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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, May 1st 2025 - 15:58 UTC

Stories for April 2025

  • Friday, April 18th 2025 - 18:19 UTC

    Epidemic protocols enacted in Argentine Patagonia after 2 hantavirus deaths

    Contagion happens through contact with rodents, but also between humans

    Two deaths from hantavirus in Argentine Patagonia, one in San Martín de los Andes, in the province of Neuquén, and another near Epuyén, in the province of Chubut, have raised alarms among health authorities, leading to the isolation of the victims' close contacts while upping preventive measures.

  • Friday, April 18th 2025 - 17:59 UTC

    Belize to tighten airport security following hijack attempt

    The hijacker was gunned down while the pilot and two passengers were wounded but are stable

    Following an attempted hijacking on a Tropic Air flight last Thursday, where a passenger assaulted the pilot and tried to seize control, Belize is implementing stricter aviation security measures. The flight from Corozal to San Pedro operated by a Tropic Air Cessna Grand Caravan EX, registered as V3-HIG, carrying 15 passengers and 2 crew members, made an emergency landing in Belize City after nearly two hours. The hijacker was gunned down, and the pilot and two passengers were injured but are stable.

  • Friday, April 18th 2025 - 11:01 UTC

    Falklands/Darwin Plus: RSPB fears on Budget for UK conservation fund in Overseas Territoriesa

    Thanks to Darwin Plus funding, Falklands Conservation, has used satellite tracking to better under the whales’ behaviour and travel patterns.

    The Royal Society for Protection of Birds, RSPB, has strongly defended scientific research in the UK Overseas Territories, which face an uncertain future as core funding is threatened by the austerity of UK’s economic and budgetary reforms.

  • Friday, April 18th 2025 - 10:59 UTC

    Uruguay's housing minister resigns over unpaid taxes on her residence

    Cairo held a meeting with Orsi before announcing her departure

    Cecilia Cairo resigned as Uruguay's Minister of Housing and Territorial Planning on Thursday following controversy over her failure to regularize her house’s construction and update its real estate taxes for at least 20 years, making minimum payments incompatible with the residence's size. President Yamandú Orsi plans to accept her resignation through a formal note on Friday.

  • Friday, April 18th 2025 - 10:50 UTC

    Falklands: consultation on ceremonial Governor's uniform, tradition or modernity?

    Her Excellency The Governor, Alison Blake CMG, wearing her ceremonial uniform<br />

    The Falkland Islands Legislative Assembly is seeking public views on whether or not to continue the use of the ceremonial uniform of the Governor. This consultation seeks to get a sense of the view of the public in regards to the use of a ceremonial gubernatorial uniform. The response period closes Sunday 20th April.

  • Friday, April 18th 2025 - 10:45 UTC

    Bukele says he will expand Cecot capacity

    Trump encouraged Bukele to pursue the road of maximum security prisons to tackle gang crime and terrorism

    Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele announced plans Thursday to double the capacity of the Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot), Latin America's largest prison, which currently holds over 15,000 inmates, including more than 200 migrants deported from the United States.

  • Friday, April 18th 2025 - 10:42 UTC

    Paraguayan corn exports boosted by Brazilian demand

    Brazil upped demand after breaking records slaughtering farm animals whose feed has corn as a fundamental ingredient

    Between January and March 2025, Paraguayan corn exports rose by 84,000 tons compared to the same period in 2024, generating US$ 69 million in foreign currency, a US$ 15 million increase.

  • Friday, April 18th 2025 - 10:36 UTC

    France demanded to pay slavery reparations to Haiti

    The petitioners also requested that France own up to the independence fee it charged 200 years ago

    A large number of Latin American social organizations and personalities, such as Argentine 1980 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, demanded Thursday that France recognize and compensate Haiti for the indemnity it imposed after the country's independence in 1804.

  • Friday, April 18th 2025 - 10:24 UTC

    Brazil's Fire Monitor detects 70% reduction in burned areas

    Of the total burned areas, 78% were covered by native vegetation

    Brazil reduced its burned areas by 70% yoy in the first quarter of 2025, with fires affecting 912,900 hectares, down from 2.1 million hectares. The reduction is largely attributed to the rainy season, although the Cerrado biome saw a 12% increase in burned areas, surpassing historical averages. The Amazon remained the most affected, accounting for 78% of the total burned area despite a 72% decrease compared to 2024, according to figures released Wednesday by the Fire Monitor, a MapBiomas tool that uses satellite imagery to track fire scars nationwide.

  • Friday, April 18th 2025 - 10:00 UTC

    Brazil launches pet registration program for cats and dogs

    When we take proper care of the dog and cat population, we avoid zoonoses, Silva noted

    Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Thursday launched the National Program for the Protection and Ethical Population Management of Dogs and Cats (ProPatinhas) and the National Domestic Animal Registry System (SinPatinhas) during a ceremony at the Planalto Palace.