Brazil's President Lula with Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei
Brazil announced that despite its opposition to imposing sanctions on Iran, it has signed the UN resolution to impose sanctions on Iran and will adhere to its articles.
AFP reports that Celso Amorim, Brazil’s foreign minister said that the Brazilian president signed the UN resolution to impose sanctions on Iran because it has a tradition of “carrying out U.N. Security Council resolutions, including those we don’t agree with.”
Brazil and Turkey were the only two countries that voted against the fourth UN resolution in June of this year to impose sanctions on Iran. In May, the two countries brokered a deal with Iran in which Iran agreed to swap its low-enriched uranium with higher-enriched nuclear fuel in Turkish territory.
The US and its allies claimed the agreement was not enough and just a ploy by Iran to buy more time.
Washington suspects Iran of trying to build nuclear weapons but Iran has repeatedly denied this charge and maintains that its nuclear activities are all peaceful.
Documents filed by internet phone company Skype for its flotation have revealed a long-running dispute with BSkyB over the legal rights to the ‘Sky’ part of its name.
Skype has fought off legal challenges against its name in Switzerland, Turkey and Brazil since 2005, though the EU upheld Sky’s complaint, which Skype intends to appeal against. Sky claims that the brand names will confuse the public.
The five-year legal battle came to light when Skype, which has 560m registered users worldwide, filed documents for a Wall Street flotation in a bid to raise up to $100m (£63m), according to a news report in The Guardian.
Skype has given no comment. But the company warned in its IPO filing: ‘If BSkyB or other third parties were to pursue litigation to prevent our use of the Skype name or logo, defending against that litigation could be costly and time-consuming even if we were ultimately to prevail.’
By Reuters & This is Money
Neymar, Alexandre Pato, Paulo Henrique Ganso, Brazil (Getty Images)
Bright future ahead for Menezes’ men…
Mano Menezes named an inexperienced, experimental lineup in his first match as Brazil coach, but his Selecao looked like a team that had been playing together for years.
The classic samba beat returned tonight as an inspired Brazil earned a 2-0 victory over the United States. In his international debut, Neymar headed in the opener, and Alexandre Pato added a second before half-time.
In addition to Neymar, playmaker Ganso and goalkeeper Victor earned their first caps for Brazil. For the United States, Omar Gonzalez wore his country’s shirt for the first time.
The United States looked the better team during the opening exchanges, and Landon Donovan had a penalty claim denied before Brazil found their rhythm. And find it they did. From the fifth minute onward, Brazil completely dominated the game.
Pato missed a gilt-edged chance and Andre Santos was denied by a fine save from Tim Howard before Neymar headed in Santos’ 29th minute cross. Three minutes later, Pato had put the ball into the net, but the goal was disallowed for a foul the Milan forward committed on Howard.
Brazil continued to dominate the game, using superior skill, as well as a numerical (3-2) advantage in central midfield to maintain possession and force the Americans to stay on their heels.
Repeatedly, the visitors would win the ball in midfield, burst forward, and have favorable numbers on the break. (more…)
The Brazilian leader is disappointed with President Obama and his Latam policies
With less than five months in office and a public opinion support of 80%, President Lula da Silva considers his most important legacy the relation established between the presidency and the Brazilian people.
“The most important is the relation I established with society… with the people. All public policies which we implemented are the result of the participation of thousands of people from the towns, cities and states”, said Lula da Silva, 64, in an interview with the magazine IstoE.
“Government Palace is not only to receive princes”, said the former metal unions’ leader who was elected president in 2002 and repeated again four years later.
Regarding Brazil’s prospects, Lula da Silva said that “if we continue at this rate for six, seven years, we’ll be the fourth world economy”.
Asked about what he is planning for when he steps down next January, Lula da Silva said he is not interested in an international organization. (more…)
The rate of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest fell by 49 percent this year, the Brazilian Environment Ministry said Monday.
According to a report released in Brasilia, about 700 square miles of rainforest were destroyed from August 2009-June 2010. Over 1,365 square miles were destroyed in the same period a year earlier.
Despite the progress detected by the National Institute of Space Research, or INPE, using satellite equipment, the rainforest that was destroyed August-June is larger than the surface of Brazil’s largest city, Sao Paulo.
INPE president Gilberto Camara acknowledged that the actual destruction could be more extensive than detected, because the radar system it uses only registers deforestation in areas larger than about 62 acres, and because the equipment has been hampered by dense cloud cover in recent months.
Still, Brazilian Environment Minister Izabela Teixeira was upbeat about the result.
“It’s very good, and it underlines a trend that was already seen last year,” she said.
The Amazon rainforest is the largest rainforest in the world, and most of it - equivalent to the size of Western Europe - lies within Brazil’s borders.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, 17 percent of the Brazilian Amazon rainforest has been destroyed over the past two decades.
By DIANA RENEE
