Brazil pension overhaul bill wins

RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's ambitious pension reform bill passed an initial vote in Congress on Wednesday, a major step for his efforts to boost confidence in the country's lagging economy.

In the first of two votes, the lower house of Brazil's legislature approved the reform measure, a boon for Bolsonaro whose signature economic policy has faced stiff resistance from trade unions and a hostile Congress.

Social activists and union members protested the proposed reforms in Sao Paulo on Wednesday evening.