Brazil

Tuesday, July 23rd 2019 - 09:39 UTC
Brazil seizes record volumes of cocaine, mostly in the Santos port hub

Brazil seized 25.3 tons of cocaine bound for Europe and Africa in the first half of 2019, up more than 90 percent on the same period last year, officials said on Monday. Nearly half of the drugs were found at Santos port in southern Brazil, not far from where police recently arrested two men suspected of belonging to Italian mafia 'Ndrangheta'.
Monday, July 22nd 2019 - 09:59 UTC
Bolsonaro again criticizes the state agency monitoring the Amazon forest

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro again criticized a state agency that monitors the Amazon, saying on Sunday that its latest report on increased deforestation damages Brazil’s reputation amid what he says is an “environmental psychosis” overseas about environmental protection in South America’s biggest nation.
Monday, July 22nd 2019 - 09:52 UTC
More Iranian bulk carriers stranded in Brazil, since Petrobras refuses to refuel them fearing US sanctions

Two more Iranian bulk carriers that came to Brazil carrying urea and were expected to return home with corn could be left without enough fuel, as Brazil's Petrobras refuses to provide them with bunker fuel due to U.S. sanctions.
Saturday, July 20th 2019 - 09:52 UTC
Bolsonaro again denies Amazon deforestation and says Brazilian official data “I'm convinced, is a lie”

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday accused the state body responsible for tracking deforestation levels of disclosing false data, after preliminary numbers showed a dramatic rise in July.
Saturday, July 20th 2019 - 07:47 UTC
Bolsonaro denies hunger in Brazil; FAO says 5.1 million are “undernourished”

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Friday there was no hunger in the country, citing the lack of “poor people in the street with a skeletal physique” as evidence. Speaking to foreign journalists, Bolsonaro blamed “populists” for propagating “a big lie” that some of Brazil's 209 million people did not have enough to eat.
Saturday, July 20th 2019 - 07:40 UTC
Bolsonaro's 200-day administration stimulus package will be announced 24 July

Brazil’s government is expected to detail its plans to release funds from the workers’ severance fund, known as FGTS, on July 24, the presidential chief of staff Bolsonaroaid. In a press conference organized to mark 200 days of Jair Bolsonaro’s administration, Lorenzoni added the government wants to make sure that the release of part of the assets in the workers’ funds will not hurt home financing. FGTS accounts for almost half of the funds allocated to the financing of homes in Brazil.
Friday, July 19th 2019 - 09:44 UTC
 Huawei is not restricted in Brazil, says VP Hamilton Mourao

China's Huawei will not be restricted in Brazil where plans are underway to launch a 5G network, the country's vice president said, defying US pressure to shun the firm.
Friday, July 19th 2019 - 08:14 UTC
Two Iranian vessels stranded in Brazil with no fuel because of US sanctions

Two Iranian vessels have been stranded for weeks at Brazilian ports, unable to head back to Iran due to lack of fuel, which state-run oil firm Petrobras refuses to sell them due to sanctions imposed by the United States.
Thursday, July 18th 2019 - 12:14 UTC
Montevideo gas workers lift strike after government's announcements

As the Uruguayan state has vowed to take over the administration of departing Montevideo cooking gas suppliers Montevideo Gas and Conecta and jobs have been secured, the UOEGAS workers' union has agreed to end the strike, starting this Friday.
Thursday, July 18th 2019 - 12:04 UTC
Bolsonaros behind transnational alliance of conservative leaders, Brazil's FM says

In an interview before traveling to the Argentine city of Santa Fe for the Mercosur Summit and published Wednesday by the BBC, Brazilian Foreign Minister Ernesto Araújo admitted he discussed a possible Conservative-Liberal Alliance with lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, the president's son and likely to become the next ambassador to the United States.