Stories for April 18th 2011

Monday, April 18th 2011 - 21:51 UTC
Finland’s anti-Euro strong showing could block Portugal’s bailout negotiation

What’s the link between Portugal's bailout negotiations and Finland? Well negotiations began under a cloud Monday after an anti-Euro party scored big gains in a Finnish election and immediately vowed to derail the pending rescue.
Monday, April 18th 2011 - 19:13 UTC
S&P downgrades US debt outlook from “stable to negative”, because of budget deficit

The United States have been warned that the credit rating on its government debt could be cut by Standard & Poor's. The risk rating agency is concerned that Democrats and Republicans will not be able to agree a plan to reduce the growing US deficit.
Monday, April 18th 2011 - 18:57 UTC
RAF biggest ever aircraft transport and tanker begins testing in UK

The Royal Air Force largest ever aircraft with a 60 metre wingspan and nearly 60 metres long arrived in the UK for the first time this week, the MOD has announced. The new future strategic tanker aircraft (FSTA) has also been named publicly by the RAF as Voyager.
Monday, April 18th 2011 - 10:09 UTC
Mexican tycoon plans to invest 1.5 billion USD in Argentine telecommunications

Mexican telecom magnate Carlos Slim, ranked as the world's wealthiest man by Forbes magazine, plans to invest 1.5 billion US dollars over the next two years in Argentina's telecommunications sector, officials said.
Monday, April 18th 2011 - 10:03 UTC
Desire plugs Ninky well, plans to move to East Flank based on positive 3D

Falkland Islands Desire Petroleum reported Monday that it had completed the drilling of its Ninky prospect (2.620 metres) which showed the reservoir quality “is generally poor” and therefore the well will be plugged and abandoned, according to an official report released Monday.
Monday, April 18th 2011 - 09:57 UTC
Pacific male humpback whales change their mating songs over a two year period

Male humpback whales have their own version of the hit parade, researchers say. Within regional populations of the whales, males all sing the same mating song. But the pattern of the song changes over time, with new versions spreading across the ocean and nearly always from west to east, according to the study published online this month in the journal Current Biology.
Monday, April 18th 2011 - 09:51 UTC
An estimated 40% of Argentine live on less than 8 US dollars per day

An estimated 16 million Argentines, (out of a population of 40 million) live on less than 800 pesos per month which is equivalent to 8 US dollars per day, according to the latest data from the official Homes Standing Poll.
Monday, April 18th 2011 - 07:14 UTC
Investigation on Allende’s death gives hope to relatives of former Brazilian leader

Relatives of former Brazilian president Joao Goulart who have long argued that he was the victim of the Southern Cone military government’s ‘terrorist’ operations in the seventies are encouraged by the Chilean justice decision to exhume and analyze the remains of former president Salvador Allende.
Monday, April 18th 2011 - 07:10 UTC
China’s anti-inflation crusade raises bank reserves: fourth time in four months

China raised banks' required reserves for the fourth time this year, extending the fight against excessive liquidity and stubbornly high inflation in the world's second-largest economy.
Monday, April 18th 2011 - 07:05 UTC
Syrians mark Independence Day in the streets calling for freedom

Thousands of Syrians chanted slogans calling for greater freedom at Independence Day rallies, witnesses said, a day after President Bashar al-Assad promised to lift emergency law.