Page 2 - Brazil

Denial, geopolitics hurt climate cooperation this year: UN climate chief

As the curtains came down at the UN COP30 summit after two weeks of hectic negotiations, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell said "denial, division and geopolitics" have hit hard on international cooperation this year. The UN climate talks in Brazil ended with a pledge of more funding for countries to adapt to the wrath of extreme weather. But it did not include a roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels. In his statement on COP30 Climate Summit outcomes, Stiell said that the global body is probably not winning the climate battle, but parties are still in it and are fighting back with resolve. "We knew this COP would take place in stormy political waters. Denial, division and geopolitics has dealt international cooperation some heavy blows this year," he said. Stiell, however, said that the COP30 Summit showed that climate cooperation is alive and kicking, keeping humanity in the fight for a livable planet with a firm resolve to keep 1.5 degrees Celsius within reach. "H

Judge orders Bolsonaro's arrest for plotting escape ahead of prison term

Brazil's federal police arrested former President Jair Bolsonaro preemptively on Saturday, days before he was set to begin his 27-year prison sentence for leading a coup attempt, officials said. A close aide said the embattled former leader was taken to the police force headquarters in the capital, Brasilia. The force said in a short statement, which did not name Bolsonaro, that it acted on the request of Brazil's Supreme Court. Neither Brazil's federal police nor the Supreme Court provided more details. Bolsonaro's aide Andriely Cirino confirmed to The Associated Press that the arrest took place around 6 am on Saturday. The 70-year-old former president was taken from his house in a gated community in the upscale Jardim Botanico neighbourhood to the federal police headquarters, Cirino said. Local media reported that Bolsonaro, who was Brazil's president from 2019 to 2022, was expected to begin serving his sentence sometime next week after the far-right leader exhausted all appeal

Brazil's ex-Prez Bolsonaro seeks house arrest for prison time citing health

Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro's lawyers on Friday petitioned the Supreme Court requesting that he serve his prison time under house arrest, citing poor health. Bolsonaro was convicted in September of attempting a coup following his 2022 electoral defeat and was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court unanimously rejected an appeal from his legal team, though another is expected to come this week. He has been under house arrest since August after the Supreme Court ruled he violated precautionary measures imposed on him. The former president still has not begun serving his sentence in the coup attempt trial. The lawyers said that Bolsonaro's medical reports show he needs strict checking of his blood pressure and heart rate, regular tests and specific medications, in addition to frequent visits from multiple specialists, including a cardiologist, pulmonologist and gastroenterologist. If the petitioner is sent to prison, his ..

World collectively needs to scale up climate finance: India at COP30

India is committed to domestic adaptation as part of climate action but there is an urgent need for a scaled-up adaptation finance as the global gap widens, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said here. Yadav also said that the annual climate summit, COP30, must deliver a clear political message that adaptation is not an optional add-on but an essential investment. The 2025 Adaptation Gap Report estimates that developing countries will need between USD 310-365 billion annually by 2035, while current flows are around USD 26 billion only, he said during his intervention at the Baku High-Level Dialogue on Adaptation on Thursday at the ongoing UN COP30 summit. Yadav expressed concern that the Glasgow Climate Pact goal of doubling public adaptation finance from 2019 levels to around USD 40 billion by 2025 is likely to be missed if the current trend continues. It will take nothing less than a global collective effort to increase climate finance to the levels articulated in the Baku to

Lula stares down Donald Trump and scores tariff victory for Brazil

In an executive order, Trump exempted dozens of Brazilian food products, including coffee and beef, from the 40% increased tariffs he imposed in an ill-fated attempt to help former President Jair

India-Brazil joint press meet: Watch PM Modi's remarks

India-Brazil joint press meet: Watch PM Modi's remarks

COP30 summit: 21 injured after fire disrupts talks in Brazil

A major fire at the COP30 UN Climate Summit venue in Belem, Brazil, forced thousands to evacuate and temporarily halted critical climate negotiations.

Fire at main venue of COP30 in Brazil injures 21, triggers mass evacuation

At least 13 people were injured in a fire which broke out at the main venue of the ongoing UN COP30 Climate Summit in Brazil's Belem, forcing thousands of people to run for safety. The fire broke out at around 2 pm on Thursday at the 'Blue Zone', where all meetings, negotiations, country pavilions, media centre and offices of all high-profile dignitaries are housed, including the main plenary hall. As soon as news of the fire spread, people ran out of all exit gates for safety. "Thirteen individuals were treated on site for smoke inhalation. Their condition is being monitored, and appropriate medical support has been provided," the UN COP30 Organising Committee said in a statement. It is learnt that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was present at the venue and promptly evacuated by the United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) protection detail. India's Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav was also present with the Indian delegation inside the Blue Zone when th

Trump eases tariffs on coffee, fruit, and beef from Brazil to lower costs

President Donald Trump has further loosened tariffs on Brazil as part of his effort to lower consumer costs for Americans. The decision, released Thursday, affects coffee, fruit and beef, among other goods. The White House said last week that Trump was rolling back some worldwide tariffs that were originally announced in April. However, Brazil said that didn't affect levies that Trump had enacted in July to punish the country for prosecuting his political ally, former President Jair Bolsonaro. Thursday's decision harmonises Trump's plans, ensuring that neither the April nor July tariffs apply to certain products. Trump and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva have been negotiating over trade, which could further reduce tariffs.

India calls Joint Crediting Mechanism key for equitable action at COP30

Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Wednesday said cooperative frameworks such as the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) strengthen global mitigation efforts while also aligning with the development

Brazil's Lula meets Bhupender Yadav at COP30 to discuss fossil fuel roadmap

Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva met the Indian delegation led by Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav at the UN COP30 Climate Summit and discussed crucial issues that negotiators are intensely discussing to hammer out a final roadmap. According to sources privy to the discussion, the two sides mainly discussed on Wednesday a possible roadmap on fossil fuel -- a topic that the President is pushing hard during the ongoing COP30. "Lula and Yadav met in the afternoon and discussed some important issues. They primarily talked about the fossil fuel issue and explored if a roadmap can be brought in this summit itself," a source on the Brazilian side told PTI here. The closed-door meeting lasted for about 20 minutes and senior officials from both sides were present during the talks. India's Lead Negotiator at COP30 Amandeep Garg was also present at the meeting. An official on the Indian side said, "They met for about 15-20 minutes and discussed many issues." He, however, did no

What is the COP30 climate summit, and why does it matter this year?

World leaders are meeting in Brazil's Amazon city of Belem for COP30, the 30th UN climate summit, to discuss how to curb global warming and act on past promises to cut fossil fuel use

India joins Brazil-led forest fund as observer, calls for stronger ambition

India on Friday said global climate ambition remains inadequate even a decade after the Paris Agreement, as it joined Brazil's new global fund for tropical forests as an observer and called for developed nations to accelerate emission cuts and deliver promised climate finance. Delivering India's statement at the Leaders' Summit of COP30 in Belem, Brazil, Indian Ambassador to Brazil Dinesh Bhatia reaffirmed the country's commitment to multilateralism and the Paris Agreement, which marks its 10th anniversary this year. "India welcomes and supports Brazil's initiative in establishing the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF), representing a significant step towards collective and sustained global action for the preservation of tropical forests. India is pleased to join the Facility as an observer," Bhatia said. Launched on Thursday, TFFF is a Brazil-led global fund to reward tropical countries for protecting and expanding forests. It aims to mobilise around USD 125 billion through .

UN climate summit kicks off in Brazil's with hopes for action, US absent

World leaders descending on the United Nations annual climate summit in Brazil this week will not need to see much more than the view from their airplane window to sense the unfathomable stakes. Surrounding the coastal city of Belem is an emerald green carpet festooned with winding rivers. But the view also reveals barren plains: some 17 per cent of the Amazon's forest cover has vanished in the past 50 years, swallowed up for farmland, logging and mining. Often called the lungs of the world for its capacity to absorb vast quantities of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that warms the planet, the biodiverse Amazon rainforest has been increasingly choked by wildfires and cleared by cattle ranching. It is here on the edge of the world's largest tropical rainforest that Brazil's President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva hopes to convince world powers to mobilise enough funds to halt the ongoing destruction of climate-stabilizing tropical rainforests in danger around the world and make progress

Brazil sees unrest after police raids kill over 130: What's happening?

The raids, which targeted a drug gang embedded in low-income neighbourhoods, are one of the deadliest in the history of Rio de Janeiro

Protests erupt in Brazil after police raid leaves at least 119 dead

A massive police raid on a drug gang embedded in low-income neighbourhoods of Rio de Janeiro that left at least 119 people dead drew protests for excessive force on Wednesday and calls for the Rio's governor to resign. Dozens of favelas residents gathered in front of the state's government headquarters shouting assassins! and waving Brazilian flags stained with red paint, a day after Rio's deadliest raid and hours after families and residents laid dozens of dead bodies on a street in one of the targeted communities to show the magnitude of the operation. Questions quickly arose about the death count and the state of the bodies, with reports of disfigurement and knife wounds. Brazil's Supreme Court, prosecutors and lawmakers asked Castro to provide detailed information about the operation. This was a massacre, said Barbara Barbosa, a domestic worker from the Penha complex of favelas, one of the two huge communities targeted in the police operation. She said her son was killed in a ..

64 killed, including 4 police officers, in Rio de Janeiro anti-gang raid

At least 81 people were arrested, and security officials said the number of casualties could rise as the operation continues

Brazilian President Lula sees 'definitive solution' with US coming in days

Lula spoke a day after he and Trump held a meeting on the sidelines of the summit, and hours after negotiators from Brazil and the US held a follow-up meeting to chart a path forward on trade

Brazil, US to begin immediate talks to resolve tariff and trade issues

Ahead of the meeting on Sunday though, Trump said he could reach some agreements with Lula

Trump expects 'pretty good' trade deals with Brazil in meeting with Lula

The meeting is part of a push by the Brazilian government to resolve the monthslong trade spat after Trump