
More than 30 countries set the first-ever deadline on Tuesday to end deforestation by 2030, but the feasibility of such a goal was eroded when a key player, Brazil, said it would not join.

Once the EU and Mercosur exchange their proposals for a free trade agreement, negotiations will 'move fast' and the deal should be closed sometime in 2015, according to EU ambassador in Montevideo, Juan Fernandez Trigo. But he also pointed out that he expected Mercosur proposal to be in accordance with terms established in 2010.

Foreign affairs ministers from Mercosur and the Pacific Alliance will be meeting next 24 November in Santiago de Chile to explore a possible integration between the two blocks according to Paraguay's foreign minister Eladio Loizaga.

The original Mercosur is over; it has been reduced to a political block with a three member board, Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela, according to Demetrio Magnoli a renowned Folha de Sao Paulo columnist who added that the 'political' Mercosur has helped the Alliance of the Pacific to advance.

Argentina's Senate on Thursday passed a bill aimed at circumventing U.S. court decisions regarding its defaulted debt by changing payment jurisdiction, sending the proposal to the lower house Chamber of Deputies for final approval. The chamber, like the Senate, is controlled by government allies who are expected to vote the bill into law.

NML Capital Ltd, a creditor suing Argentina in the U.S. courts for full payment on defaulted debt, subpoenaed 18 banks last week in an effort to track down 65 million dollars in what it says is embezzled Argentine money laundered through the United States.

Uruguay's main opposition candidate for October's contested presidential election was the victim of a Watergate break-in crime at the offices of the agency which is running his surprisingly successful campaign.

Recently released data shows that the Falkland Islands Gross Domestic Product (GDP) continues to be volatile: expanding considerably during some years and shrinking in others. For example, 2012, a year of intense hydrocarbons activity the per capita for a population of 2.562, in the books soared to £77.400.

With Brazil battling recession and inflation a month away from the presidential election, the Central bank kept its key interest rate on hold at 11%. Traders and analysts had forecast no change and the central bank's monetary policy commission (Copom) duly decided to leave all quiet following its monthly two-day meeting.

Bilateral trade between Mercosur leading partners Argentina and Brazil plummeted 27.6% in August and 22% in the last twelve months, according to Buenos Aires consultants, Abeceb. Recession in Brazil plus strict Argentine trade restrictions and slower domestic demand has contributed to the results.