President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Sao Paulo state Governor Jose Serra is almost certain to clinch the main opposition party's presidential candidacy for next year's Brazilian election after his main rival dropped out on Thursday. The governor of central Minas Gerais state, Aecio Neves, said he would not seek to become the presidential candidate for the opposition PSDB party in next October's election. Neves' decision, announced at a news conference in Belo Horizonte, strengthens the position of Serra, who lost to current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in 2002. "There was a certain anxiety due to the party's indecision. Now, the pressure is off," said ... Read Full Story

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Thursday they did not expect a "dream" accord at the Copenhagen climate summit but foresaw a major step forward. "I do not believe we will achieve the accord we have all been dreaming of," Lula told reporters after talks with Merkel in Berlin. "Each president must take into account his domestic political constraints," he said, adding that he was "more optimistic than most" and expected "major progress" at the December 7-18 UN-sponsored conference. Merkel, who like Lula plans to attend the Copenhagen meeting, agreed that some headway could be made on ... Read Full Story

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is to head a delegation of 700 officials at the global climate talks starting in Denmark next Monday, authorities said. The group includes 80 federal government officials, 100 regional officials, 40 lawmakers, as well as an unspecified number of scientists and environmental workers, the foreign ministry told O Globo newspaper on Friday. Brazil's main negotiator will be diplomat Luiz Alberto Figueiredo. The whole delegation will be co-directed by Dilma Roussef, Lula's right-hand woman who is his chief government minister -- and his chosen successor in presidential elections next October. Environment Minister Carlos Minc will be sharing his field ... Read Full Story

Two Brazilian officials accompanying President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on a trip to Germany have been diagnosed with swine flu. Brazil's official Agencia Brasil news agency says the presidential security guard and an air force official will not leave Germany with Silva as he heads home after visiting Berlin and Hamburg. The two unnamed officials were in Portugal with Silva earlier this week when he attended the Iberoamerican summit. Silva then traveled to the Ukraine. The infected officials had high fevers after arriving in Hamburg Thursday night ahead of Silva's visit on Friday. Agencia Brasil says they are being treated by a German ... Read Full Story

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - The favorite in Honduras' weekend presidential election said on Friday he will try to persuade the world and especially Brazil to recognize him if he wins to end Central America's worst political crisis in decades. Conservative Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo, who has a clear lead over his closest rival in recent polls, urged Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to see a new Honduran president-elect as legitimate even though Sunday's vote follows a June coup. "We will be knocking at president Lula's door and everyone else's to reestablish channels of friendship with all nations," Lobo, a wealthy farmer, told foreign correspondents. ... Read Full Story