Stories for October 12th 2009

Tuesday, October 13th 2009 - 06:58 UTC
British PM Brown has agreed to repay £ 12.000 in expenses

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has agreed to repay more than £12,000 in expenses after an inquiry found he made excessive claims for cleaning, gardening and decoration at his second home.
Tuesday, October 13th 2009 - 06:56 UTC
The 2009 Nobel Prizes round winners includes five women

With economists Elinor Ostrom and Oliver E. Williamson the round of 2009 Nobel Prizes comes to an end. Of the thirteen, five are women with a first in Economics.
Tuesday, October 13th 2009 - 05:02 UTC
Chilean Tierra del Fuego to promote tourism as the main industry

An innovative and aggressive program to promote Chilean Tierra del Fuego tourism as its most dynamic industry is to be implemented between government, the private sector and international advisory organizations, according to reports in Punta Arenas La Prensa Austral.
Tuesday, October 13th 2009 - 04:50 UTC
Pickets lifted for the crucial World Cup qualifier Uruguay/Argentina

FIFA has more country members that the United Nations and is proving more effective than even the International Court of The Hague: Argentine pickets blocking for almost two years an international bridge will lift the ban so Argentine fans can cross to Uruguay for the South Africa Soccer World Cup qualifier.
Tuesday, October 13th 2009 - 04:16 UTC
Most developing countries workers did not benefit form global trade boom

The boom in global trade over the last two decades has failed to improve the quality of most jobs in poorer countries, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and United Nations labour agency (ILO) said on Monday.
Tuesday, October 13th 2009 - 04:10 UTC
FAO: Food commodities prices forecasted to remain high and volatile

Food commodities prices are likely to stay high and volatile in the medium term, while a repeat of the 2007-2008 price spikes is seen as a realistic possibility, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization said on Monday. Between 2006 and 2008, international prices for basic food commodities shot up by 60% while grain prices doubled.
Tuesday, October 13th 2009 - 04:06 UTC
Freshwater ecosystems the most threatened

Mismanagement and growing needs for water are causing freshwater ecosystems to collapse, making freshwater species the most threatened on Earth with extinction rates 4 to 6 times higher than their terrestrial and marine cousins, say scientists at the Diversitas 2nd Open Science Conference, in Cape Town, South Africa.
Tuesday, October 13th 2009 - 04:01 UTC
Mexican government fights waste, inefficiency and takes over energy plant

Mexico has closed a state-run energy distribution firm with about 40,000 employees and 25 million customers, blaming the scale of its losses. Federal police seized the offices of Luz y Fuerza del Centro on Saturday night when the city was celebrating Mexico’s qualifier to the South Africa World Cup.
Monday, October 12th 2009 - 10:53 UTC
Chile, Costa Rica, Uruguay best performers in democratic development

Chile, Costa Rica and Uruguay have the highest democratic development in Latinamerica while Guatemala and Bolivia stand at the opposite end of the ranking. The index measures among other things respect for political rights, civil liberties, institutional quality and the capacity of the different governments to deliver.
Monday, October 12th 2009 - 10:50 UTC
Avianca and Taca create a major Latinamerican airlines holding

Two of Latinamerica's best known airlines are set to merge in a deal aimed at cost-cutting. Avianca of Colombia and El Salvador's Taca will join forces, but have said that each will maintain its own identity and operate separately. The two airlines have about 130 planes and some 13,000 employees.