Mercosur heads of State pose for family photo, summit starts

Heads of state of the South American Mercosur bloc posed for family photo in Foz do Iguacu, Brazil, as the plenary session of the summit starts. EU diplomatic sources said a long-delayed trade deal may now be signed on January 12. Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay had hoped they would on Saturday finally seal a deal with the EU to create the world's largest free trade zone.

However, the deal, which has been under negotiation for more than 25 years, met with fierce opposition from farmers, notably in France and Italy, and has now been postponed to January.