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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, November 25th 2024 - 03:46 UTC

Stories for 2024

  • Thursday, June 27th 2024 - 19:54 UTC

    Bolivian President thanks the support he received during the military uprising

    Arce eventually appointed new chiefs to head the Bolivian Armed Forces, General José Wilson Sánchez replacing Zúñiga

    Bolivian President Luis Arce Catacora thanked his fellow countrymen and the international community for their support Wednesday during the military uprising that was eventually quashed with the arrest of General Juan José Zúñiga and the other rebel leaders and officers.

  • Thursday, June 27th 2024 - 19:24 UTC

    Denmark plans to tackle animal gas emissions with a livestock tax

    Dairy farming is believed to contribute greatly to the production of human-related greenhouse gases

    Denmark's coalition government agreed this week to tax livestock owners the equivalent of US$96 per head per year from 2030 due to greenhouse gases produced by animal flatulence, Tax Minister Jeppe Bruus announced. The move on cows, pigs, and sheep is expected to result in a 70% reduction from 1990 levels by the end of the decade on the path to carbon neutrality, Bruus explained. “We will take a big step towards climate neutrality in 2045,” he emphasized. The tax is expected to be approved by Parliament later this year.

  • Thursday, June 27th 2024 - 09:31 UTC

    Former Honduran president given 45-year prison sentence in US court

    The judge called Hernández a “two-faced politician hungry for power” who protected certain traffickers

    Former Honduran two-time President Juan Orlando Hernández (2014-2022) was sentenced to 45 years in jail by a US Federal Court in the Southern District of New York, which in practical terms will keep him behind bars for the rest of his life. The minimum sentence established by law was 40 years.

  • Thursday, June 27th 2024 - 09:26 UTC

    Brazil's STF sets 40 grams of marijuana cap between users and traffickers

    Barroso said the STF should set the amount because decisions concerning people's freedom were to be made and a criterion was needed

    Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) ruled Wednesday that 40 grams of marijuana or six female plants of Cannabis sativa was the limit marking the difference between personal consumption and trafficking, Agencia Brasil reported. The understanding was reached after a decision the previous day whereby using the substance for personal recreation or medicinal purposes should not be penalized. At the time, most justices concurred on this issue but disagreed on how to differentiate the two possibilities.

  • Thursday, June 27th 2024 - 09:20 UTC

    OAS General Assembly opening ceremony focuses on Bolivian crisis

    “We respond to evil with good,” Peña stressed

    As all attendees were focused on the ongoing crisis unfolding in Bolivia, Paraguayan President Santiago Peña opened the Organization of American States (OAS) 54th General Assembly in Asunción by highlighting that democracy was the way to fight transnational crime, drug trafficking, and terrorism.

  • Wednesday, June 26th 2024 - 21:47 UTC

    Attempted coup d'état in Bolivia: Military rebels enter Government Headquarters

    Zúñiga, dismissed just a day before the coup attempt, had openly opposed the possibility of former president Evo Morales returning to power

    In a dramatic escalation of political tension in Bolivia, a faction of the military led by ousted Army Chief Juan José Zúñiga has forcefully entered the Palacio Quemado, the seat of government in La Paz. President Luis Arce has called on citizens to “mobilize against the coup d'état,” emphasizing the importance of defending democracy

  • Wednesday, June 26th 2024 - 19:08 UTC

    Assange lands in Canberra after 14-year ordeal

    Assange, 52, deplaned from the executive jet in a dark suit, white shirt, and tie, and with his fist in the air

    WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange finally landed in his native Australia after completing a series of formalities with US authorities in the Mariana Islands. But it was his wife Stella who spoke to the press to celebrate his arrival after a 14-year ordeal which included a spell at Ecuador's Embassy in London plus a stay at the Belmarsh maximum security prison in the British capital. Assange was expected to appear in front of the media after arriving in Canberra on a private flight from Saipan.

  • Wednesday, June 26th 2024 - 18:04 UTC

    Brazil's STF decriminalizes marijuana consumption

    Marijuana consumption will remain an administrative offense until other branches of government agree on the maximum amount marking the difference between personal use and traffic

    Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) issued a ruling Tuesday decriminalizing marijuana consumption for personal use, albeit only in private places. As per Brazil's current legislation dating back to 2006, the unauthorized acquisition or transport of drugs for personal use including marijuana carried penalties. Drug use in public areas has been maintained. Another debate revolved around how much marijuana would signal the difference between users and dealers. The case reached the STF following an appeal filed by a prison inmate hiding 3 grams of marijuana in his cell.

  • Wednesday, June 26th 2024 - 17:33 UTC

    Milei has nothing to apologize to Lula for, says Spokesman Adorni

    Lula and Milei are to attend the July 8 Mercosur Summit in Paraguay unless something happens, Adorni noted

    Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva insisted that he was not talking to his Argentine counterpart Javier Milei until the latter apologized to him and his country for his derogatory remarks during last year's campaign in which the Libertarian leader spoke of a “corrupt Communist” while remaining close to Lula's adversary and then incumbent Jair Bolsonaro.

  • Wednesday, June 26th 2024 - 10:53 UTC

    Mercosur summit first week of July; Brazil and its domestic integration policy

    The relative success of the 33-year-old trade block is still fighting for a major trade and cooperation deal with the European Union, finalized over two decades ago, but facing rejection

    Next month, from Thursday, July 4th to 8th, the Mercosur pro tempore presidency will be handed by Paraguay to Uruguay, at the capital Asunción during the regional presidential summit. On the occasion, Paraguayan president Santiago Peña will be giving the Mercosur presidency to Uruguay's Luis Lacalle Pou. Still, it will be interesting to see how leaders of the two major members, Argentina's ultra-liberal Javier Milei and Brazil's populist Lula da Silva, who are not on talking terms, will approach circumstances if they effectively attend the summit.