Stories for February 2025

Thursday, February 6th 2025 - 10:04 UTC
No free ride for US ships through Panama Canal

The Panama Canal Authority Wednesday denied an earlier announcement by the U.S. State Department that ships flying its flag would pass through the iconic interoceanic waterway toll-free.
Thursday, February 6th 2025 - 08:30 UTC
Milei now wants Argentina to quit the Paris Agreement

After pulling his country from the World Health Organization (WHO), Argentine President Javier Milei admitted Wednesday in an interview with a French outlet that he intended to withdraw from the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit greenhouse gas emmissions to preserve the planet's temperature from rising. “The environmentalist agenda is a real fraud,” said Milei, thus echoing similar recent statements from US President Donald Trump. To withdraw from the Paris Agreement, Law 27.270 would have to b e repealed by Congress.
Thursday, February 6th 2025 - 08:23 UTC
Uruguay's inflation reaches 1.1% in January

Uruguay's Consumer Price Index (CPI) went up 1.1% last month and 5.05% interannually, the National Institute of Statistics (INE) said in a report released Wednesday in Montevideo. Wednesday's figures represented a slight improvement for President Luis Lacalle Pou's administration after recording 1.53% in January 2024 for a 5.09% yoy.
Wednesday, February 5th 2025 - 23:06 UTC
Milei pulls Argentina out of WHO

Argentine Presidential Spokesman Manuel Adorni announced Wednesday during his morning press briefing that his country would be following in on Donald Trump's steps and withdrawing from the World Health Organization (WHO), which entailed disbursements totaling around US$ 10 million annually.
Wednesday, February 5th 2025 - 18:52 UTC
Trump's idea on Gaza makes no sense to Lula

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said that his US colleague Donald Trump's idea to take over the Gaza Strip made no sense. He also found the idea of relocating the local population to other countries hard to swallow. The Republican leader made these announcements Tuesday after meeting at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Wednesday, February 5th 2025 - 13:28 UTC
Argentine authorities take action against RAM for Patagonia fires

Argentine Security Minister Patricia Bullrich said Tuesday that the Libertarian Government of President Javier Milei would be declaring the Ancestral Mapuche Resistance (RAM) a terrorist group, in addition to other measures against lonko (leader) Facundo Jones-Huala, who claimed responsibility for the arson-caused wildfires in the Patagonian province of Chubut and urged his comrades to up the armed struggle because all those “tools are valid for the liberation of our people.” Jones-Huala also denied any involvement in the fire affecting El Bolsón in the province of Río Negro. “Against landowners yes, but not against our environment,” Jones Huala said earlier this week.
Wednesday, February 5th 2025 - 11:43 UTC
Tax collection above expectations in Paraguay

Paraguay's National Directorate of Tax Revenues (DNIT) announced Tuesday that collection last month far exceeded expectations after posting a 9.1% yoy improvement. A DNIT report mentioned raking in ₲ 3.19 trillion (around US$ 405 million), which represented US$ 33.9 million more than in the same month of 2024.
Wednesday, February 5th 2025 - 11:27 UTC
US to take control of Gaza and redevelop it, Trump says

US President Donald Trump announced Tuesday during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House that his country intends to seize control of the Gaza Strip and have the local population resettled elsewhere. The Republican leader said rebuilding the enclave was near impossible after it became a “demolition site” following Israel's retaliation for the Oct. 7, 2023, mass murders and abductions from the Gaza-based pro-Palestine terrorist group Hamas.
Wednesday, February 5th 2025 - 09:01 UTC
Orsi evaluating candidates for Buenos Aires Embassy

Uruguay's future government to be inaugurated on March 1 is evaluating candidates for the Embassy in Buenos Aires. According to local media, former Assistant Presidential Secretary Diego Cánepa seems to be the leading candidate to fill the vacancy left by Carlos Enciso, who resigned to focus on his possible candidacy for the Florida City Council. Foreign Minister Omar Paganini confirmed the position would remain unfilled until the change of government.
Wednesday, February 5th 2025 - 07:57 UTC
Argentine Patagonia wildfires man-caused

Argentine authorities determined that the fires currently ravaging through the Patagonian enclaves of El Bolsón (Río Negro) and Epuyén (Chubut) were arson. The announcements were made after the sites of the initial outbreaks were found and accelerants were detected. Governors Ignacio Torres (Chubut) and Alberto Weretilneck (Río Negro) pledged to investigate the matter and hold those responsible accountable.