Delaying the closure of South Africa’s coal-fired power plants could lead to up to 32,000 preventable deaths between 2026 and 2050, climate rights groups warned on Wednesday.
Although unpopular, the tax on low-value international purchases had positive effects for Brazil, according to a survey released on Wednesday (Apr. 22) by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI).
The business entity reported that the measure helped curb imports, preserve more than 100,000 jobs, and stimulate the Brazilian economy. Billions of reais in foreign products were not purchased, while the tax bolstered state revenues, the confederation stated.
CNI calculated the effects of the Import Tax based on the average value of shipments in 2025, comparing the volume of imports it projected for the year with the amount actually recorded.
Key figures from the survey:
BRL 4.5 billion in avoided imports;
135,800 jobs preserved in the country;
BRL 19.7 billion circulating in the Brazilian economy;
10.9% drop in the number of international orders from 2024 to 2025;
23.4% decline in the number of shipments in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, before the tax took effect;
Tax revenue of BRL 1.4 billion in 2024 and BRL 3.5 billion in 2025.
According to CNI, the tax has reduced unfair competition from imported products, particularly those from China, giving a boost to Brazilian industry.
The main objective of the tax, the confederation highlighted, is not to tax consumers but to protect the economy. “Making Brazilian industry competitive is essential to maintaining jobs and generating income,” said Marcio Guerra, CNI’s superintendent of economics.
How the tax operates
The measure establishes a 20 percent import tax on international orders of up to USD 50. In practice, the tax is collected at the time of purchase, facilitating enforcement and reducing fraud. The rule took effect in August 2024 as part of the Remessa Conforme program, created to regulate international e-commerce.
With the new rule, the volume of orders has declined. Shipments to Brazil fell from 179.1 million in 2024 to 159.6 million in 2025.
According to the report, the order came from officials close to Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, as the negotiation team was preparing to depart.
“We are still working on the mummy," said Professor Agata Kubala in a statement, as an "X-ray revealed the presence of an object on the chest, which may be a papyrus containing the boy’s name.”
Caught between imported inflation, dependence on international markets, and structural fragilities, African economies find themselves on the front line of a crisis they did not cause.
An envoy to United States President Donald Trump world football's governing body FIFA to replace Iran with Italy at the upcoming World Cup, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
The United Nations says Libya is at a “critical” crossroads, facing deep political fragmentation, a distorted economy, and delayed elections that threaten the country’s stability.
The Hormuz closure has become the proverbial Pandora’s Box, and many issues have emerged from this crisis that were neither expected nor part of previous discussions about a deal.
Since 2025, the Netherlands has had a security fund for Jewish schools, institutions, and events. For this, it structurally allocated €1.3 million per year.
Walla reported that Pahlavi was not hurt in the attack, and police arrested the suspect immediately afterward. Walla also said that the police stated that the substance appeared to be tomato juice.
The regime appears to be trying to prevent a widespread outbreak of protests by reinforcing its presence on the ground, according to Effi Banai, a lecturer and researcher of social networks.
Report comes as attacks on data centers and cable disruptions in the Red Sea highlight how critical communications networks are increasingly exposed to conflict.
Cyprus is physically close to Israel and Lebanon and has close ties with Israel and Greece, with Cyprus-based PhileNews noting that “Thursday’s working dinner centers on geopolitical developments."
Israel, like all sovereign states, acts in self-defense. The exercise of that force has generated, in some cases, backlash against Jewish communities far beyond Israel’s borders.
The Brazilian company Serra Verde, which operates in the rare earth mining sector, was acquired by the US mining company USA Rare Earth (USAR) in a deal valued at approximately USD 2.8 billion. The purchase was announced on Monday (Apr. 20) by both companies.
Serra Verde operates the Pela Ema mine in Minaçu, in the state of Goiás. It is the only active ionic clay mine in Brazil, in operation since 2024. It is also the only producer of the most critical and valuable heavy rare earth elements outside Asia: dysprosium (Dy), terbium (Tb), and yttrium (Y). More than 90 percent of global rare earth extraction takes place in China.
The materials are used to manufacture permanent magnets for electric vehicles, wind turbines, robots, drones, and high-efficiency air conditioners, as well as for the semiconductor, defense, nuclear, and aerospace sectors.
According to the Brazilian mining company, the venture will enable the creation of the world’s largest company in the sector. Production in Goiás is in its first phase and is still considered modest, but is expected to double by 2030.
“Serra Verde’s mining and processing operations will play a central role in establishing the first rare earth supply chain from mine to magnet outside Asia, when combined with USAR’s mining and downstream capabilities,” the Serra Verde Group said in a market announcement.
15-year contract
The contract provides for a 15-year supply agreement with a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), capitalized by various US government agencies as well as private capital sources, for 100 percent of its Phase I production at guaranteed minimum prices for magnetic rare earths.
“The supply agreement provides secure and predictable cash flows for Serra Verde, reducing risks, supporting investments, and enabling its successful development,” the USAR press release states.
According to the statement, the agreement will enable the creation of “a leading multinational rare earth company, from mine to magnet, with eight operations in Brazil, the United States, France, and the United Kingdom, and with active operational capabilities across the entire light and heavy rare earth supply chain, including mining, processing, separation, metallization, and magnet manufacturing.”
“These milestones are a significant positive development for Brazil and demonstrate the country’s ability to play a leading role in the development of global rare earth supply chains,” said Ricardo Grossi, president of Serra Verde Pesquisa e Mineração and chief executive officer of the Serra Verde Group.
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