules.

Alcatel-Lucent to deploy all IP network for Claro Panama

Panamanian mobile operator Claro, has contracted the French-US hardware vendor Alcatel-Lucent to create its all-digital IP nationwide backhaul network.  Claro, which launched service in March 2009, is claiming that the new network will allow it to increase the quality of its high-speed network and allow it to offer an expanded range of multimedia capabilities.  Under the arrangement, Alcatel-Lucent will proved an IP/MPLS solution, rolling out an abounding IP backhaul network designed to optimized costs and scalability.

Additionally Alcatel-Lucent will be responsible for the design, installation and maintenance of the infrastructure.  Commenting on the accord, Victor Agnellini president of Alcatel-Lucent activities in the Caribbean and Latin America stated “By convergering all services on a full IP mobile network, Claro Panama will reduce transport infrastructure costs while maintaining the reliability and quality of service necessary for delivering premium multimedia services to its mobile users.”