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The former South Carolina governor is just the second Republican to seek the party's backing to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden, 80, who is expected to seek reelection next year. [1/7] Former South Carolina Governor and former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley announces her run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination at a campaign event in Charleston, South Carolina, U.S. February 15, 2023. Nikki will be a leader with an iron fist in a velvet glove," he told Haley supporters at her Charleston campaign event. If she wins, she would be the first non-white or female Republican presidential nominee.

☆ Bird flu spreads to new countries, threatens non-stop 'war' on poultry
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Tom Polansek | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Argentina found the virus in wild birds, while dead swans in Uruguay tested positive. The United States, Britain, France and Japan are among countries that have suffered record losses of poultry over the past year, leaving some farmers feeling helpless. Poultry in the Northern Hemisphere were previously considered to be most at risk when wild birds are active during spring migration. Some experts suspect climate change may be contributing to the global spread by altering wild birds' habitats and migratory paths. Farmers are trying unusual tactics to protect poultry, with some using machines that make loud noises to scare off wild birds, experts said.

SAO PAULO (Reuters) -The confirmation of more bird flu cases in South America raised alarm bells in Brazil, which remains free of contagion even after its close neighbors Argentina and Uruguay confirmed cases there on Wednesday. Until now, bird flu cases had been detected in commercial farms in Bolivia, which borders Brazil, and in Peru and Ecuador, Favaro said. On Wednesday, cases in wild birds were confirmed in Uruguay and Argentina, sparking a health emergency in both. In recent days, Brazil also investigated suspected cases of the highly pathogenic bird flu. It has never registered a bird flu case.

CHARLESTON, S.C., Feb 15 (Reuters) - Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley is expected to focus on the threats China and Russia pose to the United States and the need for fresh blood atop the Republican ticket in the first stop of her campaign for the 2024 presidential nomination on Wednesday. China has captured renewed attention in the United States over the past week after the U.S. military shot down what officials said was a Chinese spy balloon off the South Carolina coast. She is scheduled to speak in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, at 11 a.m. local time (1600 GMT). Haley is later slated to swing through Iowa and New Hampshire, which will hold the first and second Republican nominating contests of the 2024 campaign cycle. She may not be the only South Carolina Republican eyeing the White House.

☆ Bird flu spreads to new countries, threatens non-stop "war" on poultry
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Tom Polansek | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The United States, Britain, France and Japan are among countries that have suffered record losses of poultry over the past year, leaving some farmers feeling helpless. Poultry in the Northern Hemisphere were previously considered to be most at risk when wild birds are active during spring migration. Some experts suspect climate change may be contributing to the global spread by altering wild birds' habitats and migratory paths. Farmers are trying unusual tactics to protect poultry, with some using machines that make loud noises to scare off wild birds, experts said. Berkowitz said he is bracing for March and April when migration season will pose an even greater risk to poultry.

House Freedom Caucus members, who want to shrink the role of government, are demanding reductions in government spending. The Freedom Caucus members also raised significant sums from larger donors and traditional political fundraising committees. Unlike other congressional caucuses, the House Freedom Caucus doesn't disclose its membership, a practice that began in 2015. While McCarthy has pledged that the government won't default, the Republicans' narrow 222-212 majority has given outsized power to the Freedom Caucus. 'I AIN'T LISTENING'Freedom Caucus members are among the most conservative members of Congress, according to their voting records.

☆ BTG Pactual joins Brazilian lenders hit by post-Americanas provisions
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Gabriel Araujo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SAO PAULO, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Banco BTG Pactual SA (BPAC3.SA) on Monday became the latest Brazilian lender to be affected by bad credit provisions due to what it called a "specific, widely publicized event," likely referring to the bankruptcy of Americanas SA (AMER3.SA). BTG reported a quarterly net profit of 1.64 billion reais ($314.5 million), slightly down from 1.74 billion a year earlier and below the market consensus of 2.27 billion, according to analysts polled by Refinitiv. BTG's "good cost discipline" in the quarter helped reduce the impact of the provisions, JPMorgan said. "Despite all the challenges, we expect higher returns in 2023, with greater operating leverage and possibly even higher capital and liquidity levels," BTG Chief Executive Officer Roberto Sallouti said. ($1 = 5.2151 reais)Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by David Holmes, Kirsten Donovan and Paul SimaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Bolsonaro mulls return to Brazil in coming weeks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro said on Saturday he plans to return to Brazil "in the coming weeks," after having spent more than a month in the United States. "There is no place like home ... We know Brazil is a fantastic country," Bolsonaro told a gathering of Brazilians in Boca Raton, a video posted online by broadcaster CNN showed. I intend to return to Brazil in the coming weeks." A swift return to Brazil could pose risks for Bolsonaro, who is accused of instigating a violent election denial movement in his home country. Still, a U.S. official with knowledge of the situation told Reuters this week that officials believe Bolsonaro will return to Brazil after the carnival festival, which ends on Feb 22.

President Biden will meet with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at the White House Friday, a month after supporters of Mr. da Silva’s predecessor ransacked government buildings and demanded the results of the election be overturned. Mr. da Silva, a leftist former president, narrowly won against Jair Bolsonaro , a right-wing populist and ally of former President Donald Trump who has been hunkered down in Florida since late December and has applied for a six-month tourist visa to prolong his stay in the U.S.

SAO PAULO, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Shares in Brazil's Banco Bradesco SA (BBDC4.SA) fell to their lowest level in almost two years on Friday after the bank reported fourth-quarter net income equivalent to less than half that of analysts' estimates. Bradesco reported a 75% drop in net income and sharply increased its provisions for loan losses to around $3 billion. The bank's preferred shares were down 6.6% in early trading in Sao Paulo to 12.89 reais, paring losses that reached 8.7% after the open. Bradesco set aside 4.9 billion reais in provisions in the fourth quarter to cover its loans to retailer Americanas SA (AMER3.SA), which has asked for bankruptcy protection. Reporting by Aluisio Alves, writing by Tatiana Bautzer; editing by Jason Neely and Paul SimaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon falls in first month under Lula
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Ueslei MarcelinoSAO PAULO, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest fell in January from a year earlier, satellite data showed on Friday, in the first monthly figures under President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. In mid-January, Brazilian environmental agents launched their first anti-logging raids under Lula, who has pledged to end surging destruction under his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro. The fresh figures come after Reuters reported exclusively on Thursday that the United States was considering its first contribution to a multilateral fund aimed at fighting Amazon deforestation, with a possible announcement during President Joe Biden's meeting with Lula at the White House on Friday. The Brazilian-administered Amazon Fund, supported mainly by Norway and Germany, was reactivated by Environment Minister Marina Silva the day she took office last month, after being frozen since 2019 under Bolsonaro. The Brazilian government is also fighting wildcat mining on Yanomami land in the Amazon, its largest indigenous reservation, amid a humanitarian crisis blamed on illegal gold miners.

WASHINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - U.S. House Republicans on Thursday stepped up their probes of Democratic President Joe Biden's family and what they allege is partisan bias in federal law enforcement, in moves that the White House dismissed as politically motivated attacks. The Republican chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, James Comer, on Thursday asked Biden's son and brother for documents related to the family's international business dealings. The White House in a memo distributed to allies and seen by Reuters dismissed the hearing as a "political stunt." "Instead of working with President Biden to address the top priorities of the American people - fighting inflation and lowering costs, creating jobs, boosting manufacturing and infrastructure, and protecting and expanding people's health care and rights – this is what House Republicans are focused on," wrote Ian Sims, the White House spokesman on oversight. Reporting by David Morgan and Gram Slattery; Editing by Scott Malone and Cynthia OstermanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Brazil just sank its biggest warship into the Atlantic Ocean after failing to sell it for scrap metal. The ship was big enough to carry 39 aircraft — take a look.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Marielle Descalsota | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

ANNA ZIEMINSKI/AFP via Getty ImagesIn March 2021, the Brazilian Navy sold the aircraft carrier as scrap to a shipyard in Turkey. But the ship was rejected by Turkish authorities as it had asbestos, a toxic material often found in 20th century ships. After circling along Brazil's coast for five months after it was rejected by Turkey, the warship was moved into international waters, Time reported. It was a controversial move: Several environmental rights organizations opposed the sinking of the ship because of the asbestos it contained. "The sinking of the aircraft carrier Sao Paulo throws tons of asbestos, mercury, lead and other highly toxic substances into the seabed," Greenpeace said in a statement, per Reuters.

☆ Americanas accounting scandal was a 'fraud,' says CEO of Brazil's Itau
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SAO PAULO, Feb 8 (Reuters) - The chief executive of Brazil's biggest private lender Itau Unibanco (ITUB4.SA) said on Wednesday that the accounting inconsistencies that led retailer Americanas SA (AMER3.SA) to request bankruptcy protection represent a case of 'fraud'. Milton Maluhy Filho's remarks came after Itau, which had a multi-million-dollar exposure to Americanas, had to set aside more cash for bad loans in the fourth quarter. Maluhy added that Itau has not identified any case similar to that of Americanas, which reported around $8 billion in debt after disclosing "inconsistencies" in its accounting. Reporting by Aluisio Alves; Editing by Steven GrattanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Brazil police conduct new raids as part of probe into Brasilia riots
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAO PAULO, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Brazil's federal police on Tuesday carried out fresh raids as part of an investigation into the Jan. 8 insurrection, when supporters of former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro stormed government buildings in Brasilia. Police said in a statement they were serving three temporary detention warrants, one preventive arrest warrant and six search and seizure warrants in the federal district, where Brasilia is located, under Supreme Court orders. The new raids represent the fifth phase of an operation launched last month aimed at identifying people who participated in, funded or fostered the riots, in which a mob invaded and ransacked the Congress, presidential palace and Supreme Court. They were protesting against Bolsonaro's defeat by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in an October election and calling for a military coup to oust Lula and restore the far-right leader. Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Steven Grattan, Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ LGBT Brazilians compete in country's first drag king contest
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Steven Grattan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Egon Maurice LaSand poses with a crown after winning the King of Kings contest, a drag king competition that reunites 15 artists from all over the country, in Sao Paulo, Brazil February 5, 2023. King is taking part in Brazil's King of Kings competition, the first of its kind where 15 drag kings from around the country compete to win the title. Drag kings are mostly female or transgender performers playing exaggerated male characters, but the contest is open to anyone. "It's historic, because we don't have a contest or an event dedicated to drag kings in Brazil," said 43-year-old drag king Lorde Lazzarus, who organized the event. Many of the acts carried messages about social issues affecting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community through artistic performances.

Senator Cory Booker on Sunday said he believes a policing reform bill could pass the current Congress, although he acknowledged that it will be an uphill battle given disinterest in the Republican-led House of Representatives. Senator Lindsey Graham on the issue of qualified immunity, which he considered a positive step. Graham has stated that while he believes qualified immunity should protect individual officers, police departments should receive no such protection. Booker noted, however, that any bill passed through the Democrat-controlled Senate would still need to pass through the Republican-controlled House. So when you hear encouraging things from people like him, that gives me the sense that we could do something possibly in the Senate," Booker said.

☆ Brazil sinks rusting old aircraft carrier in the Atlantic
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRASILIA, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Brazil sank a decommissioned aircraft carrier in the Atlantic Ocean off its northeast coast, the Brazilian Navy said, despite warnings from environmentalists that the rusting 1960s French-built ship would pollute the sea and the marine food chain. The 32,000-tonne carrier had been floating offshore for three months since Turkey refused it entry to be scrapped there because it was an environmental hazard and the ship was towed back to Brazil. The Clemenceau-class aircraft carrier served the French Navy for four decades as the Foch, capable of carrying 40 war planes. It then decided to sink the Sao Paulo at high sea. The company's legal representative in Brazil, Zilan Costa e Silva, said that disposal of the carrier was the Brazilian state's responsibility under the 1989 Basel Convention on the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes.

☆ Brazil's Americanas board to remove top executives after accounting scandal
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SAO PAULO, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Brazilian retailer Americanas SA (AMER3.SA) said on Friday its board had decided to remove three directors and three executives amid investigations over so-called accounting inconsistencies. Americanas, backed by the billionaire trio that founded investment firm 3G Capital, entered bankruptcy protection last month after disclosing "inconsistencies" in its accounting worth 20 billion reais ($3.88 billion). In a securities filing, Americanas said three directors and three executives had been removed "from all their roles and activities at the company and its subsidiaries." Americanas said it had also removed executives Fabio da Silva Abrate, Flavia Carneiro and Marcelo da Silva Nunes. Americanas added that it has hired a forensic expertise institute and a consultancy to protect company data while its reorganization and legal procedures take place.

☆ Brazilian justice confirms senator told him about election conspiracy meeting with Bolsonaro
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LISBON/SAO PAULO, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Brazil's Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes confirmed on Friday that Senator Marcos do Val told him about an election conspiracy meeting he allegedly attended with former President Jair Bolsonaro and former lawmaker Daniel Silveira last year. Moraes said during an event held in Lisbon that Do Val approached him to talk about the meeting. The justice said he then asked the senator to testify formalizing the allegations, but Do Val declined to do so. Do Val told reporters on Thursday that Bolsonaro, narrowly defeated by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in an October vote, "sat in silence" while Silveira laid out the plot against Moraes at the meeting. Silveira was arrested by police on Thursday on a warrant issued by Moraes, who accused him of disobeying court rulings.

WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - A group of U.S. Senate Democrats will introduce legislation on Thursday directing the Federal Trade Commission to create rules banning the marketing of firearms to children, including the JR-15, which has become a target of gun control advocates. The planned legislation comes roughly a week after Democrats publicly called on the FTC to probe the marketing techniques of gun manufacturer Wee 1 Tactical, maker of the JR-15 .22 Long Rifle. The legislation, known as the Protecting Kids from Gun Marketing Act, would in practice give the FTC the tools to go after gun manufacturers. Neither the FTC nor Wee 1 Tactical immediately responded to a request for comment. The company has previously said its JR-15 rifle was designed to allow adults to safely introduce shooting and hunting sports to the next generation.

☆ Brazil senator says he attended election conspiracy meeting with Bolsonaro
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Ricardo Brito | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BRASILIA, Feb 2 (Reuters) - A Brazilian senator said on Thursday that a close ally of former President Jair Bolsonaro tried to persuade the senator to join a conspiracy to overturn the far-right leader's electoral loss last year. Senator Marcos do Val told a news conference that he had been invited to a meeting on Dec. 9 with then-President Bolsonaro by his associate, former lawmaker Daniel Silveira. At the meeting, Silveira asked the senator to try to get the head of the electoral court to make compromising comments in a taped conversation that could lead to the judge's arrest, Val said. The senator told reporters that Bolsonaro "sat in silence" while Silveira laid out the plot against Justice Alexandre de Moraes, a Supreme Court judge running Brazil's top electoral authority (TSE). Silveira told the former president that Val, a Bolsonaro supporter, could be trusted and asked Bolsonaro to present "the idea that would save Brazil" to him, according to the Veja report.

☆ Santander Brasil's Q4 net profit slumps as loan-loss provisions bite
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SAO PAULO, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Banco Santander Brasil SA (SANB3.SA) on Thursday posted a slump in fourth-quarter net profit as loan-loss provisions rose against a backdrop of higher interest rates and deteriorating credit conditions. The bank's quarterly net profit reached 1.69 billion reais ($334.3 million), down 56% from the previous year, as provisions for bad credit nearly doubled amid higher interest rates. He said net interest income came under pressure from changes in the product mix and higher interest rates, a trend set to persist throughout this year. Santander Brasil's loan-loss provisions reached 7.36 billion reais, pressured by bad credit in loans to individuals, the bank said. In the full year of 2022, its net profit dropped 21.1% from the previous year to 12.9 billion reais, while full-year provisions rose 72.7% and net interest income fell 6.8%.

☆ Large Brazilian banks may set aside around $890 mln for Americanas losses in Q4
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Aluisio Alves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAO PAULO, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Brazilian banks may start setting aside provisions for losses with retailer Americanas already in the fourth quarter of 2022, analysts say. Banks such as BTG Pactual , Bradesco (BBDC4.SA), Santander Brasil , Itaú Unibanco Holding (ITUB4.SA) and Banco do Brasil (BBAS3.SA) have around 15 billion reais in loans with Americanas, according to analyst reports. Analysts estimate the banks may provision around 30% of their loans in the fourth quarter, which would be equivalent to 4.5 billion reais ($890 million), even with bankruptcy protection taking place in January, as a precautionary measure allowed by the Brazilian central bank. The first Brazilian bank to release fourth quarter earnings, on Thursday, is Banco Santander Brasil. ($1 = 5.0544 reais)Reporting by Aluisio Alves; Writing by Tatiana Bautzerd; Editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Brazil volleyball star faces Olympic complaint after post threatening Lula
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SAO PAULO, Jan 31 (Reuters) - The Brazilian Olympic Committee said it had filed a complaint against volleyball player Wallace de Souza after the former Olympic champion wrote a post on social media that appeared to back violence against President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. An Instagram follower of the athlete asked him on the social media platform if he would "shoot Lula in the face with a 12 (caliber gun)." He later deleted the post and uploaded a video apologizing, saying he would never suggest violence or hatred towards anyone and calling the post a mistake. Wallace was part of Brazil's gold medal-winning volleyball team in the 2016 Summer Olympics, and a silver medalist in 2012. Earlier in January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters vandalized the Supreme Court, Congress and presidential palace, seeking to provoke chaos and a military coup that would oust Lula and restore Bolsonaro to power.

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