Brazil

• Wednesday, February 1st 2012 - 15:56 UTC

  Brazilian president meets Fidel Castro; promises financial economic aid to Cuba

  

  Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff met with Fidel Castro, the revolutionary hero of her youth, and held talks with his younger brother, President Raul Castro, on Tuesday in a visit to strengthen financial and economic ties with Cuba. On Wednesday Rousseff left for Haiti.

• Wednesday, February 1st 2012 - 07:14 UTC

  Brazil reiterates support for Argentina, denies any blockade to the Falklands

  

  Brazil reiterated its support for Argentina’s Malvinas Islands sovereignty claim and insisted that solving the controversy with the UK is ‘most important’ for South America’s stability. It also pointed out that it’s not correct to talk about “a blockade”.

• Wednesday, February 1st 2012 - 06:55 UTC

  Brazil’s Petrobras admits second oil spill in less than a week

  

  Brazil's state-run energy giant Petrobras on Tuesday reported that 160 barrels of crude oil may have spilled from a deep-water well off Sao Paulo state but said the situation was under control.

• Wednesday, February 1st 2012 - 06:24 UTC

  Brazil’s December industrial production brings hope after a dismal 0.3% for 2011

  

  Rising output at Brazil's factories and mines in December, following a dismal 2011 performance, should help activity in 2012 as falling interest rates and rising investment help sustain growth in Latin America's largest economy

• Wednesday, February 1st 2012 - 00:09 UTC

  Rousseff downplays human rights issue during her visit to Cuba

  

  Visiting Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff refused to criticize Cuba’s human rights record on Tuesday, saying the issue should not be used to score ideological points.

• Tuesday, January 31st 2012 - 23:57 UTC

  Brazil/Arab world trade soared more than 28% in 2011, reaching 25.13bn dollars

  

  Brazil's trade with the Arab world soared more than 28% in 2011 to reach 25.13 billion dollars and is expected to grow a further 15%t this year, the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce said on Tuesday.

• Tuesday, January 31st 2012 - 23:51 UTC

  China bars Brazil’s bulk carriers from its ports; clash over iron ore shipping rates

  

  China banned a giant new class of ship from its ports on Tuesday, a move that checks efforts by mining giant Vale SA to cut the cost of shipping iron ore to its largest market and risks raising trade tensions with Brazil.

• Tuesday, January 31st 2012 - 05:39 UTC

  Dilma Rousseff arrives in Havana to advance trade and investment relations

  

  Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff arrived Monday to Cuba for a two-day visit to discuss bilateral economic cooperation and human rights. From Cuba Rousseff will travel on to Haiti as she aims to continue the regional diplomatic outreach of her popular predecessor, Lula da Silva.

• Tuesday, January 31st 2012 - 05:22 UTC

  Brazilian company signs agreement to recover the defunct Cuban sugar industry

  

  Brazilian builder Odebrecht plans to produce sugar in Cuba, the company said on Monday as incentives for foreign investment in the Castro family’s regime raise hopes of a recovery in the once-booming sector after decades of decline.

• Tuesday, January 31st 2012 - 05:17 UTC

  The itsy-bitsy tanga and ‘fio dental’ succumbing to bikinis and ‘gordinhas’

  

  The Girl from Ipanema has put on a few kilos and for many sun basking in Brazil’s beaches the country’s iconic itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny tanga just doesn’t suffice anymore.