
The Irish government said on Tuesday it has introduced a number of specific measures to help firms that might be affected by the uncertainty caused by Britain's vote to leave the European Union (EU). The measures include an extension of the Special Assignee Relief Program, which gives designated individuals income tax relief for work done in the country until the end of 2020.

With Haiti facing the dual challenges of addressing the impact of Hurricane Matthew and restarting preparations for the holding of the much-anticipated elections, the United Nations envoy for the Caribbean country on Tuesday expressed support for the recommended extension of the UN mission there by six months until mid-April 2017.

Mercosur has “lost focus” because of years of political and ideological discussions instead of concentrating in trade integration, commented Nigel Baker, deputy head of the Foreign Office South America's department during a two day visit to Paraguay. The ex ambassador in the Vatican also anticipated that Brexit, UK leaving the European Union will help strengthen overall relations with Paraguay, one of Mercosur four founding members.

A two-day symposium on small states and the right to self-determination will open at the Garrison Library in Gibraltar this Thursday. Currently in its fourth edition these symposiums focus on issues that impact on Gibraltar and other like territories within a European and global framework. The Falkland Islands is represented by lawmaker MLA Ian Hansen

Brazil's lower chamber of Congress approved this week the main points of a bill removing a requirement that state-led oil company Petrobras be the sole operator of vast offshore oil reserves in the costly subsalt layer with a minimum 30% stake in their development.

Brazil's inflation continued its slow fall in September in a positive sign for the new government as it wrestles to end the worst recession in nearly a century. The 12 month rate fell to 8.48%, down from 8.97% August hitting its lowest level for the month since 1998.

Brazilian prosecutors said on Monday they had charged former President Lula da Silva and Marcelo Odebrecht, ex-CEO of engineering group Odebrecht SA, with corruption related to contracts in Angola.

Brazil’s Prosecutor-General’s Office questioned the constitutionality of President Michel Temer’s proposed public spending cap and recommended that Congress shelve the austerity measures. The office said in a statement the proposal interferes with the autonomy of other federal powers and would weaken the country’s judicial system, handicapping efforts to combat corruption.

Brazil's economy is expected to return to growth next year and with a decrease in the value of the dollar vis-a-vis the Real in recent months, the country is back on track to becoming the world's eighth largest GDP in 2017 according to the IMF. Since last year, Brazil has been ranked ninth (2 positions below its ranking in 2014) due to the recession that started at the end of 2014.

The world is swimming in a record US$152 trillion in debt, the IMF said on Wednesday, even as the institution encourages some countries to spend more to boost flagging growth if they can afford it. Global debt, both public and private, reached 225% of global economic output last year, up from about 200% in 2002, the IMF said in its new Fiscal Monitor report.