Since announcing his candidacy last year, the senator has spent much of his time traveling overseas to meet conservative allies, or visiting with his father, ex-President Jair Bolsonaro

International News via Reuters:

Rising public support for Brazilian opposition Senator Flavio Bolsonaro’s presidential run has allowed him to put off naming key economic advisers, his aides say, even as right-wing rivals enter the field ahead of an October election.

Since announcing his candidacy last year, the senator has spent much of his time traveling overseas to meet conservative allies, or visiting with his father, ex-President Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a sentence in Brasilia for a failed coup plot.

Yet the 44-year-old has risen to draw even with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in opinion polls simulating a likely matchup, as the 80-year-old leftist leader grapples with a cooling economy and a banking scandal rattling Brasilia.

Two sources close to the senator said the momentum he has gained while signaling a platform broadly in line with his father’s approach should give him more breathing room to draft advisers and craft proposals to cement a winning coalition.

If the trend continues, the rollout of his economic team, which had been slated for May, could be delayed further, one of the sources said. In December, when Bolsonaro was first scrambling to reassure business, an aide suggested he could present his economic program by February.

It is a sharp contrast with the 2018 campaign run by the elder Bolsonaro, then a backbench congressman, who tapped future Economy Minister Paulo Guedes as his all-purpose economic guru nearly a year before the election to assuage nervous investors.

Senator Bolsonaro’s more cagey approach so far will face a fresh test as other right-wing parties launch their candidates. Brazil’s Social Democratic Party this week tapped Ronaldo Caiado, governor of Goias state, and Minas Gerais Governor Romeu Zema is running for the Novo Party.

“It will be a turbulent campaign,” said Carlos Melo, a political scientist at Insper in Sao Paulo, regarding the more crowded conservative field, while noting that the governors face long odds of overtaking Bolsonaro.

On Monday, Caiado made a direct appeal to supporters of Jair Bolsonaro by pledging a broad amnesty to those convicted for links to a 2023 coup plot, including the former president, who is now serving his sentence at home due to health issues.

Zema told Reuters he will leverage his executive track record in Minas Gerais and his clean record in a country plagued by corruption scandals to offer voters an alternative on the right, playing down the uphill climb he faces in early polls.

“All political campaigns are somewhat unpredictable,” Zema said.

Flavio Bolsonaro, who was a Rio de Janeiro state lawmaker before his father’s 2018 campaign helped him win a Senate seat, has offered few details of his economic proposals, promising to cut taxes and spending while improving the business environment.

His advisers said the momentum in the polls should help draw more interest from potential cabinet members.

Sources close to Bolsonaro said his campaign has made informal contact with potential advisers including former Treasury Secretary Mansueto Almeida, now at BTG Pactual, and former central bank governor Roberto Campos Neto, now vice chairman at digital bank Nubank.

Both worked in the 2019-2022 Bolsonaro administration.

At a conference in Boston over the weekend, Almeida said he remains in the private sector and has not been approached by any candidate. Campos Neto did not respond to a request for comment.

Reporting by Marcela Ayres and Ricardo Brito in Brasilia, Luciana Magalhaes in Sao PauloEditing by Brad Haynes and Alistair Bell

Pine Gas Chief Officer Sohan Lal said the ship’s 27 Indian crew had seen missiles and drones flying overhead every day as they waited

International News via Reuters:

A day before Israel and the United States attacked Iran on February 28, the Indian‑flagged LPG tanker Pine Gas loaded cargo at the United Arab Emirates’ Ruwais port, hoping to reach home within a week.

However, it would be nearly three weeks before the vessel safely transited the Strait of Hormuz, after Iran began selectively allowing ships through the narrow waterway.

Pine Gas Chief Officer Sohan Lal said the ship’s 27 Indian crew had seen missiles and drones flying overhead every day as they waited. In a video seen by Reuters, at least five projectiles can be seen streaking through the night sky above the vessel.

Lal said Indian officials had asked the crew to be on standby to set sail around March 11, but with the war escalating, it took until March 23 before the ship was cleared to move, but not through the normal Hormuz shipping lanes. 

Instead, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps instructed the tanker to navigate a narrow channel north of Larak Island off Iran’s coast. Lal said Indian authorities and the ship’s owner, Mumbai‑based Seven Islands Shipping, agreed to proceed only if every crew member consented to the voyage.

“They needed a yes or a no from all crew,” he said. “Everyone onboard agreed.” Lal added that the Larak route, not generally used by shipping, was recommended by the IRGC as the regular passage through Hormuz was mined.

He said the Indian Navy guided the ship during the transit before four Indian warships escorted it for nearly 20 hours from the Gulf of Oman to the Arabian Sea. Lal said they did not pay a fee for the transit and the IRGC did not board the vessel at any time. 

The Indian navy confirmed it was escorting Indian-flagged ships after they crossed the strait.  The foreign ministry said this month that the Indian Navy has been present in the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea for years to secure sea lanes for Indian and other ships.

LPG CRUNCH IN INDIA

India relies heavily on seaborne imports of liquefied petroleum gas with hundreds of millions of households using it for cooking.

The Pine Gas, carrying 45,000 metric tons of LPG, was originally scheduled to unload at the west coast port of Mangalore but Indian authorities directed it to discharge equal volumes at the eastern ports of Visakhapatnam and Haldia.

Iran has said it has permitted “friendly nations” including China, Russia, India, Iraq and Pakistan passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

While six Indian ships have exited the Strait, 18 Indian‑flagged vessels carrying around 485 Indian seafarers remain in the Persian Gulf.

Reporting by Saurabh Sharma in New Delhi; Writing by Krishna N. Das; Editing by Kirsten Donovan

Cost pressures were a recurring theme last week at one of the sector’s largest trade fairs in the northern Italian city of Bologna

International News via Reuters:

The Iran war is seeping into the cosmetics supply chain, pushing up the cost of everything from plastic jars and lipstick tubes to transport, and reminding the beauty industry that even a tub of face cream depends on fragile global trade routes.

Cost pressures were a recurring theme last week at one of the sector’s largest trade fairs in the northern Italian city of Bologna, as executives watched Iran’s blockade of the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping route approach a fifth week.

The Cosmoprof fair drew 3,100 exhibitors from 68 countries and 255,000 visitors from 150 nations, ranging from companies seeking packaging solutions to retailers scouting new products.

Cosmetics companies are primarily worried about higher raw material and transport costs due to rising oil prices and disrupted shipping, five industry executives told Reuters.

“We are beginning to see cost increases driven by energy price inflation, compounded by delivery delays,” said Simone Dominici, CEO of Italian cosmetics group Kiko, who estimates additional logistics-related costs of about 1.5 million euros ($1.7 million) for the group over the year.

Kiko, which sells lipsticks starting at 5 euros and mascaras from 7.5 euros, operates more than 1,000 stores worldwide.

“With so many containers stuck in the Middle East, there is a tighter container availability … and goods are not being moved efficiently”, Dominici said, adding that higher prices for some chemical components and packaging – much of it sourced from the Far East – would add further pressure.

As the Iran crisis upends supply chains, Yonwoo, a container maker for L’Oreal and K-beauty firms, said it was scrambling to secure stocks of plastic resin to manufacture the pots used for skincare and cosmetics.

ALTERNATIVE ROUTES

Beyond higher costs, the industry could also face softer demand from consumers whose purchasing power is being eroded by inflation, Dominici said.

“It’s the perfect storm,” he warned.

Milan-listed Intercos and privately owned Ancorotti Group, among Italy’s largest contract manufacturers in the sector, said they had not yet faced major supply shortages but cited higher logistics costs, longer delivery times and rising raw material prices as challenges.

“Lead times have lengthened as routes have become longer and ports more congested. What once took eight weeks now can take 12 to 14 weeks”, said Ancorotti Chief Executive Roberto Bottino.

Some clients have turned to rail transport to reach Asia, Bottino added.

Ancorotti Group makes around 220 million euros in revenues per year from selling products to beauty brands worldwide.

Bottino said it was difficult to imagine supply-chain cost increases not ultimately being passed downstream.

“Middle East customers value quality and are willing to pay a premium for added value, so being unable to access these markets can have a negative impact”, said Fabio Franchina, chairman of haircare products maker Framesi.

Franchina said the company’s distributor in the region was exploring alternative delivery routes.

“They are looking at … (options such as) shipping to Jeddah and then moving goods by road instead of routing them through Persian Gulf ports,” he said.

Some goods are currently being shipped by air rather than by sea, he added, further lifting costs.

Italy produced 18 billion euros of cosmetics in 2025, including 8.4 billion euros in exports, according to industry body Cosmetica Italia, making the country the world’s fifth-largest exporter of beauty products and one of the leading producers of hair dyes, eye make-up and fragrances.

($1 = 0.8623 euros)

Reporting by Elisa Anzolin. Editing by Mark Potter

At a press conference aimed at easing public concern over rising costs, Starmer said the impact of the war would “define us for a generation” and could be similar to the increase in energy prices in the 1970s

International News via Reuters:

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Wednesday that the global instability caused by the Iran warmeans Britain should align more closely with European allies on security and economy, following repeated criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump.

At a press conference aimed at easing public concern over rising costs, Starmer said the impact of the war would “define us for a generation” and could be similar to the increase in energy prices in the 1970s.

Starmer outlined plans for another summit with the European Union in the coming weeks that he said he hoped would undo some of the “deep damage” done by Brexit.

CLOSER EU PARTNERSHIP

“It is increasingly clear that as the world continues down this volatile path, our long-term national interest requires closer partnership with our allies in Europe,” Starmer told reporters in Downing Street.

Trump on Tuesday again criticised European countries that refused to join the war against Iran, calling out Britain and France, as transatlantic relations deteriorate from the conflict that has driven ​up energy prices.

The president warned Britain and other countries to “start learning how to fight for yourself” because the U.S. “won’t be there to help you anymore”.

After Trump was elected in 2024, Starmer tried to position himself as a conduit between Europe and the United States. But their relationship has publicly deteriorated over Starmer’s refusal to join the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

Starmer initially denied a request from the U.S. to attack Iran from two British bases, but later agreed to allow what he calls defensive missions aimed at protecting residents of the region, including British citizens.

Asked about Trump’s criticism, Starmer said “the U.S. and UK are close allies and have been for a very, very long time” and he would act in the British national interest “whatever the pressure on me.”

Starmer did not announce any new policies to help households with soaring energy and fuel costs, but he did say that Britain would this week host meetings with allies aimed at opening the Strait of Hormuz, and 35 countries were now involved in efforts.

Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper will host a meeting of the group later this week to assess diplomatic and political measures to reopen the Strait, the prime minister said, but he acknowledged it would not be easy nor immediate following de-escalation in the conflict.

Reporting by Sarah Young, Andrew MacAskill, Sam Tabahriti, editing by Catarina Demony, Michael Holden, Alexandra Hudson