Brazil

• Friday, August 5th 2016 - 21:18 UTC

  Rio Games have an international counterterrorism office, a first for an Olympic event

  

  A lot of people are fretting about the safety of the Rio Olympic Games. Zika fears, the notoriously unsafe water in Guanabara Bay, an Olympic venue so filthy that some rowers and sailors are planning to wear protective gear and of course violent crime.

• Friday, August 5th 2016 - 19:50 UTC

  Mercosur founding members agree to disagree, but will hold another round of talks

  

  Mercosur founding members coordinators who met in Montevideo on Thursday to address the controversy over the presidency of the group and the self proclamation to the post by Venezuela, did finally reach some conclusions, but the most significant seems to be that they continue to disagree on the steps to follow and are prepared for another round of talks.

• Friday, August 5th 2016 - 12:04 UTC

  Brazil´s unemployment reaches 11.3%; only two years ago it stood at 6.5%

  

  Brazil's unemployment rate rose to 11.3% in the second quarter, statistics agency IBGE said, hitting a four-year high as Latin America's largest economy struggles with a crippling recession. In a sign that Brazil's labor market faces even tougher times, economists surveyed expect the unemployment rate will not start falling until 2018.

• Thursday, August 4th 2016 - 23:57 UTC

  Rousseff political downfall ever so close as Senate committee recommends her removal from office

  

  Brazilian Senate committee voted on Thursday to recommend the full upper house remove suspended president Dilma Rousseff from office in an impeachment trial, sending the nation's political drama into its end game. The decision -- passed by a vote of 14 to five -- is non-binding, but delivers Rousseff yet another setback on the eve of the Olympics opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro.

• Thursday, August 4th 2016 - 22:02 UTC

  Petrobras corruption case nets another company, senior executives and politicians

  

  Brazil’s federal police said they had arrested two people and raided properties over alleged corruption at building firm Queiroz Galvão, as fresh allegations linked the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) to an alleged US$3-million bribe. The sprawling “Operation Carwash” investigation was launched two years ago to tackle price fixing, bribery and political kickbacks at state-run oil firm Petrobras.

• Thursday, August 4th 2016 - 21:52 UTC

  Venezuela defies Mercosur members and announces it will “fully exercise the presidency”

  

  Venezuela has defiantly confirmed that is will fully exercise the “self-proclaimed” presidency of Mercosur, despite the opposition from Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, who consider the chair vacant and are meeting in Montevideo to find an alternative for the six month mandate.

• Wednesday, August 3rd 2016 - 07:24 UTC

  Brazilian caipirinha: Rousseff impeachment and Olympics take off this week

  

  Brazil's long-running presidential impeachment drama starts to unveil this week just as the Rio Olympics sprints out of the starting blocks. Suspended Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who is accused of breaking budgetary laws, is staying away from the opening ceremony in Rio.

• Wednesday, August 3rd 2016 - 06:58 UTC

  Rio Games opening tailored to the current economic conditions in Brazil

  

  Rio de Janeiro Olympics opening ceremony on Friday will break with the recent tradition of large-scale and expensive shows, featuring a low-emissions cauldron and an “analogue” experience, executive producer Marco Balich said.

• Wednesday, August 3rd 2016 - 06:10 UTC

  Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay consider Mercosur chair 'vacant' and call for urgent meeting

  

  Mercosur's disarray and fault lines were again exposed when Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay insisted that Venezuela's self proclamation as president of the group was invalid, and also expressed disappointment with Uruguay for having ended its mandate last Saturday causing “great uncertainty”.

• Wednesday, August 3rd 2016 - 06:02 UTC

  Venezuela rejects call for Mercosur meeting and claims a conspiracy against Bolivarianism

  

  Venezuela rejected Argentina's call for an urgent Mercosur meeting and underlined it is exercising the group's pro tempore presidency “legally” accusing Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay of being part of a Triple Alliance which is re-editing “a sort of Plan Condor against Venezuela to harass and criminalize its model of development and democracy”.