BRICS REPORT – Brazil

New allegations inflame political scandal in Brazil A Brazilian judge with a reputation for crusading against corrupt politicians rocked Brazil on Wednesday – at the end of a day that had already seen a jaw-dropping series of political twists and turns – by releasing audio of a tapped phone call between President Dilma Rousseff and former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Roger Agnelli, the Brazilian banker who turned Vale into one of the world’s biggest mining companies, has died in a plane crash. He was 56. Agnelli, his wife and two children were among seven killed when his Comp Air 9 turboprop monoplane slammed into two homes around 3:20pm local time (18.20 GMT) on Saturday, minutes after taking off from an airport in northern São Paulo, an aviation official told Reuters. Brazil has decided to place thousands of floating solar panels on a reservoir that was created by one of the country’s most notorious dams. The renewable power project, which is located deep in the Amazon rainforest, could eventually generate enough electricity to power hundreds of thousands of homes. It’s technology could be replicated in other parts of the world with hydroelectric projects that are under-utilized. Authorities in Brazil have faced numerous roadblocks in the run up to the 2016 Rio Olympics, but the poor sale of tickets could be one of the biggest challenges for the South American country. With just four months remaining for the mega sporting event, only half of the available tickets have been sold so far.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.