For The Rio Times
Following months of strikes by broad swathes of public sector workers, from university professors to customs officers, the majority of workers on Tuesday accepted the government’s offer of a 15.8 percent pay-rise over three years. Federal Police unions however rejected the offer and opted to continue the labor strike action.
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For The Rio Times
The Supremo Tribunal Federal (Supreme Court, STF) released an Amazon rancher Regivaldo Galvão, sometimes known as “Taradao,” who was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to thirty years of prison in May 2010 for his involvement in the February 2005 death of Sister Dorothy Stang, a nun and rainforest activist in Anapu, Pará.
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For The Rio Times
A federal appeals court has ordered construction to stop on the controversial Belo Monte dam, citing insufficient consultation with local indigenous communities. Brazil’s Regional Federal Court ruled last Tuesday that the consultation process outlined in Brazil’s constitution and U.N. Treaty 169 on indigenous rights was not properly followed.
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For Americas Quarterly
There is one story dominating the Brazilian headlines: The mensalão, a huge corruption case that could taint the legacy of former President Lula and the reputation of his Partido dos Trabalhadores (Workers’ Party—PT) to which his successor Dilma Rousseff belongs.
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For The Rio Times
The senate in Brazil last week passed a bill that requires prestigious federal universities to reserve fifty percent of their places for public school students, and increases the number of spaces allotted to black, mixed-race and indigenous students. It is expected that President Dilma Rousseff will ratify the law next week.
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Next hosts know they have a hard act to follow
For The Independent
Even before their Mayor received the Olympic flag from Boris Johnson last night, the citizens of Rio de Janeiro could feel the gaze of the sporting world begin shifting their way.
Brazilian flags and Union flags have hung side by side in bars over the past fortnight, and newspaper cartoons have depicted a glossy, barely-dressed Brazilian carnival queen in place of Elizabeth during the 2016 Opening Ceremony.
For The Rio Times
Seven years after the scandal surfaced, Brazil’s Supreme Court on Thursday, August 2nd began to hear the huge cash-for-votes corruption case that threatens to tarnish former President Lula’s legacy and the reputation of the ruling Partido dos Trabalhadores (Workers’ Party, PT).
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For The Rio Times
President Hugo Chávez met with the leaders of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay in Brasília Tuesday to formalize Venezuela’s entrance to Mercosur – six years after the oil-rich Caribbean nation’s first attempt to join the trade bloc. The decision to let in Venezuela was taken, controversially, without Paraguay’s approval during that country’s suspension for Former President Fernando Lugo’s impeachment.
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For The Rio Times
Brazil’s Foreign Ministry on Friday removed nearly all its diplomats from the Brazilian embassy in Syria because of heavy fighting in Damascus. Itamaraty (the Brazilian Foreign Ministry) said in a statement diplomats were moved to Beirut, Lebanon, due to the “deteriorating security situation.”
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For The Rio Times
The newest addition to Rio de Janeiro state’s Superporto do Açu will be where Norwegian company Subsea 7 plans to begin manufacturing oil and gas pipelines in 2014. The R$21 million-per-year lease was signed following Subsea 7’s withdrawal from plans to build the project in the southeastern state of Paraná, where difficulties in obtaining an environmental license blocked the company’s first choice of location.
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