Brazil

• Friday, June 19th 2020 - 09:56 UTC

  Bolsonaro family's alleged 'graft background' coming to light in their Rio do Janeiro turf

  

  Brazilian police on Thursday arrested a former aide to Jair Bolsonaro’s eldest son in a graft investigation threatening to undermine the president’s pledge to crack down on corruption and ratchet up his battle with the judiciary.

• Thursday, June 18th 2020 - 12:36 UTC

  Brazil retail sales plunge in April anticipating a major contraction of the economy

  

  Brazilian retail sales plunged at a record pace in April as social isolation measures choked spending, official figures showed indicating the economy’s contraction in the second quarter could be even more severe than anticipated.

• Thursday, June 18th 2020 - 12:32 UTC

  Brazil slashes benchmark interest rate 75 basis points to a record low of 2,25%

  

  Brazil’s central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points to a record low of 2.25% on Wednesday, as expected, and said there was some room left for further monetary stimulus to support an economy ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic.

• Thursday, June 18th 2020 - 12:29 UTC

  Brazil's service sector slumped 11,7% in April on a year on year basis

  

  Services activity in Brazil slumped 11.7% in April, figures showed on Wednesday, the biggest fall since comparable record-keeping began nearly a decade ago as social isolation measures to combat the COVID-19 outbreak slammed the economy into reverse.

• Wednesday, June 17th 2020 - 17:57 UTC

  Brazil temporarily lowers biodiesel content of diesel, given the strong demand from harvest time

  

  Brazil's National Petroleum Agency, ANP, temporarily reduced the volume of biodiesel blended with diesel sold at the pump to 10% from 12% for the next five days in an emergency move, the country's lead regulator for the oil and natural gas industry said Tuesday.

• Wednesday, June 17th 2020 - 12:19 UTC

  Brazilian federal police raids and arrests Bolsonaro followers for funding “anti democratic” activities

  

  Brazilian federal police have raided supporters of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro accused by prosecutors of funding “anti-democratic” activities. The raids follow the arrest of an affiliated far-right activist.

• Wednesday, June 17th 2020 - 08:00 UTC

  Brazil reports 35,000 new virus cases; PAHO denies the pandemic is under control

  

  Brazil reported a record 34,918 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, the same day that one of the senior officials leading the country’s widely criticized response to the crisis said the outbreak was under control.

• Tuesday, June 16th 2020 - 08:45 UTC

  Bolsonaro again challenges Supreme Court: military will not remove a democratically elected president

  

  Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Monday that the country’s military would not obey any order to remove an elected president, deepening a war of words with the judicial branch that has led to fears of threats to democracy in the country.

• Tuesday, June 16th 2020 - 08:32 UTC

  Brazilian Attorney General Office investigating hospital invasions by Bolsonaro supporters

  

  Brazil's Attorney General has called for an investigation into several invasions of hospitals in the country after its President called on Brazilians to inspect the conditions of medical wards treating Covid-19 patients.

• Tuesday, June 16th 2020 - 08:20 UTC

  Brazilian education minister fined US$ 385 for not wearing a face mask at a Bolsonaro support rally

  

  Brazil's education minister has been fined for failing to wear a face mask at a rally for President Jair Bolsonaro, who has himself repeatedly flouted Brasilia's masks-in-public rule amid the coronavirus pandemic.