
Brazil's police are responsible for a significant proportion of the 48,000 murders committed every year, a United Nations human rights expert said Monday in a report heavily criticizing law enforcement in the South American country.
A new poll shows that the popularity of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is at its highest level since he took office in 2003.

Brazil will not accept any attempt to overthrow the government in Bolivia as opposition protests spiral into deadly clashes with government supporters, the Brazilian president's foreign policy adviser said on Thursday.

Brazil confirmed that the 2007/08 was the greatest grain and oilseed crop ever, 143.8 million tons. The Ministry of Agriculture said it was 9.2% above the previous season and could further increase when the final volumes of the northeast second corn harvest are completed.

The Brazilian Monetary Policy Committee (Copom) of the Central Bank (BC) raised the base interest rate (Selic) by 0.75 percentage point, from 13% to 13.75% a year. This is the fourth consecutive hike in Selic and the highest is almost two years.

Petrobras announced this week that the completion of the Iara well drilling (which first found oil in August 2007) confirmed the discovery of light oil in the Santos basin pre-salt reservoir with a recoverable volume estimated in 3 to 4 billion barrels of light oil and natural gas.

Brazil's economy expanded 6.1% in the second quarter of 2008 compared to the same period a year ago and 1.6% over the previous quarter, according to the latest release from the Brazilian Geography and Statistics Institute, IBGE. Similarly in the first half of this year Brazil's GDP increased 6% compared to the same period a year ago.

Brazil's Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, the world's largest iron ore miner, said it is negotiating price increases with its clients in Asia to put them at the same rate as European customers.
Brazil's Bovespa index fell 4.5% on Tuesday and the lowest level in a year as prices for top commodity exports slumped and Finance minister Guido Mantega predicted the currency will extend its steepest monthly decline since 2002.

Brazilian president Lula da Silva said he would be choosing his successor in 2010 and anticipated there are great chances that the next president could be a woman, although he did not advance names.