x     Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi expressed disapproval over the absence of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva during the signing of the landmark free trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and the Mercosur bloc, held in Asunción on January 17. Speaking to reporters, Orsi said that “any absence, by any of the four (presidents), does not leave a good impression on me. I always want all four of us present at every instance.” He added that while the formal signing was