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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, July 4th 2026 - 10:23 UTC

Environment

  • Wednesday, November 5th 2025 - 20:52 UTC

    Lula enacts law designating Belém as capital of Brazil during COP30

    Lula will travel to the Celac-EU summit in Colombia before returning to Belém

    Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed into law a bill making Belém, in the state of Pará, the capital of the South American country for the duration of the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) between Nov. 11 and 21. The measure has been published in the Diário Oficial da União (Official Gazette).

  • Wednesday, November 5th 2025 - 16:43 UTC

    Bad news for Punta Arenas: NFS Antarctic researchers and icebreakers return to US

     Built in 1992, the Palmer is a 7,600-ton icebreaker capable of breaking 3 feet (1 meter) of ice at 3 knots. It is 308 feet (94 meters) long and has 12,720 horsepower.

    Severe cuts in Budget resources for the United States National Science Foundation, (NSF) dictated by president Donald Trump are having an impact on Antarctic research, and a huge financial loss for the community of Punta Arenas, Magallanes Region, extreme south of Chile, according to polar scientists.

  • Tuesday, November 4th 2025 - 09:49 UTC

    Prince Albert II of Monaco lands in Paraguay for 3-day visit

    The Prince is next due at the COP30 climate change conference in Brazil

    Prince Albert II of Monaco arrived in Paraguay on Monday for his first-ever official visit to the South American nation, marking a historic moment aimed at boosting diplomatic and commercial ties. He was welcomed at the Silvio Pettirossi International Airport at 6.10 pm local time with full honors by Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano.

  • Tuesday, November 4th 2025 - 09:18 UTC

    Considerable shrinking of Antarctic glacier reported

    Seismic movements, possibly triggered by ice calving, created waves that reached the Hektoria glacier's fixed ice and fragmented it, the experts believe

    Experts have expressed their concern after a study revealed that the Hektoria Glacier in eastern Antarctica retreated by 50% in just two months —between November and December 2022— losing 8.2 kilometers of ice. This rate of ice loss is nearly ten times faster than previously measured for land-based glaciers, setting a new record.

  • Monday, November 3rd 2025 - 19:52 UTC

    Discovery Building, a milestone for Rothera Base and BAS in Antarctica

    The Discovery Building at Rothera Research Station, Antarctica. Image credit: BAM

    The 2025/2026 Antarctic season is a landmark for the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and its Antarctic Infrastructure Modernization Project (AIMP), as the new Discovery Building begins to take on its operational role. Specialist teams will be on site from this month to check the building’s critical systems are working as expected and to carefully manage the removal of six older structures, the functions of which are now integrated within the Discovery Building.

  • Wednesday, October 29th 2025 - 22:28 UTC

    Melissa causes havoc in Jamaica and Cuba

    Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica as a Category 5 hurricane, but was downgraded to Category 3 when it reached Cuba

    Hurricane Melissa hit Cuba's eastern provinces overnight, leaving a wake of widespread destruction, cutting off communities, flooding homes, and causing severe damage to critical infrastructure. The powerful storm eventually weakened but continued to generate unstable conditions across the eastern part of the island, where communities grappled with the aftermath as it drifted northeast.

  • Tuesday, October 21st 2025 - 10:02 UTC

    Amazon: Petrobras cleared to start drilling on Equatorial Margin

    In recent years, the Equatorial Margin has garnered significant attention following oil discoveries in nearby nations

    Brazil's state-owned oil company, Petrobras, has received a license from the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) to begin exploratory oil drilling on the Equatorial Margin of the Amazon, an area with high hydrocarbon potential, it was announced on Monday.

  • Saturday, October 18th 2025 - 06:46 UTC

    Falklands’ avian influenza, Yorke Bay Gentoo Colony closed to Public Access

    Given the proximity of the affected colony to Stanley, the density of wildlife in the area, Yorke Bay Gentoo colony is closed to public access and is declared an infected place.

    On Wednesday, 15 October, swabs from 3 dead Gentoo penguins from Yorke Bay returned positive results for highly pathogenic avian influenza. On Sunday, 12 October, more than one hundred carcasses were observed at the site, with several more symptomatic individuals also counted. Estimated further mortality for the week of 13 October exceeded the threshold for review of current management.

  • Friday, October 17th 2025 - 00:59 UTC

    British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has officially launched its 2025/26 Antarctic field season

    The Falklands flagged polar research ship RRS Sir David Attenborough, where BAS scientists conduct multi-disciplinary research studying the ocean, seafloor, ice and atmosphere.

    October 16 marked the arrival of the first aircraft at Rothera Research Station and the departure of the Falklands-flagged RRS Sir David Attenborough from the UK. The new season brings a full schedule of ambitious science, deep-field exploration, and major infrastructure milestones across the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic.

  • Thursday, October 16th 2025 - 20:10 UTC

    Haddad insists on taxing super rich to fight social inequality

    Multilateralism and tax justice are essential for a “greener, more stable, and more inclusive” global economy, Haddad argued

    Brazil's Finance Minister Fernando Haddad reinforced his stance regarding global taxation of the super-rich to finance the fight against the climate crisis and to fight social inequality. He outlined his position in a letter at the 2025 annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Washington, DC.