Get our news on your inbox! x

Remember me Forgot password

MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, November 23rd 2024 - 22:13 UTC

Stories for May 2018

  • Wednesday, May 30th 2018 - 08:12 UTC

    French tycoon and head of defense group Dassault Group

    Serge Dassault was one of France's richest men and ranked high on the billionaires list of Forbes. His worth was estimated at about US$ 26bn/US$ 27bn.

    French entrepreneur and politician Serge Dassault has died at the age of 93, his family has said. Mr Dassault led the Dassault group after his father, Marcel's, death in 1986. The group has numerous firms in aeronautics and armaments and owns the French newspaper, Le Figaro.

  • Tuesday, May 29th 2018 - 09:14 UTC

    Smog emergency in Santiago de Chile for the fifth day running

    Besides, home wood stoves and burning farm fields is also banned, and there is a strong recommendation to avoid sports activities in the open, particularly in schools.

    Santiago de Chile is under a smog emergency for the fifth day running because of the poor quality of air, as reported by the local authorities of the Chilean capital. For this reason 40% of vehicles without catalytic convertors, and with plate numbers ending in 0,1,2 or 3 are banned from circulating in the city. Likewise motorcycles manufactured before 2002 and with plate numbers ending in 0 and 1.

  • Tuesday, May 29th 2018 - 09:09 UTC

    The Way Out of Argentina’s New Crisis

    Until now, Macri has shown he can be an able administrator and an astute politician. The currency crisis could not have happened to a nicer guy. But it did.

    The late MIT economist Rüdiger Dornbusch used to tell his students in the 1980s that there are four kinds of countries: rich, poor, Japan, and Argentina. No one frets anymore about Japan buying its way to world domination. But the world is worrying again about Argentina.

  • Tuesday, May 29th 2018 - 09:04 UTC

    Nicola Sturgeon in Brussels raised Scottish concerns over Brexit

    Sturgeon told Mr Barnier that the Scottish government believed the UK should remain within the customs union and single market after leaving the EU. (Reuters)

    Nicola Sturgeon has raised Scottish concerns over Brexit in a meeting with chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier. The first minister said they held a “constructive and positive discussion” during her trip to Brussels. She said she told Mr Barnier that the Scottish government believed the UK should remain within the customs union and single market after leaving the EU.

  • Tuesday, May 29th 2018 - 09:01 UTC

    Impersonation of Mao Zedong sparks uproar on Chinese social media

    China's law prohibits using the names and images of party leaders for commercial purposes. The event's organizers were forced to apologize for the stunt.

    A publicity stunt at a conference about blockchain technology in China, which saw an actor impersonate Mao Zedong, has sparked uproar on social media. Xu Guoxiang imitated Mao - by wearing a grey suit and speaking in his Hunan accent - at the Boao Blockchain Forum for Asia in Hainan Province.

  • Tuesday, May 29th 2018 - 08:51 UTC

    Ireland's abortion vote adds to PM May woes and strains relations with Ulster coalition ally

    Sarah Wollaston, a member of May's party and chairwoman of Commons Health Select Committee, wants to extend abortion rights to “all women across UK”

    Britain's leaders are facing increasing calls to take action to loosen abortion restrictions in Northern Ireland after the Republic of Ireland's landmark referendum in favor of doing so, but complex political realities may make quick action difficult.

  • Tuesday, May 29th 2018 - 08:48 UTC

    Brazilian cocktail: Wall Street, oil prices, truckers strike and a weak government

    Truckers left economic hub Sao Paulo, and hundreds of communities across the country, without fuel, emptying normally gridlocked roads

    A nationwide protest by Brazilian truckers was slow to unwind on Monday, even after the week-long demonstrations against diesel price hikes got the government to cave to their demands, causing stocks and the currency to slide.

  • Tuesday, May 29th 2018 - 08:47 UTC

    Bolivia's president Evo Morales faces increasing students and opposition unrest

    The protests come at a difficult time for President Evo Morales, who has been president for 13 years, and his popularity has fallen amid corruption scandals

    Thousands of protesters took to the streets of several cities across Bolivia on Monday to demand justice after a university student was killed during a demonstration last week. Some of the protesters clashed with police in the central city of Cochabamba. Authorities did not immediately report injuries or arrests.

  • Tuesday, May 29th 2018 - 08:18 UTC

    Political storm in Spain: congress will subject PM Rajoy to a no confidence vote this week

    The Congress of Deputies is holding a debate on Thursday on whether Mr Rajoy should be replaced by Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez

    Spanish lawmakers have agreed to subject Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to a vote of no confidence this week. It comes in the wake of graft convictions of businesspeople and officials tied to his conservative Popular Party (PP).

  • Tuesday, May 29th 2018 - 08:11 UTC

    Italy's Mattarella appoints ex IMF interim prime minister and quells the situation... for now

    President Sergio Mattarella vetoed the parties' choice of a euro skeptic as economy minister, prompting populist parties to accuse the president of betraying voters

    Italy's president set the country on a path back to fresh elections on Monday, appointing a former International Monetary Fund official as interim prime minister with the task of planning for snap polls and to pass the next budget. The decision to appoint Carlo Cottarelli to form a stopgap administration sets the stage for elections that are likely to be fought over Italy's role in the European Union and the euro zone, a prospect that is rattling global financial markets.