Whales and Dolphin Festival
Including sand sculptures, workshops, photography and video exhibits, boat trips, Sept. 4-6, Ballena National Park, Uvita, Limón. Info: 2786-5392, 2743-8072.

Phil Harmony Orchestra in Concert
Sept. 4, 8 p.m.; Sept. 5, 5 p.m. and Sept. 6, 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m., National Theater.

‘Pánico'
Drama on Honduras Coup d'Etat, Thurs.-Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 5 p.m., Bellas Artes Theater, UCR, San Pedro, 2211-6722.

Japanese Cultural Week

Sept. 5, Speech Contest, 9 a.m.; Bonsai Exhibit, Opening Ceremony, 11 a.m., Amphi theater; Martial Arts Demonstrations, 12:20-3:45 p.m., Amphi Theater, Talk about Bonsais, 4 p.m., Amphi Theater.
Sept. 6, Karaoke Contest, noon; Coplay Contest, 2:30 p.m. Amphi Theater, all activities at CENAC. Further details at www.cr.emb-japan.go.jp

Entrenarte
Sharing art experiences, “Urbanografías,” with Ana Laura Vargas, Sept. 5, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Central Bank Museums.

‘El lugar de los seres imaginados'
Drama, Sept. 5-6, 5 p.m., Centro Cultural Paraiseño, Paraíso, Cartago.

Don Carlos
Acustic Rock and Blues, Sept. 5, 7 p.m., Happy Snapper Restaurant, Brasilito. Info: 2654-4413

The Electric Storm
Classic Rock, Sept. 6, 9 p.m., Bar One, Tamarindo. Info: 2653-2686

La Pasada Fair
Cultural events, handicrafts, Sept. 6, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Cartago ruins. 

Women's Club Auction
Auction of vacations, air tickets, dining, jewelry, artwork, to benefit scholarships and libraries in Costa Rican schools, Sept. 6, 2-6 p.m., Aurola Holiday Inn, 2268-3748, www.wccr.org. 

El Invisible
Drama, Fri.-Sun., 8 p.m., through Sept. 13, Sala Calle 15, Av. 2, opposite Plaza de la Democracia. Info: 2251-2352.

The United States stepped up pressure Thursday against the de facto government of Honduras, formally terminating millions of dollars in aid to the country for failing to adopt a Costa Rica-brokered reconciliation plan intended to end the Central American country's more than two-month-long political crisis.

“Restoration of the terminated assistance will be predicated upon a return to democratic, constitutional governance in Honduras,” according to a statement from the U.S. State Department. 

The pulled aid totals as much as $22 million that would be funneled through a broad range of assistance programs, according to a report in The New York Times.

The U.S. also hardened its tone against the de facto government of Roberto Micheletti – who was named president after the June 28, court-ordered overthrow of President Manuel Zelaya – now labeling the ouster a full-fledged “coup d'etat.”

The U.S. State Department said it would not recognize the result of presidential elections slated for November as long as the accord drafted by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias isn't met.

“At this moment, we would not be able to support the outcome of the scheduled elections,” the government statement said. “A positive conclusion of the Arias process would provide a sound basis for legitimate elections to proceed. We strongly urge all parties to the San José talks to move expeditiously to agreement.”

The announcement came after an hour-long meeting between Zelaya and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, newswire EFE reported.

Meanwhile, Gabriela Núñez, Micheletti's finance minister, said the aid was meant to assist in programs including roadway works and a project to help some 18,000 Honduran farm workers, according to EFE.

For the seventh year running, San José will celebrate Japanese Week, with cultural activities Sept. 4 through 20.

Lectures, exhibitions, cinema, competitions and concerts will be offered at various locations throughout the city, with something of interest for all ages.

The celebrations get underway this weekend with a festival of Japanese popular culture at the Centro Nacional de Cultura (CENAC). Participants can enjoy an inaugural ceremony and presentation by the Japanese School before choosing between demonstrations of five different martial arts or a Bonsai exhibition.

The Japanese ambassador Hidekazu Yamaguchi said: “We feel that interest and curiosity towards Asia is growing among Costa Ricans and I always consider this desire to know more about other cultures demonstrates the high level of cultural education in this country.

“This year we will share with the Costa Ricans our language by way of a Japanese language competition, our history with a photography exhibition, our sport, art and popular culture with a Japanese festival, our music with concerts and our harmony with nature through the bonsai tree,” Yamaguchi said.

Highlights include:

For more details and full event listings, visit: www.cr.emb-japan.go.jp.

Caspi International Inc., a U.S. real estate development firm, is planning to build a 14-story, all-glass oceanfront condominium tower in Puntarenas The $120 million project, known as Genesis Puntarenas, will include the world's largest penthouse, anticipated to be a 68,459 sq. ft., 10-bedroom space that occupies the top three stories of the tower.

In addition to the mammoth penthouse, known as Caspi Icon, the building will include six other penthouses and 40 more living units, each with retractable glass walls that would transform the units to open-air spaces. The other units will range from 950 to 6000 sq. ft. Some will have three bedrooms.

The tower will also feature two parking spaces for each unit, private elevators, a private beach area, a restaurant, a cigar parlor, a wine cellar, business and meeting spaces, daily maid service, beach cabanas and a helipad.

“It will be an entirely different style of building for Costa Rica,” said Brenna Israel, a representative for Caspi International. “A lot of the buildings in Costa Rica are designed in an older style. The all-glass retractable design is very contemporary and will be the first of its kind in Costa Rica.”

Currently, the Genesis Puntarenas project is in the final stages of securing a construction permit. The final permit is expected to be granted by the end of the month, at which time construction will begin at the site. Though no official time frame for completion is known, Caspi International hopes that the tower will be completed before the end of 2010.

As far as “the largest penthouse in the world” claim, Israel stated that Caspi International didn't initially aim for the distinction but, as the project developed, they realized the opportunity presented itself.

“We started out to try to make it the most luxurious penthouse, but as the project grew, the idea of being the biggest just kind of came about,” Israel said. “We have done an immense amount of research and have yet to find a penthouse that is larger. We stand by our claim that it will be the biggest.”