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/ Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva warned Monday that the country must be prepared to defend itself against potential external threats, as global geopolitical tensions intensify, during a joint appearance with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in Brasília.

]]> Tue, 10 Mar 2026 00:29:00 GMT We join together on this Commonwealth Day at a time of great challenge and great possibility. Across our world, communities and nations face the increasing pressures of conflict, climate change and rapid transformation. Yet it is often in such testing moments that the enduring spirit of the Commonwealth is most clearly revealed.

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 18:50:00 GMT The United States continued deporting migrants to Iran and Venezuela while increasing military and diplomatic pressure on both countries, according to official records, agency reports and data from organizations tracking removal flights. In Iran’s case, Washington resumed deportation flights to Tehran in September 2025 after decades without carrying out such transfers, in a shift that coincided with a sharp deterioration in bilateral relations.

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 17:55:00 GMT British finance minister Rachel Reeves said on Monday that the United Kingdom was ready to support a coordinated release of international oil reserves if the Middle East crisis keeps pushing up energy prices, though no formal G7 decision has yet been taken. Reeves made the statement after joining a virtual meeting of G7 finance ministers, as oil prices remained elevated because of disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Reuters reported that the option under discussion is a joint emergency stock release under the International Energy Agency framework.

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 17:04:00 GMT The Falkland Islands Legislative Assembly marked Commonwealth Day 2026 on Monday with a public statement highlighting the Territory’s links to the wider Commonwealth network and the role of local democratic institutions. In the release issued on March 9, the Assembly said the Commonwealth flag was flown alongside the Falklands flag on Victory Green, reflecting “our pride in being part of the Commonwealth family of nations.”

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 12:23:00 GMT International Women’s Day rallies in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay this weekend produced a shared Southern Cone agenda: opposition to gender-based violence, demands for sustained public policies and warnings about the impact of economic strain and state cutbacks on women’s lives. In Brazil, the message centered on rising femicide; in Argentina, on a strike-backed protest against President Javier Milei’s austerity drive; and in Uruguay, on demands for more funding to enforce gender-violence laws and renewed attention to vicarious violence.

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 10:56:00 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