“Faust”
Opera by Charles Gounod, with the National Symphony Orchestra and the National Symphony Choir, Aug. 1, 5 and 7, 7:30 p.m., National Theater. Info: 2240-0333.

Manuel Obregón in concert
Renowned Costa Rican pianist and composer, 10 p.m., Jazz Café, Escazú, Info: 2288-4740

Daniel René in concert
Puerto Rican pop, rock, 9 p.m., Casino Fiesta, Alajuela.

Nicaraguan police recovered the sword of Nicaragua's revered poet Rubén Darío after it was stolen last week from the late poet's home, which is now a museum.

Police in the colonial city of León, where Darío was born, also detained 18-year-old Franco Flores, one of the two young men who allegedly nabbed the sword from the Ruben Darío museum last Thursday. The other alleged suspect, Leon resident Isaac Francisco García, 19, remains at large, according to police spokeswoman Marianela Bove.

Darío (1867-1916), one of the most renowned modern Latin American poets, used the sword in 1908 on a diplomatic mission in Spain.

NICARAGUA – A Nicaraguan-American who allegedly murdered his Nicaraguan wife and unsuccessfully tried to sink her body in the sea off the Florida Keys surrendered to Nicaraguan authorities, according to police spokeswoman Vilma Reyes.

Francisco Jarquín, 30, allegedly murdered his wife, Eliett Sequiera Ruíz, 28, and dumped her off the Seven Mile Bridge in the Florida Keys on July 13. She had been bound with telephone cords and gym weights, The Miami Herald reported.

Jarquín faces first-degree murder charges in the United States. Among the witnesses are his brother, who allegedly admitted to helping dispose of Sequiera's body.

After the killing, the murder suspect fled back to his native Nicaragua. He turned himself in to police in Managua on Saturday. According to Reyes, Jarquín is cooperating with police, who are pursuing a criminal complaint against him. She said he will go through the Nicaraguan penal process even though U.S. authorities have been pushing for Jarquín to be extradited. Nicaragua has no extradition agreement with the United States.

Forty-five percent of Costa Ricans think President Oscar Arias is doing a good or very good job, while 21 percent think he is doing a “bad” or “very bad” job, according to a recent survey by polling firm Borge y Asociados and PODER, a new politics magazine.

Thirty-one percent think Arias is doing an average job as president and 2 percent did not respond.

Satisfaction with the Arias administration's performance is strongest among women, young people and people with college education. Dissatisfaction is centered in on the Caribbean coast, where 35 percent say he is doing a “bad” or “very bad” job.

The poll also delved into people's opinions on the amount of power possessed by Rodrigo Arias, the president's brother and minister of the presidency. More than half (52 percent) of those surveyed said the two brothers government jointly, while 27 percent said Rodrigo is the one who governs. Only 12 percent said Arias governs alone.

In terms of support for political parties, Arias' National Liberation Party (PLN) remains the strongest with 30.8 percent support, followed by Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC) with 8.8 percent, Citizen Action Party (PAC) with 7.5 percent, and the Libertarian Movement with 1.3 percent. Nearly a quarter (22.8 percent) of respondents said they supported no party and 28.9 percent did not respond.

The poll has a sample size of 408 and was taken during the last week of June. It has a margin of error or plus or minus 5 percent.