Brazil

Exploratory oil wells drilled off Brazil's coastline indicate the presence of a vast pool of crude that could propel this nation into the top tier of world energy producers. The oil field highlighted last week by state-controlled oil company Petrobras lies in "ultra-deep" waters beneath an unstable layer of hot salt, presenting technological challenges that are sure to be ultra-high cost.

More than 370 penguins that mysteriously washed up on Brazil's equatorial beaches were flown south on a huge air force cargo plane and released closer to the frigid waters they call home, advocates said. Onlookers cheered as the young Magellanic penguins were set free on a beach in southern Brazil and scampered into the ocean, the International Fund for Animal Welfare said in a statement. It called the penguin release the largest in South America. The penguins were among nearly 1,000 that have washed up on Brazil's northeastern coast in recent months, said group spokesman Chris Cutter.

Brazilian director Heitor Dhalia was delighted and profoundly relieved to finally see his movie "Drifting" screened this month. The completion of the film based partially on his childhood ended an emotionally grueling two-year gestation. But Dhalia's $3.4-million-budget picture, which opens early next year, is also part and parcel of a co-production trend gathering steam in the Brazilian film industry.

With investors and credit markets spooked by the global financial crisis, Brazil is facing delays in crucial billion-dollar public works projects that it needs to modernize its economy and join the upper tier of world powers. Word of likely delays in electric power, oil and wood pulp projects comes as Brazil hosts an emergency meeting today in Brasilia of leaders of Mercosur, the trade bloc that includes Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile and Bolivia.

Rescue workers rushed to help residents in southern Brazil on Monday after landslides and floods caused by heavy rain killed at least 59 people and forced more than 43,000 from their homes. The state of Santa Catarina declared an emergency as rescuers used helicopters and motorboats to reach those displaced or stranded after days of torrential rain. The state government said the floods and mudslides had affected 1.

Just weeks ago, Brazil's housing market was one of the world's most dynamic. But now, the global credit crisis has set up housekeeping, and government efforts to stimulate buying are being trumped by consumers' fears for the future. Through September, Brazil's housing sector was on fire.

Brazil pledged to cut the rate at which the Amazon forest is being destroyed in half over the next decade to help combat global warming. Setting its first such target after years of global criticism, Brazil will aim to reduce clearing of the world's largest rain forest to an annual 2,259 square miles by 2018. Brazil wants to become a voice in global environmental issues and hopes the plan will allay criticism it has done little to fight burning and clearing by loggers, farmers and ranchers.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is expected to sign an arms deal during his upcoming visit to Brazil that could help this country build Latin America's first nuclear-propelled submarine, the government's official news agency said Saturday. The French president is scheduled to arrive in Rio de Janeiro on Monday for a Brazil-European Union summit. He is the current president of the European Union's council.

France signed multibillion-dollar arms deals Tuesday to sell Brazil 50 military helicopters and five submarines, including one nuclear-powered vessel. French President Nicolas Sarkozy joined his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, at a news conference at a hotel fronting Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana beach to announce the deals, whose value could exceed $11 billion.