Stories for January 15th 2008

Tuesday, January 15th 2008 - 20:00 UTC
FARC robs Colombian tourists and takes six hostages

Colombia's biggest rebel group cocaine funded FARC kidnapped six Colombian tourists in the western province of Choco, daily El Tiempo reported in its online edition.
Tuesday, January 15th 2008 - 20:00 UTC
Citigroup record losses and cash injection promises

The US largest banking organization Citigroup has reported record 9.83 billion US dollars net loss for the last three months of 2007. Chief executive Vikram Pandit said Tuesday the loss had been caused by 18.1 billion US dollars exposure to bad mortgage debt and was “clearly unacceptable”.
Tuesday, January 15th 2008 - 20:00 UTC
Lula visits Cuba with an option for Venezuelan influence

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva arrived Tuesday in Havana for a 24-hour visit to strengthen economic ties with Cuba. He is expected to sign a series of trade, cooperation and investment agreements in spite of the US economic embargo
Tuesday, January 15th 2008 - 20:00 UTC
Infectious anemia extends among Chilean salmon farms

Marine Harvest, the world's leading farmed fish producer, continues to be hit hard by the so-called “biological situation” in Chile. On Monday, shares in Marine Harvest fell by some 4.6% after the Norwegian-owned company issued a press statement admitting it did not reach its production forecasts in Chile
Tuesday, January 15th 2008 - 20:00 UTC
Spanish government calls for general elections March 9

The Spanish government called general elections for March 9, formally launching Monday what is shaping up as a close race between the ruling Socialists and opposition conservatives.
Tuesday, January 15th 2008 - 20:00 UTC
Environmentalists held on Japanese whaling vessel

Two members of the conservation organization Sea Shepherd are being held on a Japanese whaling boat they boarded last night in Antarctic waters. According to the group the two men, a Briton and an Australian, boarded the Yushin Maru No. 2, to deliver a message that its whaling activities are illegal.
Tuesday, January 15th 2008 - 20:00 UTC
Chile united to defend maritime border dispute with Peru

The political parties of the Chilean ruling coalition Concertación, the opposition Alianza alliance and the Communist Party (PC) gave their full backing Monday to the government's plan to defend Chile's northern maritime border against claims by neighboring Peru. The two countries seek to resolve the maritime issue at the International Court of Justice at The Hague.
Tuesday, January 15th 2008 - 20:00 UTC
Greenspan says the US is “in or about to enter a recession”

United States is probably in or about to enter a recession, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. The odds are “not overwhelming but they are marginally in that direction” of recession.
Tuesday, January 15th 2008 - 20:00 UTC
Sukey speaks of her “mainland mission” to The Times

Twenty-five years ago this month, in the wake of the Falklands conflict, the Islands Government set up an office in London to represent it in the UK. “Sir Rex Hunt, then Falklands Governor, took me for a drink in London and asked if I'd join,” recalls Sukey Cameron, pictured above left. She did so in 1983 ÃÂ¢€“ becoming Representative in 1990 ÃÂ¢€” and there clearly could have been no better choice than this third-generation Falklander.