Former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo was sentenced Monday to over 20 years in jail for his involvement in the Odebrecht corruption scandal in which he was found to have received US$ 35 million in bribes for the construction by the Brazilian company of a road linking the two countries. The 78-year-old Toledo was deemed guilty of money laundering as well and disenfranchised for three years.
Weather forecasters in Uruguay and Argentina foresee unusually bad conditions for the coming days in the River Plate area, it was reported in Buenos Aires and Montevideo, where concerns were higher given next Sunday's presidential Elections coupled with two simultaneous plebiscites that might shape up the South American country's near future.
The Argentine Government of President Javier Milei announced Monday that it was dissolving the Federal Administration of Public Revenues (AFIP), which is to be replaced by a simplified agency known as ARCA which will also assume Customs functions.
In addition to the current electricity supply crisis, Cuba's eastern province of Guantanamo, near Baracoa, was hit by Category I Hurricane Oscar late Sunday with maximum sustained winds of nearly 80 mph (130km/h). Oscar later waned to a tropical storm with 70 mph winds, the US National Hurricane Center said but it could still cause significant flash flooding and mudslides.
Argentine President Javier Milei said in a TV interview aired Sunday that he would like to be the one “to put the last nail in the coffin of Kirchnerism with Cristina inside.” By “Cristina” he meant two-time former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (CFK).
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was reported to have been very active Monday at the Alvorada Palace following Saturday's domestic accident that prevented him from traveling to the BRICS Summit starting Tuesday in Kazan, Russia.
Rockhopper Exploration plc (AIM: RKH), the oil and gas company with key interests in the North Falkland Basin announced that, following discussions with the Falkland Islands Government, FIG has agreed to extend all of the Company’s North and South Falkland Basin Petroleum Production Licenses meaning that the licenses will now run until the 31 December 2026.
The Falkland Islands government has announced that the current deadline for consultation responses on the National Minimum Wage accommodation offset has been extended by two weeks to Sunday 3 November 2024. This is to allow time for additional engagement sessions to take place. The original deadline for responses was Sunday 20 October 2024.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font's approval ratings fell sharply, according to a survey by pollsters Cadem Plaza Pública released in Santiago during the weekend. The head of state was found to only have a 27% positive image after the sex scandal involving former Interior Undersecretary Manuel Monsalve, who resigned days after the case against him was filed and only when he failed to keep it from public knowledge.
Battling esophageal cancer and age, former Uruguayan President José “Pepe” Mujica made what is believed to be his last public appearance this past weekend by showing up at a rally of “La 609” or MPP, the Broad Front (FA) faction he once founded. “Goodbye, I give you my heart,” Mujica stressed on Saturday during a campaign closing event a week before the Oct. 27 elections.