
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived on Monday to Fortaleza, Brazil for a summit of the BRICS countries. The sixth summit of the BRICS, which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, will be held in Brazil from Tuesday to Wednesday.

William Hague is stepping down as UK Foreign Secretary, the government said on Monday, as Prime Minister David Cameron reshuffled his cabinet in an apparent attempt to build a winning team for the general election in May next year.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has praised a very special World Cup in Brazil on Monday and gave the hosts a mark of 9.25 out of 10, slightly better that the 9 he had given South Africa four years ago.

A majority of Uruguayan believe the current government is on the right course but its performance is not satisfactory, according to a local public opinion poll from FACTUM. In effect seven out of ten agree with the course but the same percentages believe the performance is bad.

Laura Silva has just returned to Uruguay after successfully completing her Diplomacy Master’s degree in Oxford, sponsored by a Chevening scholarship. The following is a piece Ms Silva wrote about her experience at Oxford University.

The Paraguayan currency, Guaraní, is expected to revalue 1.4% against the US dollar by the end of the year becoming one Latam's strongest given its positive macroeconomic indicators. This follows a strong performance during the first half of the year when the price of the dollar in the capital Asunción wholesale money exchanges dropped from 4.450 Guaraní to 4.240, according to private consultants Consensus Economics.

President Cristina Fernandez confirmed Russia’s interest in investing in Argentina's Vaca Muerta shale formation in Patagonia and announced that a Russian delegation will travel soon to the area, which holds one of the largest shale gas and oil reserves of the world.

Russia's president Vladimir Putin has got involved in the Falkland Islands row, urging Britain it must sit down with Argentina for fresh talks to resolve the dispute, as indicated by the United Nations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed on Saturday a nuclear energy cooperation deal with Argentina on the third stop (Cuba, Nicaragua) of a tour to bolster trade ties and strengthen Russia’s influence in Latin America.

Brazil was humiliated when its national team was run over 7-1 at the hands of Germany in the World Cup semifinals and later 3-0 against Holland, but the authorities breathed sighs of relief as the tournament came to a close on Sunday with Germany’s victory over Argentina, amid muted street protests and a display of Brazil’s ability to successfully organize sporting mega-events.