
Paraguay's Foreign Minister Euclides Acevedo said the Bi-Oceanic Corridor will bring Mercosur's entire economic development closer to Asia. His remarks came at a press conference after meeting with his Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi in Tokyo earlier this week.

House of Lords have defeated the Boris Johnson government in backing a move aimed at ensuring troops accused of the most serious offences are normally tried in a civilian court. The House of Lords supported the presumption against such cases being dealt with by the military justice system by 210 votes to 190, majority 20.

Several Swiss banks have been reprimanded for breaching laundering rules involving people linked to Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA, and have been ordered to terminate all business links with Venezuelan clients as well as with risky clients.

According to UK news reports, the British government is becoming quite desperate about the asylum seekers braving the English Channel, a record 25,000 so far this year, and all sorts of radical measures to contain the increase in arrivals are being considered, including sending the refugees south to the Falkland Islands.

An international team of scientists led by the British Antarctic Survey have published research on using new technology to study mass stranding of whales from space and how the technology could be used to help protect populations.

Russia announced to Brazil that it was reopening its market for a quota of up to 300,000 tons of meat, at zero tariffs, including 200,000 tons of beef and 100,000 tons of pork. Likewise, Russia lifted restrictions on beef exports from a Minerva processing plant and certified a second plant to begin shipments.

A new COVID-19 strain which is less likely to cause noticeable symptoms has been reported to be spreading throughout the United Kingdom. The AY.4.2 variant is believed to account for around 12% of the cases nationwide, in addition to being 15% more infectious than other strains known up to Nov. 5.

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has explained in an interview published over the weekend that he wants to return to power “so that people can eat three times a day.”

Sir Stephen Lovegrove, the UK's National Security Adviser, says the future of the sea is under threat. Speaking at the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain, he said states have chosen to openly contest, selectively reinterpret or discreetly subvert freedom of navigation.

The German Federal State of Baden-Württemberg has determined unvaccinated residents will be kept under curfew in three of its districts between 9 pm and 5 am unless they have authorization for work reasons or a medical emergency as COVID-19 cases in the country have been reported to be on the rise.