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[US gross national debt passes 40 trillion dollars for the first time]]> The increase is not the work of a single administration. It grew sharply under Joe Biden, with the spending programmes deployed during the pandemic, and has accelerated since Donald Trump's return The gross public debt of the United States reached 40.047 trillion dollars on Tuesday, according to data released by the Treasury Department. It is the first time the figure has crossed that threshold, and it has arrived earlier than expected: the Congressional Budget Office had projected 39.4 trillion by the end of fiscal 2026 and placed the jump to 40 trillion in 2027.

]]> Fri, 21 Aug 2026 05:20:00 GMT <![CDATA[Trump posts a map designating the Strait of Hormuz as "new US territory"]]> US President Donald Trump on Tuesday posted an image on his Truth Social platform showing a map of the Strait of Hormuz circled and captioned "NEW U.S. Territory," above a band in the colours of the American flag. The post carried no accompanying text.

]]> Tue, 18 Aug 2026 22:06:00 GMT <![CDATA[The Washington-Tehran memorandum expires without talks ever having opened]]> US President Donald Trump ruled out renewing it and described the deadline's expiry as irrelevant, saying there is no set timetable The memorandum of understanding signed on June 17 by the United States and Iran expired on Monday at the end of its sixty-day term, without the peace talks it envisaged ever taking place and without either side announcing an extension.

]]> Mon, 17 Aug 2026 23:07:00 GMT <![CDATA[Colombia asks Washington to suspend 12.5% tariffs over the earthquake emergency]]> The Colombian leader reported the request on his X account, following a telephone conversation he described as “friendly” and lasting ten minutes Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella on Saturday asked his US counterpart, Donald Trump, to temporarily suspend tariffs on Colombian goods, arguing this would give exporters relief as the country faces the economic consequences of Monday's magnitude 7.4 earthquake.

]]> Sun, 16 Aug 2026 07:40:00 GMT <![CDATA[Venezuela's government and opposition agree to renew the Supreme Court and claim the London gold]]> National Assembly president Jorge Rodríguez and Dinorah Figuera, who heads the delegated committee of the assembly elected in 2015 The government of acting president Delcy Rodríguez and a section of Venezuela's opposition closed the first round of negotiations in Caracas on Wednesday with two agreements: restarting from scratch the renewal of the Supreme Court of Justice, and acting jointly to recover Venezuelan gold reserves held at the Bank of England.

]]> Thu, 13 Aug 2026 08:59:00 GMT <![CDATA[US disables a Panama-flagged container ship off the coast of Pakistan]]> A Navy MH-60 helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles into the vessel's engine room after its civilian crew ignored repeated warnings US forces struck the Panama-flagged container ship Vela Nova in the Gulf of Oman on Tuesday, leaving it unable to steer, after it attempted to head for an Iranian port in violation of the naval blockade imposed by Washington, US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed.

]]> Wed, 12 Aug 2026 00:16:00 GMT <![CDATA[American Airlines resumes its seasonal Montevideo-Miami route in December]]> The operation is not the restoration of a discontinued route but the reopening of a service the company suspends each year outside the tourist season American Airlines will restart its seasonal service between Carrasco International Airport and Miami International Airport on December 3, once again becoming the only carrier offering nonstop flights between Uruguay and the United States during the peak summer season.

]]> Tue, 11 Aug 2026 10:00:00 GMT <![CDATA[Venezuelan government and opposition open US-backed talks]]> The government and opposition delegations during the first meeting at the La Carlota Convention Center in Caracas Delegations from the Venezuelan government and one sector of the opposition met on Thursday in Caracas to open negotiations backed by the United States, in the first face-to-face encounter since Nicolás Maduro's detention by US forces on January 3.

]]> Fri, 07 Aug 2026 21:17:00 GMT <![CDATA[Two months from the vote, Lula turns diplomatic crises into a sovereignty message]]> Lula links that pressure to the former president's family Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva enters the final stretch toward the October 4 elections with three open diplomatic fronts and a message centered on defending national sovereignty.

]]> Thu, 06 Aug 2026 22:08:00 GMT <![CDATA[Navitas broadens its US Gulf portfolio with stakes in two oil discoveries, oil industry media]]> Navitas Petroleum in well known in the South Atlantic where it has the Sea Lion project, a deep-water development in the north Falkland Basin Navitas Petroleum has signed agreements to obtain a 33.33% interest in the Tiberius and Logan oil discoveries in the Gulf of America (Gulf of Mexico) from Occidental and Kosmos Energy, expanding its Gulf of America hydrocarbon portfolio.

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