Brazil

• Friday, May 10th 2013 - 06:05 UTC

  Peru promoting Unasur summit to address Venezuela’s political situation

  

  Peru which currently holds the chair of Unasur, Union of South American Nations is promoting a new meeting of country members’ heads of state to address the political situation in Venezuela, Foreign minister Rafael Roncagliolo said on Thursday.

• Wednesday, May 8th 2013 - 16:57 UTC

  Brazilian inflation during April just managed to keep to the government’s target

  

  Inflation in Brazil during April climbed 0.55% over March (0.47%) and accumulated 6.49% in the last twelve months which is just below the government’s upper limit target of 4.5% to 6.5%, according to the latest release from the country’s Geography and Statistics National Institute, IBGE.

• Wednesday, May 8th 2013 - 09:40 UTC

  First Latinamerican and BRIC representative next head of WTO

  

  Brazil's Roberto Azevedo has won the race to become the next head of the World Trade Organization, the first candidate from Latinamerica and from the BRIC club of emerging economies to take the job.

• Wednesday, May 8th 2013 - 09:34 UTC

  Francis will visit a favela, meet young prisoners when he arrives in Brazil for World Day of Youth

  

  Pope Francis will visit a favela (slum) and meet young prisoners when he travels to Brazil on his first international trip as pontiff in July, the Vatican announced on Tuesday. The Argentine born pope who has said he wants to make concern for the poor a hallmark of his papacy, will visit the Manguinhos slum in Rio de Janeiro on the fourth day of his July 22-29 trip to the world's largest Catholic country.

• Wednesday, May 8th 2013 - 09:08 UTC

  “Possible submerged continent” found in the Atlantic off the coast of Brazil

  

  A large mass of granite has been found on the seabed off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, suggesting that a continent may have existed in the Atlantic Ocean, a Japanese agency and the Brazilian government announced this week.

• Wednesday, May 8th 2013 - 09:02 UTC

  Fiat plans to invest 7bn dollars in next three years to remain main automaker in Brazil

  

  Italy’s carmaker Fiat is upping its stake in Brazil, pouring about 7 billion dollars into local investments by 2016, according to a plan its CEO Sergio Marchionne handed President Dilma Rousseff on Monday.

• Wednesday, May 8th 2013 - 08:57 UTC

  Petrobras finds ‘good quality’ oil in the sub-salt area of the Santos Basin

  

  Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras found “good quality” oil in a sub-salt area of the offshore Santos Basin, one of the world's most promising oil frontiers, according to a securities filing by Petrobras on Tuesday.

• Tuesday, May 7th 2013 - 09:11 UTC

  Winning design to replace Brazil’s destroyed Antarctic base was presented in Rio

  

  The Brazilian Navy announced in Rio the winning proposal for the new Antarctic research base Comandante Ferraz which in February last year was destroyed by fire with the loss of two lives and damages in excess of 12 million dollars.

• Tuesday, May 7th 2013 - 09:04 UTC

  Brazil expects a boom in sales of its unique sugar cane liquor ‘cachaca’

  

  Brazil’s ‘cachaca’ the world's fourth most-produced distilled spirit, but little known abroad, except as an ingredient in popular cocktails like caipirinhas is about to change when the US recognizes the sugar cane liquor as a distinctive Brazilian product.

• Tuesday, May 7th 2013 - 09:00 UTC

  Rousseff creates ministry for small businesses and announces soft loans

  

  Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff announced on Monday a reduction in the interest rate on public loans for owners of small businesses from 8% to 5% and inaugurated the Secretariat for Micro and Small Businesses which will have the category of a ministry.