Brazil

• Monday, November 29th 2010 - 04:53 UTC

  Brazilian forces expel criminal gangs from favels; promise to stay

  

  Public Security Secretary Jose Mariano Beltrame described the police raid on the Alemao Complex, known as “heart of the evil,” as a success. The criminals lost not only their territory, but also a huge amount of weapons, drugs, vehicles and other possessions, he said.

• Friday, November 26th 2010 - 16:25 UTC

  Mantega proposes “diluted” inflation index with no fuel or food items included

  

  Brazil Finance minister Guido Mantega is proposing a “dehydrated” inflation index with the purpose of reducing interest rates faster under the incoming administration of president-elect Dilma Rousseff, reports the influential O Estado de Sao Paulo.

• Friday, November 26th 2010 - 15:04 UTC

  Rio’s favelas war has full support and logistics from the federal government

  

  Brazilian president Lula da Silva promised full support from the federal government to Rio de Janeiro authorities involved in a clean-up operation to free the city’s shanty towns, favelas, from drug traffickers and organized crime.

• Friday, November 26th 2010 - 14:55 UTC

  Lula da Silva promises energy, communications and trade aid for Guyana

  

  Brazilian President Lula da Silva announced Friday an ambitious integration program for its northern neighbor Guyana, on the sidelines of a regional presidential summit taking place in Georgetown.

• Thursday, November 25th 2010 - 20:44 UTC

  “Favelas’ war” rages in Rio do Janeiro for fifth day running: 30 dead

  

  Armoured personnel carriers from the Brazilian navy rolled through smoke-filled streets in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday as police battled (favelas) slum-based drug gangs for a fifth consecutive day leaving at least 30 dead and almost 200 arrested.

• Thursday, November 25th 2010 - 04:29 UTC

  First possible suspected case of “mad cow” in humans sounds alarm bells in Brazil

  

  Brazilian health officials said this week that a suspected case of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a fatal illness that destroys brain tissue, probably wasn’t caused by eating beef of an animal infected with the mad cow sickness.

• Wednesday, November 24th 2010 - 22:12 UTC

  Petrobras abandons Ecuador: no agreement on new oil contracts

  

  Brazil’s Petrobras is abandoning Ecuador after not having reached an agreement on the new oil contracts with the government while Spanish-Argentine Repsol-YPF will remain, announced Minister of Non renewable natural resources Wilson Pastor.

• Wednesday, November 24th 2010 - 21:21 UTC

  Falklands/Malvinas: Brazil joins Argentina in criticizing UK’s “unilateral actions”

  

  The Brazilian government questioned UK’s “unilateral actions” regarding the (Falklands) Malvinas Islands and called for the sovereignty “long standing dispute” to reach “as soon as possible a solution”.

• Wednesday, November 24th 2010 - 21:02 UTC

  Promoting trade and political links with Africa, Lula da Silva’s next job

  

  A Lula da Silva Institute will be fully involved in Africa, the world’s poorest continent, and (Brazilian) President Lula will be fully dedicated to that task when he steps down from office next January first, announced a top Brazilian official.

• Wednesday, November 24th 2010 - 20:17 UTC

  Rousseff confirms flexible-orthodox Tombini to head Brazil’s central bank

  

  Brazilian president-elect Dilma Rousseff press office announced Thursday that economist Alexandre Tombini will be the next president of the central bank; economist Guido Mantega will continue as Finance minister and engineer Miriam Belchoir coordinator of PAC (program to bolster growth) will become Planning and Budget minister.