Only three people silenced Maracana: the Pope, Frank Sinatra and me. The comment belongs to Alcides Ghiggia, Uruguay's last member and striker of the team that beat Brazil in the World Football Cup final of 1950 and thus winning the Jules Rimet Cup. It would be Uruguay's second world cup: the first in 1930 when it beat Argentina.
Uruguay is attending the Mercosur summit in Brazil hoping the group implements deep changes, particularly referred to the free circulation of goods, services and production factors, and considers a six month period should be sufficient trial for the changes to become effective.
Comparing FIFA to the mafia is almost insulting to the mafia, a US senator said, turning up the heat on football's corruption-tainted world governing body to reform. Richard Blumenthal made the remark at a Senate subcommittee hearing scrutinizing FIFA, after US authorities in May indicted 14 people - including top football officials over tens of millions of dollars of alleged bribes for media rights contracts.
Premier Oil, with strong involvement in the development of the Falkland Islands' oil and gas industry is among the winners in the first round of Mexico’s oil and gas privatization. The two licences secured by the London listed oil firm’s consortium were the only assets successfully auctioned by the Mexican authorities.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) slightly improved its outlook on Argentina’s economy saying the country will grow 0.1% in 2015 and will remain stagnant in 2016. Nevertheless, IMF warned the country is going through a “very delicate” situation and insisted that the improved outlook doesn’t change its views regarding Argentina.
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said the US central bank remains on track to raise interest rates this year, with labor markets expected to steadily improve and turmoil abroad unlikely to throw the US economy off track.
Bolivian president Evo Morales defended his claim of sea for Bolivia and Malvinas for Argentina, during the last of his two-day very militant visit to Argentina before flying late Thursday to Brazil for the Mercosur summit.
An Argentine judge who on Monday ordered a raid of real estate offices belonging to the son of President Cristina Fernandez, on an ongoing probe into money laundering and tax elusion, was removed from the case on Thursday. A Federal court ruled the nullity of the order issued by Judge Claudio Bonadio after a presentation by Romina Mercado, niece of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and who also happens to figure as the head of the Hotesur company under investigation.
Prosecutors in Brazil have announced a probe into possible influence peddling by former president Lula da Silva, involving the construction firm Odebrecht which is one of Latin America's largest engineering company. The investigation will center on Lula's alleged use of his clout after leaving office to help scandal-ridden construction giant Odebrecht land billion-dollar contracts in Latin America and Africa.