French film festival
“Quatre étoiles” at 3, 5 and 7 p.m.; “Selon Charlie” on tomorrow and Thu. At 3, 5 and 7 p.m.; “L'homme de sa vie” on Fri. and Sat. at 3 and 5 p.m.; “Transylvania” on Sun. and Mon. at 3 and 5 p.m.; “Le serpent,” June 17 and 18 at 3, 5 and 7 p.m., Variedades Theater.

Early Music Festival
Tonight clavier player María Luisa Morales plays sonatas by Antonio Soler and Domenic Scarlatti, Spanish Cultural Center, 7 p.m.; Dúo Ambriz-Corona, soprano voice and Baroque guitar, Mexican Institute, 7 p.m.; on Thu., talk on 18th century Spanish dances and music with Morales, UCR Arts School, Room 107, 6 p.m.; Fri. Grupo Ganassi performs opera “Venid, venid deidades,” Spanish Cultural Center, 7 p.m. Info: 2271-4090, maria.vargascullell@ucr.cr.ac.cr.

2nd Tourism Education Conference
Today and tomorrow, Aurola Holiday Inn, downtown San José.

Boston University Trombone Choir
7:30 p.m., Complejo Cultural, Pérez Zeledón.

Costa Rica's Caribbean-bound Braulio Carrillo Highway reopened yesterday at 1:30 p.m. after transit officials had closed it Monday afternoon because of landslides, according to the Public Works and Transport Ministry (MOPT).

Ministry spokesman Omar Segura said workers cleaned up the road and traffic is flowing back to normal, but that drivers should use Braulio Carrillo – also called Ruta 32 – with caution.

“New landslides could occur so motorists should drive carefully, especially at night. It's recommended to go during the day, if possible, and to avoid heavy rain storms,” Segura said.

Braulio Carrillo runs from San José through mountains to Caribbean flatlands, and is an important route from the capital to the port city of Limón.

Another major road, the Inter-American Highway South, remains closed from Cerro de la Muerte down to the Southern Zone canton Pérez Zeledón after Tropical Storm Alma washed away major chunks of the road (see www.ticotimes.net/topstory.htm).

The MOPT spokesman said that workers managed to carve an emergency lane for vehicles to carry food and supplies to isolated communities particularly in Pérez Zeledón.

Some 35 machines are working on the Inter-American to get a commuter lane up and running by tomorrow or Thursday, said Segura.

For the first time in Costa Rica, this week a group of scientists will place tracking devices on sharks off the coast of Isla del Coco, an uninhabited island 365 miles west of the Pacific port city of Puntarenas, according to environmentalist group MarViva.

The eight scientists, who belong to a collection of Latin America-based conservation organizations, aim to monitor 21 sharks from today through Sunday.

“During the expedition six apparatuses using satellite technology, 15 using sound, will be placed (on the sharks) that will allow (us) to determine the local and regional movement of hammerhead sharks, silky sharks and Galapagos sharks that travel through the waters of Isla del Coco National Park,” according to a MarViva press release.

“The final objective of the process is to have a database to better understand these animals' movements and use this information to enforce conservation and sustainability programs, as the species is in danger of extinction,” the release said.

It's the first time in Costa Rica that scientists take sharks briefly out of the water to place tracking devices on their dorsal fins to learn more about their travel habits.

Participating scientists come from Tico groups MarViva, PRETOMA and CIMAR, Colombia's Fundación Malpelo and Ecuadorean organization Charles Darwin.

Costa Rica's National Banana Corporation (CORBANA) will ask the European Union to slice tariffs by more than half to end “discriminatory” trade agreements with other banana-producing countries, according to a representative.

Latin American bananas have been subject to a €176 ($275) per ton import tax since 2006. CORBANA, along with other regional producers, is asking that it be cut to €75 ($117).

CORBANA's general manager Jorge Sauma said the euro's growing strength against the dollar is one reason to ask for a reduction in tariffs.

“The blow (against Latin American exporters) becomes stronger,” Sauma said.

In 2007, Costa Rica exported close to $674 million-worth of bananas and plantains, according to the Foreign Trade Ministry. The European Union purchases 67 percent of its bananas from Latin America, 23 percent of which comes from Costa Rica.

Remaining imports arrive from the African, Caribbean and Pacific zones, whose products enter the European market without tariffs.

CORBANA and other Latin American organizations hope to reduce the European Union's universal tariff during negotiations at the World Trade Organization's Doha Round in July.

If that discussion is unsuccessful, the group will bring its concerns to future E.U. trade agreement talks.

Although he could understand the old continent's desire to protect its former colonies, Sauma called the European Union's present tariff structure “discriminatory.”

The goal, he said, should be a greater equilibrium between Europe and its different trading partners.