Argentina underlined the support from Brazil, France, Mexico, (even the IMF), among other institutions in the country's long exhausting litigation with hedge funds, an issue which is crucial for Argentina and the whole international financial system.
China's manufacturing sector showed further contraction in March, according to a new report which mainly tracks activity in smaller factories. The HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) gave a reading of 48.1 for March, compared to 48.5 in February.
President Francois Hollande's government will stick to planned economic reforms and spending cuts despite being punished in local elections where the anti-immigrant National Front (FN) made gains, the French finance minister said on Monday.
The Malaysia Airlines plane that disappeared over two weeks ago crashed in the southern Indian Ocean, Prime Minister Najib Razak announced on Monday. New satellite analysis from Britain had shown that Flight MH370, with 239 people on board, was last seen in the middle of the Indian Ocean west of Perth, Australia, he said in a statement.
Argentina is advancing in negotiations with Israel for the purchase of the multi-purpose combat aircraft Kfir Block 60, which is supposed to replace the aging Mirage III, on service for over four decades.
Brazil, France and Mexico are expected to file papers in the US Supreme Court on Monday backing Argentina in its legal battle with bondholders who refused to take part in debt restructurings from the country's 2002 default, according to a source familiar with the litigation.
Former Prime Minister Adolfo Suarez, who played a key role in Spain's transition to democracy, died in Madrid on Sunday. He was 81. The former premier was hospitalized last Monday with respiratory problems related to Alzheimer's, his family said.
The European Union and Mercosur held last Friday in Brussels the technical meeting, as was scheduled to assess the state of negotiations for a long delayed and ambitious association and trade agreement, but concluded with no calendar for the exchange of tariff reduction proposals, which is central to the discussions.
With a display of fireworks in Moscow and Crimea, President Vladimir Putin has signed a law formalizing Russia's takeover of Crimea from Ukraine, despite fresh sanctions from the EU and the US. The European Union's latest measures target twelve people involved in Russia's annexation of the peninsula.
By Oliver Stuenkel (*) - Brazil, foreign policy observers often point out, is blessed. Contrary to many other emerging powers such as China or India, it is located in a region that rarely experiences interstate tension or war. Not only can Brazil live on a relatively small defense budget, while India is the world's largest arms importer. Brazil can also dedicate considerable time and energy towards extending its global diplomatic reach without constantly being forced to deal with trouble in its neighborhood.