Finland's UPM, one of the largest forestry groups in the world, does not intend for the moment to build any new pulp mills in Uruguay, said Jaakko Sarantola, vice president of the cellulose division of the company, who also pointed out that Uruguay needs to improve infrastructure to facilitate logistics.
The far-right National Front won its first ever seats in France's upper house of parliament, as President Francois Hollande's Socialist party lost its Senate majority. The left still controls the lower house, which is the dominant legislative body in France, but Sunday's ballot underlined the unpopularity of the president and the continued rise of the anti-immigration, anti-Euro National Front.
A lawmaker from Britain’s ruling Conservative party defected to the anti-EU United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), dealing a blow to Prime Minister David Cameron on the eve of his party’s annual conference.
Catalonia's president on Saturday formally called a referendum to decide whether Spain's richest region should be independent, defying Madrid which vowed to block the move. Shortly after Artur Mas set the vote for November 9, the Spanish government said the referendum would not take place because it was unconstitutional.
Sepp Blatter says a report into allegations of corruption in the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding contests will not be made public. During a press conference wrapping up a two-day executive meeting, the FIFA president said that the report by the federation’s chief investigator Michael Garcia will not be published.
Airlines across Europe have been cleared to allow passengers' use of mobile phones and portable electronic devices (PEDs) throughout flights. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said there would be no restrictions in place from a safety perspective - a long-held reason for devices to be turned off or placed in airplane mode.
The UK Parliament has backed British participation in air strikes against Islamic State extremists in Iraq. After a seven-hour debate, MPs voted for military action by 524 votes to 43. Bombing could start as early as Sunday according to defense sources.
By Arturo Porzecanski of American University (*) - Jose Antonio Ocampo, a former United Nations official and co-president with Prof. Joseph Stiglitz of Columbia University’s Initiative for Policy Dialogue, which promotes the adoption of heterodox economic policies in developing countries, recently wrote a guest post welcoming a UN General Assembly resolution calling for the launch of negotiations on a multilateral framework for sovereign debt restructuring.
The United Nations Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva on Friday adopted an Argentine-fueled resolution which condemns the so called 'holdouts' or “vulture funds”, currently in a legal dispute against the country.
US Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere Roberta Jacobson has said the bilateral relationship with Argentina is going through a “difficult period”, but stated the legal battle between that country and holdouts is not a “political problem” but a “judicial problem.”