US Business Archives - Page 117 of 902

US and Russia again make deal but broader diplomacy on ice

9 Dec 2022 11 Dec 2022

The United States and Russia again showed they can do business with their second prisoner exchange this year but, despite some suggestions by Moscow, few expect broader diplomacy over the Ukraine war.

Working-level US and Russian diplomats met Friday, a day after the swap, in Istanbul but a US official said they discussed a “narrow set of bilateral issues” and not the Ukraine war.

In a scene whose choreography if not personalities were reminiscent of the Cold War, basketball star Brittney Griner, arrested on minor drug charges, walked on the tarmac in Abu Dhabi on Thursday to a plane that took her back to the United States.

Walking in the other direction was Viktor Bout, an arms dealer arrested in a 2008 US sting operation in Thailand, who triumphantly returned home and declared that the West wants to “destroy” Russia.

Still in prison was Paul Whelan, an American accused by Russia of espionage. The former Marine’s detention sparked criticism of President Joe Biden by his Republican rivals, although the administration insisted it was still working to free him.

The Biden administration said that Russia did not budge. But President Vladimir Putin one day later dangled the possibility, saying that further swaps were “possible” with the United States, sparking speculation on which Russians he seeks to free.

“This is the result of negotiations and the search for compromises,” Putin told reporters on a visit to Kyrgyzstan.

He also said on Ukraine that “ultimately, in the end, an agreement will have to be reached” in Ukraine — which he invaded in February, prompting a furious defense backed by Western weapons that has driven back Russian forces.

– ‘Nothing more’ –

The United States and Russia arranged the prisoner exchange through quiet back channels with assistance from the United Arab Emirates.

In April, the two countries carried out a similar deal, swapping Trevor Reed, a former Marine who got into a drunken brawl, for drug-smuggling pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, with the two swapped in Istanbul.

Turkey, the scene of Friday’s closed-door talks, and the United Arab Emirates both have complicated alliances with the United States and have balked at efforts to isolate Moscow, serving as hubs for Russian expatriates.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken had proposed the prisoner swap involving Griner to his counterpart, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in a July telephone call, their only known direct conversation since the war.

Blinken said after Griner’s release that the United States was also willing to work with Russia on narrow issues such as arms control but that the swap indicated no wider diplomatic opening.

“This is about getting unjustly detained Americans back to their families,” Blinken told CBS News.

“That was the focus. It’s nothing more. It’s also nothing less.”

Western diplomats privately say it is crucial not to let back-channel diplomacy play into the hands of Putin by making Russia an issue of the United States versus Russia.

Russia alleges it faced a threat from Ukraine’s NATO aspirations. The United States insists that any peace initiative is up to Ukraine, the country that was invaded, and that it will not negotiate over Kyiv’s head.

Will Pomeranz, director of the Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute, said the swap was purely focused on the desires to free prisoners.

“I don’t think this will have any impact really on US-Russia relations. They are in such a terrible, terrible state and I don’t think this really changes the dynamic,” he said.

US sounds alarm over 'harmful' Iran-Russia military partnership

9 Dec 2022 10 Dec 2022

The United States on Friday expressed alarm over a “full-scale defense partnership” between Moscow and Tehran, describing it as “harmful” to Ukraine, Iran’s neighbors and the world.

Iran stands accused by Western powers of supplying drones to Russia — which rejected the US allegations — as Moscow batters Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in search of an advantage in the bloody conflict.

Washington has previously condemned Iran-Russia security cooperation, but on Friday described an extensive relationship involving equipment such as helicopters and fighter jets as well as drones, with the latter items resulting in new US sanctions.

“Russia is seeking to collaborate with Iran in areas like weapons development, training,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

Moscow “is offering Iran an unprecedented level of military and technical support — that is transforming their relationship into a fully fledged defense partnership,” he said.

“We have also seen reports that Moscow and Tehran are considering the establishment of a joint production line for lethal drones in Russia. We urge Iran to reverse course (and) not to take these steps.”

Moscow’s UN envoy Vassily Nebenzia pushed back later in the day, telling a Security Council meeting that “the military industrial complex in Russia can work perfectly fine and doesn’t need anyone’s assistance.”

The drone allegations, he said, were “already refuted” multiple times before.

Earlier, Kirby announced that the United States would sanction three Russian-based entities active in “the acquisition and use of Iranian drones.”

The sanctions target the Russian Aerospace Forces, the 924th State Center for Unmanned Aviation, and the Command of the Military Transport Aviation.

“The United States will continue to use every tool at our disposal to disrupt these transfers and impose consequences on those engaged in this activity,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on the sanctions.

Last month, Tehran admitted it had sent drones to Russia, but insisted they were supplied before the invasion of Ukraine.

– ‘Sordid deals’ –

Kirby said the United States is also concerned that Russia “intends to provide Iran with advanced military components,” including helicopters and air defense systems.

Iranian pilots have reportedly been learning to fly advanced Sukhoi Su-35 warplanes in Russia, and Tehran may receive the aircraft within the next year, which would “significantly strengthen Iran’s air force relative to its regional neighbors,” Kirby said.

The United States also believes that Iran is considering the sale of “hundreds of ballistic missiles” to Russia, he said.

Britain’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly took aim Friday at the “sordid deals” between Moscow and Tehran, saying in a statement that Iran had sent drones to Russia in exchange for “military and technical support” from Moscow.

This “will increase the risk it poses to our partners in the Middle East and to international security,” Cleverly said, vowing that “the UK will continue to expose this desperate alliance and hold both countries to account.”

Kirby on Friday announced a new $275 million aid package to help boost Ukraine’s air defenses, against Russian drones in particular.

He said the aid “will soon be on its way to provide Ukraine with new capabilities to boost its air defenses and counter the threats that Ukraine is facing from drones.”

The Pentagon released details on the package, saying it includes counter-drone equipment, as well as ammunition for Himars precision rocket systems, 80,000 155mm artillery rounds, some 150 generators, and other equipment.

The United States has previously said that generators were being provided to Kyiv to help Ukraine with its electricity needs amid repeated Russian strikes on energy infrastructure.

The latest package — which is made up of equipment taken from existing US stocks — brings Washington’s military assistance to Ukraine since Russia’s February 24 invasion to more than $19.3 billion.

Guyana opens bidding for offshore oil blocks

9 Dec 2022 12 Dec 2022

Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali on Friday opened bidding for the exploitation of offshore oil blocks in the tiny country, which has the world’s highest reserves of crude oil per capita.

Ali said the government hoped to award 11 blocks in shallow waters and three in deep waters by May 31, 2023.

Winning bidders would pay a “signature bonus” of $20 million for the right to exploit deep water oil blocks and $10 million for oil-rich areas in shallow waters.

“What we are seeking to do is to have the best possible outcome for Guyana, given the lessons we have learned,” said Ali.

In September, activist and lawyer Christopher Ram told AFP that different governments had sold the country’s “sovereignty” by signing “bad and unbalanced” contracts in favor of oil companies, such as ExxonMobil, which operates the prolific Stabroek Block.

“The oil curse seems inevitable,” he said, in reference to the trend in which poor nations with valuable resources fail to turn them into social and economic progress.

The heavily-forested Guyana, one of South America’s poorest and smallest countries, was recently found to have proven reserves of at least 10 billion barrels of oil, likely much more according to experts.

Ali said companies would have to pay $20,000 to take part in the bidding process, and would have until April 14, 2023 to submit their proposals.

He added that under the new licenses to be issued, companies would not be allowed to hold onto the oil blocks for a long time without doing the seismic work and drilling they commit to in their work plan.

“Once the bidders do not fulfill their obligations, the process of relinquishment — that is where they will have to hand back the block to the government — is made stronger and more expeditious,” said Ali.

Guyana, a country of 800,000 people, currently produces 360,000 barrels of oil a day.

Keep talking: Disgraced crypto king's high-risk strategy

9 Dec 2022 12 Dec 2022

Omnipresent on talk shows and conference panels, disgraced cryptocurrency tycoon Sam Bankman-Fried is defying the advice of the legal profession and staying in the public eye despite facing the real threat of prosecution and even jail time.

As the architect and former CEO of a bankrupt enterprise that cannot account for billions of dollars in missing customer funds, Bankman-Fried faces scrutiny from regulators, prosecutors and politicians.

Bankman-Fried’s media blitz will head to Washington on Tuesday where the 30-year-old has agreed to testify before the House Financial Services Committee at a hearing about the crypto exchange’s overnight collapse.

The testimony in the US capital will mark a throwback to the heady period before FTX’s sudden implosion last month, when the mop-haired computer whiz was feted in Washington as a respectable face for cryptocurrency who doled out tens of millions of dollars in political donations.

“By speaking out, Mr. Bankman-Fried is putting himself in greater jeopardy and acting contrary to what competent counsel would advise a client,” said Jacob Frenkel, a former Justice Department prosecutor at Dickinson Wright.

As much as anyone, Bankman-Fried had embodied the apparent arrival of cryptocurrency as a major market in finance and no longer a frowned on get-rich-quick scheme shunned by the establishment.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate, the son of two Stanford Law School professors, fit the tech wunderkind profile as he posed for magazine spreads and pushed Super Bowl television spots and other splashy marketing campaigns to draw in investors.

But after reaching a valuation of $32 billion, FTX’s implosion was swift following a November 2 report on the cryptocurrency news site CoinDesk on ties between FTX and Alameda, a trading company also controlled by Bankman-Fried.

The report exposed that Alameda’s balance sheet was heavily built on the FTT currency — a token created by FTX and with no independent value.

The price of FTT plunged in early November, roiling both Alameda and FTX, where Alameda had large trading positions.

Reeling from customer withdrawals and short some $8 billion, FTX and some 100 related entities filed for bankruptcy protection on November 11, inviting scrutiny from regulators, prosecutors and furious clients who had believed the hype about cryptocurrency.

Among the revelations, FTX propped up Alameda with billions of dollars in customer funds that are now likely lost forever. Such a use of investor money would constitute fraud if it flouted the terms of agreement between customers and FTX, legal analysts said.

Questions also linger over whether Bankman-Fried engaged in market manipulation, or illegally provided inside information to Alameda.

– ‘Attention can be addictive’ –

Usually people in Bankman-Fried’s shoes follow counsel’s orders to keep a low profile, said defense attorneys interviewed by AFP.

Public comments increase the risk of false or problematic statements, or of torpedoing a potential defense strategy, said Aitan Goelman, a former director of enforcement at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The “limelight and public attention can be addictive,” Goelman said and Bankman-Fried “finds it impossible to sit there and keep his mouth shut, which is the smart thing to do.”

Through a spokesman, Mark Cohen, a defense attorney representing Bankman-Fried, declined to comment when asked by AFP.

Since his downfall, Bankman-Fried has generally adopted a contrite tone in interviews, which he usually carries out by video link from FTX’s Bahamas headquarters.

“I didn’t ever try to commit fraud on anyone,” Bankman-Fried told a New York Times conference on November 30. “Clearly I made a lot of mistakes or things I would be able to give anything to be able to do over again.”

Bankman-Fried acknowledged poor corporate controls and that the interrelationship with Alameda was problematic. He said he was caught off guard by the size of Alameda’s position on FTX.

But some were unpersuaded, including CNBC anchor Rebecca Quick who concluded that “that guy’s a crook and a liar.”

Frenkel, who worked in a senior enforcement role at the Securities and Exchange Commission, predicted the charm offensive would fall flat.

“This is a desperate attempt to persuade the American public and potential jurors that he did not intend to defraud,” said Frenkel.

“It’s a matter of when we will see a criminal indictment, not if,” he said.

– No ‘foregone conclusion’ –

Goelman agreed that Bankman-Fried’s media blitz would not help his cause with prosecutors, but said an indictment is not a “foregone conclusion.”

Goelman noted that the withering assessment of new FTX Chief Executive John Ray of the company’s lack of controls could be consistent with a company that was mismanaged but not necessarily run with fraudulent intent.

But Bankman-Fried faces “potential serious criminal exposure,” Goelman said.

“These investigations take a lot of time,” he said. “The idea that Sam Bankman-Fried should be in leg irons already is inconsistent with our system of justice.”

US sounds alarm over 'harmful' Iran-Russia military partnership

9 Dec 2022 9 Dec 2022

The United States on Friday expressed alarm over a “full-scale defense partnership” between Russia and Iran, describing it as “harmful” to Ukraine, Iran’s neighbors and the world.

Iran stands accused by Western powers of supplying drones to Russia for its war against Ukraine, as Moscow batters the country’s energy infrastructure in search of an advantage in the bloody conflict.

Washington has previously condemned Iran-Russia security cooperation, but on Friday described an extensive relationship involving equipment such as drones, helicopters and fighter jets.

“Russia is seeking to collaborate with Iran in areas like weapons development, training,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

Moscow “is offering Iran an unprecedented level of military and technical support — that is transforming their relationship into a fully fledged defense partnership,” he said.

Kirby said that the United States would sanction three Russian-based entities active in “the acquisition and use of Iranian drones.”

Last month, Tehran admitted it had sent drones to Russia, but insisted they were supplied before the invasion of Ukraine.

Kirby said the United States is also concerned that Russia “intends to provide Iran with advanced military components,” including helicopters and air defense systems.

– ‘Sordid deals’ –

The United States also believes that Iran is considering the sale of “hundreds of ballistic missiles” to Russia, he said.

Kirby on Friday announced a new $275 million aid package to help boost Ukraine’s air defenses, against Russian drones in particular.

He said the aid “will soon be on its way to provide Ukraine with new capabilities to boost its air defenses and counter the threats that Ukraine is facing from drones.”

The United States has previously said that generators were being provided to Kyiv to help Ukraine with its electricity needs amid repeated Russian strikes on energy infrastructure.

China's Xi promotes Mideast security, energy ties at Saudi summits

9 Dec 2022 12 Dec 2022

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday touted close security and energy ties with Gulf nations during summits in Saudi Arabia that have highlighted tensions with Washington.

On the third and final day of his visit, Xi attended a gathering of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council and a broader China-Arab leaders’ meeting.

It was only Xi’s third journey outside China since the coronavirus pandemic began.

Friday’s talks followed bilateral sit-downs on Thursday with Saudi royals that yielded a joint statement stressing “the importance of stability” in oil markets — a point of friction with the United States, which has urged the Saudis to raise production.

“China will continue to firmly support the GCC countries in maintaining their own security… and build a collective security framework for the Gulf,” Xi said on Friday at the start of the China-GCC summit.

“China will continue to import large quantities of crude oil from GCC countries on an ongoing basis,” he said, also vowing to expand other areas of energy cooperation including liquefied natural gas imports.

Additionally, Xi said China would make full use of a Shanghai-based platform “to carry out RMB [yuan] settlement of oil and gas trade” — a move that, if Gulf countries participate, could weaken the global dominance of the US dollar.

Asked at a press conference, as the summits came to close Friday evening, if Riyadh would agree to such a scheme, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said he had “nothing to add”.

Oil from Saudi Arabia alone accounted for 17 percent of China’s imports last year, and last month Qatar announced a 27-year natural gas deal with China.

– Rejecting ‘polarity’ –

Xi’s visit comes amid persistent rancour between Saudi Arabia and the US, its long-time partner and security guarantor, over oil production, human rights issues and regional security.

It follows US President Joe Biden’s trip to Jeddah in July, before midterm elections, when he failed to persuade the Saudis to pump more oil to reduce prices.

Xi’s arrival in the kingdom on Wednesday earned a rebuke from the White House, which warned of “the influence that China is trying to grow around the world”.

Washington called Beijing’s objectives “not conducive to preserving the international rules-based order”.

Saudi officials have repeatedly stressed that they value deep ties with Washington but will not hesitate to explore relationships elsewhere.

“We are very much focused on cooperation with all parties and I think competition is a good thing,” Prince Faisal said on Friday, adding that Riyadh will also continue to have strong relations with the US “across the board”.

“We will continue to work with all of our partners and we don’t see it as a zero-sum game by any means,” he added.

“We don’t believe in polarity.”

– Trade talks –

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s 37-year-old de facto ruler, addressed both summits on Friday, promising “continuing Arab-Chinese cooperation to serve our common goals and aspirations of our peoples”.

The Gulf countries, strategic partners of Washington, are bolstering ties with China as part of an eastward turn that involves diversifying their fossil fuel-reliant economies.

At the same time China, hit hard by its Covid lockdowns, is trying to revive its economy and widen its sphere of influence, notably through its Belt and Road Initiative which provides funding for infrastructure projects around the world.

One area of focus for the China-GCC summit was a free trade agreement under discussion for nearly two decades.

Drawing those negotiations to a close would be “a matter of prestige for Beijing”, said Robert Mogielnicki of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.

“It’s not as simple for the GCC states, which seem to be more invested in advancing bilateral ties and are engaged in varying degrees of regional economic competition with their neighbouring member states.”

No breakthrough was announced on Friday.

rcb/jsa

US basketball star Griner back home after Russia prisoner swap

9 Dec 2022 9 Dec 2022

American basketball star Brittney Griner was taken to a US Army base in Texas for a medical checkup on Friday after being released from a Russian prison in exchange for a notorious arms dealer known as the “Merchant of Death.”

Griner, who was arrested in Russia in February on drug charges, arrived overnight in San Antonio from Abu Dhabi, where the prisoner swap took place, and did not make any public statements.

Robert Whetstone, a spokesman for the Brooke Army Medical Center at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, said the 32-year-old Griner, who is from Texas, was taken to the facility “as is standard protocol.”

“The US government is focused on ensuring that Brittney Griner and her family’s well-being are prioritized and that all assistance available be offered in an appropriate manner,” Whetstone said.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby told NBC that Griner was in “very good spirits when she got off the plane and appeared to be obviously in good health.”

Kirby said she would be given “all the access she needs to health care workers just to make sure that she is OK.”

Griner was exchanged in Abu Dhabi on Thursday for Viktor Bout, a 55-year-old Russian national who was serving a 25-year sentence in a US prison.

In footage released by Russian state media, Griner, shorn of her distinctive dreadlocks, and a relaxed and animated Bout crossed paths on the airport tarmac and headed towards the planes that would take them home.

Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, WNBA champion and LGBTQ trailblazer, was arrested at a Moscow airport against a backdrop of soaring tensions over Ukraine.

– Putin says ‘compromises’ found –

Griner was accused of possessing vape cartridges with a small quantity of cannabis oil and sentenced in August to nine years in prison.

Bout, who was accused of arming rebels in some of the world’s bloodiest conflicts, was detained in a US sting operation in Thailand in 2008, sent to the United States and sentenced in 2012 to 25 years behind bars.

Bout told Kremlin-run media on Friday that Western countries were seeking to “destroy” Russia.

“The West believes that they did not finish us off in 1990, when the Soviet Union began to disintegrate,” Bout told state-run channel RT. “They think that they can just destroy us again and divide Russia.”

While Griner’s family and friends celebrated her release, another American held in Russia, former US Marine Paul Whelan, detained since 2018 and accused of spying, expressed disappointment he was not part of the swap.

The Griner family expressed solidarity with Whelan, saying in a statement: “We pray for Paul and for the swift and safe return of all wrongfully-detained Americans.”

Russia President Vladimir Putin said Friday that other prisoner swaps with Washington were possible.

“This is the result of negotiations and the search for compromises,” Putin said. “In this case, compromises were found and we aren’t refusing to continue this work in the future.”

– ‘Joy and relief’ –

President Joe Biden announced Griner’s release on Thursday flanked by her wife, Cherelle Griner, and thanked the UAE for helping “facilitate” it.

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said there was a “collective wave of joy and relief” in the women’s professional league where Griner has been a star for a decade with the Phoenix Mercury.

At the time of her arrest, Griner had been playing for a professional team in Russia, as a number of WNBA players do in the off-season.

She pleaded guilty to the charges against her, but said she did not intend to break the law or use the banned substance in Russia.

Griner testified that she had permission from a US doctor to use medicinal cannabis to relieve pain from her many injuries.

The use of medical marijuana is not allowed in Russia.

The 2005 film “Lord of War” starring Nicolas Cage was based in part on Bout’s arms trafficking exploits, and he has been the subject of several books and TV shows.

Speaking to MSNBC, Kirby acknowledged concerns Bout could return to criminal activity.

“We’re going to make sure now that he’s a free man that we’re looking after our national security interests and we’re as vigilant as we can be,” he said.

Canada to hasten permitting for critical minerals mines

9 Dec 2022 12 Dec 2022

Canada will look to quickly ramp up production of critical minerals that are vital to its transition away from climate-harming fossil fuels, according to a new strategy unveiled Friday.

The 58-page document notes that Canada is home to vast untapped deposits of lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt, copper and rare earth elements.

But under a current framework, it adds, it can take from five to 25 years to get new mines approved and operational.

With global demand set to soar and China controlling much of existing supplies, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said it is paramount for Canada and its allies “to establish and maintain resilient critical minerals value chains.”

The new strategy, he added, “sets out a course for Canada to become a global supplier of choice for critical minerals and the clean digital technologies they enable.”

Critical minerals are used, for example, in electric vehicle batteries, solar panels, wind turbines and semiconductors.

They are “the building blocks for the green and digital economy. There is no energy transition without critical minerals,” says the strategy document.

New mine proposals typically undergo a patchwork of rigorous environmental review and permitting process. Wilkinson vowed to streamline that process, including eliminating duplicate reviews at both the federal and provincial levels.

“We recognize that, although responsible regulations are vital, complex regulatory and permitting processes can hinder the economic competitiveness of the sector and increase investment risk for proponents,” says the document.

The new strategy is not backed by any new funding, but in its 2022 budget, the federal government earmarked Can$3.8 billion (US$2.8 billion) over eight years for the sector — including a 30 percent tax credit to spur exploration.

Ottawa also acknowledges in the document the need for new infrastructure such as roads and ports in order to access and exploit the deposits.

To counter China’s supremacy in critical minerals, Canada, the United States and its allies have committed to boosting extraction, processing and recycling of critical minerals.

In late October, Canada also tightened its investment rules to make it more difficult for foreign state-owned companies to buy into its critical minerals sector, following a backlash over Chinese investments in Canada.

Such deals, the government said at the time, would only be approved on “an exceptional basis.”

It has also recently ordered three Chinese resources companies to divest their stakes in Canadian critical minerals firms.

'Little America:' the TV series that questions the American dream

9 Dec 2022 10 Dec 2022

Apple TV + series “Little America” returned to screens for a second season Friday with the aim of challenging the American dream, creator Sian Heder told AFP.

From the Song family and their hat store in Detroit to Jibril, a Somali cook in Minneapolis, the dream’s ideal — that you can succeed in the United States through hard work and perseverance — is still alive.

But the emotional toll of uprooting oneself, financial difficulties, family pressure to succeed and sometimes the disappointment of failing to connect to New York City appear throughout the eight sub-40-minute episodes, which are inspired by true stories.

They include Zahir, an Afghan pianist who comes to the Big Apple to escape the Taliban and ends up enrolling in the conservatory of music but is far from his mother back home.

“One of the themes we were really interested in exploring this year was, what happens when the American Dream doesn’t work out the way that you expect it to,” said Heder.

For Heder — the director of 2021 movie “CODA,” which won three Oscars this year including best picture — the “whole idea of America of like, pull him up by your bootstraps, and capitalism, and it’s up to you to make it work out, you know, is a huge strain.”

“It’s an incredible amount of pressure on an individual.

“This is the land of opportunity, but in a way. There’s not a lot of safety nets in this country to catch you if you don’t succeed,” she added.

The first season was released in early 2020, when ex-president Donald Trump still occupied the White House.

“There was almost a reactivity to all the negativity where we felt that we needed to be very optimistic and positive about this country and take it back, in a way.”

“I think this season there’s probably more freedom to explore the nuances and complications of whatever the American dream means,” said the 45-year-old Heder.

The series is adapted from Epic Magazine’s portraits of immigrants.

Some of the episodes are humorous and light-hearted, such as the one where a Sri Lankan immigrant in Texas participates in a car-kissing contest. The contestant who keeps his or her lips pressed to the car the longest wins the car.

“What we are looking for in our subjects are very average people in a way,” said Heder.

The cultural mosaic of America is reflected in the actors’ dialogue, which often occurs in their original language, and in the dishes they eat around the dinner table.

Each episode ends with an epilogue where we discover the real character who inspired the story.

“I think through our commitment to try to honor their real experience, you actually get a much more true portrait of what it’s like to be here,” said Heder, who was born in Massachusetts.

Brazil's Lula appoints former mayor as finance minister

9 Dec 2022 9 Dec 2022

Brazil’s president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Friday named former Sao Paulo mayor Fernando Haddad, viewed unfavorably by many in the business community, as his finance minister.

Lula da Silva, who narrowly defeated incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in October elections, unveiled ministers in the key posts of foreign affairs, justice, defense, and chief of staff.

However, all eyes were on his pick for finance minister, with markets nervous over the incoming government’s commitment to fiscal discipline and the inflation-hit economy in fragile recovery.

“(I chose) comrade Fernando Haddad as Minister of Finance,” Lula said during a press conference in the capital Brasilia.

Haddad, 59, who served as education minister from 2005 to 2012, succeeds powerful liberal economy minister Paulo Guedes, an ally of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.

After Lula’s new government takes office following his January 1 inauguration, the economy ministry will be dissolved and transformed into finance, industry and planning agencies.

When Haddad’s name started circulating for the role, markets reacted with unease, viewing him as too much on the left and fearing he would jeopardize the budgetary balance.

“He represents the heterodox economic policy” that Lula’s Workers’ Party (PT) defends, said Antonio Madeira of the MCM consultancy firm.

Madeira said that with Haddad in the finance ministry, he expects “an increase in spending” and “a more assertive state giving a significant role to public companies.”

Despite some of the reluctance towards Haddad, the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange’s Ibovespa index was up Friday by 0.5% after the names of the future ministers were announced.

Lula also tapped Mauro Vieira as foreign minister.

Vieira is a 71-year-old career diplomat who has already served as foreign minister as well as ambassador to Argentina, the United States and the United Nations.

He is currently serving as ambassador to Croatia, which on Friday knocked Brazil out of the World Cup.

For the justice ministry, Lula appointed Flavio Dino, a former governor of the northeastern state of Maranhao.

Rui Costa, governor of the province of Bahia, was named to a ministry that falls between the roles of prime minister and chief of staff.

Jose Mucio Monteiro, a civilian, was named defense minister.

After appointing five white men to the key ministries, Lula promised that “in time, you will see more women than men here … as well as a number of Afro-Brazilians.”

“We will try and form a government in the image of Brazilian society.”

Lula, a former unionist who already served two terms as president between 2003 and 2010, said that he would announce the names of more ministers next week and he has “not yet decided the total number of ministers” he would have in his government.

One of the most highly anticipated posts is that of the environmental minister, who will play a crucial role as Brazil seeks to tackle deforestation in the Amazon.