Thousands Were Out to Protest
Thousands of public employees will have their salary docked for participating in yesterday's peaceful protest on the Corte Suprema de Justicia, in downtown San José. An estimated 7.000 braved the cold and rainy morning to have their voices heard by the "ladrones" (thieves) inside the court building.

Arias calls on High Commissioner Guterres
President Oscar Arias and UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres met in Geneva Wednesday and held talks on refugee protection and regional developments in Latin America.

INS Aims To Stop Car Thieves
If the Instituto Nacional de Seguros (INS) has its way it will end the party enjoyed by car thieves that are using a loophole in the system to defraud the state monopoly on insurance for millions of colones each year. The INS is looking for a solution to a growing problem.

Banks See Profits Up 36% in First Quarter
The Costa Rican banking industry's first quarter profits increased 36.1% to ¢32.5 billion colones (US$63.7 million) compared to the same period last year, according to figures from local financial sector regulator Sugef.

WORLD CUP SOCCER:
Opening Game Tomorrow; Government Offices and Banks Closed Until 1pm
Millions of Costa Ricans at home and abroad will join some 20 million Germans glued to their television sets tomorrow for the opening game of the 2006 World Cup.