https://en.mercopress.com/ South Atlantic News Agency en Copyright 2026, MercoPress. https://en.mercopress.com/web/img/en/mercopress-logo.gif http://en.mercopress.com/ Oil prices climbed above US$100 a barrel on Sunday in futures trading, reaching their highest levels since 2022 as the war in the Middle East, the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz and fresh production cuts among Gulf producers tightened supply expectations. Reuters reported Brent rose as high as US$111.04 a barrel while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) touched US$111.24 in early trading. AP later put Brent at US$107.97 and WTI at US$106.22, both more than 16% above the previous close.

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 04:34:00 GMT Historic Pact, the left-wing coalition linked to President Gustavo Petro, and the Democratic Center, led by former president Alvaro Uribe, were on Sunday emerging as the two main forces in Colombia’s Senate for the 2026-2030 term, according to preliminary pre-count results. Colombia’s electoral authority, the Registraduría, was publishing official real-time results on its election portal, while local media reported that Senate bulletin 25 showed Historic Pact with 3,599,411 votes and Democratic Center with 2,473,529.

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 02:06:00 GMT The global volume of transfers of major arms between states rose 9.2% in 2021-25 compared with 2016-20, the biggest increase since 2011-15, according to data released on Monday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The shift was driven above all by a sharp rise in European imports, which increased by 210% over the period and made Europe the world’s largest arms-importing region.

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 01:58:00 GMT Iran on Sunday named Mojtaba Khamenei as its new supreme leader, cementing hardline continuity as the war with Israel and the United States deepens and cross-border strikes increasingly hit fuel depots, energy routes and desalination facilities across the region. The Assembly of Experts, the 88-member clerical body tasked with choosing the successor, said he had been appointed by a “decisive vote,” giving him ultimate authority over all matters of state.

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:30:00 GMT The Falkland Islands Legislative Assembly marked International Women’s Day on March 8 with a message centered on broad recognition of women across the community, in a statement signed by MLAs Dot Gould and Cheryl Roberts. In the text, the lawmakers thanked “mothers, daughters, sisters, friends, colleagues, and neighbours” for bringing “strength, care, and inspiration” to life in the Islands.

]]> Sun, 08 Mar 2026 16:28:00 GMT U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday opened the first Shield of the Americas summit in Doral, Florida, bringing together a group of like-minded Latin American and Caribbean leaders to unveil a new regional security alliance focused on fighting drug cartels. In his remarks, he said Cuba was “very much at the end of the line,” claimed Havana wanted to negotiate with Washington, and said his administration had formally recognized the interim government of Delcy Rodríguez in Venezuela as diplomatic ties between the two countries were being restored.

]]> Sat, 07 Mar 2026 22:40:00 GMT The University of Manchester is hosting a major conference about the Falklands conflict next April on Thursday 16 and Friday 17. 44 years have passed, but the conflict still resonates deeply in both the UK and Argentina.

]]> Sat, 07 Mar 2026 07:50:00 GMT A Japanese high court has upheld an order to dissolve the controversial Unification Church, popularly known as the “Moonies” local media report. Last year, a district court in Tokyo ordered the church to disband after Japan's education and culture ministry accused it of manipulating followers into making huge donations.

]]> Sat, 07 Mar 2026 06:24:00 GMT To mark Commonwealth Day, Monday 9 March, young people from the Falkland Islands will take their seats in the Chamber to question Members of the Legislative Assembly on the issues that matter to them.

]]> Sat, 07 Mar 2026 02:43:00 GMT President Donald Trump declined Friday to comment on media reports indicating that Russia has been supplying Iran with intelligence on the positions and movements of U.S. troops, ships and aircraft in the Middle East.

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