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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, March 9th 2026 - 05:35 UTC

Stories for March 9th 2026

  • Monday, March 9th 2026 - 04:34 UTC

    Oil rises above US$100 a barrel as Middle East war and Hormuz disruption hit supply

    U.S. President Donald Trump reacted to the oil rally with a Truth Social post, saying it was “a very small price to pay” for “security and peace in America and for the world.”

    Oil prices climbed above US$100 a barrel on Sunday in futures trading, reaching their highest levels since 2022 as the war in the Middle East, the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz and fresh production cuts among Gulf producers tightened supply expectations. Reuters reported Brent rose as high as US$111.04 a barrel while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) touched US$111.24 in early trading. AP later put Brent at US$107.97 and WTI at US$106.22, both more than 16% above the previous close.

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  • Monday, March 9th 2026 - 02:06 UTC

    Historic Pact and Democratic Center lead Colombia’s Senate race after legislative vote

    Petro's Historic Pact was taking 22.84% of the Senate vote, ahead of Uribe's Democratic Center’s 15.70%

    Historic Pact, the left-wing coalition linked to President Gustavo Petro, and the Democratic Center, led by former president Alvaro Uribe, were on Sunday emerging as the two main forces in Colombia’s Senate for the 2026-2030 term, according to preliminary pre-count results. Colombia’s electoral authority, the Registraduría, was publishing official real-time results on its election portal, while local media reported that Senate bulletin 25 showed Historic Pact with 3,599,411 votes and Democratic Center with 2,473,529.

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  • Monday, March 9th 2026 - 01:58 UTC

    Global arms trade rose in 2021-25 as European demand surged

    Ukraine was the world’s largest arms importer in 2021-25, accounting for 9.7% of the total

    The global volume of transfers of major arms between states rose 9.2% in 2021-25 compared with 2016-20, the biggest increase since 2011-15, according to data released on Monday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The shift was driven above all by a sharp rise in European imports, which increased by 210% over the period and made Europe the world’s largest arms-importing region.

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  • Monday, March 9th 2026 - 00:30 UTC

    Iran names Mojtaba Khamenei supreme leader as war widens to oil and water infrastructure

    In Tehran, overnight strikes hit fuel depots in Shahran and other facilities, sending flames and thick black smoke over the capital

    Iran on Sunday named Mojtaba Khamenei as its new supreme leader, cementing hardline continuity as the war with Israel and the United States deepens and cross-border strikes increasingly hit fuel depots, energy routes and desalination facilities across the region. The Assembly of Experts, the 88-member clerical body tasked with choosing the successor, said he had been appointed by a “decisive vote,” giving him ultimate authority over all matters of state.

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