Politics

• Friday, May 1st 2026 - 12:12 UTC

  Pentagon seals artificial intelligence agreements with seven tech giants

  

  The United States Department of War announced the signing of agreements with seven leading technology companies to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) tools into classified operational environments. The contracts, which include SpaceX, OpenAI, Google, NVIDIA, Reflection, Microsoft, and Amazon Web Services, seek to consolidate Washington's military technological leadership.

• Friday, May 1st 2026 - 11:13 UTC

  Caracas and Washington launch direct flights after seven years and sign two oil deals

  

  The United States and Venezuela inaugurated on Thursday the first direct air connection between the two countries since 2019 and signed two new energy agreements, in a day the White House described as a substantive advance in the “economic revitalization” phase of the three-stage plan designed by President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to reorganize the bilateral relationship following the capture of former president Nicolás Maduro by US troops on January 3.

• Friday, May 1st 2026 - 07:44 UTC

  Brent touches $126 amid US military plan for 'short and powerful' strikes on Iran

  

  Brent crude touched $126.41 a barrel on Thursday, its highest level since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, after Axios reported that the US Central Command (CENTCOM) was preparing a military plan contemplating a wave of “short and powerful” strikes on Iranian infrastructure to force Tehran back to the negotiating table. The price subsequently moderated to close near $114, a decline partly attributed to the expiration of the June futures contract, but the European benchmark has gained more than 60% since the start of the war against Iran on February 28.

• Friday, May 1st 2026 - 06:40 UTC

  After 25 years of negotiation, the Mercosur-EU agreement takes effect this Friday

  

  The association agreement between Mercosur and the European Union (EU) enters provisionally into force on Friday May 1, after more than a quarter-century of negotiations, in what constitutes one of the world's most ambitious trade deals and the largest reciprocal opening ever finalised by the South American bloc. The final signing took place on January 17 in Asunción and, although final ratification by the European Court of Justice and subsequent approval by the European Parliament remain pending, provisional entry into force allows the immediate start of tariff reductions covering 95% of Mercosur products and 91% of EU products.

• Thursday, April 30th 2026 - 13:25 UTC

  Brazil's fiscal deficit climbs to 9.41% of GDP amid economic slowdown and election year

  

  Brazil's nominal public sector deficit reached 9.41% of gross domestic product in the twelve months to March 2026, nearly one percentage point higher than the previous period, according to data published on Thursday by the Central Bank. The combined shortfall of all public administrations — central government, states, and municipalities — stood at 1.21 trillion reais, equivalent to around $244 billion, in one of the highest readings in recent years for Latin America's largest economy.

• Thursday, April 30th 2026 - 13:18 UTC

  European Parliament urges sanctions on Venezuela to remain until verifiable democratic progress

  

  The European Parliament approved on Thursday, by a wide majority, a resolution urging the Council of the European Union not to lift sanctions imposed on those responsible for human rights violations in Venezuela until the country adopts “significant measures toward a peaceful transition to democracy.” The text, promoted by the European People's Party, gained 507 votes in favor, 31 against, and 35 abstentions, and was backed even by the Socialists and Democrats group despite internal divergences over the strategy toward the government of acting President Delcy Rodríguez.

• Thursday, April 30th 2026 - 13:09 UTC

  US intervention forces end to decade of statistical opacity at Venezuela's Central Bank

  

  The Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) has begun systematically publishing economic indicators that had been held under wraps for at least a decade, in an institutional shift driven by the US military intervention that culminated on January 3 with the capture of former president Nicolás Maduro and by the subsequent reconfiguration of Venezuela's financial system under Washington's oversight. The updating of historical series on the central bank's website now makes it possible to learn for the first time in years that monthly inflation reached 32% in January, 14.6% in February and 13.1% in March, while the year-on-year figure stood at 649.5% at the end of the first quarter.

• Thursday, April 30th 2026 - 03:39 UTC

  US troops train in Argentina with USS Nimitz in Atlantic Dagger exercise

  

  US troops began joint maneuvers on Tuesday with their Argentine counterparts as part of the “Atlantic Dagger” exercise, one of the broadest joint military operations between the two countries in decades, alongside the deployment of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz in South Atlantic waters. The simultaneous presence of special forces on Argentine soil and a US naval strike group off the Atlantic coast forms part of a single package authorized by President Javier Milei through Necessity and Urgency Decree 264/2026, after Congress failed to take up a 2025 bill to enable the entry of foreign troops.

• Thursday, April 30th 2026 - 01:47 UTC

  'I committed no crime': Adorni weathers opposition pressure in Congress with full Milei's backing

  

  Argentine Cabinet Chief Manuel Adorni refused to resign on Wednesday during his first management report before the Chamber of Deputies, in a seven-hour session marked by allegations of alleged illicit enrichment against him and by the unprecedented presence of President Javier Milei in the chamber's gallery, alongside his sister and Secretary General of the Presidency Karina Milei, and the entire cabinet. “I committed no crime and I will prove it in court,” Adorni told the plenary, on a day the ruling party sought to turn into a political show of support and that the opposition transformed into a parallel trial.

• Wednesday, April 29th 2026 - 15:08 UTC

  Lula's Supreme Court nominee defends limits on judicial power in Brazilian Senate hearing

  

  Jorge Messias, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's nominee to fill the open seat at the Federal Supreme Court (STF), defended on Wednesday before the Senate the need to limit the power of judges, in a bid to expand support for his candidacy in what is shaping up to be a closely contested vote. The Solicitor General of the Union appeared before the Constitution and Justice Committee, where he made explicit overtures toward the Bolsonarist right-wing opposition, particularly critical of the country's top court's recent rulings.