MercoPress https://en.mercopress.com/ South Atlantic News Agency en Copyright 2026, MercoPress. https://en.mercopress.com/web/img/en/mercopress-logo.gif MercoPress http://en.mercopress.com/ <![CDATA[Trump escalates Gulf crisis with order for total blockade of Strait of Hormuz]]> “No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas,” Trump wrote US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that the Navy would immediately begin blocking all maritime traffic attempting to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz, and ordered the interception on the high seas of any vessel that has paid a toll to Iran.

]]> Sun, 12 Apr 2026 13:30:00 GMT <![CDATA[Adorni scandal drags down Milei's poll numbers as courts probe his assets]]> Despite the numbers, President Javier Milei and his sister Karina, the presidency's secretary-general, have stood firmly behind the Cabinet chief Argentine Cabinet Chief Manuel Adorni has been formally charged with alleged illicit enrichment in a case investigating a reported 500% increase in his declared assets over a single fiscal period, according to a complaint filed by lawmaker Marcela Pagano. On April 9, federal judge Ariel Lijo ordered the lifting of banking and tax secrecy for Adorni and his wife, Bettina Angeletti, at the request of prosecutor Gerardo Pollicita.

]]> Sun, 12 Apr 2026 13:18:00 GMT <![CDATA[Falklands Government denies MV Bandero access over “questionable actions” at sea]]> The MV Bandero, a Captain Paul Watson Foundation vessel The Falkland Islands government has banned the MV Bandero, a Captain Paul Watson Foundation vessel, from entering its territorial waters following the ship's collision with a Norwegian industrial krill trawler in Antarctic waters on March 31. The order, signed on April 9 by the Acting Governor, took effect immediately.

]]> Sat, 11 Apr 2026 06:34:00 GMT <![CDATA[Argentine court orders environmental studies over HIF plant in Uruguay]]> HIF Global's project envisions the production of approximately 880,000 metric tons per year of synthetic fuels from green hydrogen about three kilometers from the Argentine shore at Colón A federal court in the Argentine city of Concepción del Uruguay on Friday ordered a series of environmental studies and requested information from Uruguayan agencies after accepting a lawsuit against the Uruguayan state and multinational HIF Global over a green hydrogen plant project in Paysandú, in a new source of bilateral tension that echoes the Botnia pulp mill conflict of the early 2000s.

]]> Sat, 11 Apr 2026 04:49:00 GMT <![CDATA[Venezuelan parliament passes law opening mining sector to private capital amid rapprochement with US]]> The law repeals the Mining Law in force since 1999, enacted by decree under then-President Hugo Chávez using special powers Venezuela's National Assembly unanimously approved on Thursday a new 131-article Organic Mining Law that opens the door to private and foreign investment in the mining sector, on a day also marked by police repression of thousands of workers who marched to demand an increase in the minimum wage, frozen since 2022.

]]> Fri, 10 Apr 2026 02:18:00 GMT <![CDATA[Argentina approves glacier law reform, opens previously protected areas to mining]]> The new law amends Law 26,639, in force since 2010, and introduces a fundamental shift: only glaciers that serve a “proven hydrological function” will retain full protection Argentina's Chamber of Deputies passed a reform of the National Glacier Law in the early hours of Thursday, an initiative pushed by President Javier Milei's government that reduces the scope of environmental protections in the Andean cordillera and opens previously restricted areas to mining. The vote was 137 in favor, 111 against and 3 abstentions, after more than eleven hours of debate in a special session. The bill had already been approved by the Senate.

]]> Thu, 09 Apr 2026 23:57:00 GMT <![CDATA[Chilean Air Force conducts first-ever aerial refueling of US F-35 fighters]]> The maneuver was carried out on April 4 in international airspace, as the fifth-generation fighters were en route to Santiago to participate in FIDAE 2026 The Chilean Air Force (FACh) completed for the first time an aerial refueling operation involving two U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II fighters, in a milestone that demonstrates growing interoperability between the two countries and the level of modernization achieved by Chile's military aviation.

]]> Thu, 09 Apr 2026 21:36:00 GMT <![CDATA[Uruguay considers relocating HIF Global's green hydrogen megaplant to ease tensions with Argentina]]> Government sources within the Orsi administration expressed confidence that a deal will be reached but rejected any suggestion of “giving away” energy or subsidizing the company's business model Uruguay's government is considering relocating within the department of Paysandú the synthetic fuels plant planned by multinational HIF Global, in an effort to simultaneously defuse diplomatic tensions with Argentina and advance what would be the largest private investment in the country's history, estimated at $5.385 billion in its final phase.

]]> Thu, 09 Apr 2026 07:40:00 GMT <![CDATA[Falklands launches consultation on proposed National Nature Reserves]]> The proposed reserves are located on land owned by the Falklands Islands Government (FIG), Falklands Conservation, or other private landowners. The Falkland Islands Government (FIG) has launched a public consultation to seek views on its proposal to designate or expand National Nature Reserves. The proposal seeks to designate 10 new National Nature Reserves and expand 5 existing National Nature Reserves.

]]> Thu, 09 Apr 2026 07:31:00 GMT <![CDATA[Brazilian judge suspends 12% crude oil export tax for five international oil companies]]> Judge Humberto de Vasconcelos Sampaio ruled that the sudden imposition of the 12% rate amounts in practice to the creation of a new tax burden with a “merely revenue-raising” purpose A federal judge in Rio de Janeiro issued a preliminary injunction suspending the 12% crude oil export tax for five international companies operating in Brazil: Shell, TotalEnergies, Equinor, Repsol Sinopec and Petrogal. The ruling represents an initial court victory for the oil companies in their dispute with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's government over a levy they consider unconstitutional.

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