Mercosur foreign ministers will be meeting in June with the European Union Trade Commissionaire Cecilia Malmstrom to 'assess' the current negotiations for a comprehensive trade and cooperation agreement. The meeting in Brussels will be on the sidelines of the EU-Celac (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) summit, the first at ministerial level since January 2013
Brazilian unions held nationwide protests Friday against the federal government's austerity measures and a bill that would allow companies to outsource any part of their operations. unions held rallies in 23 of Brazil's 27 states to protest the outsourcing proposal and a separate bill that would restrict access to unemployment insurance, both of which are nearing full legislative approval.
On the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed the “invaluable contribution” of peacekeeping to the history of the Organization and reaffirmed his commitment to improving the effectiveness of ‘blue helmets’ in the coming years.
Richard Weber, the United States Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) leader of criminal investigations, told The New York Times he was fairly confident that there would be another round of indictments, following on the 14 FIFA officials accused of racketeering and accepting $150 million in bribes to rig marketing contracts and the selection of the host country for the 2010 World Cup.
Interpol and Argentine federal police officers conducted a raid at the San Telmo offices of Torneos y Competencias, the sports media company directed by Alejandro Burzaco, one of the three Argentine citizens indicted by the US in the corruption scheme that involves FIFA.
Ford Argentina announced investments in the country for some 220 million dollars following a meeting between President Cristina Fernández and local and regional executives from the US corporation.
The United States warned on Friday of a possible accident for the world economy if Greece and its creditors miss their June deadlines to avert a debt default. Germany said there was no sign of a breakthrough. The ongoing debate is taking place in Dresden, Germany in the framework of G7 Finance ministers and central bank chiefs meeting.
Argentine judge Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi has approved the arrest of three Argentine business leaders named in a corruption scandal engulfing world football and facing US extradition requests, though he acknowledged he did not know if they were in the country. The businessmen were considered fugitives from justice on Thursday after Interpol was unable to locate them at their residences.
The United States on Friday formally dropped Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, the US State Department said in a statement. The removal of Cuba from the US terrorism list eliminates an obstacle toward restoring diplomatic ties between the United States and the communist-led Caribbean island state after 54 years.
Sepp Blatter was re-elected president of FIFA for a fifth term on Friday after the only other candidate conceded defeat after a first round of voting in an election overshadowed by allegations of corruption in world soccer. Blatter's victory came despite demands that he quit in the face of a major bribery scandal being investigated by US, Swiss and other law enforcement agencies.