The first estimate for the coming 2024/25 grains crop in Brazil indicates a total production of some 322,47 million tons, according to Conab, the country's national supply corporation. If finally confirmed this would represent another record production, with a 8,3% increase over the previous 2023/24 harvest, equivalent to 24,6 million tons.
Paraguay's Central Bank (BCP) has this week upped the South American country's economic growth projection for this year from 3.8% to 4%. On the supply side, the main upward revisions were in the livestock, trade, and tax sectors, while downward adjustments were recorded in electricity and water amid higher domestic demand in line with the good dynamics imports have been registering.
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has categorically denied President Nicolás Maduro’s claims that she has fled the country and sought refuge in Spain. For days, Maduro had been pushing the narrative that Machado had left Venezuela, allegedly following the path of fellow opposition figure Edmundo González Urrutia, who sought asylum in Spain. On Wednesday, however, Machado dispelled these rumors, asserting in a televised interview, “Venezuelans know that I am still here, and Nicolás Maduro knows it too. They are desperate to know where I am, but I am protecting myself and caring for myself. I am not going to give them that pleasure.”
Dr Andrea Clausen has been appointed as the next Chief Executive of the Falkland Islands Government and will step into the position in April 2025. Dr Clausen will be the first Falkland Islander and the first female to take on the Chief Executive role, and evidence of how much the Falklands have invested in their people.
The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) (*), and the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP) have announced their selections for the 2024 Antarctic Fellowship. The annual Antarctic Fellowships, are an investment in the professional development of talented early career researchers.
Brazilian Federal Police in Rio de Janeiro launched an inquiry into the case of six patients receiving HIV-infected organs for transplants, Agência Brasil reported Wednesday. Other institutions already investigating the matter include Rio's Civil Police, the Health Ministry, and the Health Department.
On 14th October before Question Time, the Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle expressed the condolences of the House to family and friends of the former lawmaker and twice First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond.
British pop musician Liam Payne of One Direction fame died Wednesday in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in circumstances still under investigation. He was found dead in his hotel room after plunging three stories. The location looked ransacked and filled with traces of heavy drugs. First responders said he had a severe blow to his head as a result of the fall.
Aerolíneas Argentinas Wednesday dismissed APLA pilots union leader Pablo Biró from its board of directors given the alleged incompatibility of the two functions, it was reported in Buenos Aires. His actions are detrimental to the company, a shareholders assembly found. In response, Biró said he would appeal the measure before the courts.
The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) reported this week a 29.3% drop in passing ships during Fiscal Year 2024 as a result of the severe drought affecting the interoceanic crossing. A total of 9,944 transits were recorded this year, a significant setback from 14,080 crossings in 2023. A fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30 of the following year.