Stories for 2019

Monday, August 26th 2019 - 18:18 UTC
Morales suspends re-election campaigning and calls for aid to fight blazes in the Bolivian Amazon

Bolivian President Evo Morales said on Sunday he is open to international aid to fight the blazes that have engulfed rural villages and doubled in size since Thursday. Morales is also suspending his campaign for re-election for at least a week, just two months from election day, to focus on the wildfires.
Monday, August 26th 2019 - 18:07 UTC
IMF mission in Argentina looking into the books and trying to sort out the future

An IMF mission is in Argentina and is going over the country's accounts with government top officials, to assess future disbursements of the US$ 57bn standby credit granted to the country, currently facing financial and political uncertainty, and on Monday are scheduled to meet with representatives from the opposition.
Monday, August 26th 2019 - 17:56 UTC
New fires raging in the Amazon; agriculture sector warns Bolsonaro: “nationalistic bravado will not win the game”

Hundreds of new fires are raging in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, official data showed, as thousands of troops were made available to help fight the worst blazes in years following a global outcry. Multiple fires billowing huge plumes of smoke into the air were seen across a vast area of the northwestern state of Rondonia.
Monday, August 26th 2019 - 17:48 UTC
Pope Francis calls for the protection of “the lung of forests vital for our planet”

Pope Francis on Sunday called for a global commitment to put out the fires in the Amazon, saying the area was essential for the health of the planet. “We are all worried about the vast fires that have developed in the Amazon. Let us pray so that, with the commitment of all, they can be put out soon.”
Saturday, August 24th 2019 - 16:23 UTC
Amazon fires: Thousands of people protested in front of Brazilian embassies; Montevideo was not an exception

Thousands of people gathered on Friday in front of Brazilian embassies in different cities around the world and Montevideo was no exception. Several hundred protesters, mostly young people, cut off busy Bulevar Artigas Avenue at the embassy of the Amazonian country, whose government is widely criticized for its environmental policies by countless NGOs around the world.
Saturday, August 24th 2019 - 09:55 UTC
G7 summit adds 'Amazon wildfires' to an already thorny agenda, which is scrapping a joint declaration

G7 leaders gathering in France this weekend plan to hammer out “concrete measures” in response to the wildfires raging in the Amazon rainforest, putting them on a collision course with Brazil's rightwing leader.
Saturday, August 24th 2019 - 09:54 UTC
IMF mission arrives to Argentina this Saturday: US$ 5.3bn disbursement to be considered

Delegates from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) land in Buenos Aires Saturday as concerns about Argentina’s economy cast doubt upon the future of its record US$56 billion bailouts. The date of the trip was agreed with the Argentine central bank chairman, Guido Sandleris.
Saturday, August 24th 2019 - 09:53 UTC
Ireland will not sign EU/Mercosur deal unless Brazil takes action to protect the Amazon rainforest

As wildfires rage through the Brazilian Amazon, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has said Dublin will vote against a trade deal between the European Union and Mercosur unless Brazil takes action to protect the rainforest.
Saturday, August 24th 2019 - 09:26 UTC
Mercosur and EFTA countries reach a free trade agreement

South American trade block Mercosur reached a free trade agreement with four European countries, Argentine officials and Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro said after talks in Buenos Aires.
Saturday, August 24th 2019 - 09:16 UTC
US/China trade war further escalates: where does it end before reaching a point of no return?

President Donald Trump declared on Friday he would further raise American tariffs on all Chinese imports hours after China announced tariffs on American goods, the second escalation within the day of a trade war between the world’s two biggest economies that has shown no sign of ending soon.