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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, March 16th 2026 - 01:50 UTC

Politics

  • Sunday, January 7th 2018 - 08:14 UTC

    Chaos in Venezuela as shops are ordered to cut prices to last month's levels

    “We’re hungry! We want food!” screamed the crowd, which included babies, pensioners and children with disabilities. (Pic AFP)

    Mobs gathered outside some Caracas supermarkets on Saturday after the government ordered shops to slash prices, creating chaos as desperate Venezuelans leapt at the chance to buy cheaper food as the country’s worsening economy causes severe shortages.

  • Sunday, January 7th 2018 - 07:45 UTC

    Ecuador names new vice president; Correa begins campaign against referendum to limit re-election

    Psychologist Maria Alejandra Vicuña, who was serving as interim vice president and minister of urban development and housing was officially confirmed

    Ecuador has chosen a new vice president to replace Jorge Glas, who was sentenced to six years in jail for his role in a bribery scheme involving Odebrecht, the Brazilian company at the center of Latin America’s biggest corruption scandal. Lawmakers selected Maria Alejandra Vicuña in a vote on Saturday.

  • Saturday, January 6th 2018 - 09:54 UTC

    “Fire and Fury” becomes an instant bestseller despite Trump's threats

    The book by Michael Wolff portrays Trump as unprepared and unfit for the demands of the presidency, and a White House in chaos in its initial six months

    President Donald Trump legal threat aimed at “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House”” appears to have the effect of making the book an early 2018 hot-selling title. On its first day of release, bookstores in major cities like Washington D.C., New York, and Los Angeles reported selling out of the initial order, and other shops in places like Oxford, Miss., and Shaker Heights, Ohio, also said that buyers quickly snatched up copies of their first batch.

  • Friday, January 5th 2018 - 10:57 UTC

    Maduro announced the bonus of Reyes Magos of almost a minimum wage

    Maduro will grant a bonus with the equivalent of US$ 3.9, to those who possess the Carnet de la Patria, an identity document created by the government that serves to regulate the purchase of food

    Four days before the beginning of an election year in Venezuela, President Nicolás Maduro announced on national television that he will grant a bonus of 500,000 bolivares, the equivalent of US$ 3.9, to those who possess the Carnet de la Patria, an identity document created by the government that serves to regulate the purchase of food and tools with which users can access pensions or bonuses of this style in exchange for their loyalty to the government party.

  • Friday, January 5th 2018 - 10:50 UTC

    Blair blasts Labour's “timidity” on a Brexit designed by the “Tory right”

    Blair urged the party he once led to “nail” the “myths” of the Brexit campaign, and fight for the rights of voters to “think again” about leaving

    Ex Labour prime minister Tony Blair has attacked Labor's “timidity” on Brexit, saying it would deliver a departure from the EU designed by the “Tory right”. He urged the party he once led to “nail” the “myths” of the Brexit campaign - and fight for the rights of voters to “think again” about leaving. He said 2018 would be the year the fate of Britain would be decided.

  • Friday, January 5th 2018 - 10:44 UTC

    Crackdown on phantom employees, “gnocchi”, in the Argentine Congress

    Authorities have begun proceedings to remove 160 of them from their positions, while 30 others decided to resign when confronted with evidence of absenteeism

    Nearly 200 phantom workers at Argentina's parliament have been caught in a crackdown on employees who only show up sporadically for their jobs, it has been reported. According to La Nacion, the Argentine Congress implemented a new attendance control system for employees two months ago, and it has already caught 190 who had not shown up for long periods without a good explanation.

  • Friday, January 5th 2018 - 10:36 UTC

    Temer dressed in jogging gear said he was “fully recovered”

    Dressed in jogging gear and flanked by bodyguards, a grinning Temer gave the “thumbs-up” sign and declared he had “fully recovered”

    Brazil’s President Michel Temer appeared keen to demonstrate on Thursday he had recovered from his latest bout of ill health, inviting the press to photograph him during a brisk walk in a Brasilia park. Temer, 77, last month underwent a “minor surgical procedure” to resolve a urethral obstruction at the Sirio-Libanes Hospital in Sao Paulo.

  • Friday, January 5th 2018 - 10:06 UTC

    Falklands new Chief of Justice has very close links with the Islands

    James Lewis QC commented that he was very much looking forward “to taking up the appointment of Chief Justice and getting to know the Falkland Islands”

    On instructions from the Secretary of State, His Excellency the Governor has formally appointed Mr James Lewis QC as the Honorable the Chief Justice of the Falkland Islands. Mr Lewis was officially sworn in by the Governor at a ceremony held at Government House on Thursday 4 January.

  • Friday, January 5th 2018 - 09:39 UTC

    Scottish seafood processing industry threatened by Brexit: most workers from EEA

    Rural Economy Secretary, Fergus Ewing, said that the study shows the Scottish seafood processing sector dependency on EEA workers

    A study into employment patterns of non-UK workers showed that 58% of Scottish seafood processing business employees come from other countries of the European Economic Area (EEA).

  • Friday, January 5th 2018 - 08:08 UTC

    Falklands congratulate Gibraltar political leader on his knighthood

    MLA Teslyn Barkman, said: “We were delighted to learn of Sir Joe receiving this well-deserved honour and offer him our warmest congratulations.”

    The Falkland Islands Government, FIG, has congratulated Gibraltar minister Joe Bossano on being awarded a knighthood in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List for 2018. In a statement in which it described Sir Joe as a “long-standing friend of the Falkland Islands”, FIG said he has spoken vociferously in support of Falkland Islander’s right to self-determination at various international forums.