International
Brazil’s Petrobras hikes prices, ignoring Bolsonaro
AFP
Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras announced hefty increases in gasoline and diesel prices Thursday in response to the Ukraine crisis, ignoring President Jair Bolsonaro’s criticism of what he calls excessive prices.
Petrobras said it would raise the price of gasoline from its refineries by 18.8 percent and diesel by 24.9 percent from Friday, citing the “worldwide surge in the prices of oil and oil derivatives as a result of the war between Russia and Ukraine.”
The company said the move was in line with increases by other fuel suppliers, and emphasized that it had not raised prices in nearly two months.
But the move will likely irk the far-right president, who has been trying to rein in surging fuel prices and inflation more broadly, phenomena which are hurting his popularity as he gears up to seek reelection in October.
Bolsonaro, who regularly criticizes Petrobras for high prices, said Monday the company’s policy of parity with international prices “cannot continue.”
Petrobras shares dove more than seven percent following the comment.
That echoed a stock plunge of more than 20 percent just over a year ago, when Bolsonaro changed Petrobras’s chief executive after saying the company should not be constantly “surprising people” with price increases.
Bolsonaro is pushing for Congress to pass legislation to bring fuel prices down, though experts say the short-term impact would be minimal.
He is also reportedly looking at decreeing emergency subsidies to lower prices.
Both measures are unpopular with fiscal conservatives.
Surging prices in Brazil, where the annual inflation rate stands at 10.38 percent, are a weak spot for Bolsonaro as he eyes a tough reelection battle in seven months, likely against leftist ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
The international oil market has been rocked by volatility since Russia invaded Ukraine two weeks ago.
The Brent crude price hit a peak of $139 a barrel Monday, a 14-year high, before falling to around $116 Thursday.
International
Biden to attend Trump’s inauguration in January
US President Joe Biden will attend the inauguration ceremony of Donald Trump in January, the White House announced on Monday, despite the fact that the Republican did not attend Biden’s inauguration four years ago.
“The president promised that he would attend the inauguration of whoever won the election. He and the First Lady will keep that promise and attend,” said spokesperson Andrew Bates to reporters traveling with Biden on Air Force One.
“He sees it as an important demonstration of commitment to our democratic values and to honoring the will of the people, while we continue to ensure a smooth and effective transition,” Bates added.
Despite describing Trump as a threat to democracy during the election campaign, Biden seeks to facilitate a peaceful transfer of power to the Republican that Trump denied him.
Biden invited the president-elect to the White House just days after the November 5 election, in which Trump defeated Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
The 82-year-old Democrat dropped out of the presidential race for a second term in July and supported Harris after her disastrous performance in a televised debate led Democrats to question her fitness for the office due to concerns over her health and mental agility.
International
Mexico’s Sheinbaum warns Trump: Tariffs won’t stop migration or drug consumption
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum warned Donald Trump on Tuesday that new tariffs will not stop irregular migration or drug consumption in the United States, following the elected president’s threat to impose a 25% tariff on Mexican imports.
“President Trump, it is not with threats or tariffs that the migratory phenomenon or drug consumption in the United States will be stopped,” said the left-wing president while reading a letter she plans to send to the elected president. She also proposed initiating a dialogue.
International
Iran’s Khamenei calls ICC arrest warrant against Netanyahu insufficient
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, described the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes as “insufficient” and stated that the prime minister deserves a “death sentence.”
The court, based in The Hague, issued arrest warrants on Thursday against Netanyahu, his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas’s military leader Mohammed Deif for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In his first speech since the court issued the arrest orders, Khamenei called the arrest warrant against Netanyahu “insufficient.” He further stated, “These criminal leaders must be sentenced to death,” referring to Netanyahu and Gallant, while addressing a group of Basij volunteers, an Islamist militia that can act as a replacement for security forces.
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