Connect with us

International

Brazil’s Petrobras raises fuel prices

AFP

Brazil’s state-owned oil company Petrobras announced Friday it is raising fuel prices, infuriating President Jair Bolsonaro as he faces an inflationary spike and a re-election bid in October.

Painful price increases, especially for food and fuel, have emerged as a key weak spot for the far-right incumbent. 

Petrobras, the largest company in Latin America, said it will hike gasoline prices by 5.18 percent and diesel prices by 14.26 percent starting Saturday.

It blamed “a challenging scenario in Brazil and the world,” the latter a reference to the war in Ukraine, which has triggered higher oil prices around the world.

Advertisement
20251220_limites_newscentral_728x90
previous arrow
next arrow

Brazil has already seen fuel prices surge by over 33 percent in the past year, according to official figures — with the last spike in gasoline and diesel rates coming three months ago. 

Bolsonaro reacted angrily saying Petrobras “could sink Brazil in chaos.” 

In May, Bolsonaro dismissed the president of Petrobras, who had been in the job for just 40 days, with the country’s energy ministry saying “Brazil is currently experiencing a challenging moment.”

As in many countries of the world, prices are soaring in Brazil. Inflation stands at 11.73 percent, far above the central bank’s target of 3.5 percent.

The bank raised its benchmark interest rate for the 11th straight time on Wednesday as it battles inflation.

Advertisement
20251220_limites_newscentral_728x90
previous arrow
next arrow

Bolsonaro faces an uphill battle against leftist ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (2003-2010), who leads in opinion polls and is remembered for presiding over a booming economy.

That is a sharp contrast to today, with Brazil’s economy struggling to bounce back from the pandemic and now reeling from the inflationary pressures unleashed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Continue Reading
Advertisement
20251220_limites_newscentral_300x250

International

Trump Orders Construction of New ‘Golden Fleet’ to Revitalize U.S. Naval Superiority

President Donald Trump issued an executive order this Monday for the immediate construction of two new warships that will bear his name. These vessels will be the pioneers of what he described as the “Golden Fleet,” a future generation of “Trump-class” battleships that he claimed would be “100 times more powerful” than those currently in service.

The announcement took place at his private residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. The President indicated that following the initial two ships, the administration aims to commission up to 25 additional vessels. He is scheduled to meet with Florida-based contractors next week to expedite production, criticizing existing defense firms for failing to deliver results efficiently.

This naval expansion is a cornerstone of Trump’s goal to revitalized the American shipbuilding industry and address the strategic gap between the U.S. and competitors like China.

The move comes amid heightened geopolitical tension. Just last week, Trump ordered the seizure of all sanctioned tankers involved with Venezuela’s “ghost fleet” to cripple the country’s crude oil industry. Since December 10, the U.S. military—deployed in the Caribbean under the guise of counter-narcotics operations—has already detained two tankers linked to Venezuelan oil transport.

Continue Reading

International

U.S. Judge Blocks ICE from Re-detaining Salvadoran Erroneously Deported Under Trump Administration

A U.S. federal judge ruled this Monday, December 22, that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is prohibited from re-detaining Salvadoran national Kilmar Ábrego García, who was erroneously deported to El Salvador earlier this year during the administration of President Donald Trump.

During a hearing in Maryland, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ruled that Ábrego García must remain free on bail through the Christmas holidays, concluding that his initial detention lacked a legal basis. The ruling follows a request from his legal team for a temporary restraining order to prevent ICE from carrying out a new arrest.

Earlier this month, on December 11, Judge Xinis ordered his release from a Pennsylvania migrant detention center after determining that the government had detained him without a formal deportation order. In 2019, an immigration judge had already ruled that Ábrego could not be returned to El Salvador because his life was in danger.

Despite that protection, Ábrego García was deported in March 2025 following a raid by the Trump administration. Officials argued at the time that he was a gang member, and he was sent directly to the Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT) in El Salvador. In June, he was returned to the United States to face a new trial for alleged human smuggling—a charge he denies.

On Monday, Judge Xinis also temporarily invalidated a new deportation order issued by an immigration judge following Ábrego’s recent release, granting him legal protection through the coming weeks. His trial is scheduled to begin in Tennessee in January 2026.

Advertisement

20251220_limites_newscentral_728x90

previous arrow
next arrow

Continue Reading

International

Fire at substation triggers major blackout in San Francisco

The U.S. city of San Francisco was plunged into darkness Saturday night after a power outage left about 130,000 customers without electricity, although the utility company said service was restored to most users within hours.

Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) said in a statement posted on X that nearly 90,000 homes had their power restored by 9:00 p.m. local time (05:00 GMT on Sunday), while the remaining 40,000 customers were expected to have service restored overnight.

Large areas of the city, a major technology hub with a population of around 800,000, were affected by the blackout, which disrupted public transportation and left traffic lights out of service during the busy weekend before Christmas, a crucial period for retail businesses.

“I know it’s been a difficult day,” San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said in a video posted on social media from the city’s emergency operations center. “There has been progress, but for those still without power, we want to make sure they are safe and checking in on their neighbors,” he added.

Lurie said police officers and firefighters advised residents to stay home as much as possible. He also noted that officers and traffic inspectors were deployed to manage intersections where traffic lights were not functioning.

Advertisement

20251220_limites_newscentral_728x90

previous arrow
next arrow

The mayor confirmed that the outage was caused by a fire at an electrical substation. Parts of the city were also covered in fog, further complicating conditions during the incident.

As a result of the blackout, many businesses were forced to close despite it being the weekend before Christmas. The sudden drop in shopper traffic ahead of the holiday is “devastating” for retailers, the manager of home goods store Black & Gold told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Continue Reading

Trending

Central News