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Brazil’s Bolsonaro shuffles cabinet, recreates labour ministry

Brazil’s Bolsonaro shuffles cabinet, recreates labour ministry

ANTHONY BOADLE BRAZILIAN President Jair Bolsonaro has appointed centre-right Senator Ciro Nogueira as his chief of staff x to shore up waning political support in Congress and recreated the labour ministry to deal with record unemployment. Nogueira, a leader of the Progressives Party (PP) to which lower house speaker Arthur Lira also belongs, will be Bolsonaro's closest aide and minister, replacing a retired general. His appointment is aimed at improving the far-right president's relations with Congress, where there have been dozens of requests for his impeachment as his popularity drops during the world's second-deadliest COVID-19 outbreak. A Senate investigation has…
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Brazilian lawmaker denouncing vaccine deal wears bullet-proof vest to hearing

Brazilian lawmaker denouncing vaccine deal wears bullet-proof vest to hearing

MARIA CAROLINA MARCELLO A Brazilian congressman who has denounced alleged wrongdoing in a 1.6 billion reais ($323 million) COVID-19 vaccine contract signed by Brazil's government arrived at a Senate commission inquiry wearing a bullet-proof vest for safety. Congressman Luis Miranda and his brother Luis Ricardo Miranda, the whistleblower at the Health Ministry who raised suspicions about the vaccine deal with India's Bharat Biotech, are the key witnesses in a hearing underway on Friday. The parliamentary inquiry is looking into the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than half a million people in Brazil, and accusations that…
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WHO warns on Brazil COVID-19 outbreak as Bolsonaro blasts Senate inquiry

WHO warns on Brazil COVID-19 outbreak as Bolsonaro blasts Senate inquiry

BRAZILIAN President Jair Bolsonaro yesterday blasted a pending Senate inquiry on his handling of a record-breaking COVID-19 outbreak, which global health officials compared to a "raging inferno." Supreme Court Justice Luis Roberto Barroso ruled late on Thursday that enough senators had signed on to a proposed inquiry on the government's pandemic response to launch the probe despite stalling by Senate leadership. "It's a stitch-up between Barroso and the leftists in the Senate to wear out the government," Bolsonaro told supporters outside his residence, accusing the judge of "politicking." A Senate investigation represents the most severe political consequence to date for…
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Brazil’s Bolsonaro seeks police support before elections with reshuffle

Brazil’s Bolsonaro seeks police support before elections with reshuffle

GABRIEL STARGARDTER PRESIDENT  Jair Bolsonaro rattled Brazilian politics and irked military commanders with a major cabinet reshuffle this week but one powerful constituency is thrilled: the police have one of their own running the Justice Ministry. By picking a cop, rather than a lawyer or civil servant, Bolsonaro sent a clear message on law and order in turbulent times, said Wellington Corsino, who leads an association of 134,000 state military police officers. "It's great to have a president who is concerned with public security at this time of disturbance, at a moment of political, social and economic instability," said Corsino.…
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Brazil governors urge extension of COVID-19 emergency measures

Brazil governors urge extension of COVID-19 emergency measures

GOVERNORS from 17 Brazilian states urged President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday to extend a "state of public calamity" due to the COVID-19 pandemic now set to expire at the end of the year. Under the emergency measure, lawmakers are permitted to break certain budget rules as they prioritize addressing fallout from the pandemic. Brazil, which has the highest COVID-19 death toll in the world outside the United States, has been dealing with an increasingly severe second wave over the last month or so. "In this challenging moment in which we're seeing an increase in the number of cases of the…
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Brazil looks for legal options to ban China’s Huawei from 5G – sources

Brazil looks for legal options to ban China’s Huawei from 5G – sources

LISANDRA PARAGUASSU BRAZILIAN President Jair Bolsonaro's government is looking for a legal way to exclude Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co Ltd from 5G networks in Brazil, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. A presidential decree is being studied by Bolsonaro's national security adviser Augusto Heleno and the ministry of communications who are looking at security provisions that telecoms and their suppliers must comply with, the sources said. Bolsonaro, following his ally President Donald Trump, opposes Huawei on the unproven grounds that it shares confidential data with China's Communist government. But, with China being Brazil's largest trade…
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Shunned in New York, Brazil leader plans to meet Bush, Cruz in Texas

Shunned in New York, Brazil leader plans to meet Bush, Cruz in Texas

BRAZIL President Jair Bolsonaro plans to meet with former U.S. President George W. Bush and Senator Ted Cruz in Texas next week, after cancelling a New York trip. The far-right Brazilian leader cancelled plans last week to attend an event in New York City amid pressure from environmentalists, gay rights activists and Mayor Bill de Blasio, who called him a "dangerous man." Bolsonaro was set to be honoured as person of the year by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce at a ceremony in the Museum of Natural History in Manhattan. Under public pressure, the museum ultimately declined to host the…
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Prominent people diagnosed with COVID-19

Prominent people diagnosed with COVID-19

MORE than 1 million people have died after contracting the novel coronavirus and over 33 million infected. Leading figures in politics, sport, royalty and entertainment are among them: Sadio Mane - Senegalese football star and Liverpool striker. British actor Robert Pattinson tested positive for COVID-19, news media reported on September 3, halting production of "The Batman". Pro-wrestler turned Hollywood actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson said in a video message posted on social media on September 2 that he, his wife and their two young children tested positive for COVID-19 in recent weeks but that they all have recovered and are…
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