International

• Wednesday, December 30th 2015 - 02:47 UTC

  US bans imports of lion trophies; the majestic cats protected by USFWS Endangered Species Act

  

  In a move that is likely to put a major dent in South Africa’s canned hunting industry for lions — a practice involving the shooting of these majestic predators in fenced enclosures in a pay-to-slay arrangement— the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced that it will institute important new measures to protect lions under the Endangered Species Act.

• Wednesday, December 30th 2015 - 00:46 UTC

  Petrobras corruption 'net' involves Norwegian companies, claim Oslo media

  

  The huge corruption case swirling around Brazilian oil company Petrobras is being called the world’s largest, and increasing numbers of Norwegian companies seem to be getting tangled up in it. Norwegian bosses mostly claim no knowledge of any bribes being paid, but investigations are underway on several fronts.

• Tuesday, December 29th 2015 - 23:56 UTC

  Majority of Spaniards against a re-run of election; only 7% would change their vote says poll

  

  Less than one third of Spaniards want a re-run of 20 December's election, which resulted in a stalemate, with two-thirds favoring a pact between parties, a poll showed. Just 7% of those surveyed said they would change their votes in a fresh election, while 87.1% said they would vote the same way.

• Tuesday, December 29th 2015 - 08:23 UTC

  JPMorgan-Chase describes Macri's Argentina as “a ray of sunshine” in the region

  

  A growing number of foreign investors are signaling interest in Argentina following the pro-market turn that newly-inaugurated President Mauricio Macri started showing since taking office. The latest financial player to endorse the country as a promising investment destination was JP Morgan Chase, the largest bank in the United States, where current Finance Minister Alfonso Prat-Gay worked in the past.

• Tuesday, December 29th 2015 - 08:07 UTC

  Israel pressing Brazil to accept pro-settler activist as its ambassador

  

  Brazil’s reluctance to accept an Argentine born pro-settler politician as Israeli ambassador has triggered a diplomatic clash and concerns it could seriously damage future relations between the two countries.

• Monday, December 28th 2015 - 08:50 UTC

  Uruguayan officials invited to London to learn about Public-Private-Partnership

  

  Uruguayan representatives of public entities who travelled to the United Kingdom and Brazil fed back on their experiences on Public-Private Partnership in an event held in the central office of the National Development Corporation (CND) in Montevideo.

• Monday, December 28th 2015 - 07:59 UTC

  UK largest banks paid no corporation tax in 2014, by offsetting past losses

  

  Five of the largest banks in the UK paid no corporation tax in 2014, despite making billions of pounds in profits, analysis by Reuters has shown. JP Morgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank, Nomura Holdings and Morgan Stanley paid no corporation tax at all, the news agency said. The banks offset past losses against their taxable income for 2013-14.

• Monday, December 28th 2015 - 07:14 UTC

  Argentina's MOU with Iran sponsored by Cristina Fernandez, dropped by Macri

  

  Argentina's divisive 2013 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Iran was finally dropped became after Argentine Federal Judges Juan Carlos Gemignani and Angela Ledesma accepted a request filed by the president Mauricio Macri administration Justice Ministry to drop the Executive’s appeal to the Federal Cassation Court.

• Monday, December 28th 2015 - 07:00 UTC

  Malvinas 'a constitutional issue, not optional'; plans for a South Atlantic secretariat which includes Antarctica

  

  Argentina's foreign minister Susana Malcorra stated that the conflict with the United Kingdom over the Falklands/Malvinas Islands sovereignty is “a constitutional issue, not optional”, and described the position of the former Cristina Fernandez administration on the matter as “too tough”, while pledging that the “conflict must and will be integrated into a wider perspective”.

• Thursday, December 24th 2015 - 11:23 UTC

  Merry Christmas from MercoPress

  

  MercoPress wishes a Happy Holiday Season to all its readers and sponsors!