News stories by Fabiana Frayssinet, page 13

RIO DE JANEIRO, Dic 07 (IPS) - "Canjinjin has special powers," said Deize Coelho de Barros. The recipe for this local liquor, made from a mixture of herbs, was handed down from her African ancestors, and is seen as a sort of traditional "Viagra" in her homeland, the western Brazilian state of Mato Grosso.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Dic 06 (IPS) - A new kind of public-private partnership will begin in 2013 in Brazil to produce an antiretroviral drug, through a technology transfer agreement that will be in effect until the patent expires in 2017.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 22 (IPS) - A Nigerian diviner dances and sings next to a Brazilian priest of the Candomblé religion, brought to this South American country by African slaves, that is now being rescued from oblivion in school texts on national history and culture.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 21 (IPS) - A Brazilian designer has taken fashion from the exclusivity of the catwalk to the reality of the favela, to demonstrate that styles, trends and fads are also born in these poor neighborhoods of cities like Rio de Janeiro.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 15 (IPS) - The threat of mass suicide by native Guaraní-Kaiowá people in southwest Brazil brought to light a new formula for worsening conflicts over indigenous territory: the expansion of the cultivation of soy beans and sugar cane, two top export crops.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 14 (IPS) - If a black woman and a white woman both need emergency obstetric care, a Brazilian doctor will assist the white woman because of the stereotype that black women are better at handling pain and are used to giving birth.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 07 (IPS) - Regarded by the mainstream media and opposition in Brazil as a landmark case in the fight against corruption, the Supreme Court trial of politicians and business leaders could have an exemplary effect if the justice system applies the same standard in other, less visible, cases.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 05 (IPS) - The appointment of Judge Joaquim Barbosa, seen as a popular hero because of his performance in one of Brazil's highest-profile corruption cases, as the first black president of the country's Supreme Court on Nov. 22 will be a landmark in national history.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct 26 (IPS) - One victim of the remodelling of Brazil’s Maracaná football stadium in preparation for the World Cup is the old Museum of the Indian, where people from different indigenous groups have attempted to keep their culture alive in the heart of Rio de Janeiro.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct 12 (IPS) - Brazil’s new law requiring that 30 percent of candidates must be women made a less than impressive debut in Sunday’s municipal elections, although female candidates for mayor made better headway than women running for town councils.