Brazil sports minister quits over graft

Brazil's sports minister resigned on Wednesday over a corruption scandal, the country's GloboNews television station said, reviving concern over President Dilma Rousseff's unstable ruling coalition and the country's lagging preparations for the 2014 World Cup.

Orlando Silva is the sixth minister to step down this year and the fifth to be forced out over ethics breaches that have become a major headache for Rousseff in her first year in office, though the resignations have bolstered her reputation as a no-nonsense manager who is tough on corruption.

Silva had strenuously denied a stream of allegations against him in the media, including that he arranged up to 40 million reais ($23 million) in kickbacks from government contracts to benefit himself and the Communist Party of Brazil, which is part of Rousseff's government.

Only last Friday, Rousseff said she was backing Silva to continue in his post after hearing his explanations in a meeting at the presidential palace.

But a minister with direct knowledge of the situation told Reuters on Wednesday that Rousseff had now withdrawn her support. Another source close to Rousseff said Silva's position had become untenable following the Supreme Court's decision this week to open an investigation into allegations of corruption at the sports ministry.