Ecuador President Rafael Correa said that his government was “tired” of pushing OPEC to decrease output and that the nation would keep working as if the oil cartel “did not exist.”
Brazil's ex president Lula da Silva declared that there is “no more honest living soul in the country” than him, as he angrily rejected new corruption allegations linking himself and some of his relatives to the corruption scandal involving state-run oil company Petrobras.
Slumping crude prices have investors and analysts warning of a potential messy default in Venezuela, with state-owned oil company PDVSA owing some US$10 billion in external debt payments due this year. With crude hovering around US$28 per barrel, Venezuela could have trouble satisfying its obligations.
Argentine President Mauricio Macri met on Thursday with British Prime Minister David Cameron in Davos as both leaders attend the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. The atmosphere of the meeting was described as 'very positive' and several steps of a new relationship were announced, while the Falklands/Malvinas issue was left for further on.
The United Kingdom government has released a statement pointing out the “three areas” British Prime Minister David Cameron and President Mauricio Macri “covered” during their Davos meeting on Thursday.
The United States is ending its policy of opposing most lending to Argentina from multilateral development banks, the US Treasury Department announced. US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew informed Argentine Finance Minister Alfonso Prat-Gay of the move on Thursday when the two met in Davos, Switzerland, the department said in a statement.
Gianni Infantino has secured the backing of the German and Icelandic FAs and could end the week with significant support from Europe’s 53 federations after meetings in Nyon. The Iceland FA confirmed support on Thursday, with Infantino tweeting Many thanks to the Football Association of Iceland for the support. Together we can take FIFA forward!
Colombia’s government and rebel guerrillas Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) agreed to jointly ask the United Nations Security Council to help monitor and verify a future rebel disarmament, should the two sides reach a final peace deal to end their 50-year-old war, crossing a major stepping stone on the road to ending Latin America’s longest-running conflict.
Pope Francis told members of the world's wealthy political and economic elite that they should not be deaf to the cry of the poor and must consider their own role in creating inequality. New technologies such as robotics must also not be allowed to replace humans with soulless machines, he said in a message to the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Argentine Finance Minister Alfonso Prat-Gay is planning to meet with IMF's Christine Lagarde at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to discuss resuming formal ties with the international lender, according to a report published by Bloomberg.