Stories for January 2009

Friday, January 9th 2009 - 20:00 UTC
UK expedition to study hot water vents in Antarctica

United Kingdom scientists are set to be the first to investigate in detail the creatures living around hot water vents surrounding Antarctica. The team is scheduled to join the British Antarctic Survey's research ship the RRS James Clark Ross in Puenta Arenas, Chile.
Friday, January 9th 2009 - 20:00 UTC
“Ponzi” Madoff fraud investigation extends to UK

An investigation has been launched into the British activities of alleged multi-billion-pound fraudster Bernard “Ponzi” Madoff. UK officials will focus on investors who lost huge sums when Madoff's financial business collapsed, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said.
Friday, January 9th 2009 - 20:00 UTC
Euro zone officially in recession, first since founded in 1999

The Euro zone economy entered its first official recession in the third quarter, EU data confirmed in a third reading on Thursday. The bloc's combined economy shrank by 0.2% in the third quarter after contracting by the same amount in the second quarter, the Eurostat data agency said.
Friday, January 9th 2009 - 20:00 UTC
Brazil plans internet access for 26% of the population

Brazil has 43 million Internet users, according to Ibope/NetRatings statistics for the year 2008 published in the business daily Valor. The number of cybernauts could be even greater since the statistics included only people over 16 with Web access from home, workplaces, schools, libraries and Internet cafes, the newspaper said.
Friday, January 9th 2009 - 20:00 UTC
Plan to encircle Rio's favelas triggers controversy

Plans to surround a Rio de Janeiro favela (slum) with a 650-metre-long concrete barrier have come under fire from environmentalists, human rights activists and residents who describe it as “discriminatory” and in the best “Gaza wall” style.
Friday, January 9th 2009 - 20:00 UTC
Obama and Mexico's Calderón to meet in Washington

President-elect Barack Obama will meet with Mexican President Felipe Calderon on Monday in Washington. Obama transition officials said the visit was in keeping with the tradition of U.S. presidents meeting with their Mexican counterpart soon after winning election.
Friday, January 9th 2009 - 20:00 UTC
Brazil in “technical recession”; industrial output down 6.2%

Yet another bank cut the 2009 economic growth forecast for Brazil: JPMorgan Chase & Co. downed Latinamerica's largest economy expansion estimate for this year from 2% to 1.5%, as global recession takes its toll on industrial production and business confidence.
Friday, January 9th 2009 - 20:00 UTC
Falkland Islands: Weekly Penguin News Update

Headlines: MBE for dedicated music teacher; Kayakers set out to circumnavigate the Islands
Friday, January 9th 2009 - 20:00 UTC
US unemployment 7.2%; 08 job losses highest since 1945

More US workers lost jobs last year than in any year since World War II, with employers axing 2.6 million posts and 524,000 in December alone. The US jobless rate rose to 7.2% in December, the highest in 16 years according to the US Labor Department release.
Thursday, January 8th 2009 - 20:00 UTC
Bank of England cuts rates to lowest in 315 year history

Bank of England on Thursday cut interest rates to 1.5%, the lowest level in its 315-year history, as it continues efforts to aid an economic recovery. The half percentage point reduction brings interest rates below 2% for the first time since the Bank of England was founded in 1694.