Brazil's government confirmed Monday that Indonesia had joined the BRICS bloc as a full member, making it the first country to do so this year, Agencia Brasil reported. The alliance now has the fourth largest population on the planet, with the new partner's 284 million inhabitants making it the 10th largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity, according to the World Bank.
A Japanese woman considered to be the world's longest-lived person died on Dec. 29 at 116 years old at a nursing home in the city of Ashiya in the Hyogo Prefecture, it was reported Saturday. A Brazilian nun is now the oldest person alive.
An Israeli national who was vacationing in Brazil had to flee in a rush to Argentina to avoid being prosecuted there for alleged war crimes committed while deployed in Gaza as a member of the Kfir Brigade.
A total of US$ 15.918 billion fled Brazil in 2024, which represented the third-largest annual leakage ever behind consecutive negative balances in 2019 (US$ 44.768 billion) and 2020 (US$ 27.923 billion), the Central Bank (BCB) reported this week. Last year's financial flow was negative by US$84.396 billion after outflows (US$ 674.385 billion) outpaced inflows (US$ 589.989 billion).
Starting in the first half of 2026, the voluntary enlistment of women in Brazil's Armed Forces is now open, with the deadline for applications set for June 30, Agencia Brasil reported. Thus, women born in 2007, who will turn 18 this year, are eligible to apply. If accepted, they would be joining the force of their choice between March 2 and 6 between Aug. 3 to 7 for a 12-month service that can be extended for up to eight years.
Brazil took over Wednesday the rotating presidency of the BRICS bloc which now features at least nine new members. It is the fourth time the South American country has held that position, Agência Brasil noted.
Monday's issue of Brazil's Central Bank's (BCB) Focus Bulletin twitched last week's 2025 slightly for the worse, with higher inflation and a smaller Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Agencia Brasil reported. The study showed that the Broad Consumer Price Index (IPCA) should end 2025 at 4.96% from the 4.86% forecast last week. It was the 11th adjustment to the inflation projection and the ninth to the exchange rate between the local real and the US dollar.
US dollar expectations in the Brazilian market are beating forecasts having reached R$ 6.30 in December, (from 4.85 in January 2024) making the Brazilian Real one of the largest currencies of emerging countries, as the most devalued during 2024, despite the Central Bank pumping some US$ 17 billion to the market hoping to contain the slide.
Authorities said that the black boxes of the Brazilian-built Embraer 190 Azerbaijan Airlines jet that crashed on Wednesday in Kazakhstan will be sent to the manufacturing country's aviation watchdog to further investigate the causes of the accident near Aktau, a port on the Caspian Sea in western Kazakhstan, far from the aircraft's planned route.
The Chinese BYD electric car factory construction in northern Brazil has turned out into a dispute between Chinese investors and Brazilian authorities who accused the Chinese contractor of having Brazilian labor working in slavery-like conditions that allegedly entered the country with temporary labor visas.