
Secretary of State John Kerry sent best US wishes to the Argentine people on the 200 years of its declaration of independence on July 9, and underlined that both countries “are regional leaders and long time friends”.

Uruguay ratified on Thursday its willingness to transfer the Mercosur presidency to Venezuela despite objections from the other members, Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. In a brief statement in its official site, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Uruguay, currently holding the Mercosur pro tempore chair reiterates its position to proceed to transfer the presidency, in abidance with what is established by the current Mercosur rules.

Two women Theresa May and Andrea Leadsom are battling to become the next leader of the British Conservative party and thus prime minister, the first time since the late Margaret Thatcher. After the second MPs ballot on Thursday, Home Secretary May finished with 199 votes, Energy Minister Mrs. Leadsom 84 and Michael Gove, the justice secretary, 46.

Federal Reserve policymakers decided in June that interest rate hikes should stay on hold until they have a handle on the consequences of Britain's vote on EU membership, according to the minutes of the Fed's June policy meeting released on Wednesday.

Brazil's suspended president Dilma Rousseff rejected attempts to impeach her as an injustice in a defense filing Wednesday, as a decision on her political fate moved a step closer. The affair has rocked Brazil as it struggles with a recession and corruption scandals ahead of next month's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Former Argentine President Cristina Fernandez on Wednesday filed a complaint against the judge who recently opened an investigation into allegations she defrauded the state as part of her government's handling of the dollar futures market. Fernandez, who governed Argentina from 2007 to 2015, filed the complaint against judge Claudio Bonadio after appearing in his court in connection with the case.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has said he opposes a race to the bottom of competitive tax cuts. He spoke after George Osborne pledged to cut UK corporation tax in response to the Brexit vote and from Paris, in an attempt to attract UK businesses, the French government promised its taxes will be the most favorable in Europe.

The United States pushed the UK into military action in Iraq too early, a former British ambassador to the UN has said in the wake of the Chilcot report. The long-awaited report said ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair had overstated the threat posed by Saddam Hussein - and military action was not a last resort.

The deep differences among Mercosur members as to who should hold the group's rotating chair this second half of the year surfaced openly in Montevideo with the surprise visit of Brazilian foreign minister Jose Serra and ex president Fernando Henrique Cardoso. The Brazilin delegation formally requested Uruguay, which currently holds the six/month Mercosur chair to suspend the transfer to Venezuela until at least August.

The central Spanish Government and regional authorities in Andalucia are taking an increasingly-close interest on the impact that a United Kingdom withdrawal from the EU could have on communities in the Campo de Gibraltar, neighbouring with the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, and the region as a whole.