
YPF, the energy company in which Argentina holds a majority stake said its next shale oil and gas partnership will be with a group including China’s Cnooc. A deal is expected to be signed sometime next month.

The mayor of Rio de Janeiro has said it is a shame his city will be hosting the Olympic Games in 2016 because Brazil lacks a sports policy. Eduardo Paes said that his city should not pay for high performance athletes.

The US Federal Reserve members appear to agree on slowing bond purchases by the end of this year if the US economy continues to improve, but remains divided over the exact timing of the move. That's the message from the minutes of the Fed's July 30-31 meeting released Wednesday.

Argentina's ambassador to Britain said on Wednesday she had not meant to offend British Prime Minister David Cameron when she called him dumb and his handling of the long-running dispute over the Falkland Islands foolish and totally useless.

Chilean president Sebastián Piñera has instructed Foreign minister Alfredo Moreno to immediately contact Argentine authorities following the decision by the government of President Cristina Fernandez ordering Lan Chile to move out from the metropolitan airport of Aeroparque in Buenos Aires.

The sharp decline in production of oil and gas from under British waters is “worrying” industry leaders. Trade body Oil and Gas UK says there is record investment this year of £13.5bn, but its annual report on the industry's economic impact highlights the sharp fall in output of 19% during 2011 and 14% in 2012.

The Brazilian government has expressed concern that some hotels listed on FIFA website for the 2014 World Cup plan significant price increases during the tournament. Brazil’s tourism board, Embratur, is said to have notified the justice ministry after its research showed that rates will be up to 500% more expensive during the World Cup in some hotels offered by the MATCH Services agency on FIFA website.

The conflict between the administration of President Cristina Fernandez and the powerful Clarín media Group CEO Héctor Magnetto crossed the Atlantic and reached UK newsstands as British daily The Guardian published an article on Argentina’s Media Law.

Bradley Manning, the US soldier convicted of the biggest breach of classified data in the nation's history by providing files to WikiLeaks, was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Judge Colonel Denise Lind, who last month found Manning guilty of 20 charges including espionage and theft, could have sentenced him to as many as 90 years in prison. Prosecutors had asked for 60 years.

Al Jazeera is launching a new TV news channel in the United States. The network will be available in almost 48 million US households, offering 14 hours of news each day. Al Jazeera replaces Current TV, the cable television network founded by former US Vice President Al Gore, which the Qatar-owned broadcaster acquired in January 2013 for around 500m dollars.