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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, May 4th 2024 - 22:14 UTC

Stories for 2018

  • Thursday, April 19th 2018 - 08:12 UTC

    Drilling near the mouth of the Amazon banned by Brazil's environmental regulator

    Scientists aboard a Greenpeace ship documented the existence of coral in an area off the northern coast of Brazil and Total’s plans to drill for oil should be banned

    The public prosecutor’s office in the northern state of Amapá recommended on Wednesday that Brazil’s environmental regulator Ibama deny French major Total a license to drill for oil near the mouth of the Amazon.

  • Thursday, April 19th 2018 - 07:58 UTC

    All is ready for Paraguay Sunday's presidential election

    Ex Costa Rica president said that on Election Day, “observers will be deployed throughout the country and throughout the day to different polling stations.”

    Former Costa Rican president Laura Chinchilla began this week her activities as head of the Organization of American States (OAS) mission that will observe Paraguay’s April 22 elections. During an event at Paraguay’s TSJE electoral court, Chinchilla and the president of the TSJE, Jaime Bestard, signed an agreement establishing the terms of the mission, which will include 39 observers from 14 countries.

  • Thursday, April 19th 2018 - 07:49 UTC

    The Castro dynasty begins its 'controlled' exit under president Diaz-Canel

    Lawmakers will gather on Thursday morning at a convention centre to announce the results of their vote on the unopposed candidacy of Diaz-Canel

    An era will end in Communist-dynastic Cuba on Thursday when President Raul Castro retires, handing over the reins to his right hand man Miguel Diaz-Canel, born the year after brothers Fidel and Raul led their 1959 leftist revolution. However after nearly 60 years of Castro rule, the change is not expected to herald sweeping reforms to the island’s state-run economy and one-party system, one of the last in the world.

  • Thursday, April 19th 2018 - 07:31 UTC

    Theresa May suffered major defeats on Brexit in the House of Lords

    EU Withdrawal Bill amendment, passed by 348 votes to 225, forces government to report to Parliament by Oct. 31 on steps regarding the customs union.

    Prime Minister Theresa May suffered two major defeats on Wednesday after a majority of the upper House of Parliament adopted an amendment supporting continued membership in the EU customs union after Brexit. The amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill, which passed by 348 votes to 225, forces the government to report to Parliament by Oct. 31 on what steps it has taken to remain in the customs union.

  • Wednesday, April 18th 2018 - 18:19 UTC

    IMF warning on global debt and financial stability: US and China targeted

    The IMF's assessment of the general economic outlook, published on Tuesday, was fairly upbeat for the near term.

    The International Monetary Fund says that high global debt is a concern. In a new report, the IMF says governments should use the current strong economic growth to strengthen their finances. The organization also says that risks to global financial stability have increased.

  • Wednesday, April 18th 2018 - 18:16 UTC

    Brazilian ex presidential candidate charged with passive corruption and obstruction of justice

    Aecio Neves ran for president and was defeated in the run-off in 2014 by ex president Dilma Rousseff. He was also the national president of his party, PSDB

    Justices from the First Panel of the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court (STF) voted, on Tuesday (17), accepting the charges filed by the Prosecutor General's Office against senator Aécio Neves (PSDB-MG), and former presidential candidate, accused of passive corruption and obstruction of justice.

  • Wednesday, April 18th 2018 - 18:12 UTC

    CIA chief meets Kim Jong Un to work out details of summit with Trump

    Trump said the meeting between Pompeo and Kim took place last week. The Washington Post reported that the visit to North Korea occurred around April 1

    United States Secretary of State-designate Mike Pompeo met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last week, U.S President Donald Trump said on Wednesday after media reported on Pompeo's recent secret mission to the North to prepare for the first-ever U.S.-North Korea summit.

  • Wednesday, April 18th 2018 - 09:07 UTC

    Brazil wants rules for internet data flows and takes the case to the WTO

    Brazil is pushing for rules regarding responsibility of online platforms, the data they handle and defining ownership for information generated across jurisdictions

    Brazil is pushing for the establishment of rules around Internet data flows and has presented a document on the subject to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to stress the urgency of starting a more objective debate. Amid concerns over Facebook's use of tracking users with pixels, Brazil joins the Netherlands, France, and EC in legal moves.

  • Wednesday, April 18th 2018 - 08:58 UTC

    UK and US alert about “malicious cyber activity” by Russia

    Officials said the move had been planned for “some time” and was not directly related to the US-led missiles strikes over the weekend on Russia’s ally Syria.

    Britain and the US have issued a formal alert about “malicious cyber activity” by Russia amid warnings that relations with Moscow have hit an all-time low. The UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) combined with the FBI and the US Department of Homeland Security to issue an unprecedented joint “technical alert” setting out the threat across the public and private sectors.

  • Wednesday, April 18th 2018 - 08:51 UTC

    NAFTA round of negotiations expected to resume this week

    Guajardo said that if the US imposed steel tariffs, Mexico might seek to mirror the move against some countries to prevent them from using Mexico to elude the duties.

    The ministers leading the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) could meet again on Thursday in Washington as they push for quick progress, Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo advanced. Guajardo said he had spoken to Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland on Monday and would talk to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to see about agreeing a trilateral meeting in Washington on Thursday.