
Imprisoned former Brazilian President Lula da Silva, along with the current leader of the Workers Party he founded, was hit on Monday with fresh corruption charges by federal prosecutors.

A man was seriously wounded early on Saturday when a gunman opened fire on a vigil in the southern Brazilian city of Curitiba, where former president Lula da Silva is serving time for corruption, his party said.

Brazilian president Michel Temer was again forced to suspend a trip to Asia which was scheduled for next week. The head of state had originally planned to travel last January but had to suspend it following on medical advice.

Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF) is to vote on a motion starting May 4 that could potentially release ex-president Lula da Silva from prison, the court said. Lula's defense team hopes to overturn a decision by Sergio Moro, a federal judge and head of a key corruption investigation that determined he had to begin serving a 12-year sentence for accepting bribes.

Former Brazilian Finance Minister Antonio Palocci has struck a plea deal with federal investigators, according to news advance from the Rio based O'Globo on Thursday, raising the stakes in a corruption scandal engulfing high-ranking politicians and prominent businessmen.

Soybean planted area in Brazil is forecast to set a record for the ninth consecutive year at 35.8 million hectares, according to an April 24 Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Brazil’s Raizen Combustiveis SA agreed to buy downstream assets in Argentina from Royal Dutch Shell for US$ 950 million, according to a securities filing on Tuesday. Raízen Combustiveis, a joint venture between Brazil´s Cosan SA Indústria e Comércio and Shell, will have a 20% market share in fuel distribution in Argentina.

Brazil's ex-president Lula, who is imprisoned for corruption, on Tuesday gave his Workers' Party (PT) the green light to find a new candidate for the October presidential election in which he remains the frontrunner. “I want you to feel totally free to take whatever decision you need because 2018 is an important year for the PT, for the left and for democracy,” wrote Lula da Silva in a letter to the party leadership.

At least 15 of the 20 candidates who might run for president of Brazil in the October elections are targeted in more than 160 cases in courts throughout the country. Cases range from investigations in the Lava Jato operation to traffic offenses, and while in some cases would-be candidates are still only under investigation, in others they are either accused, or defendants, or have been sentenced – one of them was even arrested: former president Lula da Silva (PT), who is currently leading the poles.

By Mathew Smith<br />
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After being caught up in major corruption scandals and suffering from what some have claimed was its worst economic downturn in 100-years, Brazil has pulled itself back from the brink. The economy commenced growing again in 2017 with gross domestic product (GDP) expanding by 1 percent and 2018 GDP growth forecast by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to be 2.3%.