Stories for April 2009

Thursday, April 16th 2009 - 09:59 UTC
Former guerrilla leads Uruguay’s ruling coalition presidential primary

Uruguay’s presidential hopeful and former guerrilla leader Jose Mujica leads comfortably in the ruling coalition’s coming primary scheduled for next June 28th, according to the latest public opinion poll released this week.
Thursday, April 16th 2009 - 09:55 UTC
Climate change threatens Antarctica’s emperor penguins

Polar bears, the poster children for Arctic climate change, are getting competition for the title of climate change casualty from the opposite side of the globe. Antarctica’s emperor penguins may face an equally dire fate. Like polar bears, these birds depend on sea ice for breeding and feeding habitat. Also like polar bears, emperor penguins seem unlikely to adapt to the rapid rate of sea ice extent change, according to a National Academy of Science study released by the National Centre for Atmospheric Research.
Thursday, April 16th 2009 - 09:53 UTC
Lula da Silva has the highest approval rating; Cristina K the lowest

Brazil’s President Lula da Silva and Colombia’s Alvaro Uribe with over 70% approval have the best leaders’ performances in Latinamerica while in the other extreme figure Argentina’s Cristina Kirchner and Honduras Manuel Zelaya, below 30%, according to the prestigious Mexican pollster Consulta Mitofsky.
Thursday, April 16th 2009 - 07:22 UTC
US March consumer prices mark new annual declination record

United States consumer prices fell in March and recorded their first annual drop in more than half a century, according to official figures from the Labour Department. The consumer price index fell 0.1% last month after energy prices declined. In February prices had risen 0.4%.
Thursday, April 16th 2009 - 07:15 UTC
World Bank plans to loan 14 billion USD to Latinamerica

The World Bank expects to loan some 14 billion US dollars to Latinamerica this fiscal year, or almost three times what it lent in 2008, the bank's Vice-President for Latinamerica and the Caribbean, Pamela Cox told a conference call with reporters.
Thursday, April 16th 2009 - 06:54 UTC
Chavez hosts alternative pre-summit in Venezuela

The Venezuelan city of Cumana is hosting the summit of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Peoples of our Americas (ALBA), one of the newest regional cooperation initiatives created by Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. The meeting takes place hours before the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad Tobago.
Thursday, April 16th 2009 - 06:50 UTC
World Bank loan for Paraguay to improve water and sanitation

The World Bank approved a 64 million US dollars loan to increase the efficiency, coverage and sustainability of water and sanitation services in Paraguay. The project is expected to benefit almost 17% of Paraguayans, especially the most vulnerable groups.
Thursday, April 16th 2009 - 04:47 UTC
Prime Minister Brown warns UK offshore tax havens

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has written to the UK’s offshore tax havens – including Gibraltar – warning them to meet international transparency standards within six months or face sanctions, reports the Gibraltar Chronicle.
Thursday, April 16th 2009 - 04:18 UTC
Panama Canal transit falls modestly in spite of global crisis

Transits of the Panama Canal slipped 1.4% in the Canal’s second fiscal quarter, according to the Panama Canal Authority (PCA). A total of 3,914 ships passed through the Canal from January through March.
Thursday, April 16th 2009 - 03:49 UTC
Obama and Unasur presidents to meet Saturday in Trinidad Tobago

United States president Barack Obama wishes to meet with his peers from the Union of South American Nations, UNASUR next Saturday on the sidelines of the fifth Summit of the Americas in Trinidad Tobago.