Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, falls today this year. The Tico Times extends its wishes for a happy year 5771. Sept. 9 is also Children's Day in Costa Rica.

Happy New Year

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Black History Exhibition and Workshops
Sept. 9-10, University of Costa Rica, Limón campus, and public library, Limón. Info: 2272-6432, www.redtextilia.org.

Semana Japonesa 2010
Features a koto and taiko (Japanese zither and drum) concert, Sept. 9, 5 p.m., foyer, National Theater. Info: 2232-1255, www.cr.emb-japan.go.jp

Theater at Noon in Alajuela
SonSimpar, Latin American music, Sept. 9, 12:10 p.m., Juan Santamaría Museum, Alajuela.

Music at Dusk
Traditional Japanese music recital, Sept. 9, at 5:10 p.m., National Theater.

Costa Rica will not block Nicaragua's plans to dredge the Río San Juan despite claiming that the project is severely underbudgeted and would reduce the flow of water in the river.

Based on a July 2009 ruling, in which the International Court of Justice at The Hague, Netherlands, examined the rights of both countries over the Río San Juan, Nicaragua has the right to dredge the river that marks the border between the two countries in order to restore the flow of water that existed in 1858, when a treaty over ownership of the river was signed.

“Nicaragua can dredge the Río San Juan as long as it does not cause damage in Costa Rican territory, (nor) can it affect Costa Rica's right of navigation on the San Juan or its tributaries such as the Río Colorado,” Costa Rican Foreign Minister René Castro told members of the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega announced plans to dredge the river in July 2010. His vision is to clear and deepen the riverbed to make the river suitable for ship traffic and eventually construct an interoceanic canal in Nicaragua.

Cabinet members in Nicaragua have assured Costa Rica the project will not generate problems in its territory.

“There is no reason to doubt the words of (Nicaragua's) foreign minister or president,” Castro told legislators. “For us, this verbal guarantee is sufficient to assure us that it will not create damage in our national territory.”

However, based on studies of costs for similar dredging work at the Costa Rican port of Caldera and the Panama Canal, Castro called the numbers “poorly supported” and the projected budget of $7 million “rather modest for this type of work.”

He estimated that work would require $700,000 to $1 million per kilometer. Nicaragua is hoping to dredge 28 to 34 kilometers for $7 million.

While the project will not reduce the flow of water in the river on the scale that has been reported in some media, studies conducted at the request of Costa Rica show a 12 percent reduction of water flow, Castro said.

He said the Foreign Ministry “has been diligent in undertaking the necessary actions in order to ensure adequate protection of national interests. Costa Ricans can rest assured that the legal position of Costa Rica is well-supported, and we are confident that it will not be necessary to seek recourse in international courts to enforce the rights of our country.”

In two separate incidents this week, the Costa Rican Coast Guard captured two boats and arrested four fishermen for illegal fishing practices.

On the country's southern Pacific coast, the Coast Guard captured a boat and detained two crew members who were caught fishing illegally inside Ballena National Marine Park.

According to the Security Ministry, when officials approached the boat, the two-man crew sped away, forcing the Coast Guard to give chase.

The Coast Guard captured the boat and the two men – one Costa Rican and one Nicaraguan – and confiscated 20 kilograms of fish. The Coast Guard presented the fish as evidence to the local prosecutor, who will decide whether to press charges.

In a separate incident, the Coast Guard detained a boat and two men who were fishing with dragnets in river mouths near Westfalia, in the Atlantic province of Limón. Under Costa Rican law, the use of dragnets is prohibited in rivers, canals, lagoons and coastal waters. By law, fishermen may use the nets only in “open sea.”

The Coast Guard presented the case to the prosecutor's office in Limón.

PANAMA CITY – The government of Panama approved Tuesday a bill that will penalize forced disappearance and torture with up to 20 years' imprisonment in order to fulfill international commitments regarding human rights, according to a press release from the Presidency Ministry.

The Council of Ministers approved the bill and authorized Interior Minister Roxana Méndez to present it before the National Assembly in order to “correctly” classify these crimes in the country's penal code.

The initiative, which establishes punishments ranging from two to 20 years, was scheduled to have been presented on June 1, but was held back in order to incorporate recommendations framed by the nongovernmental Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL).

The classification of these crimes is one of various points in a sentence imposed on Panama by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for the disappearance of opposition leader Heliodoro Portugal in 1970.

On May 27, the president of Panama, Ricardo Martinelli, officially asked forgiveness of the Portugal family in fulfillment of the court's sentence. He also announced the drafting of the bill to penalize forced disappearance and torture.

In order to guarantee human rights and successful prosecution of terror crimes and forced disappearances, the bill amends articles in the penal code that failed to adequately address these offenses.

The changes would establish a punishment of 15 to 20 years in prison for crimes of causing illegal loss of freedom of one or more people committed by agents of the state or by people or groups who act with its authorization, support or consent.

Refusal to recognize loss of freedom or to provide information regarding the whereabouts of victims is also listed as criminal conduct.

The amendment also would impose punishment of two to three years' imprisonment for government agents who subject private citizens to unlawful punishments that affect their health or dignity, and sanctions of five to eight years if the punishment is slanderous or humiliating, or if the victim is a minor.

The bill also proposes punishments of 10 to 15 years for the crime of torture.