According to former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, there is no viable alternative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to defend Europe, and he insisted the continent should increase military spending.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced this weekend that he clinched a meat export deal with Vietnam during his meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chinh, thus adding a new notch to bilateral trade, which last year amounted to US$ 7.7 billion with a US$ 415 million surplus for the South American country.
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI, has acquired his social media platform, X, in an all-stock deal valuing the latter at US$ 33 billion, the South African-born tycoon announced. The acquisition merges two of Musk’s prominent ventures, combining xAI’s AI expertise—bolstered by its chatbot Grok and a massive GPU supercomputer—with X’s vast user reach.
Álvaro Mangino Schmid, one of the 16 survivors of the 1972 Andes plane crash, passed away in Montevideo just one day before his 71st birthday due to respiratory issues from pneumonia.
Latin America is undergoing a hard-hitting revolution in its financial system as it is embracing fintech advancements at a breakneck pace. The revolution is modernizing traditional bank services while also expanding access to digital payment systems and investment platforms on the continent. Brazil and Mexico are some of the nations spearheading the revolution as they are using innovations such as real-time payment systems and digital wallets to promote financial efficiency and inclusion.
The online gambling industry has seen remarkable growth recently. The projections show compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.5% for the 2024-2033 period—certainly nothing to sneeze at. Experts still debate what the success of these operators comes down to. Is it rapid tech advancements or shifting entertainment habits as players go digital. But at the core, online casinos are businesses like any other. They rely on investment to grow, innovate, and stay competitive.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font, speaking at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) annual meeting in Santiago Friday, underlined the importance of long-term projects and institutional stability over short-term, drastic reforms like the ones implemented by his Argentine colleague Javier Milei, whom he was obviously referring to, since he used the Libertarian's “chainsaw” war cry, which US Department of Government Efficiency Chief Elon Musk has also echoed.
Argentina is experiencing a sharp increase in food prices, complicating the government's goal of keeping inflation close to 2%. Private consulting firms report that food prices rose by approximately 3.2% to 4% so far this month, with total inflation projected to be between 2.4% and 3%. Key drivers include dairy and eggs (up 5.8%), meat (up 5%), vegetables (up 3.3%), and beverages (up 2.2%).
Uruguay's unemployment rate slightly decreased to 7.9% in February from 8.1% in January, according to a National Statistics Institute (INE) report released Friday. This represents a 0.2% drop month-over-month and a 0.4% decrease compared to February 2024, with approximately 150,900 people unemployed. The employment rate remained stable at 59.4%, while the activity rate saw a minor decline from 64.6% to 64.5%. It was President Luis Lacalle Pou's last month in office. Yamandú Orsi was sworn in on March 1.
Chilean health authorities recorded 98 casualties attributable to Covid-19 between Jan. 1 and March 22, 2025, with a total of 5,191 confirmed cases. The fatalities were 76.5 years old on average with an almost equal distribution between genders, while patients with chronic conditions like hypertension or diabetes were affected the most.