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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, May 8th 2024 - 00:19 UTC

Stories for 2017

  • Thursday, September 14th 2017 - 08:24 UTC

    Catalonia referendum: 700 mayors under investigation by Spain's top prosecutor

    If mayors and their municipalities cannot help organize balloting, the vote is unlikely to proceed.

    Spain’s top prosecutor is investigating more than 700 Catalan mayors for cooperating with a planned referendum on the region’s independence after the nation’s constitutional court ordered the vote put on hold. Catalonia’s regional police force is under orders to arrest the mayors if they refuse to appear for questioning, State Prosecutor Jose Manuel Maza’s office said.

  • Thursday, September 14th 2017 - 07:20 UTC

    Falklands Offshore Minerals Environmental Legislation Consultation

    The Falkland Islands Department of Mineral Resources is carrying out a public consultation on a range of proposed legislative measures applying to the offshore oil and gas industry.

  • Thursday, September 14th 2017 - 07:06 UTC

    Lula da Silva questions impartiality of Judge Sergio Moro: “this is a witch hunt”

    The ex president is accused of corruption for allegedly accepting a deal in which construction giant Odebrecht would buy a piece of land for the Lula Instituto

    Former President Lula da Silva told a Brazilian court on Wednesday that the corruption charges against him stem from a witch hunt and questioned the impartiality of the judge. Lula's deposition in Curitiba was the second time he faced off with Judge Sergio Moro, who oversees Brazil's sprawling investigation into bribes to politicians in return for favors to companies.

  • Thursday, September 14th 2017 - 06:57 UTC

    Brazilian billionaire brothers detained for suspected inside trading

    Wesley Batista, at the helm of JBS since 2011, was detained under an arrest warrant against him and his brother Joesley Batista for suspected insider trading.

    Brazil’s federal police detained the CEO of JBS SA, the world’s No 1 meatpacker, saying he used insider information to avoid hefty losses related to a plea bargain signed earlier this year. Wesley Batista, who has been at the helm of JBS since 2011, was detained under an arrest warrant against him and his younger brother Joesley Batista for suspected insider trading.

  • Thursday, September 14th 2017 - 06:53 UTC

    BP and Bridas Corporation form Argentina's largest private integrated energy company

    PAEG will be owned equally by BP and Bridas Corporation, itself a 50:50 joint venture of Bridas Energy Holdings of Argentina and CNOOC Limited of China

    British Petroleum has agreed with Argentina's Bridas Corporation to form a new integrated energy company by combining their interests in the oil and gas producer Pan American Energy and the refiner and marketer Axion Energy in a cash-free transaction. The new company, Pan American Energy Group, will be the largest privately-owned integrated energy company operating in Argentina.

  • Thursday, September 14th 2017 - 06:37 UTC

    Netanyahu, in Colombia: Israel a close ally in war and in the reconstruction process

    PM Netanyahu and President Santos pledged to strengthen ties in areas like science, security and tourism as Colombia transitions into a post-conflict era.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos are pledging to strengthen ties in areas like science, security and tourism as Colombia transitions into a post-conflict era. Netanyahu arrived in Bogota on Wednesday for the second-leg of his trip as the first Israeli prime minister to visit Latin America.

  • Thursday, September 14th 2017 - 06:20 UTC

    Piñera maintains a wide lead in polls ahead of November presidential election

    Piñera, who was president of Chile between 2010 and 2014, captured 34% of voter intentions in the survey by GfK Adimark, up from 32% last month.

    Conservative presidential candidate Sebastian Piñera is maintaining a wide lead in the polls ahead of Chile's November election, though the race to challenge him in a potential runoff is tight, according to a monthly survey. Piñera, who was president of Chile between 2010 and 2014, captured 34% of voter intentions in the survey by GfK Adimark, up from 32% last month.

  • Wednesday, September 13th 2017 - 18:01 UTC

    Mujica's wife Lucia Topolansky becomes Uruguay's vice-president

    The General assembly session convened at 10:00 in the morning and following a brief recess, at 10:40 Senator Lucia Topolansky took the oath of office.

    Uruguay has a new vice-president following the resignation of the questioned and discredited Raul Sendic. On Wednesday mid-morning, Lucia Topolansky, wife of ex president Jose Mujica received unanimous support from the General Assembly (123/123). Under the Uruguayan constitution the head of the most voted Senate group of the winning party in the last election, in this case the MPP (Popular Participation Movement), leads in the presidential succession line. She is the first woman to occupy such a post.

  • Wednesday, September 13th 2017 - 10:32 UTC

    Israel's Netanyahu praises Macri for his efforts to solve the AMIA bombing

    Netanyahu praised Macri for jump-starting efforts to solve the crimes. Critics accuse previous president Cristina Fernandez of trying to improve ties with Iran

    Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday used the first Latin America visit of a sitting Israeli prime minister to praise President Mauricio Macri's effort to solve the bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish center, AMIA, in 1994 that killed 85 people.

  • Wednesday, September 13th 2017 - 10:27 UTC

    Brazil's 2016/17 crop reached 238.7 million tons: 114 million tons of soybean

    Projection is that Brazilian soybean production will decline from 113.93 million tons of soybeans in the 2016-2017 harvest to 107 million tons in the 2017-2018 harvest.

    Brazil's 2016/2017 crop is expected to reach 238.7 million tons which is 28% higher than the previous year, because of better climate conditions and improved productivity, according to Conab, the country's agriculture stats and food supply company. This includes 114 million tons of soybeans and 97.71 million tons of corn.