Stories for February 6th 2009
Colombia's FARC releases last civilian hostage
Colombia's Revolutionary Armed Forces, FARC, released Thursday the last civilian among a group of 22 so-called political captives held by the rebels. Two Red Cross helicopters were involved in the release of the former lawmaker Sigifredo Lopez, 45, held captive by the drug-funded group for almost seven years.
FARC committed war crimes and act on paranoiac cowardice
The last civilian hostage to be released by the Colombian rebel group FARC revealed that eleven of his kidnapped peers were killed shot in the back, by the guerrillas in an act of what he described as “paranoiac cowardice”.
UNESCO calls for preservation of HMS Victory wreck
The head of the United Nations cultural agency today called for the preservation of a British man-o-war sent to the bottom of the English Channel by a storm in 1744 with all hands and, it is said, a sizeable gold treasure.
Global organizations warn of protectionist “tendencies”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the heads of the world's five leading financial organizations pledged Thursday in Berlin to increase cooperation as part of a joint effort to combat the global economic recession and called on all countries to resist “protectionist tendencies”.
Chile's growth slows significantly in last 2008 quarter
Chile's economy grew 0.5% in December, the worst performance for that month in a decade, according to the latest figures released on Thursday by the country's Central Bank.
Falkland Islands: Weekly Penguin News Update
Headlines: Liberty Lodge: ready and welcoming; Speaker resigns over insider trading; Formal hearing over drugs loss.
US lost 598.000 jobs during January; unemployment, 7.6%
The US unemployment rate rose to 7.6% in January, up from 7.2% in December, according to official figures released on Friday. The rise puts the unemployment rate at the highest level since 1992.
Lowest January inflation in Chile since 1943: minus 0.8%
Consumer inflation in Chile during January dropped 0.8%, the lowest since the same month in 1943, accumulating 6.3% in the last twelve months, according to the latest report from the country's Statistics Institute, INE.
Wrong policies will cost Argentine farmers 12.5 billion this year
Lack of rainfall, collapse of commodities prices plus misguided camp policies from the Argentine government will cost farmers a fall in income of 43 billion pesos (equivalent to 12.5 billion US dollars) in 2009 compared to last year, according to the Argentine Rural Confederations, CRA.
Repsol in significant oil discovery in Gulf of Mexico
Repsol has made a significant new oil find in the deepwater area of the Gulf of Mexico, in US waters. The discovery was made in the Buckskin well in Keathley Canyon, 300 kilometres offshore Houston.
