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Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff has replaced her finance minister as Latin America's largest economy struggles to recover from recession. Joaquim Levy has decided to leave after disagreements with the president and the governing Worker's Party over his austerity policies. He is being replaced by a close ally of Ms Rousseff, the current Planning Minister Nelson Barbosa. Brazil is facing its worst recession in 25 years. In a statement, Mr Levy said he remained confident that the economy could recover in 2016. "Time will show that we will reap the results of all that has been done this year, putting the Brazilian economy back on track," he wrote. 'Control government spending' The economy shrank by 1.7% in the third quarter of the year compared with the second quarter. Compared with a year ago, the economy is 4.5% smaller. Inflation is also on the rise, with the annual rate hitting 10% in November. Mr Levy's resignation is a huge blow to those who adv

President Obama is delivering a year-end address before heading to San Bernardino to visit families bereaved by the terror attacks. The speech and the trip to California are his last scheduled appearances before going to Hawaii for holiday until the new year. He is taking questions from reporters. Here is a sample of his answers, with some analysis from the BBC's Laura Trevelyan in Washington. Guantanamo Bay Mr Obama said it was his expectation by early next year to have reduced the prison population at the camp in Cuba to below 100. He said he will present a plan to Congress to close it, keeping back the threat of using his executive powers if Congress rejects it. Laura Trevelyan: The president who was elected on a platform to close Guantanamo Bay because it represented a stain on American values has been constantly frustrated by Congress. Now on this issue, as on so many others including immigration and gun control, the President is considering whether to use his executive aut

As a film actor, there might be a few signs that you have made it into the big time . Your name in lights, perhaps. Your first award, maybe. But when you have the director of the biggest film of the year - and maybe of all time - asking you to play a part in his movie, that is as good a sign as any. Such was the case for three Indonesian actors who millions of people will see in Star Wars: The Force Awakens this weekend. All three - Yayan Ruhian, Iko Uwais and Cecep Arif Rahman - starred in the widely-praised 2012 Indonesian action film The Raid, or its 2014 sequel. And it was thanks to Star Wars director JJ Abrams' enthusiasm for the films that they got the call to take part. It was only in the past week that their appearances - as intergalactic smugglers - were confirmed. (No major spoilers ahead!) "I was just a fan. It was an opportunity," Abrams told the website Slashfilm. "I knew we needed people for this one sequence that would be particularly fun to see a gro

Former US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has criticised the Obama administration for lacking an overarching policy on Syria. In an interview with Foreign Policy magazine (FP), Mr Hagel described long, tedious policy meetings that often concluded without decision. The moderate Republican served as Mr Obama's defence chief for two tumultuous years from 2013 to 2015. His tenure ended, he said, with backstabbing and character destruction. Mr Hagel believes that a coherent US strategy for Syria still has not been fleshed out. "The administration is still struggling with a political strategy, but Secretary Kerry is making some progress toward the right strategy," Mr Hagel tells the magazine, in reference to talks with Russian, Iranian and Arab leaders. Mr Hagel's tenure in the Obama administration was marked by contention from the start. Analysis: Tara McKelvey, BBC White House Correspondent Some of Mr Hagel's criticisms come across as minor or personal. "The

Powers 'agree Syria draft resolution' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-35138011