At least two people were killed and several others injured as an overpass collapsed in the Brazilian World Cup host city of Belo Horizonte, according to the local fire department. A city bus and several vehicles were crushed after a part of a bridge, which was under construction, fell onto a busy highway. People may be trapped under the debris. O’Globo’s footage showed a yellow bus crushed... 

A man and a woman struggle to cross a flooded road in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, June 29, 2014. An emergency agency in Brazil says severe flooding caused by torrential rain in the southern parts of the country has forced more than 50,000 people out of their homes. The emergency agency for Santa Catarina State said 40,000 people had been evacuated, while in neighboring state, Rio Grande... 

A view of the Itaquerao Stadium in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo. Football fever grips the fans as the World Cup starts in Brazil while police in Sao Paulo clashed with protesters opposing the tournament. On Thursday, the Itaquerao Stadium shined under blue skies as Brazil kicked off its home World Cup with a football-style carnival. Some fans reportedly chanted slogans against Brazilian President... 

A conference on Internet governance is set to start in Brazil in the wake of revelations about global spying activities by the United States. Representatives from around the world will attend the two-day NETMundial summit, which begins in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo on Wednesday. They are expected to set out principles for governing the Internet. Reports also say that some of the countries taking... 

Thousands of Brazilian soldiers have fanned out in one of Rio de Janeiro’s most notorious slums to provide security less than three months before the FIFA World Cup. The security push on Saturday is considered the latest attempt to drive drug gangs out of the infamous Mare slum, which is located near Rio de Janeiro’s international airport and is considered a haven for organized crime. Some... 

Brazil’s public prosecutor wants to suspend use of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s pervasive herbicide Roundup. A recent study suggested glyphosate may be linked to a fatal kidney disease that has affected poor farming regions worldwide. The Prosecutor General’s office is also pursuing bans on the herbicide 2,4-D and seven other active herbicide ingredients in addition to glyphosate:... 

Brazil has scored big for net neutrality after its lower house of Congress approved a groundbreaking post-Snowden bill that protects its users’ privacy rights, albeit with some sacrifices. The measure did not go as smoothly as could have. To ensure success, President Dilma Rousseff had to let it through at the cost of allowing companies such as Google and Facebook to store user information outside... 

Brazil police in Sao Paulo have clashed with protesters demonstrating against the billions of dollars being spent on the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Waving flags, carrying banners and chanting, “There will be no Cup,” crowds of demonstrators swarmed the streets of Sao Paulo on Sunday to protest against the football tournament that the country is set to host from June 12 to July 13. According to local... 

Brazilian campaigners have gathered outside the Foreign Ministry building in the capital Brasilia to demand the government grant asylum to US surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden. On Thursday, the campaigners walked to the Foreign Ministry building while chanting slogans and carrying symbolic boxes of data. They handed in a one million names-strong petition, asking asylum for Snowden. Reports... 

The overflooded Doce River in Vitoria, Espirito Santo state on December 26, 2013. The death toll for flooding and landslides in southeastern Brazil has reached 44, with thousands of people still displaced, officials say. According to Civil Defense officials in Espirito Santo, 27 people, including eight on Thursday, lost their lives in the state. A total of 61,379 people were forced to leave their homes. Espirito... 

The house is submerged by floodwater in the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais on December 23, 2013. Brazilian authorities say floods and mudslides caused by heavy rain have killed at least 20 people and forced 40,000 others from their homes in southeastern parts of the country. The civil defense department of the Minas Gerais state said on its Monday website that 14 people were killed in... 

Former CIA officer Edward Snowden, who was given temporary asylum in Russia, requests permanent shelter in Brazil. In exchange, the disgraced American whistleblower promises to assist in the investigation of USA’s espionage against Brazil. It is not the first time, when Snowden requests asylum in Brazil. Earlier, he appealed to the leaders of Russia, Cuba, Bolivia, Venezuela, Germany and other... 

Brazil has rejected a contract for Boeing’s F/A-18 fighter jets in favor of the Swedish Saab’s JAS 39 Gripens. The unexpected move to reject the US bid comes amid the global scandal over the NSA’s involvement in economic espionage activities. The announcement for the purchase of 36 fighters was made Wednesday by Brazilian Defense Minister Celso Amorim and Air Force Commander Junti Saito. The... 

Brazil has called an unscheduled meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over reports of the US National Security Agency (NSA) spying on the financial institution. ON Wednesday, Brazil’s IMF representative, Paulo Nogueira Batista, called on the IMF executive board to convene to ask for explanations on the reported NSA espionage. The official declined to divulge what was said at the meeting,... 

Brazil and Germany have formally presented an anti-spying draft resolution to the UN General Assembly amid the US surveillance scandal. On Thursday, the jointly sponsored Brazilian-German resolution was introduced to the UN General Assembly’s human rights committee. “Today, there seem to be hardly any technical limitations for accessing, storing or combining personal data. But should everything...