Brazil

• Saturday, October 26th 2019 - 09:14 UTC

  AFP Photo of Brazilian boy with body smeared in oil goes viral

  

  A boy walks ashore in Brazil in filthy waist-high water with a look of exasperation and his body smeared in oil, a photographer takes a shot, and the image goes viral.

• Friday, October 25th 2019 - 09:45 UTC

  Alarming level of mercury contamination in Amazon dolphins: illegal gold mining

  

  Amazon river dolphins are showing alarming levels of contamination mainly because of illegal panning for gold, conservationists say. Researchers measured contamination levels in 46 of these large freshwater creatures known for long, bottle-like snouts in major basins of Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia and Peru.

• Friday, October 25th 2019 - 09:27 UTC

  Chinese and Indian tourists won't need visas to visit Brazil

  

  President Jair Bolsonaro on a Far East visit said on Thursday Brazil will drop its requirement that visiting Chinese and Indian tourists or businesspeople obtain visas.

• Thursday, October 24th 2019 - 09:59 UTC

  Bolsonaro warns next Argentine government: Mercosur must continue with Macri's trade policies

  

  A possible victory of opposition candidate Alberto Fernández in Argentina's presidential election on Sunday could put the Mercosur trade bloc at risk, Brazil's right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, said on Wednesday.

• Thursday, October 24th 2019 - 09:45 UTC

  Brazil Justices debating law that could free scores of convicts including Lula da Silva

  

  Supreme Court judges in Brazil began voting Wednesday on whether to overturn a law requiring convicted criminals to go to jail after losing their first appeal, instead of waiting until the end of the legal process. A favorable ruling could result in the freeing of scores of convicts, including leftist former president Lula da Silva, who is serving eight years and 10 months for corruption.

• Thursday, October 24th 2019 - 09:20 UTC

  Petrobras contracts' scam: Brazilian prosecutors investigating Argentine construction group Technit

  

  Brazilian police conducted raids on Wednesday in a new phase of the “Car Wash” corruption investigation, targeting alleged bribery by Italo-Argentine group Techint to secure contracts from state-run oil firm Petrobras.

• Wednesday, October 23rd 2019 - 09:55 UTC

  Brazil approves pensions' reform: markets soar and stocks hit an all time high

  

  Brazil's Senate on Tuesday gave final approval to a landmark reform of the country's social security system, in a step seen as key to stabilizing public finances and the economy. The text was approved by a vote of 60-19.

• Wednesday, October 23rd 2019 - 09:48 UTC

  Conservative Catholics disrupt Vatican Amazon synod and dump in the Tiber “pagan” idols

  

  The Vatican on Tuesday accused ultra-conservative Catholic social media of fomenting hate, a day after militants stole statues they considered pagan idols from a church and dumped them in the Tiber river.

• Wednesday, October 23rd 2019 - 09:45 UTC

  Brazil has collected 600 tons of oil from the spill along northeastern beaches

  

  Brazil has collected more 600 tons of oil from its northeastern beaches since Sept. 12, the government said, more than double an estimate of oil and sand collected by state-run oil company Petrobras.

• Wednesday, October 23rd 2019 - 08:58 UTC

  Major pre-salt oilfields auction could raise some US$ 50 billion for Brazil

  

  An auction next month of oilfields in Brazil may be the priciest ever held, raising at least US$ 50 billion in licensing fees and compensation. Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell Plc and other energy giants are set to vie for deep-sea deposits that could hold 15 billion barrels of oil, almost twice as much as Norway’s reserves.