Stories for November 24th 2009
On the 150th anniversary of “On the origin of species”, Darwin’s missing notebook
Charles Darwin's encounter with the first of the two creatures that would provide him with the early clues for his theory of evolution was not a dramatic one. “Met an immense Turpin; took little notice of me,” the 26-year-old jotted in his notebook in 1835.
Peru proposes a South American “peace force” to contain regional conflicts
Peru will propose the creation of a South American “Peace Force” next Friday in Ecuador when the meeting of the Union of South American Nations Defence Council, announced Peruvian Production minister Mercedes Araoz following a meeting in Montevideo with Uruguayan president Tabare Vazquez.
Bank of England emergency loans at height of crisis peaked £ 61.6 billion
Emergency loans to Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and HBOS peaked at £61.6 billion at the height of the financial crisis, the Bank of England has said. The Bank revealed for the first time the details of its Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) to both banks in a submission to the Treasury Select Committee.
Colombia/Ecuador re-establish trade relations after 21 months
Ecuador and Colombia formally established this week ties at trade representation level, official sources said in Quito and Bogotá. The two governments announced that “full normalization” will take place when the so called “sensitive” issues have been addressed and solved.
Brazil plans to export 168 billion USD in 2010
Brazil targets exports of 168 billion US dollars for 2010 (compared to 160 billion USD in 2009) announced Deputy Trade Minister Welber Barral during the opening of a foreign commerce forum in Rio do Janeiro.
Disenchantment factor ahead of next Sunday’s Uruguayan presidential runoff
With less than a week for Sunday’s runoff when Uruguay’s next president will be definitively elected, public opinion polls show support for both candidates “frozen” with a significant percentage undecided or with the intention of voting blank or spoiling their vote.
Argentina defends the right of the Palestine people to have a State
Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner defended the right of the Palestinian State to “have its own frontiers” in a lunch shared with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, at the Government House.
Baroness Thatcher returns to Downing Street
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher moved back into Downing Street, in the shape of a portrait by royal artist Richard Stone. Nicholas Glass reports. The unveiling had been delayed several times due to the ailing health of Baroness Thatcher, 84, who attended Monday the private reception.
Capital inflows in Brazil cause unease; G20 considers regulations
Brazil does not rule out new steps to slow gains in its currency, the Real, even as the government evaluates the impact of a recently imposed tax on capital inflows, Secretary of Economic Policy Nelson Barbosa said in an interview on Monday.
Family of de Menezes reaches compensation agreement with London police
The family of Brazilian citizen Jean Charles de Menezes has agreed a compensation deal with the London Metropolitan Police. Relatives of the Brazilian have been locked in an often acrimonious legal battle with the force since he was shot dead at Stockwell Tube station on July 22, 2005.
