Mercosur

• Sunday, March 13th 2016 - 22:22 UTC

  Argentine bonds: US Appeals court puts on hold Judge Griesa's lifting of injunctions

  

  United States appeals court put on hold a United States District Judge Thomas Griesa ruling lifting injunctions that have restricted Argentina from paying off some debts in light of the country’s US$6.5 billion offer to settle litigation over bonds in default since 2002.

• Sunday, March 13th 2016 - 21:50 UTC

  More than a million people fill the streets of Brazil demanding removal of Rousseff

  

  More than a million people have poured onto the streets of Brazil to demand the removal of the country's president Dilma Rousseff. The president is struggling to hold on to power in the face of a massive corruption scandal and the worst recession in decades.

• Sunday, March 13th 2016 - 16:54 UTC

  Cuba reiterates to Malcorra support for Argentina's Malvinas claim

  

  Argentina's foreign minister Susana Malcorra made a quick working visit to Cuba where she held talks with her peer Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla to address bilateral issues and also met the representatives from the Colombia-Farc peace talks which are taking place in Havana.

• Sunday, March 13th 2016 - 16:50 UTC

  Brazil's largest party agrees that if Rousseff is forced out, Temer will replace her

  

  Brazil's largest political party and decisive member of the ruling coalition said on Saturday it will take 30 days to decide whether to break with President Dilma Rousseff as she faces an impeachment battle. Calls within the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, PMDB, to ditch the coalition have been growing as Rousseff faces a bruising recession, a spiraling corruption scandal and a probe of alleged electoral violations, as well as possible impeachment.

• Saturday, March 12th 2016 - 07:21 UTC

  France's Total ready to begin drilling offshore Uruguay: risky project but it could be AN ”elephant''

  

  France’s Total SA announced it is preparing to begin drilling one of its most important offshore exploration wells in the Americas this year as it hunts for a giant oil field in Uruguayan waters. A discovery could extend an exploration boom in a country that currently imports all of its oil and gas needs.

• Saturday, March 12th 2016 - 06:59 UTC

  Brazilian political leaders discuss strategy in the event of a presidential removal

  

  After expressing support for former president Lula da Silva, the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) met with main opposition leaders who are demanding President Dilma Rousseff be impeached. President of the Senate and member of the PMDB Renán Calheiros held extensive talks with the strongest opposition force, the Brazilian Social Democratic Party (PSDB), led by Aécio Neves, and agreed a joint strategy to face the crisis.

• Friday, March 11th 2016 - 20:06 UTC

  Brazil's February inflation down, but central bank calls for structural reforms and budget control

  

  Brazil’s consumer-price index slowed in February, providing relief for the country’s central bank amid its efforts to curb inflationary pressures. The consumer-price index, IPCA, rose 0.90% in February, compared with an increase of 1.27% in January, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, or IBGE, said.

• Friday, March 11th 2016 - 20:03 UTC

  Rousseff rejects calls for her resignation and confirms Finance minister Barbosa

  

  Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff rejected calls for her resignation on Friday midst a political storm deepened by a massive corruption scandal and blamed her opponents for causing a crisis that has damaged the Brazilian economy. She also confirmed her Finance minister Nelson Barbosa.

• Friday, March 11th 2016 - 06:16 UTC

  Sao Paulo prosecutors insist on an arrest warrant for ex president Lula da Silva

  

  Sao Paulo state prosecutors in Brazil are seeking the arrest of former President Lula da Silva on charges of money laundering and identity fraud for concealing ownership of a beachfront apartment, his foundation said on Thursday. The effort to arrest the former president raised the stakes dramatically in the current crisis and was likely to further polarize protests on Sunday calling for the impeachment of president Dilma Rousseff.

• Friday, March 11th 2016 - 05:41 UTC

  Falklands' sovereignty statements, “an unnecessary provocation” says Argentine ambassador

  

  The private visit to Paraguay of Falkland Islands lawmaker Phyllis Rendell and her strong statements regarding sovereignty and the future of the Islands had an immediate reaction from the Argentine ambassador in Asunción Eduardo Zuain, who described the statements as an unnecessary provocation.