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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, July 8th 2025 - 10:02 UTC

Politics

  • Wednesday, February 7th 2018 - 21:55 UTC

    Colombian government refuses to close its border with Venezuela

    There are at least 600,000 Venezuelans on Colombian ground. Many of whom are in transit to Chile, Ecuador or Peru

    At least 8,000 Venezuelans cross the border between Colombia and Venezuela daily to the department of Arauca, southeast of Colombia. Although the migratory flow at this point does not compare with the thirty or forty thousand Venezuelans who cross the Simón Bolívar bridge between Santander and Táchira every day, in Arauca the majority of migrants arrive in conditions of extreme vulnerability.

  • Wednesday, February 7th 2018 - 15:23 UTC

    Powell becomes chairman of the Fed in a turbulent trading day

    President Donald Trump picked Powell after deciding to break with recent tradition by not offering Yellen a second four-year term.

    Jerome Powell was sworn as the 16th chairman of the Federal Reserve on what turned out to be a turbulent day for Wall Street, with the Dow Jones industrial average plunging by more than 1,100 points. Powell, 65, was given the oath of office by Randal Quarles, the Fed's vice chairman for supervision, in a ceremony that took place before stock trading opened on Wall Street.

  • Wednesday, February 7th 2018 - 09:35 UTC

    Another Temer minister appointment on the cliff

    Cristiane Brasil, the government’s would-be labor minister, has twice had her appointment blocked by courts over her conviction for violating labor laws.

    With Brazil’s unpopular government battling to hold together a congressional coalition, President Michel Temer has been unlucky with his pick of cabinet ministers. Seven quit or were fired in his first year in office, four of them following allegations of wrongdoing. Among them, Geddel Vieira Lima, who was eventually arrested after police identified his fingerprints in an apartment filled with US$16 million in cash.

  • Wednesday, February 7th 2018 - 09:17 UTC

    Trump manages to unite the UK political system in praise of the healthcare system

    Trump's tweet came after ex-UKIP leader Nigel Farage appeared on Fox And Friends, one of the president's favorite shows, talking about the weekend march.

    United States president Donald Trump has sparked a backlash from UK politicians by attacking the National Health Service. In a tweet criticising US Democrats pushing for a universal health system, he said “thousands of people are marching” in the UK because the NHS is “going broke and not working”. This was believed to be a reference to a Save the NHS march on Downing Street on Saturday, demanding more funding.

  • Wednesday, February 7th 2018 - 09:08 UTC

    German industrial labor win the right to reduced working flexible hours

    The deal covers one million workers in Baden-Württemberg state and also gives them a pay rise. It could be extended to 3.9 million industrial workers in Germany

    Industrial workers in south-western Germany have won the right to reduced working hours as part of a deal that could benefit millions of employees across the country. Workers will be able to reduce their weekly hours from 35 to 28 for up to two years to look after their families.

  • Wednesday, February 7th 2018 - 08:55 UTC

    EU draft proposes strict conditions for UK in the post-Brexit transition period

    It is revealed in a draft section of the UK and EU's withdrawal agreement, which has yet to be finalized. UK says the document reflects the EU's “stated directives”.

    The European Union wants to be able to restrict the UK's access to the single market if there is a dispute after Brexit, a leaked document suggests. The power to suspend “certain benefits” would apply during the post-Brexit transition phase before the final arrangements come into force.

  • Wednesday, February 7th 2018 - 08:03 UTC

    Francis sends sex-crimes expert bishop to investigate Chilean clergy

    “The day someone brings me proof against Bishop Barros, then I will talk,” Francis said outside the northern Chilean city of Iquique on Jan. 19.

    Pope Francis is sending a representative, a sex crimes expert, to Chile to investigate whether a bishop there covered up years of abuse, the Vatican announced. The announcement comes after the pope faced backlash earlier this month during a visit to Chile.

  • Wednesday, February 7th 2018 - 07:50 UTC

    Venezuela desperate after US dollars; greenback costs 228.000 Bolivars in the black market

    The central bank said the first auction of its new DICOM system yielded an exchange rate of 30,987.5 bolivars per euro, equivalent to around 25,000 per dollar.

    Venezuela’s central bank announced a devaluation of more than 99% of its official exchange rate with the launch of a new foreign exchange platform, a move critics quickly said would not create a functioning currency market.

  • Tuesday, February 6th 2018 - 09:31 UTC

    Paraguayan guerrilla frees two Mennonite men held hostage, following ransom payment

    The two Mennonites were abducted by the Paraguayan People's Army (EPP), a Marxist rebel group which has carried out a string of kidnappings and killings

    A Paraguayan guerrilla group has freed two Mennonite men it had been holding hostage for five months. The two were released after their families paid a ransom and handed over food to local communities, Paraguayan media report.

  • Tuesday, February 6th 2018 - 09:17 UTC

    Ecuadorean president wins referendum, barring Correa's hopes of reelection

    “The victory of the ‘yes’ vote opens the path for us to work together, confrontation is a thing of the past,” Moreno said in a televised broadcast

    Ecuadoreans on Sunday voted to prevent presidents from holding more than two terms in office, according to the elections council, a win for President Lenin Moreno that blocks his mentor-turned-adversary Rafael Correa from returning to power. The results from the referendum, called by Moreno, roll back a measure Correa pushed through Congress in 2015 to allow unlimited presidential re-election.