Friedrich Merz takes heat for his Brazil-bashing

Friedrich Merz faced backlash after boasting that none of the journalists accompanying him on a recent Brazil trip wanted to "stay there." The comment, made during an off-the-record hotel-bar chat that Merz later repeated publicly, quickly reached Brazil, where COP30 preparations continue. Belém's mayor, Igor Normando, denounced the "prejudice and arrogance," while Pará's governor, Helder Barbalho, quipped that those who contributed to global warming now find the Amazon's heat "strange."