Stories for October 24th 2009

Saturday, October 24th 2009 - 18:09 UTC
Chilean independent hopeful wrecks bipartisan presidential race

Two of Chile’s leading polls show independent presidential candidate Marco Enríquez-Ominami closing in on his rival Senator Eduardo Frei, and faring better in a run-off vote against conservative candidate Sebastián Piñera. However, the polls have widely differing predictions of each candidate’s performance in the first round.
Saturday, October 24th 2009 - 16:56 UTC
UK suffering the longest recession since records began

The UK is now in the grip of the longest recession since records began, according to gloomy official figures. Hopes for an end to the recession were scuppered as the economy shrank by a shock 0.4% between July and September - a record sixth quarter in a row of decline.
Saturday, October 24th 2009 - 16:50 UTC
Rich Germans want to pay higher taxes to help with recovery

A group of rich Germans has launched a petition calling for the government to make wealthy people pay higher taxes. The group says they have more money than they need, and the extra revenue could fund economic and social programmes to aid Germany's economic recovery.
Saturday, October 24th 2009 - 16:39 UTC
Wave of bankruptcies in the US still has not peaked

With the bankruptcy of Partners Bank, from Florida, and American United Bank, from Georgia, there are now 101 banks in the United States that have declared insolvency so far in 2009 due to the financial crisis, local media sources informed.
Saturday, October 24th 2009 - 16:32 UTC
Spain’s unemployment remains unchanged at record high

Spain’s unemployment rate stood at 17.93% in the third quarter, or virtually unchanged from the previous three-month period, the National Statistics Institute, or INE, said.
Saturday, October 24th 2009 - 10:07 UTC
Uruguay votes for President and a new parliament on Sunday

An estimated 2.6 million out of a population of 3.2 million Uruguayans are registered to vote on Sunday’s election that will decide on the successor of President Tabare Vazquez and a new parliament. Voting in Uruguay is compulsory.
Saturday, October 24th 2009 - 07:36 UTC
Climate change causes and potential effects divide scientific community

A growing number of scientists, along with the general public, are disputing the common consensus over the causes and potential effects of climate change. Recent studies have shown that the hottest year on record in recent history was in fact 1998 and that no increase in global temperature has been observed for the last 11 years, adding further scepticism to the climate debate.
Saturday, October 24th 2009 - 07:33 UTC
Argentina, Paraguay pledge to save what is left of the Atlantic Forest

Argentina and Paraguay have made a historic pledge to save one of the world’s most threatened forests. During a special ceremony at the XIIIth World Forestry Congress, the two governments agreed to work towards zero net deforestation in the Atlantic Forest, and to implement a package of measures that include national legislation to enforce those commitments.
Saturday, October 24th 2009 - 07:19 UTC
Paraguayan congress approves Itaipú treaty with Brazil

The Paraguayan Senate approved by an ample majority the agreement with Brazil which represents a higher financial compensation for Paraguay from Itaipú, the world’s largest operational hydroelectric dam, a long standing claim which was addressed in several summits between presidents Lula da Silva and Fernando Lugo.