Petrobras scandal: Brazilian politicians among 54 who got R40bn in payola

A Brazilian prosecutor on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to investigate 54 people, including a clutch of politicians, over a deepening graft case that has rocked Petrobras, the nation’s largest corporation. The growing scandal, which investigators have dubbed Operation Car Wash, concerns kickbacks estimated at $3.8 billion at Petrobras, a state-owned oil giant.

China executes two cult members for McDonald’s murder

China on Monday executed two members of a banned religious cult, a father and his daughter, for murdering a woman in a McDonald’s restaurant after she rebuffed an apparent recruitment attempt by the group, state media said.