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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, April 1st 2026 - 07:24 UTC

Stories for March 2026

  • Monday, March 9th 2026 - 10:59 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.

  • Monday, March 9th 2026 - 10:56 UTC

    Women’s Day rallies in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay focused on femicide, austerity and public funding

    With banners reading “Not all of us made it” and “Not one more daughter, not one more broken mother,” they denounced the daily femicides in Mexico City

    International Women’s Day rallies in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay this weekend produced a shared Southern Cone agenda: opposition to gender-based violence, demands for sustained public policies and warnings about the impact of economic strain and state cutbacks on women’s lives. In Brazil, the message centered on rising femicide; in Argentina, on a strike-backed protest against President Javier Milei’s austerity drive; and in Uruguay, on demands for more funding to enforce gender-violence laws and renewed attention to vicarious violence.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Sunday, March 8th 2026 - 16:28 UTC

    Falklands Legislative Assembly marks International Women’s Day with inclusive message

    “Today is not about singling out the few; rather it is vitally important to be inclusive to all,” Gould and Roberts said in the short public message issued by the Office of the Legislative Assembly.

    The Falkland Islands Legislative Assembly marked International Women’s Day on March 8 with a message centered on broad recognition of women across the community, in a statement signed by MLAs Dot Gould and Cheryl Roberts. In the text, the lawmakers thanked “mothers, daughters, sisters, friends, colleagues, and neighbours” for bringing “strength, care, and inspiration” to life in the Islands.

  • Saturday, March 7th 2026 - 22:40 UTC

    Trump launches anti-cartel coalition, says Cuba regime “in its final days”

    Held at Trump National Doral Miami, the gathering brought together the leaders of 12 right-wing Latin American leaders

    U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday opened the first Shield of the Americas summit in Doral, Florida, bringing together a group of like-minded Latin American and Caribbean leaders to unveil a new regional security alliance focused on fighting drug cartels. In his remarks, he said Cuba was “very much at the end of the line,” claimed Havana wanted to negotiate with Washington, and said his administration had formally recognized the interim government of Delcy Rodríguez in Venezuela as diplomatic ties between the two countries were being restored.

  • Saturday, March 7th 2026 - 07:50 UTC

    Falklands’ conflict to be re-examined at University of Manchester conference

    Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies at King’s College London, has served as the official historian of the Falklands Campaign

    The University of Manchester is hosting a major conference about the Falklands conflict next April on Thursday 16 and Friday 17. 44 years have passed, but the conflict still resonates deeply in both the UK and Argentina.

  • Saturday, March 7th 2026 - 06:24 UTC

    Japan’s Justice orders dissolution of the ‘Moonies’ Unification Church

    The Unification Church and its late founder Sun Myung Moon had many assets in South America (Brazil, Uruguay) and was closely linked to extreme right and military dictatorships in the region

    A Japanese high court has upheld an order to dissolve the controversial Unification Church, popularly known as the “Moonies” local media report. Last year, a district court in Tokyo ordered the church to disband after Japan's education and culture ministry accused it of manipulating followers into making huge donations.

  • Saturday, March 7th 2026 - 02:43 UTC

    Falklands, Commonwealth Day Youth Parliament Sitting; Monday 9 March

    Picture from Falklands Radio showing Speaker Keith Biles surrounded by 2023 Falklands Youth Parliamentarians

    To mark Commonwealth Day, Monday 9 March, young people from the Falkland Islands will take their seats in the Chamber to question Members of the Legislative Assembly on the issues that matter to them.