News of world

US President Donald Trump delivers a special address during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2026. The World Economic Forum takes place in Davos from January 19 to January 23, 2026.

Trump at Davos demands 'immediate' Greenland talks but rules out force

Today 12:16 Quest to take control of Greenland, which Trump said was needed for national and international security, dominates hour-long address to the World Economic Forum.

Members of the European Parliament take part in a voting session during a plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, on January 21, 2026.

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL

EU Parliament refers Mercosur trade deal to bloc's top court

Today 11:16 The European Union's parliament votes in favour of asking top court to determine whether the deal is compatible with the bloc's rules.

Delcy Rodríguez looks on after being sworn in as Acting President of Venezuela at Palacio Federal Legislativo in Caracas on January 5, 2026.

CHANGE IN VENEZUELA?

Venezuela looks to woo US oil majors with new US-educated investment czar

Yesterday 18:34 Interim leader Delcy Rodríguez names US-educated banker Calixto Ortega Sánchez as new head of Venezuela's main investment agency, an apparent overture to US investors.

ICE and other federal officers remove a woman from her vehicle near an area where ICE was operating in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 13, 2026.

OPINION & ANALYSIS

US immigration enforcement turns problem of scale into personal violence

Yesterday 14:21 Treating a person as the embodiment of a massive systemic failure is not law enforcement. It is moral outsourcing.

MILEI @ DAVOS

Milei's Davos agenda: Meetings with bank CEOs, WEF speech, interviews

Yesterday 10:19 President travels to Zurich with delegation in tow, due to speak at the World Economic Forum on Thursday, where he is expected to back Trump, defend free-market reforms and remark on Venezuela.

GEOPOLITICAL ROW

Trump unloads on allies as Davos showdown looms

Yesterday 09:53 In a flurry of Truth Social posts and comments to reporters a day before he leaves for the elite gathering on Wednesday, Trump leaked private text messages from French President Emmanuel Macron and the head of NATO.

An AI image posted by US President Donald Trump on social media.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Trump reveals Macron text in pre-Davos blitz on major US allies

Yesterday 08:08 US president unleashes fresh social media attacks against European allies; Posting an AI image of him claiming Greenland, Trump fires off criticism of allies France, the UK and more.

BUSINESS & INDUSTRY

Techint’s Paolo Rocca bets on Milei’s US ties amid a global steel clash

19-01-2026 19:20 Looming pipeline tender, US trade alignment and China’s steel offensive are testing one of Argentina’s most powerful industrial alliances.

by Ariel Maciel

(From L to R and top to bottom): US President Donald Trump, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US businessman Jared Kushner, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Geopolitics

Trump to charge US$1-billion for permanent 'board of peace' membership

19-01-2026 12:33 Member countries – represented on the board by their head of state – would be allowed to join for three years, or longer if they paid more than US$1 billion within the first year, Trump's charter says.

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM

Trump heads into Davos storm, with an eye on home

18-01-2026 10:06 Trump's first appearance in six years at the gathering of the world's political and global elite; He will be appearing alongside many leaders of NATO allies that he has threatened with tariffs over Greenland.

INTERVIEW

Susana Malcorra: ‘The United States is no longer the beacon of democracy’

18-01-2026 00:01 Argentina’s former foreign minister on why she believes a woman should next head the United Nations, the increasing use of force as a prevailing method in geopolitics and a world in transition marked by the dispute between the United States and China.

US President Donald Trump talks to reporters on October 12, 2025 on board Air Force One en route to Israel.

BLOOMBERG

Trump wants nations to pay US$1 billion to stay on his peace board

17-01-2026 23:50 According to a draft charter for the proposed group seen by Bloomberg, US President Donald Trump would serve as its inaugural chairman and would decide on who is invited to be members. Countries that want a permanent spot on his new Board of Peace to contribute at least US$1 billion.

European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic (kleft) and Paraguay's Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano pose for pictures after signing documents as several regional leaders watch on during the signing ceremony of the trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, at the Gran Teatro José Asunción Flores of Paraguay's Central Bank in Asuncion on January 17, 2026.

GLOBAL TRADE

EU, Mercosur bloc ink major trade deal, reject 'tariffs' and 'isolation'

17-01-2026 15:06 South American bloc and European Union finally signs major trade deal are quarter-century of torturous negotiations.

South American bloc Mercosur and the European Union signed a deal on January 17, 25 years in the making, to create one of the world's biggest free trade areas at a time of growing protectionism and volatility.

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL

EU inks South America trade deal after 25 years of negotiations

17-01-2026 14:46 Two blocs sign one of the world’s largest free-trade agreements, clinching a deal that has been in the works for more than two decades.

Foreign relations & diplomacy

Milei, Erdogan invited to join Trump’s Gaza ‘Board of Peace’

17-01-2026 10:44 Argentina's president thanks Trump for the invitation, saying it would be an honour to join.

US President Donald Trump's letter to Argentina's President Javier Milei.

Foreign policy & diplomacy

Milei says Trump has invited him to join Gaza ‘Board of Peace’

17-01-2026 10:28 Argentina’s President Javier Milei reveals on social media that he has accepted an invitation from his US counterpart to join Donald Trump’s new international body as a founding member.

Workers set up the stage for the signing ceremony of the agreement between the European Union and Mercosur at the Gran Teatro José Asunción Flores of Paraguay's Central Bank in Asunción on January 16, 2026.

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL

Mercosur to ink long-awaited trade deal with European Union

17-01-2026 09:34 South American bloc Mercosur and the European Union will sign a deal later today that has been 25 years in the making; It will create one of the world's biggest free-trade areas at a time of growing protectionism and volatility.

Analysing Argentina

LatAm on the run (from Trump)

17-01-2026 07:04 Latin American leaders are scrambling to adapt to the new reality in which the United States can impose its will on the hemisphere.

by Marcelo J. García

US President Donald Trump, photographed against the US flag.

GEOPOLITICS – ANALYSIS

Trump, the creator of chaos, takes the driver’s seat

17-01-2026 06:31 The might of the US military strength unleashed in Caracas serves as a powerful threat to Washington’s other geopolitical adversaries.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

As I see it

After Maduro, Trump takes on the ayatollahs

17-01-2026 05:32 Having pledged himself publicly to “protect” protesting Iranians, Trump has left himself with precious little room in which to manoeuvre.

by James Neilson

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

Is Vaca Muerta now a dead cow – and EU-Mercosur deal a cherubic baby?

17-01-2026 00:12 Today will go down as a historic day with the world’s biggest free-trade area numbering over 700 million consumers signed into being in the Paraguayan capital of Asunción.

by Michael Soltys

A helicopter sprays water to extinguish a bushfire in Mount Pirque at El Hoyo, in the Patagonian region of Chubut province, Argentina on January 10, 2026

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Stories that caught our eye: January 9 to 16

16-01-2026 18:10 A selection of the stories that caught our eye over the last seven days in Argentina.

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva hug during a press conference after a meeting within the framework of the signing agreement between the European Union and Mercosur at Itamaraty Palace in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on January 16, 2026.

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL

Lula, Von der Leyen hail EU-Mercosur deal as key for prosperity, multilateralism

16-01-2026 17:42 Brazil's Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen hail EU-Mercosur trade deal as key for prosperity and multilateralism.

US President Donald Trump meets with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado in the Oval Office, on January 15, 2026 in Washington, D.C.

US-VENEZUELA RELATIONS

Machado vows to be Venezuela president 'when the right time comes'

16-01-2026 13:41 "I believe I will be elected when the right time comes as president of Venezuela, the first woman president," opposition leader tells right-wing news show.

Foreign policy & diplomacy

Trump visa crackdown hits leftist-run Latin American nations

16-01-2026 00:14 Trump's US immigrant visa crackdown has ensnared friends and foes alike in Latin America

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, left, and Javier Milei, Argentina's president, during a news conference at the Mercosur Leaders Summit in Montevideo, Uruguay, on Friday, December 6, 2024.

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL

Historic EU-Mercosur deal signing fails to unite Lula, Milei

15-01-2026 21:19 Long-awaited EU-Mercosur trade pact set to be signed in Asunción Saturday; Milei, Peña and Orsi all expected to attend ceremony, though Lula won’t travel.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado is surrounded by press as she departs the US Capitol after meeting with US senators on January 15, 2026 in Washington, DC.

US-VENEZUELA RELATIONS

Trump hosts Machado at White House but praises Venezuela’s ‘terrific’ interim leader

15-01-2026 20:27 Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado says she "presented" her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Donald Trump; US president showers praise on interim leader Delcy Rodríguez after removal of Nicolás Maduro.

Fake news, false images, political narratives and social media posts.

ANTI-SEMITISM ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Fires in Patagonia revive old anti-Semitic narratives

15-01-2026 18:25 Viral messages on social media attributing raging forest fires in Patagonia to alleged Israeli plans to populate the region, reviving centuries-old conspiracy theories.

A view of the Argentina's Foreign Ministry headquarters building in Buenos Aires on July 1, 2025, on the eve of the 66th Summit of leaders of Mercosur and Associated States to be held on July 2 and 3.

FOREIGN POLICY

Argentina: Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan are terrorist organisations

15-01-2026 14:14 Milei’s Office informed that this move was adopted “in the framework of the international commitments assumed by the Argentine Republic in the struggle against terrorism."

A Chinese company has been blocked from bidding on a project to deepen the Paraná River waterway near Rosario, Argentina.

ANALYSIS

In Argentina, Trump tests whether money, not force, can win over Latin America

15-01-2026 11:09 Argentina holds clues about how successful US President Donald Trump's so-called “Donroe Doctrine” may ultimately be.

US-VENEZUELA RELATIONS

Trump praises 'terrific' new Venezuela leader Rodríguez after call

15-01-2026 10:26 US President Donald Trump says he had held a "long call" with Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodríguez, describing her as "terrific."

A man harvests coffee during the end of the annual crop season at Lira farm in Santa Clara district, Porciúncula municipality, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil on July 21, 2025.

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL

EU-Mercosur deal: How Europe and Brazil differ on pesticides

15-01-2026 09:48 Sweeping free-trade agreement, set to be signed on Saturday, reignites debate over pesticides banned for European farmers but widely used in Latin America.

A combine harvester harvests a soy field in Lobos, some 100 km west of Buenos Aires, on April 29, 2022.

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL

Long-awaited EU-Mercosur trade pact set for signing

15-01-2026 00:38 Mercosur and the European Union will on Saturday sign an agreement to create one of the world’s largest free‑trade zones, a deal that has sparked tensions with Europe’s agricultural sector and aims to offer a "third way" amid the rivalry between the United States and China.

Panama's President José Raúl Mulino, Argentina's President Javier Milei, Paraguay's President Santiago Peña, Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Uruguay's President Yamandú Orsi and Bolivia's Foreign Minister Fernando Aramayo pose for a family photo during the Mercosur Heads of State Summit at the Iguazu Falls in Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná State, Brazil, on December 20, 2025.

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL

Milei to travel to Paraguay for signing of EU-Mercosur trade deal

13-01-2026 22:08 Mercosur-European Union treaty to be signed in Asunción on Saturday; Argentina’s leader will travel, but Lula’s attendance in doubt.; Expectations in libertarian ranks.

Business, politics & losses

The fall of the Bolivarian régime and its ruinous fallout for Argentina

13-01-2026 15:18 Argentina’s economic relationship with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela left a negative balance difficult to hide. From Hugo Chávez’s financial loans to Néstor Kirchner to failed trade agreements, expropriations and non-payments, the link translated into lost dollars, lost markets and troubled national companies. Bonds with usurious interest rates, unpaid exports, truncated energy projects and forced nationalisations marked almost three decades of a political alliance which, in economic terms, proved to be costly and ruinous for the country.

by Carlos Burgueño

BONDS & MARKETS

Argentina used multilateral funds to repay US$2.5 billion US swap

12-01-2026 23:39 Milei government secured financing from an unnamed multilateral institution to repay US$2.5 billion to the US Treasury from a currency swap agreement.

A moto taxi driver wearing a Venezuelan flag jacket drives a passenger in the surroundings of El Rodeo I prison in Guatire, Miranda State, some 30 kilometers east of Caracas on January 12, 2026. Venezuela said that 116 political prisoners have been released since the government announced last week it would begin freeing those jailed under president Nicolas Maduro, who was seized by US forces in a raid on Caracas.

VENEZUELA INTERVENTION

Trump says working well with Venezuela's new leaders, open to meeting

12-01-2026 11:26 Venezuela says that 116 political prisoners have been released since the government announced last week it would begin freeing those jailed under Maduro.

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL

EU confirms Mercosur trade deal will be signed January 17 in Paraguay

12-01-2026 10:04 EU gave a long-delayed go-ahead last Friday to the huge trade pact with the South American Mercosur, overriding opposition led by key power France.

DIPLOMATIC ROW

Brazil to stop running Argentina's Embassy in Caracas as ties sink

12-01-2026 08:55 Brazil plans to relinquish custody of Argentina’s Embassy and diplomatic interests in Caracas as ties between Lula and Milei governments deteriorate.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Ursula von der Leyen during a news conference in Brasília in 2023.

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL

EU trade deal with Mercosur defies Trump’s protectionism

12-01-2026 08:44 EU deal with Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay will create a massive free-trade area, showing that broad multilateral deals remain possible in a global order upended by Donald Trump.

US FOREIGN POLICY

Trump tells Cuba to 'make a deal, before it is too late'

11-01-2026 10:56 US president warns Communist leaders in Cuba that flow of Venezuelan oil and cash will stop; "I strongly suggest they make a deal, before it is too late," declares Trump on social media.

Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency and a leading contender to be the next United Nations secretary general.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Rafael Grossi: ‘The UN is moving into irrelevance, but it need not be so’

10-01-2026 06:59 Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is one of the leading candidates to succeed United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. In an exclusive interview, the Argentine diplomat discusses the UN’s top job, his vision for it and career to date.

by James Grainger

AS I SEE IT

Donald Trump is on a roll

10-01-2026 06:51 Though Trump and his aides insist that they have drawn up a plan to make Venezuela great again, they do not seem to be aware of the magnitude of the task they have undertaken.

by James Neilson

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

Fracas in Caracas

10-01-2026 06:43 Whisking Maduro from a heavily guarded Caracas military base to a New York courtroom was also an almost magical feat but has yet to prove a game-changer in Venezuelan history. If Bolivarian 21st-century socialism could outlive Hugo Chávez, it could also survive Maduro.

by Michael Soltys

Maduro the dictator, Trump the imperialist and the contours of a new world order

GEOPOLITICS

The dictator, the imperialist and the new world order

10-01-2026 06:39 Seeing a strongman take the keys to the region’s socio-political-economic inclinations is ominously reminiscent of the darkest days of the recent past. It feels even more terrifying when the man with his finger on the button is Trump.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

EDITORIAL

The Donroe Doctrine

10-01-2026 06:20 Trump has been explicit in placing democracy on the backburner in Venezuela.

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL

EU-Mercosur trade deal will be signed January 17, confirms foreign minister

09-01-2026 17:48 "The good news continues" – Argentina’s government celebrates EU greenlight for Mercosur trade agreement; Milei, Minister Caputo and Quirno join in the celebrations.

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL

European Union approves free-trade agreement with Mercosur

09-01-2026 13:36 Greenlight clears the way for Ursula von der Leyen to travel to Asunción, Paraguay, to sign the sweeping trade pact.

Representatives in US Congress have relaunched the Argentina Caucus in a bit to boost bilateral ties with Buenos Aires.

DIPLOMACY

US Congress revives special caucus for Argentina links

09-01-2026 10:24 US Congress revives bipartisan 'Argentina Caucus,' co-chaired by Republican Michael Rulli and Democrat Darren Soto, as part of move to strengthen ties between Buenos Aires and Washington.

Farmers during a demonstration against the EU-Mercosur trade pact in Warsaw, on January 9.

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL

EU nations back Mercosur trade deal over French opposition

09-01-2026 09:41 Majority of European Union countries back trade deal with regional Mercosur bloc, paving the way for trade deal's signing in Paraguay next week.

A demonstrator drives a tractor with a placard reading 'Stop the EU-MERCOSUR Agreement' as they take part in an action aiming at slowing down the traffic with their tractors on Paris' ring road to push France's government to block the Mercosur trade deal in Paris on January 9, 2026.

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL

EU-Mercosur deal wins approval after overcoming French opposition

09-01-2026 09:37 Majority of the European Union's 27 nations backed the pact at an ambassadors' meeting in Brussels.

Donald Trump watches the operation that ousted Nicolás Maduro.

UNITED STATES INTERVENTION

‘My only morality’ is my only check on my power, says Trump

08-01-2026 22:08 After shocking the world with his stunning intervention in Caracas and removal of Nicolás Maduro from power and threatening to invade Greenland, US President Donald Trump says he “doesn’t need international law.”

Workers carry crates of Manduria cherry tomatoes during a harvest at the Spina Sapori di Puglia farm in the town of Manduria, Taranto, Italy.

ANALYSIS: EU-MERCOSUR DEAL

EU concessions: What Europe gave farmers for Mercosur deal backing

08-01-2026 18:26 Farmers' main concerns are tariffs and fertilisers – the EU hasn't won over agricultural producers, but it has promised to soften the blow.

US President Donald Trump, left, and Javier Milei, Argentina’s president, at the White House in Washington on Oct. 14.

US-ARGENTINA SUPPORT

US Congress report questions Trump's financial support for Milei

08-01-2026 18:04 Congressional analysts flag risks around debt, reforms and Argentina’s limited economic importance for Washington.

View of an oil refining plant of state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) in Puerto La Cruz, Anzoategui state, Venezuela, on November 4, 2021.

VENEZUELAN OIL INDUSTRY

Trump says United States could run Venezuela and its oil for years

08-01-2026 14:52 Trump says in New York Times interview that the US would be running Venezuela and extracting its oil for years. “We will rebuild it in a very profitable way,” he told the newspaper.

An aircraft carrying US businessman Donald Trump Jr. arrives in Nuuk, Greenland on January 7, 2025.

GEOPOLITICS IN AMERICAS

Trump plots offer to buy Greenland as NATO ally Denmark seethes

08-01-2026 14:17 French President Emmanuel Macron accuses United States of "breaking free from international rules" and "gradually turning away" from its allies.

United Nations headquarters in New York.

MULTILATERAL WITHDRAWAL

Trump withdraws US from 66 global bodies, including 31 UN organisations

08-01-2026 11:44 US President Donald Trump orders withdrawal of the United States from 66 international organisations that "no longer serve American interests"; Decision involves 31 United Nations organisations and 35-non UN entities.

Foreign relations & diplomacy

Milei praises Trump but says he won’t break trade links with China

08-01-2026 00:36 Argentina’s President Javier Milei said that there is "global reordering" taking place – and that his government has already stated which side it’s backing.

Trump ousts Maduro

Argentina backs Trump’s plan to ‘run’ Venezuela, downplays call for elections

07-01-2026 17:31 Casa Rosada accepts that elements of Maduro regime will remain in place in Venezuela and do not view calls for free elections as viable; Milei, who has cooled on Machado’s potential leadership of nation, will back Trump’s intervention in upcoming Davos speech.

MADURO OUSTER

Machado says US told Venezuela leader to move to transition

07-01-2026 17:13 Donald Trump has dismissed the idea of opposition leader María Corina Machado leading country but has told interim leader Delcy Rodríguez to lead a transition of power.

OIL & GAS

United States says it will control Venezuela oil exports indefinitely

07-01-2026 17:06 Trump administration plans to control future sales of Venezuelan oil and hold the proceeds in US accounts.

FROM CAPTAIN TO CHAIRMAN?

'I'd like to have my own football club,' admits Messi in interview

06-01-2026 19:13 “I’d like to have my own club … start from the bottom and be able to give opportunities to young players, to people, to help them grow and to build an important club,” reveals national team star.

Preparations are made for a Security Council meeting at the United Nations (UN) concerning the situation in Venezuela on January 5, 2026 in New York City.

DIPLOMACY & MULTILATERALISM

Latin America split at UN over US military action in Venezuela

06-01-2026 17:59 Security Council meeting exposes sharp regional divisions after Maduro’s capture and transfer to New York; Some governments defend sovereignty while others back Washington’s move against Maduro.

Farmers stand next to potatoes and a tractor parked in front of the European Parliament, during a farmers' protest to denounce the reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and trade agreements such as the Mercosur, in Brussels, on December 18, 2025, organised by Copa-Cogeca, the main association representing farmers and agricultural cooperatives in the EU. The European Commission on January 6, 2026 offered a carrot to farmers angered at a trade deal with the South American bloc Mercosur and plans to overhaul EU farming subsidies, promising additional funds for the sector.

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL

EU offers farmers extra funds to quell anger at Mercosur deal

06-01-2026 14:00 European Union will adjust its budget proposal for 2028-2034 to allow farmers early access to around 45 billion euros (US$53 billion) in funding.

PROFILE: DELCY RODRÍGUEZ

Venezuela’s new leader is the oil industry’s long-time ally

06-01-2026 13:52 Delcy Rodríguez oversees Venezuela’s oil apparatus and has decades of relationships among the remaining socialist stronghold in government.

The United Nations Security Council holds an emergency meeting to discuss recent US actions in Venezuela on January 5, 2026 in at UN headquarters in New York.

CRISIS IN VENEZUELA

UN: US operation in Venezuela undermined international law

06-01-2026 09:18 The Trump administration does not want to occupy Venezuela, says Washington’s envoy to the United Nations.

POST-MADURO OUSTER

Venezuela regroups with new leader, old repression tactics

05-01-2026 22:52 For now, new leader Delcy Rodríguez has the backing of both the Chavismo strongholds in her government and US President Donald Trump.

This courtroom sketch shows deposed president of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro (2nd-L), and his wife, Cilia Flores, attending their arraignment at Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse on January 5, 2026 in New York, with defense lawyers Barry Pollack (L) and Mark Donnelly (2nd-R).

VENEZUELA LEADER IN COURT

Venezuela's Maduro pleads not guilty in NYC court, insists still president

05-01-2026 20:15 Ousted Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro pleads not guilty to drug-trafficking and other charges in a defiant appearance in a New York court.

European Commission chief spokeswoman Paula Pinho.

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL

EU hopes to sign Mercosur trade deal soon

05-01-2026 18:59 EU agriculture ministers will discuss the agreement on Wednesday during an extraordinary meeting in Brussels.

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL

Italy plans to back Mercosur, paving way for EU trade deal

05-01-2026 18:25 Deal can pass without support from France and just needs a qualified majority of the EU’s 27 member states.