Key Points —A bilateral Brazil-Argentina report confirms Vaca Muerta gas can meet Southern Cone demand for over 50 years at competitive production costs. —Brazil’s Energy Ministry proposes a $1.6 billion, 593-km pipeline from Uruguayana to Porto Alegre to carry Argentine gas. —Argentine gas at $5-5.50/MMBTU competes against $16-17 in Brazilian industry, creating a massive price […]

The post Vaca Muerta Can Supply Southern Cone Gas for 50 Years, Brazil Says appeared first on The Rio Times.

Key Points —The Venezuela BP gas deal covers the Cocuina-Manakin cross-border field with Trinidad and the offshore Loran gas field on the Deltana Platform. —BP will open a permanent office in Caracas. Shell has also expressed interest in the Loran project. —BP joins Eni and Repsol in signing exploration agreements with the Rodríguez government since […]

The post BP Signs Offshore Gas Deal With Venezuela in Post-Maduro Push appeared first on The Rio Times.

Key Points —President Santiago Peña will visit Taiwan in May in his second trip as president, reinforcing Paraguay Taiwan diplomatic ties. —Paraguay is one of only 12 countries worldwide — and the only one in South America — that maintains formal diplomatic relations with Taipei. —The visit comes amid sustained Chinese pressure on Taiwan’s remaining […]

The post Paraguay’s Peña to Visit Taiwan in May, Defying Chinese Pressure appeared first on The Rio Times.

Key Points —Sheinbaum approval dropped to 51% in April, three points below March and at least 15 points below a year ago, per Bloomberg-AtlasIntel. —Corruption (59%), crime (39%), and inflation (31%) are voters’ top three concerns. Nearly half rate the economy as bad. —The drop coincides with a GDP contraction, the Rocha narco indictment, and […]

The post Corruption Fears Drive Sheinbaum Approval to All-Time Low  appeared first on The Rio Times.

Key Points —Decree 302/2026 applies a partial 0.5% Argentina fuel tax increase from May 1, while deferring the full backlog of 2024-2025 adjustments to June. —The government froze fuel taxes entirely in April after Brent surged past $120 due to the Hormuz crisis, causing a 23% pump price spike in March. —Repeated deferrals since 2024 […]

The post Argentina Resumes Fuel Tax Increases After April War Freeze appeared first on The Rio Times.

Key Points —The US Department of Justice indicted Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya and nine other officials for conspiring with the Sinaloa Cartel to import narcotics. —The indictment alleges “Los Chapitos” backed Rocha’s gubernatorial campaign and he allowed them to operate with impunity. —All ten defendants face 40 years to life in prison. All are […]

The post U.S. Indicts Sinaloa Governor Rocha Moya on Drug Trafficking Charges appeared first on The Rio Times.

Key Points —President Sheinbaum met Petrobras CEO Magda Chambriard on April 25 to formalize Pemex Petrobras cooperation in exploration, production, refining, and biodiesel. —Petrobras technical teams will visit Mexico on May 13 to work alongside Pemex engineers on deep-water extraction and ethanol production. —Sheinbaum plans to visit Brazil in May to sign a broader bilateral […]

The post Pemex Taps Petrobras Expertise for Gulf of Mexico Exploration appeared first on The Rio Times.

Key Points —Mexico GDP Q1 2026 fell 0.8% quarter-on-quarter in Inegi’s flash estimate, reversing the 0.9% expansion in Q4 2025. —All three sectors contracted: agriculture -1.4%, industry -1.1%, services -0.6%. Year-on-year growth was just 0.2%. —The US economy grew 2% in the same quarter, widening the divergence between North America’s two largest economies. Deep Dive […]

The post Mexico Economy Contracts for First Time Since Pandemic in Q1 appeared first on The Rio Times.

The Rio Times — Europe Pulse Covering: UK · Starmer-Robbins-Mandelson · Reform UK 27% · Germany · DAX Ninth-Loss · BASF · VW · Porsche · MTU · France · Lecornu · Macron 28% · Italy · Meloni-Trump · NEC · UBS Q1 +80% · Spain · Santander · Norway GPFG · Magyar · Habsburg […]

The post Europe Intelligence Brief for Thursday, April 30, 2026 appeared first on The Rio Times.

Key Points —Colombia’s unemployment rate fell to 8.8% in March, with 2.34 million people out of work — but more than half of all workers remain informal. —The Carf fiscal watchdog projects a primary deficit of 3.7% of GDP for 2026 — the worst in 30 years — and warns the government’s consolidation plan is […]

The post Colombia Heads to Election With 8.8% Unemployment and Record Deficit appeared first on The Rio Times.

In a season where the focus was on fan voting decisions, it seems like the only fans who matter are the famous ones.

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Your bag should be the only one that works on vacation

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