Brazil

• Monday, January 18th 2010 - 11:35 UTC

  Brazil Catholic Church attacks government initiative on abortion and gay rights

  

  Brazilian president Lula da Silva and his National Program on Human Rights which last week apparently overcame military intransigence, now faces another formidable voice in the country’s politics: the Brazilian Episcopacy, disappointed with the abortion and gay marriage proposals.

• Saturday, January 16th 2010 - 06:54 UTC

  Lula da Silva yields to military eliminates “political repression” term

  

  Brazil’s President Lula da Silva said that he’s not sponsoring a “witch hunt” when he proposes the creation of a Truth Commission to investigate cases of torture and killings of political prisoners during the long military dictatorship from 1964 to 1985.

• Friday, January 15th 2010 - 09:38 UTC

  Brazilian project to cut poverty to “developed countries’ level” in six years

  

  Brazil could achieve social indicators similar to those of developed countries by 2016 if the country is able to maintain the same rate of extreme poverty reduction and income redistribution as recorded during the 2003/2008 period, according to an official report from the Presidential Strategic Affairs Secretariat.

• Thursday, January 14th 2010 - 12:07 UTC

  Petrobras expands its operations to Portugal and Turkey

  

  Brazil’s government managed oil giant Petrobras is in talks to buy a stake in Portugal’s Galp Energia, Brazil’s Mines and Energy Minister Edison Lobao told reporters Wednesday in Brasilia.

• Thursday, January 14th 2010 - 12:00 UTC

  Brazil elected to board of directors of Bank for International Settlements

  

  Brazil’s Central bank president Henrique Meirelles was elected to the board of directors of the Bank for International Settlements, a further sign of the country's increasing clout in the world economy.

• Thursday, January 14th 2010 - 09:58 UTC

  Brazil’s main private bank forecasts “aggressive” policy to counter inflation

  

  Brazil will boost interest rates to as high as 13% next year as policy makers become more “aggressive” to ensure the global economic recovery doesn’t fuel faster inflation, according to Bradesco Asset Management

• Wednesday, January 13th 2010 - 08:29 UTC

  Brazilian industry calls for end of “strategic patience” trade policy with Argentina

  

  Brazil’s strongest manufacturing organization (and lobby) is considering the possibility that the country “ceases to be tolerant” towards Argentine trade restrictions and consider the possibility of withdrawing from Mercosur.

• Monday, January 11th 2010 - 12:56 UTC

  Brazil’s Human Rights minister threatens to resign over controversial bill

  

  Brazilian Minister of Human Rights Pablo Vanucchi threatened to resign on Sunday if the military are successful in reviewing the bill creating a Truth Commission on the Brazilian dictatorship (1964/1985) which caused internal turmoil in the administration of President Lula da Silva.

• Saturday, January 9th 2010 - 13:48 UTC

  Brazil anticipates second largest grain and oil seed crop in history

  

  Brazil expects in 2010 the second largest grain and oil seed crop in history, closely linked to the success of soy beans, totalling 140 million tons, according to the latest release from the Brazilian Geography and Statistics Institute, IBGE.

• Friday, January 8th 2010 - 13:01 UTC

  Excellent rain-timing anticipates record crops in Brazil of coffee and soy

  

  Brazil's coffee crop may beat the 48.48 million bag record this year, the country's crop supply agency said in a report which also raised forecasts for the newly-begun soybean harvest.