Dr. Isa Vincenzi-Gang Costa Rican English Teachers Convention
Through Friday, register at Fundatec offices, Zapote (2234-7572), Plaza de la Cultura (2233-4612), Cartago (2550-9103).

Guanacaste Sea Kayaking and Yoga Adventure Workshop
Through Saturday, Hotel Bahía Esmeralda, Playa Potrero, Guanacaste, info: 2289-0404.

25th Graciela Moreno Choreographers Festival
Through Sunday, 8 p.m., National Theater, info: 2221-9417.

‘Miércoles de Trova'
Bring your guitar, 7 p.m., Bar Rayuela, Cuesta de Moras, next to Teatro del Angel, info: 2256-5780, http://enrayuela.blogspot.com/2008/11/mircoles-de-trova-en-rayuela.html

Cat Fight in concert
Rock, 10 p.m., El Observatorio, Barrio La California, San José, info: 2223-0725.

Costa Rica Guitar Orchestra in concert
Latin American, classical, progressive, 10 p.m., Jazz Café, Escazú, www.jazzcafecostarica.com.

Anagramas Trio in concert
Jazz fusion, 10 p.m., Jazz Café, San Pedro, www.jazzcafecostarica.com.

The highest-ranking intelligence officer in the Arias administration resigned yesterday over a scandal involving bank frauds worth $380,000.

Roberto Solórzano, director of the Department of Intelligence and Security (DIS), stepped down after judicial police began investigating Solórzano's deputy director for potential involvement in the fraud.

The Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ) are looking into whether Roberto Guillén, the deputy director in charge of DIS operations, helped steal the money using personal information from Datum, a database to which he had access through DIS.

“I cannot deny that there was negligence in the handling of the password for Datum,” Solórzano said in a resignation letter to Presidency Minister Rodrigo Arias. “What has happened in the DIS … has deeply mortified me and affected my health.”

Guillén stepped down Nov. 26 after judicial police said he may be among a group of criminals who forged documents and signatures to access 14 victims' bank accounts and sell their property.

The police were led to Guillén because some of the fraudulent activities occurred shortly after Guillén's Datum password was used to access information about the victims, said José Maleaño, head of an OIJ fraud unit. The investigation is ongoing and no charges have been filed against Guillén, Maleaño said.

Acknowledging fundamental weaknesses with the DIS, Arias said he would seek help from Chilean and Colombian authorities to draft a bill that would more clearly define the organization's responsibilities and checks on its power.

An online gambling site that operates out of a shopping mall in Costa Rica has been embroiled in a cheating scandal, according to an investigation by the daily Washington Post and the TV program, 60 Minutes.

AbsolutePoker was forced to refund $1.6 million to cheated players after one gambler grew suspicious of a player who couldn't seem to lose. After calculating that the man was winning at a rate 15 standard deviations above the mean, the suspicious gambler traced the player's IP number back to a computer owned by AbsolutePoker. The cheater was allegedly an inside man.

A subsidiary of AbsolutePoker, UltimateBet is also now accused of cheating about $20 million from its players. The alleged offenders include UltimateBet employees.

The sites are licensed by the Kahnawá:ke Mohawk reservation, 10 kilometers south of Montreal. Neither the reservation nor AbsolutePoker returned requests for comment.

The Kahnawá:ke Gaming Commission has fined AbsolutePoker and UltimateBet a combined $2 million for the cheating incidents, but would not disclose the name of the alleged inside man who cheated them, according to the Post.

AbsolutePoker told the Post that it fired the cheater, whom they described as a consultant in the Costa Rica headquarters, in Oct 2007, but did not turn him over to the authorities. UltimateBet has begun refunding the $20 million it owes to cheated players.

The online gambling industry generates about $18 billion a year, and the sites are banned in the United States.

Costa Rica and Singapore will begin talks on a free-trade agreement, President Oscar Arias said yesterday in a move that will help cement his legacy as a strong proponent of trade liberalization.

Arias, who has long lobbied for greater economic ties with Asia, announced the news after meeting with Singapore President Sellapan Rama Nathan and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Costa Rica's exports to Singapore last year totaled $31.5 million, while imports totaled $26.4 million.

Costa Rica will begin negotiations on a free-trade agreement with China in January. A treaty with Panama recently took effect, and Costa Rica is close to entering the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA).

Arias said last year that Costa Rica should sign free-trade agreements “with the whole world, if possible.”

Arias also held a round table discussion with Singaporean businessmen open to investing in Costa Rica. Representatives from telecommunications, tourism and electronics firms attended the conference, hosted by International Enterprise Singapore.

A tiny and densely populated city-state with a largely ethnic Chinese citizenry, Singapore has a per capita income of more than seven times Costa Rica's. Manufacturing and services are the main engines of Singapore's powerhouse economy, according to the U.S. State Department Web site.