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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, April 10th 2026 - 16:11 UTC

International

  • Thursday, March 24th 2016 - 02:03 UTC

    Brazilian Supreme Court emerges with a decisive role in the institutional crisis

    “The goal of the falsity is clear: to prevent the carrying out of an arrest order,” against Lula that is under consideration by a lower court, wrote Gilmar Mendes

    The Brazilian government's efforts to have former president Lula da Silva into the cabinet of president Dilma Rousseff will have to wait until next 30 March when the Supreme Court is scheduled to hold its next full meeting. The political upheaval and simultaneous legal back-and forth has reached such a pitch that it inspired a bleakly funny website, lulaeministro.com, or “Is Lula a minister?” The site shows only the former president’s face and the words, “At this moment, No.” (Or yes, depending).

  • Thursday, March 24th 2016 - 01:16 UTC

    Time bomb in Brazil: list of 200 names of politicians from 18 parties who received illegal funds for elections

    Sao Paulo media published that the Federal Police since last 23 February have a list of 200 politicians, which apparently received funds from Odebrecht,

    Odebrecht, the engineering firm at the heart of Brazil's biggest ever graft probe, on Tuesday agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, in a move likely to send shockwaves across political parties that for years illegally siphoned money from state contracts. Federal police found an office to pay bribes and it surfaced that since February it has a list of 200 politicians who benefited from siphoned funds for election campaigns.

  • Thursday, March 24th 2016 - 01:10 UTC

    Brazil's chief of staff warns about the “dangerous precedent” of ousting an unpopular government

    “They are planting a dangerous seed in Brazil,” said Wagner “without the rule of law, the right of defense and presumption of innocence, there is no democracy”

    Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff's chief of staff on Wednesday said ousting her would set a “dangerous” precedent for unpopular governments to be toppled in the future. On Tuesday Rousseff said that ongoing impeachment proceedings against her in Congress constituted a “plot” against Brazil's institutions and the nation's stability.

  • Wednesday, March 23rd 2016 - 19:21 UTC

    Falklands' Mare harbor will undergo a £19m upgrade to cater for larger vessels

    The contract covers for design, construction and associated costs and will provide a roll-on roll-off facility suitable to cater for larger vessels

    UK Preston based VolkerStevin has won a £19m deal to improve defense infrastructure on the Falkland Islands. VolkerStevin is a contractor providing a wide range of engineering and construction services across a number of market sectors and in this case will upgrade Mare Harbor as part of a design-and-build deal for the UK Defense Infrastructure Organization.

  • Wednesday, March 23rd 2016 - 19:19 UTC

    Doing business between Uruguay and United Kingdom

    Ignacio de Paula, British Consul Katharine Felton, Gabriela Castro-Fontoura, Director of Sunny Sky Solutions and GBUA member, Florencia Malo

    The Association of Graduates of British Universities (GBUA) together with the Association of Young Entrepreneurs (AJE Uruguay), organized a panel in which young Uruguayan entrepreneurs spoke about their experiences of doing business with the UK.

  • Wednesday, March 23rd 2016 - 05:48 UTC

    Panel of experts will name the new UK polar research vessel

    The state-of-the-art £200m vessel will be launched in 2019 to replace Royal Research Ships (RRS) Ernest Shackleton and James Clark Ross.

    The name of a new British polar research vessel will be chosen by a panel of experts, even if the public overwhelmingly votes to call it Boaty McBoatface. Lord West, ex-First Sea Lord, said he was rather proud “silly names” had been suggested but hoped none were chosen.

  • Wednesday, March 23rd 2016 - 02:50 UTC

    Cuban dissidents meet for almost two hours with Obama, including some critical of US policy

    “We thought it would be a half-hour meeting, and it was an hour and 45 minutes,” said Elizardo Sánchez, head of Human Rights and National Reconciliation.

    Leading Cuban dissidents, including some who have been critical of president Barack Obama's policy of engaging with the Cuban government, spent nearly two hours on Tuesday discussing human rights with the president at the US embassy. The frank meeting ended only when Obama’s aides ushered him out to reach the Estadio Latinoamericano in time for the first pitch of the Cuban national baseball team's game against the Tampa Bay Rays.

  • Wednesday, March 23rd 2016 - 02:14 UTC

    Obama magic: from Cuba next to Castro, calls for an end to US embargo and for free and democratic elections

    ”Sí se puede” Obama told the Cuban people promising a new beginning and recalled his 2008 slogan, “Yes we can.”

    Crowning a remarkable visit to Cuba, United States President Barack Obama on Tuesday declared an end to the “last remnant of the Cold War in the Americas” and openly urged the Cuban people to pursue a more democratic future for their nation 90 miles from Miami. He also sent a strong message to his critics back in the US.

  • Tuesday, March 22nd 2016 - 15:58 UTC

    Unveiling China's power struggle: 'princeling' Xi pushing aside collective leadership

    The “collective leadership” of recent decades has become a fiction, and Xi's personality cult is being vigorously promoted in the state-controlled media.

    By Gwynne Dyer


    Opening the National People's Congress in Beijing, Prime Minister Li Keqiang set China's growth target for the coming year at 6.5-7 per cent, the lowest in decades. Only two years ago, he said 7% was the lowest acceptable growth rate, but he has had to eat his words. He really isn't in charge of very much anymore.

  • Tuesday, March 22nd 2016 - 06:25 UTC

    Petrobras losses in 4Q climb to US$ 10bn; more staff cuts expected

    Once the crown jewel of Brazil's government, Petrobras' image quickly lost its luster amid mismanagement and corruption.

    Brazil's state-run oil company, Petrobras, reported a record quarterly loss of $10.2 billion on Monday due to a large reduction in the value of some assets amid lower oil prices. Petrobras has been at the center of a sprawling corruption scandal that has ensnared some of Brazil's most powerful lawmakers and business executives.