Brazil

• Wednesday, March 26th 2025 - 20:55 UTC

  PAHO warns of NCDs spreading in the region

  

  The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has issued an urgent call to address the primary factors contributing to non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which claim approximately 6 million lives annually in the Americas. At the Regional Meeting on Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases held in Brasilia, PAHO Director Dr. Jarbas Barbosa highlighted that over 240 million people in the region live with NCDs, such as hypertension, diabetes, and cancer, requiring continuous treatment. However, many lack adequate care due to poor management and control.

• Wednesday, March 26th 2025 - 05:20 UTC

  Brazil's STF reviews possible charges against Bolsonaro and others for Jan. 8 riots

  

  Brazil's Federal Supreme Court (STF) rounded up Tuesday the first day of the proceedings to determine whether former President Jair Bolsonaro and seven of his closest allies will face criminal charges for attempting to overthrow President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Jan. 8, 2023, when crowds stormed into the headquarters of the three branches of Government in Brasilia causing havoc.

• Tuesday, March 25th 2025 - 10:15 UTC

  Lula arrives in Japan to celebrate 130 years of diplomatic ties

  

  Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and First Lady Janja were welcomed by Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako on Tuesday at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, marking the start of the South American leader's state visit to celebrate 130 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Brazil arguably hosts the largest Japanese-descendant population outside Japan with around 2 million people, while Japan is home to the fifth largest Brazilian community abroad, with around 200,000 people.

• Monday, March 24th 2025 - 10:30 UTC

  Rousseff to stay at BRICS Bank helm for 5 more years after Moscow's nod

  

  Former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff will remain at the helm of the BRICS bloc's Shanghai-based New Development Bank following Vladimir Putin's green light, Agencia Brasil reported citing Brasilia's newly-appointed Secretary for Institutional Relations Gleisi Hoffmann. Rousseff's term was to end in July this year.

• Monday, March 24th 2025 - 08:07 UTC

  STF Justice Dino too votes against Bolsonarist Congresswoman Zambelli

  

  Brazilian Supreme Federal Court (STF) Justice Flávio Dino Sunday added a nail to Congresswoman Carla Zambelli's legal coffin by voting in favor of sentencing her to five years and three months in addition to losing her seat in Parliament for the illegal possession of a firearm and illegal restraint with the use of a firearm, Agência Brasil reported.

• Saturday, March 22nd 2025 - 10:23 UTC

  Brazil's STF gives three thumbs down to Bolsonarist congresswoman

  

  Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) has already gathered three votes in favor of sentencing staunch Bolsonarist Congresswoman Carla Zambelli to 5 years and 3 months in prison for illegal possession of a firearm and illegal restraint with a firearm, in addition to removing her from Parliament after case rapporteur Gilmar Mendes cast his virtual opinion Friday.

• Friday, March 21st 2025 - 08:57 UTC

  Brazil: STJ upholds fine against parents not vaccinating child against Covid-19

  

  Brazil's Superior Court of Justice's (STJ) Third Panel (Turma) unanimously ruled Thursday that parents who refuse to vaccinate their children against Covid-19 can be fined, upholding a decision by the Paraná state court. The court's rationale hinged around the Statute of the Child and Adolescent (ECA), which mandates child immunization.

• Thursday, March 20th 2025 - 20:03 UTC

  Amazon railroad project faces ballooning costs and environmental concerns

  

  New data provided by researchers from the University of São Paulo, the Federal University of Minas Gerais, and environmental groups like the Climate Observatory showed that the Ferrogrão railroad, a 933-kilometer project linking Mato Grosso’s grain-producing region to Atlantic ports, could cause significantly greater environmental damage than previously estimated. The study criticizes the government’s feasibility analysis, conducted under former President Jair Bolsonaro, for underestimating deforestation risks and cumulative impacts, especially in the Amazon rainforest and indigenous areas.

• Thursday, March 20th 2025 - 11:26 UTC

  Brazil: Haddad says Selic adjustment stemmed from Campos Neto era

  

  After Brazil Central Bank's (BCB) Monetary Policy Committee (Copom) raised Wednesday the benchmark Selic interest rate from 13.25% to 14.25% annually, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad warned that such a move had been planned since December under former BCB President Roberto Campos Neto, who had been appointed during the Jair Bolsonaro years.

• Thursday, March 20th 2025 - 10:23 UTC

  Eduardo Bolsonaro to seek political asylum in the US

  

  Brazilian Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, a son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, announced he would be taking a leave from Parliament and remaining in the United States where he intends to seek political asylum at the suggestion of his legal team, who advised him against returning to the country as his freedom could be endangered by whatever Supreme Federal Court (STF) Justice Alexandre De Moraes might decide. He traveled to the US on Feb. 27, 2025, initially for meetings and vacation.