International

Bolsonaro changes energy minister amid fuel-price row

AFP

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro changed his energy minister Wednesday after repeatedly criticizing fuel-price hikes by state-run oil company Petrobras, blamed for driving inflation that is hurting his popularity five months from elections.

Bento Albuquerque, who had been Bolsonaro’s energy minister since the far-right president took office in 2019, will be replaced by economy ministry adviser Adolfo Sachsida, according to a note in the government gazette.

The energy ministry said Albuquerque had stepped down for “personal reasons” after a meeting with Bolsonaro, though speculation swirled in the Brazilian media that he had been sacked.

The shuffle comes after Bolsonaro said Thursday that Petrobras’s recent profits amounted to “rape,” and called on Albuquerque and the firm’s chief executive, Jose Mauro Coelho, to stop it from increasing fuel prices.

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Albuquerque and the energy ministry however had no direct role in price decisions by Petrobras, whose pricing policy is based on the international oil market.

Disregarding the president, Petrobras went on to hike diesel prices by an additional 8.9 percent Monday.

Bolsonaro has also repeatedly changed the chief executive at Petrobras, replacing Roberto Castello Branco in February 2021, then Joaquim Silva e Luna last April — in each case, after attacking the firm’s price increases.

The company only stoked Bolsonaro’s fury further when it reported a first-quarter net profit of $8.6 billion Thursday, up 38 times from the first quarter of 2021.

Fuel prices in Brazil have increased more than 33 percent in the past year, according to official figures, driving annual inflation of more than 12 percent that is hurting Brazilians’ wallets.

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Spiralling prices are a central issue as Bolsonaro seeks reelection in October, trailing leftist ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (2003-2010) in the polls.

International

Diplomatic Talks Continue as Iran Accuses U.S. of Ceasefire Violations

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran accused the United States on Tuesday of violating the fragile ceasefire over the past 48 hours in the province of Hormozgan Province, although officials did not specify the exact incident.

The accusations came after the United States Central Command announced on Monday that U.S. forces had targeted Iranian missile-launch facilities and vessels allegedly attempting to deploy mines in the Gulf region.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed that its forces fired on a U.S. aircraft that allegedly attempted to enter Iranian airspace.

“The terrorist U.S. military, which has continued its illegal and unjustified actions since the ceasefire (…) committed a serious violation of the ceasefire in Hormozgan Province over the past 48 hours,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry also warned that Iran “will not leave any hostile act unanswered and will not hesitate to defend itself,” without providing further details.

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The accusations emerged while a high-level Iranian delegation was in Qatar for diplomatic talks aimed at ending the conflict with Washington.

The confrontation began on February 28 following attacks carried out by the United States and Israel against Tehran.

International

Ecuador’s Noboa vows to continue “war” on criminal groups

Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa said on Sunday that his government will continue the “war” against criminal organizations and warned that he will not yield to criminal gangs operating in the South American country.

During his state-of-the-nation address before the National Assembly, Noboa stated that criminal structures “will tire first” before his administration abandons its fight against violence and drug trafficking.

The president reaffirmed his hardline security strategy amid ongoing concerns over organized crime and drug-related violence in Ecuador.

International

Iran says agreement with U.S. to end Middle East conflict is in final stages

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baqai, said Saturday that Tehran and the United States were in the “finalization phase” of a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the conflict in the Middle East.

Speaking to Iranian state television Irib, Baqai explained that Iran had initially sought to draft a memorandum consisting of 14 clauses as part of the negotiations.

“We are currently in the phase of finalizing these memorandums of understanding,” he stated.

Shortly before Baqai’s remarks became public, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there was “a possibility” that Iran could agree to a deal to end the conflict as early as Saturday.

“There is a possibility that later today, tomorrow, or within the next couple of days, we may have something to announce,” Rubio told reporters in New Delhi, adding that he hoped for “good news.”

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Despite acknowledging progress in the negotiations, the top U.S. diplomat warned that President Donald Trump could still decide to resume military strikes against Iran if talks fail to produce a final agreement.