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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, November 24th 2024 - 06:29 UTC

Politics

  • Thursday, June 27th 2024 - 22:37 UTC

    OAS unanimously condemns military revolt in Bolivia

    Violent interruptions to democracies need to be “banished from our countries,” the Bolivian delegate stressed

    The Organization of American States' General Assembly in session at Asunción, Paraguay, Thursday passed a “strong condemnation” of the attempted coup d'état in Bolivia the day before. The continental body dubbed Wednesday's events in La Paz a “threat to the constitutional regime.” It was also “a flagrant insubordination to the orders publicly expressed by the constitutional president Luis Arce Catacora,” the delegates concurred unanimously.

  • Thursday, June 27th 2024 - 22:00 UTC

    Panama Canal easing crossing conditions beginning July 11

    Incoming new Panama president Jose Raúl Mulino put water levels at the country’s canal as one of his most important items on his agenda

    The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has announced an increase in draft and daily transits, with the authorized draft raised by another 30 cm on Wednesday to 14.3 m, and will increase to 14.63 m on July 11.

  • Thursday, June 27th 2024 - 20:39 UTC

    Falklands MLAs in US and Canada, including “moving the dial at C24” on self determination

    Falklands team with Canadian chapter of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association

    The Falklands team has ended its successful tour and contacts in Canada, following on a very busy June in the US holding meetings with members of the US Congress, State Department, and NGOs, plus the annual farce of the United Nations Special Decolonization Committee, or C24, where its members, many of them with governments in open violation of the UN charter principles, particularly when it comes to human rights and peoples' rights, have the time to openly support Argentina's claim over the Falkland Islands.

  • Thursday, June 27th 2024 - 19:54 UTC

    Bolivian President thanks the support he received during the military uprising

    Arce eventually appointed new chiefs to head the Bolivian Armed Forces, General José Wilson Sánchez replacing Zúñiga

    Bolivian President Luis Arce Catacora thanked his fellow countrymen and the international community for their support Wednesday during the military uprising that was eventually quashed with the arrest of General Juan José Zúñiga and the other rebel leaders and officers.

  • Thursday, June 27th 2024 - 09:31 UTC

    Former Honduran president given 45-year prison sentence in US court

    The judge called Hernández a “two-faced politician hungry for power” who protected certain traffickers

    Former Honduran two-time President Juan Orlando Hernández (2014-2022) was sentenced to 45 years in jail by a US Federal Court in the Southern District of New York, which in practical terms will keep him behind bars for the rest of his life. The minimum sentence established by law was 40 years.

  • Thursday, June 27th 2024 - 09:26 UTC

    Brazil's STF sets 40 grams of marijuana cap between users and traffickers

    Barroso said the STF should set the amount because decisions concerning people's freedom were to be made and a criterion was needed

    Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) ruled Wednesday that 40 grams of marijuana or six female plants of Cannabis sativa was the limit marking the difference between personal consumption and trafficking, Agencia Brasil reported. The understanding was reached after a decision the previous day whereby using the substance for personal recreation or medicinal purposes should not be penalized. At the time, most justices concurred on this issue but disagreed on how to differentiate the two possibilities.

  • Thursday, June 27th 2024 - 09:20 UTC

    OAS General Assembly opening ceremony focuses on Bolivian crisis

    “We respond to evil with good,” Peña stressed

    As all attendees were focused on the ongoing crisis unfolding in Bolivia, Paraguayan President Santiago Peña opened the Organization of American States (OAS) 54th General Assembly in Asunción by highlighting that democracy was the way to fight transnational crime, drug trafficking, and terrorism.

  • Wednesday, June 26th 2024 - 21:47 UTC

    Attempted coup d'état in Bolivia: Military rebels enter Government Headquarters

    Zúñiga, dismissed just a day before the coup attempt, had openly opposed the possibility of former president Evo Morales returning to power

    In a dramatic escalation of political tension in Bolivia, a faction of the military led by ousted Army Chief Juan José Zúñiga has forcefully entered the Palacio Quemado, the seat of government in La Paz. President Luis Arce has called on citizens to “mobilize against the coup d'état,” emphasizing the importance of defending democracy

  • Wednesday, June 26th 2024 - 19:08 UTC

    Assange lands in Canberra after 14-year ordeal

    Assange, 52, deplaned from the executive jet in a dark suit, white shirt, and tie, and with his fist in the air

    WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange finally landed in his native Australia after completing a series of formalities with US authorities in the Mariana Islands. But it was his wife Stella who spoke to the press to celebrate his arrival after a 14-year ordeal which included a spell at Ecuador's Embassy in London plus a stay at the Belmarsh maximum security prison in the British capital. Assange was expected to appear in front of the media after arriving in Canberra on a private flight from Saipan.

  • Wednesday, June 26th 2024 - 18:04 UTC

    Brazil's STF decriminalizes marijuana consumption

    Marijuana consumption will remain an administrative offense until other branches of government agree on the maximum amount marking the difference between personal use and traffic

    Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) issued a ruling Tuesday decriminalizing marijuana consumption for personal use, albeit only in private places. As per Brazil's current legislation dating back to 2006, the unauthorized acquisition or transport of drugs for personal use including marijuana carried penalties. Drug use in public areas has been maintained. Another debate revolved around how much marijuana would signal the difference between users and dealers. The case reached the STF following an appeal filed by a prison inmate hiding 3 grams of marijuana in his cell.