
A month after the provisional entry into force of the trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and Mercosur, exchanges have been governed since May 1 by the terms agreed upon, while political and legal attention in Brussels centers on the EU Court of Justice, which must rule on the validity of the mechanism chosen to launch the treaty.

Argentina's economy minister, Luis Caputo, ruled out on Tuesday that Kirchnerism could win the 2027 presidential election and, in particular, that the governor of Buenos Aires province, Axel Kicillof, could reach the presidency. Speaking before the Argentine-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (CAMBRAS), the minister also projected that the Central Bank (BCRA) would overshoot the reserve-buying target agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

A day after US President Donald Trump announced an agreement to end the military clashes in Lebanon, the fighting continued on Tuesday with little change from previous days. Israel is limiting itself to not striking Beirut, but its bombings killed 12 people in various parts of the country. Hezbollah, for its part, kept firing, though it stopped aiming at the Israeli towns farthest from the border that it had recently been targeting.

Uruguay's president, Yamandú Orsi, used a vehicle that had been donated to his 2024 election campaign as part of the payment for the Hyundai he bought days before taking office, according to the weekly Búsqueda, which reconstructed the deal from various sources. The car, a Renault Stepway, had been provided by the dealership CarOne during the Frente Amplio's presidential campaign.

La Paz has spent a month under blockade. The main roads into Bolivia's administrative capital have been cut for four weeks, and shortages of food and fuel worsen by the day. Frustration is mounting among residents: some demand the resignation of President Rodrigo Paz for failing to keep his campaign promises, while others call for a firm hand and the deployment of the army to lift the siege. Most agree that the president, who took office less than seven months ago, should have acted sooner, when the protests began.

The Falkland Islands will mark the 44th anniversary of Liberation Day on Sunday, June 14, commemorating the end of the 1982 Argentine occupation. The Falkland Islands Government (FIG) has released the official program of events, which will combine a religious service, a military parade and a civic reception in Stanley.

Chilean President José Antonio Kast on Monday delivered his first annual Cuenta Pública address before the National Congress, based in Valparaíso, in a speech of two hours and twenty-five minutes centred on the country's fiscal situation and on criticisms of the outgoing administration of leftist Gabriel Boric (2022-2026). The president denounced that the incoming executive received a preliminary structural fiscal deficit of 3.6% of Gross Domestic Product, more than double the 1.6% committed to by the previous government, and characterized the situation as an economic emergency requiring urgent measures.

The Falklands Legislative Assembly on 1 June marked British Overseas Territories Day with an institutional ceremony at Victory Green, in Stanley, in which the archipelago's flag flew alongside that of the United Kingdom throughout the day. The annual commemoration brings together the fourteen British Overseas Territories scattered across the Caribbean, the South Atlantic, the Antarctic, and the Pacific under a shared agenda of self-government and links with the administering power.

The following piece from The Conversation was presented Vicky Kapogianni Lecturer in EU and International Law, University of Reading and Eric Loefflad, Lecturer in Law, LLM Pathway Director for Human Rights Law and International Law with International Relations, University of Kent

Far-right lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella took first place in the first round of the Colombian presidential elections held on Sunday, in a result that contradicted all previous polls and immediately opened an institutional crisis. With 99% of polling stations counted in the preliminary tally, De la Espriella, of the Defensores de la Patria movement, reached 43.7% of the vote —some 10.3 million ballots—, while leftist senator Iván Cepeda, of the ruling Pacto Histórico, obtained 40.9% with 9,649,081 votes. The runoff will be held on 21 June and the inauguration is scheduled for 7 August.