Brazil

• Wednesday, August 20th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Brazil ratifies tough line on inflation and long term growth

  

  Brazil's reference Selic interest rate will only begin to fall when inflation approaches the 4.5% center-point of the government's annual target, Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega said on Wednesday.

• Tuesday, August 19th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Brazil's Lula reacts to defeat: “never felt so furious”

  

  Brazilian president Lula da Silva criticized sharply the spirit of the national team which on Tuesday lost to Argentina in Beijing 3-0.

• Monday, August 18th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  The Brazilian economy and the dividends of stability

  Brazil's Central Bank president Henrique Meirelles was the guest this week of the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce in New York, where he talked about the Brazilian economy, prospects followed by a period of questions and answers.
  
  Brazil is the largest economy of Latinamerica, the senior member of Mercosur, has a respected voice in world affairs and since the turn of the millennium has become one of the most promising emerging economies belonging to the so called BRIC group, Brazil, Russia, India and China.
  
  Follows a summary of this conference written by Denise Karin Johnsson

• Saturday, August 16th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Full scale military exercise to defend Brazil's offshore oil

  

  Brazil announced Friday it will hold military exercises next month to show its capability of defending new offshore oil reserves that could convert the country into a global energy player.

• Thursday, August 14th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Brazil invests in research for bio-fuels from micro-algae

  

  Brazil will allocate 4.5 million Reais (approx. 2.8 million US dollars) in non-refundable credits to research projects exploring the use of aquaculture or micro-algae products in biodiesel production.

• Wednesday, August 13th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  License for Amazon dam triggers controversy in Brazil

  Brazil's environment minister Carlos Minc announced he had granted a license for an Amazon hydroelectric dam but attached stringent conditions to protect Indian reservations and nature preserves. However environmental groups anticipated a long legal battle.

• Wednesday, August 13th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Brazilian mining giant orders 12 largest class ore carriers

  

  Brazilian iron ore miner Vale has ordered a dozen of the largest class of ore carriers from a Chinese shipbuilder for 1.6 billion US dollars, aiming to boost business with fast-growing Asian customers.

• Wednesday, August 13th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Lula openly confirms 1979 amnesty bill and silences ministers

  

  In an attempt to cool a controversy over punishing torturers from the 21 year military dictatorship, Brazilian president Lula da Silva said Brazilians should enshrine the “heroes” of that time and not only concentrate on incriminating the “villains” who killed them.

• Wednesday, August 13th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  More Magellanic penguins washed up to Brazil beaches

  

  More than 1000 juvenile Magellanic penguins have washed-up either dead or dying along the Brazilian coast and as far north as Natal in Rio Grande do Norte, 3000 km north of Sao Paulo. IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare - www.ifaw.org ) (*) deployed a team of penguin rehabilitation experts to assist local animal centers that are handling penguins for the first time.

• Saturday, August 9th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Brazil's President Lula promotes Rio 2016 in Beijing

  

  President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Friday in Beijing that Rio de Janeiro's bid for the 2016 Summer Games carries the ultimate seal of approval, reports the AP. He said, “when God made the world he prepared Rio for the Olympic Games.”