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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, May 27th 2025 - 20:15 UTC

Environment

  • Friday, March 7th 2025 - 19:28 UTC

    Unprecedented storm hits Argentine city of Bahía Blanca

    The 220 mm of water was the harshest rain Bahía Blanca has ever faced

    The City of Bahía Blanca, in the Argentine Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, 570 km south of the country's capital, was struck by a record-setting rainfall way worse than the historic 167.6 mm recorded in 1933.

  • Thursday, March 6th 2025 - 10:27 UTC

    Drought will bring produce prices up in Paraguay

    Paraguay's Economy Minister Carlos Fernández forecast a difficult 2025 given the drought affecting agricultural production and thus driving prices upward. In this scenario, he underlined the need for innovative policies and constant review of institutional work as the Government of President Santiago Peña aims to provide necessary resources for health, education, security, and social transfers while improving public spending.

  • Wednesday, March 5th 2025 - 09:40 UTC

    A23a iceberg poses no threat to South Georgia, for now

    The large ice mass could break up into smaller pieces, which would affect fishing operations in the area

    The world's largest iceberg, A23a, has grounded 73 kilometers off South Georgia Island, alleviating concerns about a potential collision that could have disrupted the local wildlife's food supply. The iceberg, weighing nearly one billion tons, has been drifting north from Antarctica since 2020. Its current position reduces risks to the region's penguins and seals.

  • Tuesday, March 4th 2025 - 20:45 UTC

    Preliminary deal reached for sale of Hong Kong company's stake in Panama Canal operations

    CK Hutchison has been operating the Port of Balboa for more than two decades

    Given US President Donald Trump's pressure, CK Hutchison Holdings, a Hong Kong-based conglomerate, agreed to sell control of a unit operating ports near the Panama Canal, it was announced Tuesday. The sale includes an 80% stake in the Hutchison Ports group and a 90% interest in Panama Ports Company, which operates the ports of Balboa and Cristobal. The consortium acquiring these stakes includes BlackRock Inc., Global Infrastructure Partners, and Terminal Investment Ltd.

  • Friday, February 28th 2025 - 10:12 UTC

    Human waste found on Antarctica's Byers Peninsula

    The findings proved that currents can move debris over thousands of miles

    Spanish scientists led by Professor Jesús Ruiz Fernández of the University of Oviedo have found traces of human waste, including plastic bottles, drums, flip-flops, and other objects, on Antarctica's Byers Peninsula, one of the continent's most protected areas. The discovery was made last week during their research on glacier retreat and ecosystem evolution.

  • Tuesday, February 25th 2025 - 15:20 UTC

    Petrobras orders four homebuilt tankers

    Brazil's shipbuilding industry hopes to bounce back with this agreement

    Brazil's State-run oil company Petrobras and its subsidiary Transpetro Monday signed a contract for the building of four Handy-class tankers, each costing US$ 69.5 million, with a total investment of US$ 278 million. The new ships will become a part of Petrobras' Fleet Renewal and Expansion Program. The ceremony in Rio Grande do Sul was attended by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Vice-President Geraldo Alckmin, and other officials.

  • Monday, February 24th 2025 - 09:24 UTC

    Brazil sets new biodiversity targets for 2025-2030 term

    A total of 23 goals have been set to promote the regeneration of Brazil's biomes

    Brazil's National Biodiversity Commission (Conabio) has established new national biodiversity targets for the period 2025 to 2030 and recommended a new set of measures for the National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAP), pursuant to the Dec. 2022 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), of which the South American country is a signatory.

  • Monday, February 24th 2025 - 02:57 UTC

    Attack on a penguin at Falklands, Volunteer Point receives international photography prize

    The Attack, Magellanic Penguin, Spheniscus magellanicus. Volunteer Point, Falkland Islands, photo by Tom Schandy, Norway.

    United States Princeton University Press, PUP, is delighted to be the publisher of Bird Photographer of the Year annual collections, and to present this showcase of the winning photographs from the 2024 competition.

  • Wednesday, February 19th 2025 - 15:19 UTC

    Pod of 157 false killer whales stranded in Tasmania; most died and survivors have to be euthanized

    A large number of false killer whales stranded on a remote Tasmanian beach. Image / Parks and Wildlife

    Australian authorities have confirmed that 67 of the 157 false killer whales stranded on a remote beach on Tasmania’s West Coast overnight Tuesday/Wednesday have died. Parks and Wildlife’s Shelley Graham said on Wednesday afternoon that the surviving whales remain in “unfavorable” conditions, with attempts to refloat two of them unsuccessful, meaning euthanasia is a strong solution.

  • Wednesday, February 19th 2025 - 15:12 UTC

    Two female King Penguins, German born, join Birdland Park in Gloucestershire

    A colony of King Penguins at Volunteer Point, Falklands (Pîc D. Pettersson)

    Two female King penguins arrived last week at Birdland Park and Gardens in Bourton-on-the-Water in the Cotswolds, in Gloucestershire. The pair hatched in Wuppertal, Germany, in 2021 and 2023 and are believed to be the first female king penguins to be imported to the UK in 15 years. The Birdland Park hopes to boost its breeding program of King Penguins.