Worldcrunch
RIO DE JANEIRO – They want to be heard. They want injustices reversed. They want attention. They probably didn’t think they would achieve this – but they did, to the point where the whole region is now looking at them. They are Brazilian. And since last week, hundreds of thousands of them have taken to […]
With the World Cup and Olympics arriving, tough security plans are being overseen by the Brazilian Air Force. Nationwide protests have provided yet another “event” to be monitored.
Not just cheap — but *free* public transport — deserves a proper public hearing. A look at the irony of those now in power, and their desire to silence legitimate debate.
Thursday, June 12, 2014 JIHADISTS PUSHING TOWARDS BAGHDAD Jihadist fighters with the Islamic group known as ISIS have continued their offensive in northern and central Iraq and are heading south towards the capital Baghdad, where they have said that the “battle will rage,” Sky News reports. Meanwhile, Kurdish forces claimed to have gained control of […]
-Editorial- SANTIAGO – If we based our knowledge of Latin America on Amnesty International’s latest global human rights report, we would believe that there is no real justice in the region, violence is on the rise, police regular torture citizens, that there are multiple attempts to exterminate indigenous groups, and organized crime is gaining ground. […]
NEW DELHI – Dreaming with BRICs, the study published in 2003 by Goldman Sachs that traced the rise of four emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, India and China) also marked the birth of a concept that has yet to disappoint. Between 2004 and 2011, average growth in China was 10.8%, in India 8.3% — to mention […]
Roberto Azevedo comes from an emerging BRICS economy, where there has been more focus on bilateral commerce deals than wider trade agreements favored by the US and Europe.
Brazil has overtaken Canada as the top foreign source of both tourists and property buyers in the Florida city, which has been suffering through the real estate and financial crises.
While some from the poor island nation still dream of emigrating to the US, others see a new promised land in Brazil. Still they face many challenges when they arrive.
ROME – Italy is a place of culture, beauty, and a well-oiled style of life — crisis or not. Foreigners always return for more. But in order to make sure that the tourists keep coming back — and telling their friends — some guidelines are needed. According to data from the federation of hotels “Fedalberghi”, […]
A probe finds Dilma’s government taking shortcuts to achieving competitiveness for the country.
PIAUÍ – A scientific article by French and Brazilian researchers brings major new findings to the discussion on the date humans arrived to the American continent. It analyzed three archeological sites in Piauí, in northeastern Brazil, and shows evidence that the region was inhabited by humans 22,000 years ago. The researchers’ discoveries, published in the […]
AMERICA ECONOMIA (Chile) 

 Worldcrunch SANTIAGO – The rapid expansion of large Latin American companies is pushing up demand for private airplanes and helicopters like never before. The reasons are simple – these companies want the speed, flexibility and autonomy that private air transport provides. The only problem: There are not enough pilots, America Economia […]
SAO PAULO – Even though it’s getting ready to host the World Cup next year and the Summer Olympic Games in 2016, Brazil still has no specific law for fighting terrorism. But specialists, who ask not to be identified, say that the country’s neutral position in recent international conflicts does not assure that it is […]
RIO DE JANEIRO – Cleide Oliveira, a 45-year-old beauty salon owner specialized in straightening curly hair, says she’ll soon be forced to find a new job. Since November 2011, when a Unidade de Polícia Pacificadora or Police Pacifying Unit (UPP) was created in Rocinha — Brazil’s biggest favela near Rio de Janeiro — she has […]
MANAUS – As the plane approaches the dense green mantle, interrupted by the curves of the most abundant river in the world, you start to make out the shapes of the friendly – and not so friendly – animals living in the rainforest. Before we embark for our cruise on these alligator, snake and piranha-infested […]
It’s simple economics: people with math skills have higher-paying job offers than teaching.
In a recent interview, Goldman Sachs’ Jim O’Neill, whose pen gave birth to the concept of the BRICs —the constellation of emerging economic powers Brazil, Russia, India, and China (and now including South Africa) — said the countries’ combined growth had “exceeded all expectations.” Noted O’Neill, “in slightly over a decade the group’s GDP has […]
For one grandfather, disaster has struck again — 30 years later.
O GLOBO, FOLHA DE S. PAULO (Brazil) Worldcrunch CAMPINAS – A Brazilian transvestite has been arrested at Viracopos International Airport for allegedly trying to smuggle drugs he’d packed into an extra-large prosthetic posterior, reports Folha de S. Paulo. According to police in this southeastern Brazilian city, the suspect was due to embark on a Lisbon-bound […]
FOLHA DE S. PAULO (Brazil) Worldcrunch BALNEÁRIO CAMBORIÚ – A sea lion measuring about three meters (9.8 feet) long left his home in the warm waters of the Golfo do Mar and took a waddle-walk into this Brazilian resort city’s downtown shopping area. It was around 5:20 p.m. Saturday evening when onlookers watched as the […]
Sebastião Salgado’s blue eyes have seen a bit of everything in this world – and this might not even be an exaggeration. For the past eight years in particular, the 69-year-old Brazilian photographer has traveled to more than 30 isolated regions of the world, collecting images of dozens of remote tribes, endangered animals and unusual […]
Press blackout be damned, Cardinal Raymundo Damasceno Assis spoke with Folha de S. Paolo about papal candidates, including fellow Brazilian Scherer. Assis expects a short conclave, but is packed for a long one.
Worldcrunch With the conclave set to begin Tuesday afternoon, the lists of papabili are being narrowed down and scrutinized by the Cardinals gathered at the Vatican. Back in the home countries and dioceses of the top contenders, the secret vote to choose the successor of Benedict XVI can be viewed with a mix of pride […]
The death of Hugo Chavez, who propped up Venezuela with oil profits, is another reminder that Latin America needs to look for economic development beyond natural resources.
CLARÍN Worldcrunch SÃO PAOLO – “The Girl from Ipanema” made Brazilian women famous for their beauty but now, it seems, the South American country has a new fetish for a different kind of woman says Clarín. For three days, São Paolo will host the first Inflatable Doll World Congress, organized by an online sex shop, […]
![Mico-leão-dourado [Golden Lion Tamarin]](https://worldcrunch.com/assets/uploads/2025/03/mico-leao-dourado-golden-lion-tamarin-1568x1175.jpg)
RIO DE JANEIRO – Every Olympics needs a strong mascot. But for the 2016 Summer Games, the two animals leading the pack are in a rather weak position. Each of the two primates being considered to become the face of Brazil’s first-ever Olympics is in risk of extinction: the mico-leão-dourado (golden lion tamarin) and muriqui […]
O ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO (Brazil) Worldcrunch SÃO PAULO – The election of a new President of the Commission for Human Rights and Minorities in Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies typically wouldn’t make much of a splash. But the brand new President, Marco Feliciano, an evangelical pastor, happens to already be well-known for making racist and […]
The Holy See has said that the final report on the scandal plaguing the Vatican would only be delivered to the new pope. But some of those voting for the pontiff want to know the truth.
FOLHA DE SAO PAULO (Brazil) Worldcrunch RIO DE JANEIRO – No matter who’s playing, a new Monopoly game created especially for the upcoming Rio de Janeiro Olympics always has the same winner: Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes. “Your house now costs more after the pacification of a neighboring community. Get 75,000 reais ($ 37,500)…” This sentence […]
Signs of decline began to appear two years ago, leading the Pope’s doctor to insist on limited air travel. Portrait of an old and weak man, who may have had little choice but resignation.
SANTIAGO – The recent decision of the U.S. Justice department to block the acquisition of Mexican beer giant Grupo Modelo by the Belgian Anheuser-Busch InBev came as a surprise. The $20 billion acquisition was announced last June, and what’s surprising is that neither company involved is technically an American company. Belgium-based multinational AB InBev is […]
SÃO PAOLO – Brazilian mining giant Vale has halted work on its $6 billion Rio Colorado project in Argentina’s Mendoza province, until its demands for special breaks in tax and exchange rates are met by the government in Buenos Aires. The Argentinian government had given Vale a Feb. 4 deadline to submit a new timeline […]
FOLHA DE SAO PAULO (Brazil) Worldcrunch BRASILIA – Francisco Everardo Oliviera Silva – better known as Tiririca (Grumpy) – was elected to the Brazilian Parliament in 2010 with the highest number of votes. He had campaigned on the slogan “Vote Tiririca, it can’t get any worse.” Now he says he has lost hope for politics […]
Pennies may not change anyone’s life, but at least it helps President Dilma fulfill a campaign promise.
Nanette Blitz Konig was friends in Amsterdam with the young writer of the diary of life hiding from the Nazis. She recalls seeing Anne for the last time alive, in Bergen-Belsen.
FOLHA DE S.PAULO, O GLOBO, ZERO HORA (Brazil) Worldcrunch SANTA MARIA – At least 245 people were killed early Sunday in a fire that swept through a popular nightclub in the city of Santa Maria, in the Southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, reports O Globo. The fire broke out at around 2 a.m. […]
Some skeptics, though, wonder whether all the enthusiasm for the developing world has created a sort of emerging market “bubble”.