Stories for December 18th 2009

Friday, December 18th 2009 - 11:55 UTC
Duhalde tosses his hat into the 2011 Argentine presidential election

Former Argentine caretaker president Eduardo Duhalde announced on Thursday he is “convinced” to be running for president in order to face Representative Néstor Kirchner in the upcoming Justicialista Party primary elections. He stated: “There are no candidates willing to confront Kirchner.”
Friday, December 18th 2009 - 11:53 UTC
Fed chairman Bernanke’s reconfirmation is almost a fact

Ben Bernanke's nomination to a second term as head of the US Federal Reserve has been approved by a Senate panel. Members of the Senate Banking Committee voted on Thursday 16 to seven to back Mr Bernanke as head of the central bank.
Friday, December 18th 2009 - 11:48 UTC
UV radiation alert in the Bolivian highlands

The Ultra Violet radiation index in the Bolivian highlands reached from five to seven out of eleven, which is considered extremely high. Experts have recommended the population to avoid being exposed to sunlight from 10 am to 3 pm, and encourage the use of long-sleeved shirts, hats and sunglasses.
Friday, December 18th 2009 - 11:40 UTC
Scaring Japanese whalers with an eerie intimidating Maori chant

An international conservation society is using a small, space-age-like vessel to scare off whaling fleets from Antarctic waters, with a ghostly tune as its main weapon. The Ady Gil, a 24 metre carbon-fibre wave-piercing trimaran that runs on low-emission, renewable fuels, is the latest addition to the Sea Shepherd Conversation Society's protest fleet against Japan's yearly whale hunt near Antarctica, which is set to begin.
Friday, December 18th 2009 - 10:53 UTC
Paraguay could vote on Venezuela’s Mercosur incorporation after summer recess

Paraguayan Congress will remain blocking Venezuela's entry into Mercosur trade bloc “as long as President Hugo Chávez continues intervening in foreign affairs”, stated the head of the Senate, Miguel Carrizosa, just a day after Brazilian lawmakers approved the incorporation. However his successor in the job affirms the opposite.
Friday, December 18th 2009 - 08:28 UTC
New Year for Gibraltar/Algeciras: ferry route reopened after four decades

The ferry route linking Gibraltar and Algeciras reopened for business this week, forty years after it was forced to shut down by the closure of the border between Spain and the Rock, reports the Gibraltar Chronicle.
Friday, December 18th 2009 - 08:16 UTC
It’s a very merry Christmas for British Airways travellers

One million air travellers have breathed a sigh of relief after a British judge ruled that a planned 12-day Christmas strike by British Airways cabin crew could not go ahead. The airline won its legal challenge after claiming that Unite had balloted hundreds of members who had subsequently left the company.
Friday, December 18th 2009 - 08:08 UTC
European Parliament approves 2010 budget: almost half for agriculture

The European Parliament has approved a 122.9bn Euro EU budget for 2010 - nearly half of which is to go to agriculture and natural resources. It is a 6% increase on the 2009 budget, which was worth 116bn Euros.