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Extra! Defiant Lula Says Not To Blame For Penthouse

O Globo, May 11, 2017 Brazil is riveted by the highly anticipated appearance of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to defend himself against charges in one of the largest corruption scheme cases in the country. On Thursday’s front page, Rio-based daily O Globo shows the 71-year-old appearing for the first time at the […]

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Geopolitics Ideas

Will A FARC Political Party Turn Colombia Into Another Venezuela?

-OpEd- BOGOTÁ — On Sunday, Colombians will decide whether to ratify a peace deal that makes the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, lay down their arms. But if that happens, what will the future of FARC look like? Will it become a socialist party like the one that has driven Venezuela into an […]

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Economy Ideas

Dilma’s Disastrous Legacy, Destroyer Of Brazilian Wealth

Regardless of when or how she exits the political stage, the Brazilian president will leave chaos in her wake.

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Geopolitics Ideas

For Dilma And Lula, This Is The End

-Editorial- SAO PAULO — The appointment of such a major figure as Brazil’s ex-President Lula da Silva as Dilma Rousseff cabinet’s chief of staff could be seen as just an expression of the government’s terminal state of despair, stuck with incredibly low popularity poll numbers — and with little support in Congress to fend off […]

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Geopolitics Ideas

Why A Tainted Lula Could Be Back As Brazil President

Former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was detained as part of a widespread corruption scandal at state oil giant Petrobras. But the probe could actually prove to be the spark to help him succeed Dilma Rousseff.

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blog

Brazil, Can Game-Of-Thrones Politics Save Dilma’s Job?

SAO PAULO — The mess that is Brazilian politics right now would make for a fantastic television drama series. Its intricate plots, combining power disputes and alliances concluded behind closed doors, would easily match those of Game of Thrones, except that the omnipresent blood would be replaced with dirty money. Ever since her reelection for […]

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Economy

Sino-Dependency? Brazilian Oil Exports To China Surge

The world’s second-largest economy is now Brazil’s top customer for oil, but also its most important buyer of soybeans, iron ore and cellulose.

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blog

Arab Sparring On Yemen, Colombia Truce Broken, Capitol Stunts

SUNKEN S. KOREAN FERRY TO BE RAISED South Korean President Park Geun-hye has promised to raise the sunken ferry Sewol to recover the nine bodies still missing, as the country commemorates the disaster’s one-year anniversary, Yonhap news agency reports. A total of 304 people, most of them high school students, died when the ship sank […]

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Geopolitics Ideas

When Corruption Meets Austerity: Dilma Rousseff’s Nightmare Scenario

Brazilians are furious as their personal prosperity slips away amid reports of runaway corrruption. All the while, President Rousseff looks forced to impose new austerity measures. Which way out?

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blog

Extra! At Least 1.5 Million March Against Dilma

A nationwide protest against left-wing Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff drew at least 1.5 million people across 147 cities in the country Sunday. Shouting “Fora, Dilma!” (“Dilma out!”) and dressed in the national flag’s colors of blue, green and yellow, the protestors marched against the deteriorating state of Brazil’s economy, inflation and corruption, the daily Folha […]

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Economy Geopolitics Ideas

Why Latin America Is Looking So Grim Again

Scandals and stagnation, crime and curbs on democracy are spreading across the region. Are things about to take a sharp turn back to the bad old days?

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Economy Geopolitics Ideas

Can The Sinking Brazilian Economy Be Saved?

President Rousseff has abandoned big spending projects in favor of currency devaluation to fuel exports. Will it save her presidency? And more importantly, this BRICS nation’s floundering economy?

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Geopolitics Ideas

A World Losing Faith In Politics As Usual

From Greece and Spain, to Brazil and beyond, people are no longer convinced that politics is working for the greater good.

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blog

Temporary Ukraine Truce, Petrobras Scandal, Pope On Spanking

WARRING UKRAINE PARTIES CALL TRUCEPro-Russian rebels in Ukraine have reached agreement with government forces on a humanitarian corridor to allow the evacuation of civilians out of Debaltseve, a key railway hub in the heart of the latest fighting, AP reports. A rebel spokesman said 1,000 civilians would be evacuated today, though it’s not clear where […]

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blog

Extra! New Petrobras Corruption Allegations Hit Brazil’s Ruling Party

The fallout from the Petrobras scandal continues to consume Brazil. A former head of the energy giant has alleged that the governing Workers’ Party had received between $150 and $200 million in kickbacks from 90 of the biggest contracts Petrobras signed with major companies from 2003 until 2013, O Globo reports Friday. According to the […]

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Economy Ideas

The Petrobras Scandal And The Future Of Brazilian Democracy

Revelations of massive corruption at Petrobras come with more than economic consequences. The credibility of the entire state is at stake. All eyes are on President Dilma Rousseff.

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Geopolitics

AirAsia Bodies Found, Ebola In Scotland, Headline Of The Year

December 30, 2014 AIRASIA BODIES, DEBRIS FOUNDThe Indonesian navy has located debris from the AirAsia plane that disappeared early Sunday, retrieving more than 40 bodies from the Java Sea, AFP reports. The news came as a shock to the families of the 162 passengers, who reportedly “began crying hysterically and fainting” after Indonesian television showed […]

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Geopolitics

U.S. Spending Bill, Italian Union Strikes, Olympic Shoplifting

Friday, December 12, 2014 HOUSE PASSES U.S. SPENDING BILLThe U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed a $1.1 trillion spending bill to fund most government operations until September 2015, The New York Times reports. But the newspaper notes that the liberal base of the Democrat party formed an “unlikely alliance” with the Tea Party in opposition […]

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