International

• Friday, February 26th 2016 - 04:26 UTC

  World's eyes turn on Zurich as FIFA chooses president and hopefully a new era for the beautiful game

  

  The five contenders for the FIFA throne pitched the regional confederations in Zurich on Thursday in a last-ditch plea for votes in Friday’s election. Sheikh Salman, Gianni Infantino, Prince Ali, Jerome Champagne and Tokyo Sexwale made their appeals to CONCACAF, UEFA and Oceania congresses staged at various hotels in the Swiss city where Sepp Blatter’s successor will be 26 February.

• Friday, February 26th 2016 - 01:36 UTC

  “Falklands people voice must be heard”, says Uruguayan former president visiting the Islands

  

  Luis Alberto Lacalle, the Ex-President of Uruguay, is currently in the Falkland Islands on a week-long tour, along with Uruguayan Elected Representative Mario Jaime Trobo. Lacalle served as President from 1990 to 1995 and Trobo is presently a Member of the International Affairs Committee.

• Thursday, February 25th 2016 - 06:57 UTC

  Hollande/Macri 'personal link' “will make things get moving and get done”

  

  The visit of French president Francois Hollande was described as “most positive” and this was reflected in the over twenty bilateral agreements signed in all fields, plus a very significant 'personal link' with his Argentine peer Mauricio Macri, said Susana Malcorra, foreign minister on Wednesday at the Casa Rosada.

• Thursday, February 25th 2016 - 06:50 UTC

  Moody's downgrades Brazil's sovereign debt to 'junk territory'

  

  Moody's Investors Service on Wednesday joined the two other major credit rating agencies in downgrading Brazil's sovereign debt to junk territory. Moody's lowered Brazil's credit rating by two notches from Baa3 (its lowest investment-grade rating) to Ba2 and changed the country's outlook to “negative,” a move that follows similar actions by Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor's.

• Thursday, February 25th 2016 - 06:36 UTC

  Hollande suggests Argentina could help Europe's refugee crisis by taking Syrian families

  

  French President Francois Hollande suggested Wednesday that Argentina could take in some of the hundreds of thousands of Syrians fleeing civil war. The idea appeared to be an off-the-cuff comment during a news conference by Hollande and Argentine President Mauricio Macri after they met privately and signed agreements on issues ranging from fighting terrorism to increasing cultural exchanges.

• Thursday, February 25th 2016 - 06:27 UTC

  Hollande extends full support for Macri: “France is ready to back you”

  

  Argentina's President Mauricio Macri received fresh endorsement of his economic measures on Wednesday when French President Francois Hollande flew in to Buenos Aires with 30 business leaders looking for investment opportunities. The visit reflected a turnaround in Argentina's global profile since Macri took power two months ago and immediately set about mending diplomatic ties and his country's tattered credit ratings.

• Thursday, February 25th 2016 - 06:16 UTC

  Argentina in pre-accord with toughest hedge funds; Special Master Pollack furious

  

  Argentina and a group of hedge funds are nearing a deal that would pay investors about 70% of what they say they are owed, as the government moves closer to re-entering the global bond markets following its 2001 default.

• Wednesday, February 24th 2016 - 07:50 UTC

  FAO summit in Morocco addresses fish trade traceability and eliminating IUU fishing

  

  High-level delegations of fisheries ministries from more than 50 countries are gathering in Agadir, Morocco for a summit with industry players to discuss emerging governance needs in a sector that provides the world with 17% of its animal protein and developing countries with more export revenue than meat, tobacco, rice and sugar combined.

• Wednesday, February 24th 2016 - 07:32 UTC

  Falkland’s Demining Project fourth phase draws to a close

  

  The current phase of demining in the Falkland Islands, which began in January 2015, is nearing completion and MercoPress recently caught up with the Head of the Falkland Islands Demining Programme Office (FIDPO), Guy Marot, to discuss the ongoing progress of demining in the Falklands.

• Wednesday, February 24th 2016 - 06:54 UTC

  Despite Malvinas, “we want to accord and collaborate with the UK” to the benefit of both countries

  

  Argentine president Mauricio Macri said he wants to reach an agreement with the UK that will enable collaboration in areas of mutual interest, despite the dispute over the Falkland/Malvinas Islands, although 'we will never drop Argentina's historic claim on the issue'.