Tag: Brazil

• Friday, January 15th 2016 - 12:31 UTC

  Toxic gas cloud in Brazil's main and busiest port area sends tens to hospital

  

  Toxic gas which on Thursday leaked from tanks in a cargo warehouse in the Brazilian coastal city of Guaruja, close to Santos the country's largest and busiest port, has sent some 40 people to hospitals.

• Friday, January 15th 2016 - 12:24 UTC

  Criminal charges against mining companies involved in major waste spill in Brazil

  

  Police in Brazil said Thursday they have brought criminal charges against two mining companies and seven executives over a mine waste spill that buried a village and killed 17 people.Federal police accuse Brazilian iron ore giant Vale, mine operator Samarco and company officials including Samarco's chief executive, Ricardo Vescovi, of violating Brazil's environmental crimes law in connection with the disastrous November 5 collapse of a waste reservoir.

• Friday, January 15th 2016 - 09:24 UTC

  Desperate for funds Rousseff offers amnesty to holders of undeclared offshore assets

  

  Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Thursday signed a bill that gives amnesty to holders of undeclared offshore assets in exchange for a fine, part of efforts to cut a swelling budget gap and revive investment in the recession-hit economy. The law offers amnesty from prosecution to Brazilians if they bring unreported foreign funds home and pay a 30 percent fine in the form of tax.

• Friday, January 15th 2016 - 09:13 UTC

  Petrobras scandal prosecution-informer involves president Rousseff in the scheme

  

  Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, and three former heads of state have been dragged into the investigation into the huge corruption scheme in the state-run oil firm Petrobras. According to informer Nestor Cerveró, Rousseff was personally involved in negotiations for votes in Congress in exchange for top jobs in Petrobras.

• Thursday, January 14th 2016 - 06:01 UTC

  Riots in Sao Paulo as police disperses protestors over rising transport fares

  

  Sao Paulo police on Tuesday night fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse protesters upset over rising transport fares, sparking memories of the 2013 street clashes in Brazil, this year's Olympic host. Riot cops wanted to prevent demonstrators from moving from the spot where they were gathered at one end of the city's major Paulista Avenue.

• Thursday, January 14th 2016 - 05:48 UTC

  Rio mayor confident the city has the funds to host the 2016 Olympic Games

  

  The mayor of 2016 Olympic host city Rio de Janeiro insisted authorities had the finances to avoid disruption to the summer Games despite Brazil’s recession. Latin America's largest economy is suffering from a deep recession and soaring inflation -- a contrast to the boom times of 2009, when Rio won the right to host the Olympics.

• Wednesday, January 13th 2016 - 08:11 UTC

  Brazil agribusiness exports, the locomotive of foreign trade

  

  Brazil's total agricultural exports slid 8.8% to US$88.2 billion in 2015, compared to the previous year, despite record sales of soybeans, corn, chicken, coffee and cellulose, officials said. The drop in sales was caused by falling prices for the commodities Brazil sells on the global market, Foreign Agribusiness Relations Secretary Tatiana Palermo said.

• Wednesday, January 13th 2016 - 07:59 UTC

  Former Petrobras manager states in plea-bargain that Lula was aware of the corruption scheme

  

  Former head of Petrobras' international sector Nestor Cervero has made a statement as part of his plea bargain, in which he says that Brazilian former president Lula a Silva gave him a job in 2008 as “recognition” for his help in repaying a R$12 million (US$3 million) loan considered fraudulent by police.

• Wednesday, January 13th 2016 - 05:06 UTC

  Crucial February for Rousseff: economic plan must convince investors and Congress

  

  With her job on the line, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is spending January developing an economic plan which she hopes will restore faith in her leadership and weaken looming impeachment proceedings against her.

• Tuesday, January 12th 2016 - 06:50 UTC

  Brazilian prosecutors looking into possible foreign and local banks involvemrny in Petrobras corruption

  

  Brazil's federal tax authority and prosecutors are investigating 13 foreign and local banks for possible financial crimes intermediating loans to Brazilian engineering conglomerate Grupo Schahin, newspaper O Estado de S Paulo says.