Stories for December 17th 2008

Wednesday, December 17th 2008 - 20:00 UTC
Unasur should have Secretary General next April 30

The Union of South American Nations, Unasur, agreed on a new timetable for the ratification of the organization's multilateral treaty and for reaching a consensus on the nomination of a standing secretary general, which has soured relations between Uruguay and Argentina.
Wednesday, December 17th 2008 - 20:00 UTC
Chilean authorities warn about sea food consumption

Chilean Congress members have asked the Ministry of Public Health to declare a “sanitary emergency in the south of the country” given the massive sea food poisoning contaminated with the vibrio parahaemolyticus bacteria.
Wednesday, December 17th 2008 - 20:00 UTC
Iraq reporter who threw shoes at Bush, becomes instant hero

Thousands of Iraqis have demanded the release of a local TV reporter who threw his shoes at US President George W Bush at a Baghdad news conference. Crowds gathered in Baghdad's Sadr City district, calling for “hero” Muntadar al-Zaidi to be freed from custody.
Wednesday, December 17th 2008 - 20:00 UTC
IMF calls leders for more interventionist actions

Governments around the globe need to take widespread interventionist action to stimulate stock markets and prevent further economic declines, the International Monetary Fund has said.
Wednesday, December 17th 2008 - 20:00 UTC
Cuba formally joins Rio Group of Latin American countries

Cuba on Tuesday was formally accepted as a member of the Rio Group of Latin American nations, handing the communist island a symbolic victory over US efforts to bar it from regional organizations.
Wednesday, December 17th 2008 - 20:00 UTC
Engine room flood on Falklands ship Endurance

BRITISH Royal Navy Patrol Ship HMS Endurance has suffered an engine room flood off the coast of Chile.
Wednesday, December 17th 2008 - 20:00 UTC
Obama named Time's 'Person of the Year' 2008”

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama was named “Person of the Year” by Time magazine, which said he “suspended our politics, shattered decades of conventional wisdom and overcame centuries of the social pecking order.”
Wednesday, December 17th 2008 - 20:00 UTC
Chile helps Paraguay crack neighbours' “energy siege”

Energy rich Paraguay and Chile reached an agreement for the supply of electricity which will transmitted through Argentine territory and at “a considerable higher value than that paid by Brazil”.
Wednesday, December 17th 2008 - 20:00 UTC
Oil markets more focused on mounting reserves than OPEC

OPEC announced Wednesday an unprecedented production cut of 2.2 million barrels a day in an effort to shore up the price of crude. It's the biggest production cut in the history of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries which pumps more than a third of the world's daily crude supply.
Wednesday, December 17th 2008 - 20:00 UTC
British pound moving closer to parity with the Euro

The British pound moved ever closer to parity with the Euro on Wednesday amid growing expectations of more deep cuts in UK interest rates. Minutes of the Bank of England's latest meeting revealed rate-setters considered even larger cuts than the 1% move two weeks ago, bringing rates to 2% and equalling the all-time low.