Brazil: 50% effective Chinese vaccine ‘not the best, but good’

At least 14 people have died in Rio de Janeiro state after heavy rainfall triggered mudslides this weekend. Brazil has lately been reeling from a pattern of destructive storms.

Brazil has more than three million "ghost citizens": people who don't have a birth certificate or ID card. In administrative terms they do not exist and have no access to public health care or education. They also can't vote. But in the run-up to October's elections, these people could constitute a potential political force. Our correspondents Perrine Juan, Louise Raulais and Tim Vickery take a closer look at the legal and social workers who are trying to help "ghost citizens".

Beating expectations, Chinese economy grows 4.8% in first quarter of 2022. Over the first three months of the year, China's economy expanded at an annual rate of nearly 5 percent when compared to the same stretch last year. But as Covid-19 lockdowns roll on, the country's annual growth target looks hard to reach.

The imprisonment and political exclusion of former President Lula da Silva was a violation of his rights, the UN has said. Lula is currently leading in polls for October's presidential election.

At the beginning of December, Brazil's president, Jair Bolsonaro, said he would make sure that fuel prices go down. Just the opposite has happened, and now unrest in the South American country is growing.

Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that a Chinese intelligence ship was not in Australia's territorial waters but its presence off the northwestern coast was "concerning."

The Chinese economy is slowing down markedly as strict lockdowns send big cities into hibernation. Repercussions will be felt in Germany, too.

The catastrophic weather has forced dozens to flee their homes in Brazil's northeastern Pernambuco state. A red alert has been issued in the city of Recife for Sunday as well.

China’s embargo on Australian wine means winemakers are facing a massive oversupply.

Hundreds of students in Beijing have called for freedom of movement amid concerns over tightening COVID restrictions on campuses. Videos circulated online showing students tearing down a metal wall.

Hundreds of students in Beijing have called for freedom of movement amid concerns over tightening COVID restrictions on campuses. Videos circulated online showing students tearing down a metal wall.

After studying philosophy, Brazilian national Pedro Cesarino grew tired of Western systems of knowledge and decided to study other ways of thinking and living. He is now a renowned anthropologist and has published articles and books based on his field research with the Amazon's Marubo community. His first novel tells the story of a melancholy anthropologist hoping to track down a myth in the Amazon rainforest. It explores the certainty with which many anthropologists approach the communities they study and the resulting misunderstandings. He joined us for Perspective.