According to a report by Agência Brasil, industry specialists and oil-sector groups say what they describe as abusive fuel price increases in Brazil are not explained by international volatility alone. The report cites cases of gasoline being sold for R$9 a liter at some stations in São Paulo and links part of the distortion to the loss of state control over the distribution chain after the privatization of BR Distribuidora.

Chile entered a new political phase on Wednesday with the inauguration of José Antonio Kast, the most conservative figure to reach La Moneda since the return to democracy. Kast was sworn in at Congress in Valparaíso and then moved to the presidential palace, where he defended the idea of an “emergency government” and said he was receiving “a country in worse conditions than we could have imagined.”

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has canceled a planned trip to Chile to attend José Antonio Kast’s inauguration on Wednesday and will instead be represented at the ceremony by Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira. Brazilian officials said the change was due to “scheduling reasons.”

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has arrived in Chile to attend Wednesday’s ceremony in which Gabriel Boric will hand over the presidency to José Antonio Kast, in a visit that also includes an event with Venezuelan residents in Santiago and several public appearances in the capital. She is among the international guests invited to the transfer of power, where Kast will formally take office at Congress in Valparaíso.

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 la...

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.

Oil became this week’s clearest barometer of the Middle East crisis, with Brent hovering near US$90 a barrel and WTI around US$87.5, putting both contracts on track for their biggest weekly advance since 2020. The same factor sits behind the surge: the de facto blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil normally passes.

The United States and Venezuela’s interim authorities have agreed to restore diplomatic and consular relations, in a formal shift that ends a rupture dating back to 2019 and deepens the bilateral thaw that began after Nicolás Maduro was captured by U.S. forces in January. The announcement was made on Thursday by the State Department.

Senator Patricia Bullrich met at her Senate office with Argentine gendarme Nahuel Gallo, who was freed after 448 days in detention in Venezuela, in talks that lasted nearly two hours and focused on his captivity and the process that led to his return. Speaking afterwards, Bullrich said Gallo had “barely told 10% of what he lived through” and indicated the two would meet again.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Thursday that their naval force struck a US oil tanker in the northern Gulf and that the vessel “is on fire,” raising fresh concerns about maritime security tied to the regional conflict and the safety of the Strait of Hormuz—one of the world’s most sensitive energy choke points.

Brazil’s Congress on Wednesday ratified the trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, completing the legislative step in the South American bloc’s largest economy. The Senate approved the treaty unanimously, after the lower house cleared the text last week, according to local reporting and wire-service coverage.

Nahuel Gallo, the Argentine gendarme freed after 448 days in detention in Venezuela, urged the release of “24 foreign nationals” he said remain imprisoned at the Rodeo I facility and asked for time before detailing what he endured during captivity. “Until they release those 24 foreign nationals, I’m not free,” he said in a short statement to reporters, without taking questions.

Argentina posted its highest monthly crude output on official record in January, at a time when global energy markets are again under strain from the Iran–Israel–US conflict and renewed pressure on key supply routes.

Paraguay’s government has activated intelligence, prevention and financial-control measures in the Tri-Border Area it shares with Argentina and Brazil amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, according to Internal Security Vice Minister Óscar Pereira.

The United States intensified its air campaign against Iran on Tuesday as Operation Epic Fury entered its fourth day, introducing B-52 strategic bombers into combat operations and reporting that “nearly 2,000” targets have been hit so far.

Chile’s president-elect José Antonio Kast said on Tuesday he is suspending the handover process with outgoing President Gabriel Boric, arguing his team cannot trust the information it has received on key issues, including a China-linked subsea fiber-optic project that would connect central Chile with Hong Kong.

France will deploy anti-missile and anti-drone systems to Cyprus and send a frigate after drones struck the UK’s RAF Akrotiri air base on the island, citing Cyprus’ state-run CNA news agency and a Cypriot government source. The move comes amid a fast-moving regional escalation tied to fighting involving the United States, Israel and Iran.

Uruguay’s President Yamandú Orsi addressed the General Assembly on Monday to present a first-year account of his administration and set priorities for 2026, combining legislative announcements with infrastructure pledges across security, health, transport and technology.

Uruguay’s President Yamandú Orsi is set to address the General Assembly on Monday to deliver a first-year account of his administration and outline priorities for the year ahead. Parliament scheduled the session for 18:30 at the Legislative Palace in Montevideo.

Argentine President Javier Milei opened Congress’ 144th regular legislative session with an address focused on foreign policy, security and a broad reform agenda. He called for a “lasting strategic alliance” with the United States and said “it is time to turn this into a state policy,” while laying out a plan to send reforms to lawmakers in staggered packages.

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was admitted on Friday to the intensive care unit of Brasília’s DF Star hospital after being transferred from prison with high fever, low oxygen saturation, sweating and chills. The medical bulletin said tests confirmed bilateral bacterial bronchopneumonia and that the former president is receiving intravenous antibiotics and non-invasive clinical support.

José Antonio Kast was sworn in as Chile’s president on Wednesday in a ceremony at the National Congress in Valparaíso, in a transfer of power that confirmed the country’s sharpest shift to the right since the return to democracy in 1990. Senate President Paulina Núñez administered the oath and placed the presidential sash on him, formalizing the handover from Gabriel Boric.

Brazil’s Supreme Court has authorized Darren Beattie, a Trump administration adviser focused on Brazil, to visit former President Jair Bolsonaro in prison on March 18, in another sign of how far Bolsonaro’s legal case has spilled into the international arena. The decision was issued by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversees the cases related to the attempt to overturn the 2022 election and Bolsonaro’s conviction for plotting against the democratic order.

In his final national address before handing the presidential sash to José Antonio Kast on Wednesday, Chilean President Gabriel Boric defended his government’s record, highlighted progress in security, pensions and healthcare, and accepted political responsibility for two of the most damaging episodes of the final stretch of his administration: the handling of the Monsalve case and the failed purchase of former President Salvador Allende’s house.

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 la...

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.

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Cuba is going to “fall pretty soon,” while making clear that his immediate priority remains the campaign against Iran, in remarks that widened the White House’s confrontational language toward both the Middle East and Latin America. Trump made the comments in a phone conversation with CNN anchor Dana Bash.

U.S. President Donald Trump will host leaders from 12 Latin American and Caribbean countries in Doral, Florida, on March 7 for the so-called Shield of the Americas Summit, a meeting the White House is framing as a forum on security, migration and hemispheric cooperation. The gathering comes amid a broader U.S. diplomatic and military push in the region and just weeks before Trump is expected to travel to China.

President Javier Milei appointed Juan Bautista Mahiques, until now the chief prosecutor of the City of Buenos Aires, as Argentina’s new justice minister, replacing Mariano Cúneo Libarona. The change was confirmed after Cúneo Libarona resigned, citing personal reasons.

A federal court in Río Gallegos, Santa Cruz province, has opened the long-awaited trial of four former senior Argentine Navy officers accused of alleged responsibility in the 2017 sinking and subsequent implosion of the ARA San Juan submarine, a disaster that killed all 44 crew members.

Brazil’s Congress on Wednesday ratified the trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, completing the legislative step in the South American bloc’s largest economy. The Senate approved the treaty unanimously, after the lower house cleared the text last week, according to local reporting and wire-service coverage.

A Bolivian judge ordered the pre-trial detention of 19 people accused of taking banknotes scattered after a military Hercules C-130 aircraft skidded off the runway while landing at El Alto international airport, adjacent to La Paz. The suspects will spend four months in prisons in the La Paz department as investigators build the case, according to El Deber.

The Portsmouth Harbor Ferry Company (PHFC), which takes passengers between Gosport and Portsea, was bought by the parent company of Collins River Enterprises – trading as Uber Boat by Thames Clippers – from Falkland Islands Holdings Group.

A court in Uruguay’s Flores department convicted three foreign nationals —a Russian, a Kazakh and a Mexican woman— after authorities said they attempted to begin identification procedures using false documentation at the National Civil Identification Directorate (DNIC) office in the city of Trinidad.

Responsible gambling online means you stay in charge. You set a budget and a time limit that fit your life, you treat gambling as paid entertainment, and you step back early if it starts causing stress. Because online play is fast and always available, responsible gambling is also about using safety tools and adding extra barriers when you need them.

Donald Trump criticized UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer for refusing to take part in strikes against Iran and said the long-standing US-UK “special relationship” is “not what it was,” in remarks carried by Britain’s The Sun and reported by Reuters.

Paraguay’s central bank chief Carlos Carvallo says the country is dealing with a “nice problem”: inflation is converging to the official goal “from below,” an unusual pattern in the region that has prompted policymakers to start trimming interest rates to prevent price growth from staying too low.

President Emmanuel Macron said France will increase the size of its nuclear arsenal and roll out a new “advanced deterrence” doctrine that would involve a group of European partners more directly in exercises, deployments and supporting capabilities—moves Paris framed as a response to a more unstable strategic environment.

Global oil prices rose sharply on Monday and European equities fell as the regional conflict intensified, following attacks on vessels near the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian warnings to shipping in a chokepoint through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and gas trade moves.

Israel announced early Monday a new wave of airstrikes on targets in Tehran, as part of a U.S.-Israeli campaign that began on Saturday and has triggered a wider regional escalation involving cross-border attacks and strikes on U.S. forces and partners across the Gulf.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado drew thousands of supporters to central Santiago on Thursday in the largest public demonstration she has led since leaving Venezuela in late 2025. The gathering, held between Paseo Bulnes and Parque Almagro, exceeded initial expectations and became one of the most visible displays of the Venezuelan diaspora in Chile in recent years. According to estimates by Carabineros cited by Chilean and Spanish media, turnout ranged between 16,000 and 17,0...

José Antonio Kast will be sworn in as Chile’s president on Wednesday with a pledge to lead an “emergency government” focused on security, the economy and migration control, as he seeks to turn his electoral mandate into early, visible action. His team has drafted a first 90-day roadmap combining administrative measures, regulatory changes and an initial batch of bills meant to show movement from the outset.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has canceled a planned trip to Chile to attend José Antonio Kast’s inauguration on Wednesday and will instead be represented at the ceremony by Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira. Brazilian officials said the change was due to “scheduling reasons.”

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.

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.

Ecuadorian and U.S. military forces bombed and destroyed a training camp belonging to the Comandos de la Frontera, a dissident faction of Colombia's former FARC guerrilla organization, in the Amazon border province of Sucumbíos on Tuesday, both governments confirmed Friday.

Lionel Messi made his first visit to the White House on Thursday, joining the Inter Miami squad as President Donald Trump honored the club for winning the 2025 MLS Cup, secured in December with a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps.

U.S. President Donald Trump will host leaders from 12 Latin American and Caribbean countries in Doral, Florida, on March 7 for the so-called Shield of the Americas Summit, a meeting the White House is framing as a forum on security, migration and hemispheric cooperation. The gathering comes amid a broader U.S. diplomatic and military push in the region and just weeks before Trump is expected to travel to China.

Local authorities in Uruguay’s Maldonado department are reviewing a proposal by Brazil’s Stehling Racing Team to develop a racetrack built to Formula 1 standards in the Punta del Este–Laguna del Sauce corridor, a plan still at an early stage and without any confirmation that it would translate into hosting a world championship round.

The British Embassy in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) urged UK nationals on Thursday to take shelter immediately, “remain indoors,” and “stay away from windows,” issuing the guidance on social media as reports of strikes and explosions spread across parts of the Middle East.

US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in Caracas on Wednesday that opportunities for cooperation between Washington and Venezuela “have no limits,” highlighting the South American country’s mineral potential during a visit focused on mining and access to critical minerals.

Uruguay’s Central Bank cut its benchmark policy rate by 75 basis points to 5.75%, from 6.5%, in a unanimous decision and the seventh consecutive reduction, as it weighed the market impact of the renewed Middle East conflict and a rebound in the U.S. dollar.

The Green Party has comfortably won a by-election for a vacant parliamentary seat, an embarrassing defeat for embattled Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party in one of its former strongholds.

A court in Uruguay’s Flores department convicted three foreign nationals —a Russian, a Kazakh and a Mexican woman— after authorities said they attempted to begin identification procedures using false documentation at the National Civil Identification Directorate (DNIC) office in the city of Trinidad.

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened on Tuesday to impose a total trade embargo on Spain after Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government refused to allow the use of the Rota and Morón bases for missions linked to strikes on Iran.

The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Mercosur and Singapore entered into force on a bilateral basis between Uruguay and the city-state on 1 March 2026, after both sides completed domestic procedures and deposited their instruments of ratification, according to a joint statement.

Brazil’s Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said on Monday that U.S. and Israeli attacks against Iran should not have an immediate impact on Brazil’s macroeconomic indicators, while cautioning that the conflict’s trajectory remains hard to predict and is being monitored “carefully” by his ministry.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Monday the Strait of Hormuz is now “closed” and threatened to attack any vessel attempting to transit, in the most explicit warning yet against the Gulf’s main maritime chokepoint. A Guards commander said they would set any ship “ablaze” if it tried to pass, according to remarks carried by Reuters.

An Iranian-made drone struck the UK’s RAF Akrotiri airbase in Cyprus overnight, causing no casualties and only limited damage, in an incident that brought the Middle East conflict directly onto European Union territory. British authorities raised force-protection measures and ordered non-essential personnel to leave and disperse, while the base continued operating, according to official information reported by Reuters.

Ecuador’s rainy season has left 21,089 people affected since January 1, 2026, with three deaths and 14 injured, according to the latest assessment by the National Secretariat for Risk Management (SNGR).