A top Brazilian minister said that Mercosur must allow member countries to sign trade agreements with third parties and called for the end to the rule which prevents such initiative. Development, Industry and Trade minister Armando Monteiro Neto made the statement during a competitiveness seminar in Rio do Janeiro a couple of days ahead of a crucial meeting in Brussels between Mercosur representatives and the European Union to address an encompassing free trade agreement.
Paraguay believes in a 'single speed' approach to negotiations for a trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, but discussions must be more dynamic and wide ranging, said the country's president Horacio Cartes, currently visiting Spain.
Argentine President Cristina Fernández sparked controversy on Sunday when in a speech before the FAO conference in Rome, she endorsed widely disputed government figures on poverty, saying the rate was “below five percent,” adding that destitution in the country stood at 1.27%. If this was correct Argentina's poverty rate is below that of OECD rich league members.
Falkland Islands Holdings PLC said on Monday that underlying pre-tax profit and revenue was broadly flat in its recently-ended financial year, and trading so far in the new year has met its expectations as it seeks to accelerate its growth and increase its scale through acquisitions.
The International Organization for Migration, IOM released a study on Monday revealing a trend of increased migration flows from the European Union (EU) to Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region, and a marked decrease in the movement of people in the other direction.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) called on the Venezuelan government to address the problem of the 3.7 billion dollars in airline funds the government is withholding from the airlines.
Colombian authorities accused the FARC guerrillas Monday of forcing 19 oil tanker drivers to dump their cargo of crude on the ground, raising fears it could contaminate water supplies.Officials said FARC fighters stopped the tankers in a dawn raid as they transported their cargo across a remote area of the oil-producing region of Puerto Asis in the southwestern department of Putumayo.
Although the world’s oceans are vast, their capacity to withstand damage caused by human activity is limited, compromising their critical contribution to the future of sustainable development, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon declared on Monday as the United Nations kicked-off its celebrations for the 2015 edition of World Oceans Day.