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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, August 5th 2026 - 16:33 UTC

Politics

  • Thursday, May 7th 2026 - 15:08 UTC

    Lula arrives at the White House to mend fences with Trump after a year of tariffs and disputes

    The Trump administration imposed in August 2025 a 50% tariff on Brazilian products that it explicitly linked to the Bolsonaro trial, a chapter that Lula handled with diplomatic firmness

    Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was received on Thursday by his American counterpart Donald Trump at the White House, in his first official visit to Washington since his return to power in 2023 and the second face-to-face meeting between the two leaders, following a brief 45-minute encounter on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur last October. The meeting, formalized as a working session rather than a state visit, seeks to consolidate the fragile bilateral truce reached after one of the most severe diplomatic crises in two centuries of relations between the two most populous democracies in the Americas.

  • Thursday, May 7th 2026 - 14:06 UTC

    United Kingdom votes in key local elections that put Starmer's leadership to the test

    This British electoral day is compounded by international tensions that have marked the recent months of the Labour government

    British voters head to the polls on Thursday, May 7, in an election that will see the renewal of more than 5,000 seats across 136 local councils in England, six directly elected mayoralties, and the devolved parliaments of Scotland and Wales, in what various analysts and pollsters describe as the toughest electoral test for Prime Minister Keir Starmer since he took office in July 2024. Polling stations opened at 7:00 a.m. local time and will close at 10:00 p.m., with most results expected by Friday afternoon.

  • Thursday, May 7th 2026 - 09:31 UTC

    Brazil central bank cuts Selic interest rate 25 points to 14.50%

    The cut anticipated by markets, marked the second consecutive 25 basis point cut since the Central Bank initiated its current loosening cycle last month.

    Brazil’s Central Bank following its two days meeting 28–29 April of the Monetary Policy Committee (COPOM) announced the reduction of its SELIC rate by 25 basis points to 14.50%.

  • Thursday, May 7th 2026 - 09:18 UTC

    Gun salutes to mark third anniversary of King’s coronation

    The 13-pounders that were used in the First World War are still seeing service – albeit ceremonial this time (Picture: BFBS)

    Regular soldiers and members of the Army Reserve have paid their respects to King Charles and Queen Camilla by firing a number of royal gun salutes on the third anniversary of their coronation.

  • Wednesday, May 6th 2026 - 16:38 UTC

    El Salvador puts 486 MS-13 leaders on trial for 29,000 killings in process Bukele compares to Nuremberg

    President Nayib Bukele described as “historic” and compared to the Nuremberg trials against Nazi leaders after the Second World War

    El Salvador launched in late April the largest trial in the country's history against 486 alleged leaders of the Mara Salvatrucha-13, accused of ordering more than 29,000 killings committed between 2012 and 2022, in a process President Nayib Bukele described as “historic” and compared to the Nuremberg trials against Nazi leaders after the Second World War. The proceedings, held before a specialized tribunal with anonymous judges, represent the first case worldwide in which the “command responsibility” principle has been applied to a gang structure.

  • Wednesday, May 6th 2026 - 12:14 UTC

    Uruguay's president meets Brazilian executives in São Paulo to open 'new phase' of commercial ties

    The meetings, held throughout Tuesday, gathered executives from the mining, logistics, banking, food, tourism, pulp, soybean, pharmaceutical, metallurgical and supermarket sectors

    Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi made a day trip to São Paulo on Tuesday to meet Brazilian business leaders interested in investing in Uruguay, in an agenda Foreign Minister Mario Lubetkin described as an opportunity to “move to a new phase in the levels of commercial development and Brazilian investments” in the South American country. The official delegation included Lubetkin himself, Economy and Finance Minister Gabriel Oddone, Uruguay's ambassador to Brazil Rodolfo Nin Novoa, and the executive director of investment promotion agency Uruguay XXI, Mariana Ferreira.

  • Wednesday, May 6th 2026 - 01:45 UTC

    Just one day after its launch, Trump halts Hormuz reopening operation and turns to negotiations with Iran

    The announcement came hours after Rubio told reporters at the White House that Operation Epic Fury had concluded after achieving its objectives

    US President Donald Trump on Tuesday night announced the suspension of “Project Freedom,” the military operation launched barely 24 hours earlier to escort stranded vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, citing significant progress toward a peace agreement with Iran. The announcement, posted on his Truth Social platform, contradicted the messaging sustained throughout the day by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Joint Chiefs chairman General Dan Caine, all of whom had framed the operation as a non-negotiable humanitarian rescue mission for stranded sailors.

  • Tuesday, May 5th 2026 - 22:18 UTC

    Falklands monitor MV Hondius hantavirus outbreak and clarify the route did not include the islands

    The Falkland Islands Government announced that the KEMH “will review its policies for receiving unwell passengers off cruise ships, on a case-by-case basis”

    The Falkland Islands Government issued an official statement on Tuesday confirming that it is closely monitoring the hantavirus outbreak aboard the polar cruise ship MV Hondius — a vessel that frequently operates in the archipelago's waters — and took the opportunity to correct information reported by some international media outlets suggesting that the ship had stopped at the islands on its current voyage from Ushuaia. The Falkland Islands Maritime Authority clarified that this information is incorrect and that the Hondius's most recent visit to the archipelago was in mid-February, weeks before the journey that triggered the current health crisis.

  • Tuesday, May 5th 2026 - 18:28 UTC

    Bullrich vows that Argentina's government will capture former guerrilla Apablaza for extradition to Chile

    Apablaza, a former member of the Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front, is identified by Chilean justice as the mastermind of the assassination of Senator Jaime Guzmán, architect of the 1980 Constitution

    Argentine senator and former Security Minister Patricia Bullrich said in Santiago on Tuesday that Javier Milei's government maintains “the firm determination” to locate Chilean former guerrilla Galvarino Sergio Apablaza, on the run since April 1 in Argentine territory, in order to extradite him to Chile. “If he is in Argentina, we are going to find him. That is the commitment of the Argentine president, it is the commitment of the government,” Bullrich told local media during her visit to the Andean country, where she will meet with Chilean President José Antonio Kast.

  • Tuesday, May 5th 2026 - 18:10 UTC

    Falkland House in London hosts an exhibition of ceramic work by Graham Bound

    Graham Bound, who was born and raised in the Falkland Islands, is widely known as a journalist and writer. Among his achievements, he founded the weekly newspaper Penguin News and he has authored several books focusing on the 1982 war and the present-day Falklands, from the perspective of the Islanders.