South America

Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson, was quoted on Tuesday as saying that Russia is in constant communication with Venezuela about tensions in Caribbean. Peskov told reporters during a press briefing that "we have constant working contact with Venezuela" in response to questions regarding whether Moscow is extending assistance to Caracas. Tass reported that Peskov refused to provide any additional details regarding the nature of these contacts. Peskov said, as quoted by TASS last weekend, that Russia wanted to see the situation between Venezuelans and Americans remain calm, and ensure there were no new conflicts in the area. The Russian Foreign Ministry...

Conab, Brazil's crop forecaster and food supply agency, raised Tuesday its projections for sugar production by the country in 2025/26. The season began in April. Conab's estimate of Brazil's sugar output was 45.02 millions metric tons. This is a half-million tons more than its previous forecast. This is higher than the 44.12 millions tons of sugar produced last year. According to the government agency, sugarcane production fell by 0.35% in the last stages of harvesting. Conab stated that the sugar production was higher despite the smaller sugarcane harvest because mills allocated more cane for the production of sweetener. They are...

According to documents and shipping data from the state-owned firm PDVSA, Venezuelan oil exports fell 26% in October to 808,000 barrels a day as its stocks decreased and it imported fewer volumes of diluents for exportable crude grades. Exports from the OPEC nation reached a 5-year high in Septembre, after being boosted in part by a stable crude oil production of around 1.1m bpd. Also, robust imports of naphtha and light crude - mainly from Russia – earlier in the year were made to reduce its heavy oil output. The data and documents revealed that imports dropped to 41,000 bpd...

The Republican and Democratic leaders in the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee stated on Friday that the Trump administration has yet to provide any details about its operations against the drug cartels or their legal basis. Since early September, U.S. airstrikes on suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean have resulted in the deaths of dozens of people. This has caused tension between Washington DC and Caracas. In a rare instance of bipartisanship on the strikes, Republican senator Roger Wicker and Democrat Jack Reed stated in a joint statement that they had not received the information requested from the administration regarding...

The Republican and Democratic leaders in the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee stated on Friday that they have asked the administration of President Donald Trump for information and legal reasoning about operations against drug cartels, but still have not received it. Since early September, U.S. airstrikes on suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Pacific have resulted in the deaths of dozens of people. This has heightened tensions between Washington DC and Caracas. In a rare instance of bipartisanship in relation to the strikes Republican Senator Roger Wicker, and Democrat Jack Reed stated that they did not receive information from...

President Donald Trump on Friday denied he was considering strikes inside Venezuela, appearing to contradict his own comments from last week and amid intensifying expectations that Washington may soon expand drug-trafficking-related operations. In recent months the United States has established a significant military presence in Caribbean, including fighter jets, ships and thousands of soldiers. This presence will grow significantly in the next few weeks, with the arrival the Gerald Ford aircraft carriers strike group. When asked on Friday by reporters aboard Air Force One whether media reports claiming that Trump was considering strikes in Venezuela were true or not, Trump...

On Wednesday, a U.S. court of appeals will decide whether Argentina has to pay $16.1 billion in compensation to investors who took control of the state-owned oil firm YPF over ten years ago. The 2nd U.S. The 2nd U.S. Burford Capital funded much of this litigation, and the investors could be rewarded with billions of dollars in the event that they prevail. Argentina would appeal a defeat to the U.S. Supreme Court. The midterm elections were a crucial event for Argentina and President Javier Milei. His party was able to win a decisive victory. Argentina warned that a large judgment...

Wall Street's major indexes closed at record highs on Monday for the second consecutive day as investors were optimistic about the prospects of a U.S. China trade deal. They also looked forward to an exciting week that will include high-profile earnings from the technology sector and the widely anticipated U.S. rate cut. U.S. president Donald Trump and his Chinese equivalent Xi Jinping will meet on Thursday in order to decide on a plan that could pause the tougher U.S. duties and China's export restrictions on rare earths. This would ease market jitters about a possible trade war, and send Wall...

Wall Street's major indexes hit new record highs Monday, as the excitement surrounding a possible U.S. China trade deal set a tone for a busy week of high-profile earnings from technology companies and a widely anticipated interest rate reduction. On Thursday, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping (the Chinese counterpart) will meet to discuss the future of the U.S.-China relationship. A framework This could stop the tougher U.S. Tariffs and China's export restrictions on rare earths. It would also ease market anxiety about a possible trade war, and send Wall Street's VIX "fear gauge", to a month-low. During his weekend TV...

Petrobras, the state-run Brazilian oil company, reported record exports in the third quarter of 814,000 barrels per day, thanks to a surge in production and the start of 11 new wells, the firm announced on Friday. This was a 36% rise in oil exports over the same period last year. China received 53% of the company's shipments during the period. This is an increase of 14 percentage points compared to a year earlier. Asia, excluding China received 19%, an increase of 5 percentages. The share of Petrobras oil exported to the United States fell to 3%, and the share to...

Argentine farmers renew their confidence in Javier Milei, ahead of the midterm elections on Sunday. This is a vital sector for the government to generate foreign currency. The radical libertarian President, who hopes that his minorities will have a significant increase in representation in Congress, needs the support of farmers in Argentina. Since Milei took office nearly two years ago, he has received broad support from the agricultural sector. This sector shares his vision for unrestricted, deregulated markets. The government of Milei has taken steps to lower unpopular export taxes. In July, the government lowered the export tax for soybeans...

The Solicitor General's Office announced on Wednesday that Brazil had won a partial win in an international dispute over the Tupi oilfield, against a Petrobras-Shell-Petrogal consortium. This allowed the country to retain tax payments of 22.2 billion Reais ($4.11billion) and keep the money. Arbitration court of the International Chamber of Commerce is mediating the dispute between Brazil's oil regulator ANP and the International Chamber of Commerce over the tax regulations that govern the size of the field. The court's decision is a slight defeat for Brazil. It also determined that compensation can be paid in other forms than cash payments...

Fernando Haddad, Brazil's Finance minister, said that mobilizing 10 billion dollars in public resources to the Tropical Forests Forever Facility would be an ambitious but "possible target" for its first-year. The TFFF is a flagship project for Brazil, as it hosts the COP30 Climate Talks. It aims to raise $125 Billion to support global conservation of endangered forest. Haddad, speaking on the sidelines a Bloomberg event held in Sao Paulo said that other nations might indicate contributions to the fund at the United Nations Climate Summit in Belem, Brazil next week. Haddad, a G20 member, said that if a few...

Prince William traveled to Brazil for a ceremony to award his multi-million dollar environmental prize. He hoped to divert attention from the scandal surrounding his uncle Andrew to the causes of the royals. William, the British heir, will make his first Latin American visit and will see some of Rio de Janeiro landmarks. The goal is to bring the attention of the public to a number of environmental projects in advance the award ceremony for the Prince's Earthshot Prize. The visit came just days after King Charles stripped Andrew of his princely title and expelled him from his mansion. He...

Executives revealed that a climate finance platform, co-founded by MUFG (Japan's largest financial group), has raised $600 million in order to assist countries in developing markets to adapt to climate change impacts and reduce emissions. Bill Gates, a billionaire investor and business leader in Brazil, made the announcement as business leaders gathered ahead of COP30 climate talks. The GAIA Climate Loan Fund will support projects that build resilience in countries as extreme weather events like floods and droughts become more intense. Ariane Pvide, Director of Climate and Blended Finance, MUFG, stated in an emailed comment that "Adaptation Finance has become...

Data released by the government on Thursday showed that deforestation rates in Brazil's Amazon rainforest dropped 11.08% between January and July of last year, a record low. The data was released days before Brazil hosts the United Nations Climate Summit known as COP30. This is a victory for President Luiz inacio Lula Da Silva who wants to highlight his government's achievements on the environment at the conference. Lula has committed to ending all deforestation within the country by 2030. Amazon destruction has decreased by half since the start of his tenure in 2023. Inpe, the Brazilian space agency, released a...

Brazil wants to assist developing countries in securing more funding to adapt to climate change. The COP30 summit president stated that. A U.N. study estimated the world would need to spend $310 Billion a year to prepare for rising sea levels, warmer days, and other conditions associated with a warming atmosphere by 2035. According to the U.N.'s Adaptation Gap Report, this is about 12 times what is currently spent annually on climate adaptation efforts. COP summits have so far not resulted in major increases in funding for climate adaptation. These funds are still behind investments in renewable energies and other...

The state government announced that at least 20 people were killed, including two officers of the police, in a large scale operation against organized criminals in Rio de Janeiro, on Tuesday. This comes just days before Rio de Janeiro is scheduled to host the COP30 climate summit. Claudio Castro announced the operation on social media, writing "We are firmly against narcoterrorism." He said that 2,500 security personnel were involved in the Alemao & Penha favelas. These are densely populated, poor settlements located on the outskirts of Rio. The authorities said that the 18 other deaths were suspected to be connected...

Climate damage: Russia must pay! Rebuilding Gaza will increase emissions Massive gaps in military emissions data Emma Batha Researchers estimate that the first three years of the conflict generated 237 million tons of greenhouse gasses (GHG). This is equivalent to the annual emissions of Belgium Austria and Ireland combined or 120 million cars running on fossil fuels. This is pushing us into the wrong direction, at a time we need to drastically cut emissions," said Lennard de Klerk of Climate Research, the lead author of a report that tallied the war's emission, published in this month. De Klerk stated that...

Brazil's indigenous land is being invaded by farms Fire and drought hazards increase in the territory Native residents change farming practices By Andre Cabette Fabio This scene has been repeated for generations by the Kalapalo tribe's Tanguro Village in Brazil's Xingu Indigenous Park. Instead of the traditional thatched roofing, the communal home is covered in a white plastic sheet, which has been decorated with the brand logo and "for agricultural use only." The roof is just one of the many signs of increased cattle- and soybean-farming on the Amazon's heavily deforested Southeast edges, where the rainforest is warming the fastest....

A senior climatologist at Australia's Weather Bureau isn't convinced that La Nina is forming, which could affect crop production and change rainfall patterns in parts of Asia, the Americas and Oceania. La Nina and El Nino are both caused by the cooling and warming of ocean temperatures in the eastern Pacific. El Nino is the opposite. The former brings more rain to Australia's east, Southeast Asia, and India, with dryer weather in North America. Both can lead to flooding and hurricanes. The models that forecast the weather patterns usually converge around this time of the year, but there are currently...

A senior climatologist at Australia's Weather Bureau isn't convinced that La Nina is forming, which could affect crop production and change rainfall patterns in parts of Asia, the Americas and Oceania. La Nina and El Nino are both caused by a cooling or warming in ocean surface temperatures. El Nino is the opposite. The former brings more rain to Australia's east, Southeast Asia, and India, with dryer weather in North America. Both can lead to flooding and hurricanes. The models that forecast the weather patterns usually converge around this time of the year, but there are currently many variations. She...

A group of 35 Finance Ministers presented suggestions on Wednesday to increase climate finance from $1.3 trillion a yearly to $1.3 trillion a yearly. This is a major demand of developing nations in advance of the COP30 talks this year in Brazil. The first report of its kind, led by Brazil, proposes financial changes in areas like credit ratings, insurance premiums, and lending priorities of the development banks. The 111-page guide is intended to help governments and financial institutions increase the amount of money available to combat climate change. In a joint statement, the ministers stated that "every year we...

Sport Positive Awards were announced at a two-day summit on sports sustainability. The winners included Premier League champions Liverpool, and Real Betis of Spain. Real Betis won the Best Campaign Award for its project Sin Azul No Hay Verde, which is a campaign that says "Without Blue There Is No Green". The winners of 12 categories have been announced at the Sport Positive Summit, a two-day event in London in collaboration with United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the International Olympic Committee. Claire Poole, founder of Sport Positive, said: "These winners are a great example of what...