Expo Manuel Antonio
Tourism expo, through Sunday, Hotel Villas Lirio Conventions Center, Manuel Antonio.

Furniture and Decoration Expo
Art, design, furniture, through Sunday, Pedregal Exhibit Hall, San Antonio de Belén, Heredia. Info: 2234-2350.

Chilean film: ‘Casa de remolienda'
4 and 6 p.m., Variedades, Calle 5 between Avenida Central and 1, info: 2222-6108.

Play: ‘La Mandrágora'
Drama, through Nov. 30, Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 5 p.m., Teatro La Aduana, Avenida 3, Calle 25. Info: 2257-8304.

National Auditorium 10th Anniversary Celebration
Concerts, dance shows, through Sunday, 8 p.m., National Auditorium, Children's Museum.

Moby Dick in concert
Classic rock, 9 p.m., La Mini Taberna, San Rafael Arriba, info: 8392 1773.

Guitar school show
10 p.m., Jazz Café, San Pedro, http://jazzcafecostarica.com.

The Costa Rica Chief Prosecutor's Office has opened a criminal investigation targeting President Oscar Arias after he issued decree declaring a controversial open-pit gold mine “of public interest and national convenience,” thereby authorizing the logging of thousands of trees, including endangered species.

The decree, published Oct. 17 and suspended by court order Monday, would allow Vannessa Ventures, a Canadian gold mining company, to get around national laws prohibiting the logging of forested areas.

Only when a project is declared “of national convenience” can developers apply to change the land-use status of forested land in order to log it.

In April, Vanessa Ventures controversially received the go-ahead directly from the president's office to dig an open-pit gold mine near the town of Las Crucitas, along the northern border with Nicaragua.

On Sunday, an environmentalist with the organization UNOVIDA filed an injunction with the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court (Sala IV) to block Arias' decree.

The decree authorizes the logging of more than 191 hectares of forest, which is equal to about 250 soccer fields. In the swath of mostly old-growth forest are endangered tree species, including nearly 200 mountain almond trees, called almendro amarillo in Spanish.

The towering hardwood is listed as an endangered species by the Environment, Energy and Telecommunications Ministry (MINAET), and is a principal food source and habitat for another endangered species, the great green macaw.

In September, the Sala IV ordered MINAET to stop permitting any type extraction of the mountain almond, including fallen ones, until both the tree and the great green macaw are off the endangered list.

President Arias is being investigated for a crime called prevaricato, which in Costa Rica's Criminal Code is defined as any time a judicial or public official “dictates resolutions contrary to the law or they are based on false facts,” and is punishable by three to 15 years in prison.

Arias yesterday denied any wrongdoing, saying he based his decision on the advice of the country's top environmental officials and the mine's approved environmental impact studies.

For the president to face any eventual charges, the Legislative Assembly, where his National Liberation Party (PLN) holds a majority, would have to vote to strip him of his judicial immunity.

Costa Rica water authorities have announced new outages for today from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the eastern San José cantons of Montes de Oca, Curridabat and La Unión.

Affected neighborhoods in Montes de Oca include San Pedro, Lourdes, Calle Siles, Santa Marta, Barrio Pinto, La Granja, Roosevelt, Fuentes, Vargas Araya, Monterrey, Cedros, Sabanilla, Betania, Dent and Los Yoses.

In Curridabat: Granadilla Norte, Urbanización Altamonte, Barrio María Auxiliadora, Urbanización Pinar de Montes de Oca, Taller Wabe, Condominios Puruses, Guayabos V Etapa, Abedules, San Angel, Calle La Unica, Calle El Tabaco and Calle Montañas Rusas (Condominio Barlovento).

And, in La Unión, Urbanización Omega will be affected.

The Costa Rican Water and Sewage Institute (AyA) said the outage is meant to allow workers to carry out the third phase of repairs of the Concepción water tank.

Even as oil prices plummet, Costa Rica is still seeking to enter an energy alliance spearheaded by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.

Costa Rica is in talks to join PetroCaribe, which allows 18 countries from Latin America and the Caribbean to buy fuel from Venezuela under favorable conditions.

These conditions have worsened since Costa Rica decided to enter PetroCaribe three months ago. In July, when oil cost more than $130 a barrel, PetroCaribe members could pay for 60 percent of its fuel bill over 25 years.

Now, as oil has slipped below $70 a barrel, PetroCaribe members can pay only 40 percent of its fuel bill over 25 years. The rest must be coughed up within 90 days.

Still, membership will protect Costa Rica against future price hikes and shortages, said Roberto Dobles, minister of environment, energy and telecommunications, in an interview with the daily La Nación.

Costa Rica will likely become a full member at the next PetroCaribe summit in December. Until then, the National Oil Refinery (RECOPE) must pay its entire fuel bill within eight days.

The soccer game set for tonight between San José's Deportivo Saprissa and Honduras' Marathón has been postponed amid heavy rain, flooding and landslides in Honduras.

Some of the flooding has occurred near the northern city of San Pedro Sula, where the teams were scheduled to play.

The floods prompted President Manuel Zelaya to declare a national state of emergency. The storm has left at least 16 people dead and affected more than 120,000.

A new date has not yet been set.