Brazil

• Tuesday, November 26th 2013 - 19:35 UTC

  Brazilian leading daily calls for a review of Mercosur, which 'is not working'

  

  Brazil's influential daily O'Globo called for a drastic change in the country's approach to trade policy arguing that “without a review, Mercosur does not work” and reveals that the latest signals from Argentina are that it is reluctant to reach a free trade and cooperation agreement in the framework of Mercosur with the European Union.

• Monday, November 25th 2013 - 15:55 UTC

  Operational costs in Argentina and Brazil threaten the South Atlantic cruise industry

  

  The high operational costs in the ports of the region is having a negative impact for the cruise industry and some of the companies have already withdrawn vessels from the South Atlantic routes, warned Mediterranean Shipping Company, MSC and Royal Caribbean during a regional conference on the industry sponsored by Uruguay's Ministry of Tourism.

• Monday, November 25th 2013 - 08:09 UTC

  Scientists from all the world meet in Brazil to discuss their role in the 21st century

  

  Hundreds of scientists from all over the world under the umbrella organization World Science Forum, WSF, meets this week in Rio do Janeiro to discuss their role in the 21st century and to emphasize the importance of scientific advice in political and economical decisions.

• Monday, November 25th 2013 - 07:39 UTC

  Jaguar-Land Rover to build manufacturing plant in Brazil

  

  Jaguar Land Rover plans to build a 500 million dollars manufacturing plant in Brazil, the O Globo newspaper reported on Sunday. The daily wrote that the Rio de Janeiro factory will be the company's second production facility outside Britain, in addition to one China. It also has an assembly plant in India.

• Saturday, November 23rd 2013 - 06:46 UTC

  Singapore group pays 8.24bn to operate Rio's Galeao airport on 25-year concession

  

  Airport operators from Singapore, Germany, Switzerland and Brazil on Friday won rights to run airports in Rio and Belo Horizonte, two host cities of the 2014 World Cup. One consortium including engineering firm Odebrecht and Singapore airport operator Changi paid 19 billion Reais (8.24 billion dollars) for a 25-year concession to run Rio's Galeao airport at an auction held at the Sao Paulo stock exchange.

• Friday, November 22nd 2013 - 20:34 UTC

  Argentina and Brazil coordinating cyber-defense in the framework of Unasur

  

  Argentine Defense Minister Agustín Rossi met his Brazilian counterpart, Celso Amorim and agreed to incorporate all South American countries in their bilateral treaty on cyber-defense. The decision was made after several reports indicated the United States engaged in espionage activities against the countries in the region.

• Thursday, November 21st 2013 - 19:02 UTC

  Dengue emergency in Brazil: 573 deaths so far this year says Health ministry

  

  At least 573 people have died from dengue in Brazil so far this year, nearly twice the figure reported in 2012, according to official figures released Wednesday. Last year, 292 deaths were recorded and 473 in 2011, according to the health ministry.

• Thursday, November 21st 2013 - 15:14 UTC

  Brazil auctions Rio and Belo Horizonte airports; five international consortia registered

  

  Airports in Rio and Belo Horizonte, two host cities of the 2014 World Cup, are to be privatized at an auction this week, Brazilian civil aviation authorities said this week. Press reports said five consortia, each with at least one foreign partner, are to take part in Friday's auction at the Sao Paulo stock exchange.

• Thursday, November 21st 2013 - 15:06 UTC

  Brazil's unemployment drops to 5.2% in October unaffected by weak economic performance

  

  Brazil's jobless rate fell to 5.2% in October from 5.4% the previous month, despite sluggish economic growth, official statistics released Thursday showed. In October of 2012, the rate stood at 5.3%, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). Brazil experienced record low unemployment of 4.6% last December.

• Wednesday, November 20th 2013 - 05:06 UTC

  Brazil agriculture in state of emergency following infestations of Helicoverpa caterpillar

  

  Infestations of the Helicoverpa caterpillar in Brazil's grain belt prompted the agriculture ministry this week to declare a state of emergency in the leading soy state of Mato Grosso, highlighting the potential risk to large parts of the crop.