Following on the lead of Uruguay's new government, Paraguay has also demanded Mercosur returns to its roots and original objective with free circulation of goods and no obstructions of any kind or impediments such as tariff barriers. The five countries group has been paralyzed and negotiations for an encompassing cooperation and trade agreement with the European Union remain stalled.
A giant manta ray of approximately 1.000 kilos was caught by Peruvian unsuspecting fishermen operating at La Cruz inlet, north of the country close to the Ecuadorian border, according to Lima media. Erick Cruz Guerrero, 22 was the young crew member that finally captured the giant manta ray which had to be unloaded with a crane.
Leaders of Cuba's Catholic Church expressed joy Wednesday on learning that Pope Francis will visit the island in September amid the budding Vatican-mediated rapprochement between Havana and Washington. Francis will stop in Cuba before his Sept. 23 meeting in the United States with President Barack Obama.
United States NOAA Fisheries (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) has released its 2015 Biennial Report to Congress highlighting U.S. findings and analyses of foreign illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities and of by-catch of protected species and shark catch on the high seas for foreign fleets.
A new World Bank Group report, “Shared Prosperity and Poverty Eradication in Latin America and the Caribbean”, explores the performance of eight countries to understand what has driven progress, and what it will take to sustain it.
Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo arrived in the Cuban capital on Monday heading a large delegation of business people interested in learning firsthand the Cuban reality and making contacts for future business endeavors. Cuomo was welcomed at the José Martí International Airport by Josefina Vidal, head of the USA desk at the Cuban Foreign Ministry.
In its latest semiannual report, “Latin America Treads a Narrow Path to Growth: The Slowdown and its Macroeconomic Challenges,” the World Bank´s Office of the Chief Economist for Latin America and the Caribbean forecasts a fourth year of slow growth for the region.
Uruguay's president Tabare Vazquez announced that when he meets with Brazil's Dilma Rousseff next month, they will consider as a priority how to get the Mercosur-European Union talks for a trade agreement rolling again.
The Union of South American Nations, Unasur will celebrate this Friday its eighth anniversary with the official opening of the South American Defense School (Esude) created to instruct on defense and security issues, both at civil and military level, following 'the principles of a regional strategic vision'.
Pope Francis will make his first visit as pontiff to Spanish-speaking Latin America in July, stopping in Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay, the Vatican said Thursday. The pope will kick off his trip in Ecuador on July 6, then travel to Bolivia on July 8 and wrap up his tour in Paraguay from July 10 to 12.