Page 16 - Brazil

Floods in Southern Brazil kill at least 75 over 7 days, 103 people missing

Massive floods in Brazil's southern Rio Grande do Sul state have killed at least 75 people over the last seven days, and another 103 were reported missing, local authorities said Sunday. At least 155 people were injured, while damage from the rains forced more than 88,000 people from their homes. Approximately 16,000 took refuge in schools, gymnasiums and other temporary shelters. The floods left a wake of devastation, including landslides, washed-out roads and collapsed bridges across the state. Operators reported electricity and communications cuts. More than 800,000 people are without a water supply, according to the civil defence agency, which cited figures from water company Corsan. A rescue team pulled an elderly man in serious medical condition into a helicopter from a remote area in the Bento Gonalves municipality, according to footage from military firefighters. Torrents of brown water poured over a nearby dam. On Saturday evening, residents in the town of Canoas stood up

Floods in southern Brazil kill at least 60, with above 100 people missing

Massive floods in Brazil's southern Rio Grande do Sul state killed at least 60 people and another 101 were reported missing, according to Sunday's toll from local authorities. At least 155 people were injured, while damage from the rains forced more than 80,000 people from their homes. Approximately 15,000 took refuge in schools, gymnasiums and other temporary shelters. The floods left a wake of devastation, including landslides, washed-out roads and collapsed bridges across the state. Operators reported electricity and communications cuts. More than 800,000 people are without a water supply, according to the civil defence agency, which cited figures from water company Corsan. On Saturday evening, residents in the town of Canoas stood up to their shoulders in muddy water and formed a human chain to pull boats carrying people to safety, according to video footage shared by local UOL news network. The Guaiba river reached a record level of 5.33 metres (17.5 feet) on Sunday morning at

Death toll from rains in southern Brazil climbs to 57, 70 still missing

Heavy rains had already hit Rio Grande do Sul last September, as an extratropical cyclone caused floods that killed more than 50 people

Death toll from heavy rains in Brazil jumps to 29, 60 people missing

The death toll from heavy rains in Brazil's southern Rio Grande do Sul state jumped to 29 as of Thursday night, with another 60 people missing, according to the state's civil defence agency. The agency had said in its prior report, at noon, that 13 people were dead and 21 people missing, just slightly higher than the toll on Wednesday. Brazil's President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva travelled to the state on Thursday to meet with local authorities and express his solidarity. Everything that is within reach of our government will be done to attend to the needs of the people who are being affected by these rains, he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Operators reported electricity and water cuts across the state, and officials detailed numerous incidents of flooded roads, landslides and collapsed bridges as water levels of rivers and streams rose sharply. Part of the structure of a hydroelectric dam gave way on Thursday. More than 10,000 people have been forced from their homes, according to

Tobacco prices to rise in Andhra after crop failure in Brazil, Indonesia

Prices range between Rs 280 and Rs 290 per kg and are predicted to surpass Rs 300 per kg in Andhra Pradesh market

Biocon partners Biomm SA to commercialise it's diabetes drug in Brazil

Biotechnology firm Biocon on Wednesday said it has tied up with Brazil-based Biomm SA for the commercialisation of its diabetes drug in the Latin American nation. Under the terms of the agreement, Biocon will undertake the development, manufacturing and supply of Semaglutide (gOzempic), and Biomm will be responsible for obtaining regulatory approval and commercialization in the Brazilian market. Biomm focuses on developing, manufacturing and commercialising complex biotech and biosimilar drug products at its production facility in Nova Lima. "Our partnership with Biomm marks another important step forward in our strategy to expand our global footprint beyond the US and Europe for Peptides," Biocon CEO and MD Siddharth Mittal said in a statement. This is also in line with the growth strategy of bringing to market a portfolio of complex, GLP-1 drug-device combination products, he added. "We are confident that our collaboration with Biomm will provide patients in Brazil, who are livi

TCS expands presence in Brazil with new delivery centre in Londrina

Tata Consultancy Services employs around 1,700 professionals in Londrina and will be generating more than 1,600 new jobs through this centre

X received inquiry from US govt on actions in Brazil, says Elon Musk

In a decision on Sunday, Brazil Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the probe will check whether Musk was involved in obstruction, criminal organisation and incitement

Elon Musk wants Brazil's Supreme Court justice to resign; here's why

"This judge has brazenly and repeatedly betrayed the constitution and people of Brazil. He should resign or be impeached. Shame @Alexandre, shame," Musk posted on X

Brazil SC justice to probe Musk over fake news and alleged obstruction

A crusading Brazilian Supreme Court justice included Elon Musk as a target in an ongoing investigation over the dissemination of fake news and opened a separate investigation late Sunday into the executive for alleged obstruction. In his decision, Justice Alexandre de Moraes noted that Musk on Saturday began waging a public disinformation campaign regarding the top court's actions, and that Musk continued the following day most notably with comments that his social media company X would cease to comply with the court's orders to block certain accounts. The flagrant conduct of obstruction of Brazilian justice, incitement of crime, the public threat of disobedience of court orders and future lack of cooperation from the platform are facts that disrespect the sovereignty of Brazil, de Moraes wrote. Musk will be investigated for alleged intentional criminal instrumentalisation of X as part of an investigation into a network of people known as digital militias who allegedly spread ...

Brazil's Lula calls meeting on future of Petrobras CEO Jean Paul Prates

The meeting takes place after a week of speculation that Prates would be replaced

Court denies Bolsonaro's request for passport return to travel to Israel

Brazil's Supreme Court has denied a request by former president Jair Bolsonaro's lawyers that his passport be returned to him so that he can travel to Israel, according to an official document released here. Bolsonaro's lawyers said in a statement on Thursday that Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had invited Bolsonaro to an event in May, and requested the Supreme Court to restore his passport. It is absolutely premature to remove the restriction imposed on the investigated person, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes wrote in his decision, which was in line with a recommendation from the prosecutor general's office cited by Moraes. Bolsonaro's passport was taken, precisely, to prevent him from leaving the country, given the danger to the development of criminal investigations and the possible application of criminal law, the prosecutor general's office said earlier in its opinion. Federal Police seized Bolsonaro's passport in February during a raid related to an ...

Bolsonaro requests court permission to accept Netanyahu's invite to Israel

Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro has requested federal authorities return his passport and authorise travel to Israel so he can accept an event invitation from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit in May, Bolsonaro's lawyers said on Thursday in a statement. The attorneys submitted Bolsonaro's request to the Supreme Court on Monday, the same day The New York Times published security camera footage revealing that the former president spent two nights at Hungary's embassy in Brasilia. His stay, in February, came just days after Federal Police seized his passport during a raid related to an investigation into whether he and top aides plotted to ignore 2022 election results and stage an uprising to keep the defeated leader in power. The revelation of his stay sparked widespread speculation he may have been attempting to evade arrest, as agents would not have jurisdiction to enter embassy grounds due to diplomatic conventions restricting access. Bolsonaro's lawyers denied th

French, Brazilian presidents meet, announce $1.1 bn investment for Amazon

The Brazilian and the French presidents on Tuesday announced a plan to invest 1 billion euros (USD 1.1 billion) in the Amazon, including parts of the rainforest in neighbouring French Guiana. The two countries' governments said in a joint-statement the money will be spread over the next four years to protect the rainforest. It will be a collaboration of state-run Brazilian banks and France's investment agency. Private resources will also be welcomed, Brazil and France said. French President Emmanuel Macron's and his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Incio Lula da Silva are meeting this week to revive the relationship between the countries after years of frictions with former President Jair Bolsonaro, deepen cooperation to protect the rainforest and boost trade. Macron started his three-day visit to Brazil in the Amazon city of Belem, where he met his long-time ally Lula. The French president then took a boat to the Combu island to meet with Indigenous leaders. Both Macron and Lula saw a .

Death toll from heavy rains in southeastern states of Brazil jumps to 23

Heavy rains in Brazil this weekend killed at least 23 people in the southeastern states of Rio de Janeiro and Espirito Santo. Espirito Santos' state government said Sunday that 15 people died and almost 5,000 were out of their homes due to heavy rains falling since Friday night. Rio authorities reported eight deaths Saturday. Thirteen deaths in Espirito Santo were registered in Mimoso do Sul, a countryside city 74 kilometers (46 miles) south of the state capital, Vitoria. Rescue teams in both states had to stop their work Friday night because of risks of new landslides, with efforts restarting Saturday afternoon. Mayors and governors of Brazil's southeast region had alerted residents of potential problems for the weekend since Thursday.

Probes target Bolsonaro, but his Covid decisions catching up to him first

As Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's term wound down in the final days of December 2022, he had decided to skip the ritual of handing over the presidential sash to his successor, and instead made plans to travel abroad. But there was a problem, according to a Federal Police indictment unveiled on Tuesday: Bolsonaro didn't have the necessary vaccination certificate required by US authorities. So Bolsonaro turned to his aide-de-camp, Mauro Cid, and asked him to insert false data into the public health system to make it appear as though he and his 12-year-old daughter had received the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the indictment. Cid told police he tasked someone with the carrying out the deed, then printed out the certificates inside the presidential palace on December 22 and hand-delivered them to Bolsonaro, according to detective Fabio Alvarez Shor, who signed the indictment. It is Bolsonaro's first indictment since leaving office, and tampering with public records in Brazil is

Sun Pharma gets regulatory nod in Australia for acne treatment cream

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd on Tuesday said the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration has granted regulatory approval for Winlevi cream indicated for the topical treatment of acne. The approval is for Winlevi (clascoterone cream 1 per cent), which is indicated for the topical treatment of acne vulgaris in patients 12 years of age and older, the company said in a statement. Sun Pharma received the exclusive right to develop and commercialise Winlevi in the US, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Mexico, and Russia from Cosmo, it added. "Winlevi is an exciting addition to our expanding dermatology portfolio of innovative medicines in Australia. Winlevi's novel mechanism of action will be a welcome addition to the physician's toolkit while treating acne," Hellen de Kloet, Business Head, Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand, Sun Pharma, said. The company said Winlevi will be available in Australia this June. "This is another achievement in the mission of Cosmo and

India, Peru set to thrash out issues on free-trade agreement document

The two nations are aiming to share the document and offer a list of services as well as goods before the seventh round, scheduled to begin in New Delhi on April 8

'Not afraid of any trial': Bolsonaro over claims he plotted to remain prez

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said Saturday he was not afraid of any trial, a day after documents released by the Supreme Court revealed that two top military leaders said the populist plotted to remain in power after losing the 2022 election. Bolsonaro avoided commenting on the content of any of several investigations targeting him, but claimed he was a victim of persecution for causing trouble for the country's political left. Authorities in February confiscated Bolsonaro's passport. I could very well be in another country, but I decided to come back here at all costs. I'm not afraid of any trial, as long as the judges are impartial, Bolsonaro said in Rio de Janeiro, speaking at a campaign event in the city's mayoral race. The court documents released Saturday included testimony from Bolsonaro's former Army and Air Force commanders to police, who said they refused the former leader's demands and would arrest him if he tried to stay in power. The testimonies include th

India, Brazil hold first '2+2' defence ministerial dialogue on tech, energy

India and Brazil on Thursday explored ways to expand cooperation in areas of energy, critical minerals, technology and counter-terrorism at their first '2+2' defence and foreign ministerial dialogue. External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the talks spanned various key areas of cooperation. "Discussions spanned defence, space, energy, critical minerals, tech, counter-terrorism and regional, multilateral & other issues of mutual interest," he said on 'X'. The dialogue took place in Delhi. It was co-chaired by additional secretary in the external affairs ministry G V Srinivas and joint secretary in the defence ministry Vishwesh Negi. The Brazilian delegation was led by Director at Brazilian foreign ministry Marcelo Camara and Rear Admiral Fernando de Luca Marques de Oliviera.