Brazilians furious at corruption demonstrated on Sunday in support of a politically explosive probe into high-level embezzlement and bribery, but turnout was lower than at previous protests. The long-planned day of nationwide demonstrations kicked off in the capital Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro, before shifting to the nation's biggest city Sao Paulo.
Jurist Alexandre de Moraes was sworn into office as a Justice in Brazil's Supreme Court on Wednesday. Moraes will fill the seat left by Justice Teori Zavascki, who died in a plane crash in January. Moraes headed the Ministry of Justice when was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Michel Temer. His nomination to the top court was confirmed by the Senate last month. He is expected to take charge of 7,500 cases as he joins the court.
The adulterated meat situation in Brazil is no obstacle for the current trade negotiations between the European Union and Mercosur, said Eidta Hrdá, Managing Director for the Americas from the European External Action Service, currently in Buenos Aires.
Yellow fever, a viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes, is spreading through Brazil, infecting and killing both monkeys and humans. According to the latest reports from local scientists, several thousand monkeys -- most of them howler monkeys -- have been killed by the virus since the outbreak began in late 2016.
European Union has insisted Brazilian representatives attend an emergency meeting to explain themselves regarding a scandal involving rotten meat and the country’s two largest exporters, JBS and BRF. Brazil has already announced that the 22 plants (out of over 4.000) allegedly involved in the scam have been closed.
The fallout from Brazil's rotten meat scandal accelerated Monday when China, a huge market, suspended imports and the European Union and South Korea demanded a partial ban. Another ban on Brazilian meat imposed by Chile sparked fears of a trade spat between the two South American partners.
An RAF transport aircraft last week allegedly made a two-day return trip to Sao Paulo from MPA in the Falkland Islands, according to a report from columnist Martin Dinatale, based on sources from the Argentine Defense ministry. The aircraft was an Airbus 330 which left MPA on Sunday 12 March at 22:44, and landed in Sao Paulo at 2:47 early Monday March 13. On 14 March at 23:47 the Airbus returned to the Falklands.
Brazil's President Michel Temer has sought to reassure foreign trade partners that the corruption scandal engulfing the country's meat industry does not mean its products are unsafe. Meeting ambassadors from Europe, the United States and China to share a barbeque, Temer said his government remained confident about the quality of Brazilian meat.
Brazil's finance minister has said that he is ready to listen to the U.S. policies on trade at this weekend's G-20 meeting but speaks from experience when he says he believes a free economy is better for everyone. Brazil actually has experience of closing down its economy, Henrique Meirelles said on Thursday.
Brazil awarded three European groups on Thursday the rights to operate four airports, drawing nearly double the minimum bids at an auction that underscored investors' appetite for a new wave of privatizations under President Michel Temer. German airport operator Fraport AG, French group Vinci SA and Zurich Airport bid a combined 1.46 billion reais (US$470 million) for the rights to run airports in Porto Alegre, Salvador, Fortaleza and Florianopolis.