suspension

The symbolic move comes as Argentina escalates its claim over the British-administered territory.

An Argentinian judge has ordered the suspension of a British-Israeli oil project near the Falkland Islands in a purely symbolic move as Argentina escalates its claim over the British-administered territory.

Wednesday’s interim ruling issued by a court in Argentina’s southernmost province, Tierra del Fuego, follows a lawsuit filed by 1982 war veterans and environmental lawyers earlier this month.

The plaintiffs sought to block Britain’s Rockhopper Exploration and Israel’s Navitas Petroleum from the Sea Lion oilfield, located about 220km (137 miles) from the islands.

The judge ordered the companies to “refrain from initiating, pursuing, carrying out or having carried out any material actions” that would involve drilling, installing infrastructure or extracting hydrocarbons, according to a ruling seen by the AFP news agency.

Additionally, the suspension applies “until such time as the environmental impact assessment procedure has been conducted before the national authority competent in environmental matters”.

The judge gave the parties 10 days to provide information, including details about the status of the project, its contractors and its financiers.

President Javier Milei’s administration has also taken legal action against the project, arguing it violates a United Nations resolution calling for both sides to desist from unilateral actions in the islands until their dispute is resolved.

The court order comes just a day after Argentina announced it would file further legal complaints against companies exploring for oil near the islands, intensifying its campaign against businesses operating in the British overseas territory.

Britain and Argentina fought a brief but bitter 10-week war in 1982 over the South Atlantic islands, known to Argentines as the Malvinas.

The 1982 war ended with an Argentinian surrender after 74 days of conflict that killed 649 Argentines and 255 British troops, as well as three Falkland Islanders.

Buenos Aires has doubled down on its claim over the Falkland Islands after US President Donald Trump said Washington was open to reviewing its historically neutral stance on the territory.

London maintains the islands are British and rejects the jurisdiction of Argentinian courts in the Falklands.

The islanders themselves voted overwhelmingly in 2013 to remain British.

But Argentina rejects that outcome, arguing that the principle of self-determination does not apply to a population it considers implanted by Britain after 1833.

BRASILIA: A judge ordered the reinstatement of Brazil’s federal police chief on Wednesday after another judge ordered his suspension amid a deepening crisis in the nation’s top court.

Supreme Court Justice Flavio Dino ordered police director-general Andrei Rodrigues to return to his duties, overturning a decision Tuesday by Justice Andre Mendonca, who had suspended him after accusing the police of illegally spying on him.

Scandal has engulfed the court ahead of October presidential elections after it emerged last week that a disgraced banker charged with fraud apparently asked one of its judges for help, days before his arrest.

Published on
03/09/2026 – 16:54 GMT+2

The European Commission suspended imports of meat from Brazil on Thursday over concerns about antibiotic use, after Brasília failed to convince the EU executive that its products comply with European standards.

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The move comes as Brazilian meat imports lie at the heart of opposition to the free trade agreement signed in January 2026 by the Commission with Mercosur countries — Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.

EU farmers accuse Latin American producers of failing to comply with the bloc’s phytosanitary and food safety standards, arguing that this gives Latin American products an unfair advantage on the EU market.

“We have rules that ban antimicrobials or using antimicrobials for growth,” Commission spokesperson Eva Hrncirova said. “On the 3rd of September, the list of countries that basically comply with our rules on antimicrobials comes into application.”

The spokesperson added that Brazil was not currently on the list, meaning its imports were suspended as of Thursday.

No guarantees for beef

The suspension, which resulted from a vote by national experts in May, covers beef, poultry, eggs and honey.

Imports of some products could resume following an audit of poultry and honey, launched on the basis of written guarantees of compliance provided by Brasília. The audit is expected to run until the end of the week, although the conclusions will take longer.

Hrncirova said no such guarantees had been provided for beef, adding that they must cover the animals’ entire life cycle, which is naturally longer for cattle.

Brazil’s ambassador to the EU, Pedro Miguel da Costa e Silva, told Euronews ahead of the summer that technical discussions with the Commission were ongoing. However, Brazil ultimately failed to prevent the suspension from taking effect.

Trade in agricultural products was the most contentious issue throughout the 25-year negotiations over the Mercosur agreement.

The deal was provisionally applied in May after the European Parliament suspended the ratification process with a legal referral to the European Court of Justice.

Drivers will be required to pay a toll to cross the bridge.

A new bridge connecting the city of Messina, in Sicily, to mainland Italy is set to become the world’s longest suspension bridge. The project, estimated to cost £11.5billion, has received the green light and is expected to be finished by 2032-2033.

The Strait of Messina Bridge will stretch a total length of 3,666 metres (2.2 miles), and is designed to accommodate six lanes of traffic and two railway tracks. It will have a maximum capacity of 200 trains a day and 6,000 vehicles an hour.

The world’s longest bridge is currently the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, spanning 34 miles.

The Strait of Messina Bridge sits at the point where the African and Eurasian tectonic plates meet, making seismic planning absolutely vital.

In 1908, Europe’s most powerful earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.5 on the Richter scale, struck southern Italy, centred in the Messina Strait. Moments after the earthquake, a devastating tsunami formed, causing 40-foot waves.

The population of Messina was reduced from 150,000 to only hundreds, and the total death toll in Italy was nearly 200,000.

The project plans state that “from a seismic viewpoint, the bridge is able to withstand an earthquake of 7.1 on the Richter scale”.

Motorists will be required to pay a toll to cross the bridge. The cost of a single crossing in a motor vehicle will be between €4 and €7 (£3-£6) per trip.

The project’s website explained: “The above rates will ensure that the cost of the project will be covered over the period of the concession term, as well as the related operating costs and routine and non-routine maintenance expenses.

“At the same time, the bridge will provide seamless travel between Sicily and Calabria with tolls far lower than the current cost of crossing the Strait.”