Politics

• Wednesday, February 25th 2026 - 12:25 UTC

  Trump delivers longest recorded State of the Union amid polarization, with tariffs and foreign policy under scrutiny

  

  US President Donald Trump delivered the longest recorded State of the Union address on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, speaking for 108 minutes before a joint session of Congress, as Washington enters a highly charged political stretch ahead of the midterm elections.

• Wednesday, February 25th 2026 - 03:30 UTC

  Petro signs petition sheet backing a constituent assembly push in Colombia

  

  Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Tuesday signed one of the official sheets being used by a left-leaning citizens’ committee to collect signatures in support of calling a National Constituent Assembly. The move came during a Cabinet meeting livestreamed on the presidency’s social media channels, 12 days before congressional elections.

• Tuesday, February 24th 2026 - 23:52 UTC

  Orsi and Lacalle Pou reunite at Uruguayan Air Force event marking arrival of A-29 Super Tucanos

  

  Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi and former president Luis Lacalle Pou attended an Air Force ceremony at Base Aérea No. 1 (Route 101, Canelones) for the presentation of the first A-29 Super Tucano aircraft entering service with the Uruguayan Air Force (FAU). Defence Minister Sandra Lazo and former defence minister—now senator—Javier García were also present.

• Tuesday, February 24th 2026 - 12:09 UTC

  Argentina courts shelve hundreds of tax-evasion cases after “Fiscal Innocence” law takes effect

  

  Argentina’s federal courts have begun closing hundreds of tax-evasion in bulk following the rollout of the so-called Fiscal Innocence framework, a reform that sharply raised the monetary thresholds required for tax evasion to qualify as a criminal offense and that is being applied retroactively under the “more benign criminal law” principle.

• Tuesday, February 24th 2026 - 12:05 UTC

  Colombia brings 12 Mexican Mennonites to trial over deforestation

  

  Colombia’s prosecutor’s office is taking 12 Mexican Mennonites to trial over alleged deforestation of more than 100 hectares in rural Puerto Gaitán, Meta province, tied to agricultural land development carried out between 2016 and 2021.

• Tuesday, February 24th 2026 - 03:17 UTC

  Brazil’s VP Alckmin backs workweek cuts as a global trend

  

  Brazil’s Vice President and Industry and Trade Minister Geraldo Alckmin said on Monday that shorter working hours are a “global trend” and that Brazil should debate the issue in depth, as business leaders push to delay discussion of ending the widely used 6x1 work schedule.

• Tuesday, February 24th 2026 - 03:12 UTC

  Mexico deploys thousands of troops after violence flares following “El Mencho” death

  

  Mexico has deployed thousands of additional soldiers and security personnel to contain a wave of violence reported across at least 20 states after the death in custody of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes — known as “El Mencho” — leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), according to federal officials.

• Tuesday, February 24th 2026 - 03:06 UTC

  Uruguay moves toward ratifying EU–Mercosur deal after special committee approval

  

  A special committee of Uruguay’s parliament tasked with reviewing the EU–Mercosur agreement approved the ratification bill on Monday, clearing the way for floor votes in the Senate and lower house in the coming days — a timetable that could make Uruguay the first Mercosur member to complete domestic approval.

• Monday, February 23rd 2026 - 13:26 UTC

  Plot to kill Argentine security minister and two federal justice officials in Punta del Este

  

  Argentine authorities are investigating an alleged plot to kill Entre Ríos’ Security and Justice Minister Néstor Roncaglia and two federal justice officials — Judge Leandro Ríos and prosecutor José Ignacio Candiotti — in attacks that case files described as planned for Punta del Este, using Uruguayan hitmen for about US$40,000.

• Monday, February 23rd 2026 - 12:41 UTC

  Italy seeks “clarity” from the US, urges calm amid renewed tariff uncertainty

  

  Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Monday he would seek “clarity” from the United States during a G7 videoconference on international trade and urged restraint as Washington’s latest tariff moves inject fresh uncertainty into transatlantic commerce.