Terra Legal Threatens Amazon
By Sarah Coursey, Editor RIO DE JANEIRO – Reports on the amount of deforestation in the Amazon read like European geography lessons. From an area the size of France or Iceland, to annual levels of 40% the size of Belgium, one thing is certain – the world’s most environmentally rich area is being destroyed at [...]
Amazon Fund Fuels Brazil-Norway Ties
By Juliana Tafur, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – The Norwegian Brazilian Chamber of Commerce held a presentation last Wednesday on the US$110 million that Brazil will receive for the Amazon Fund. The funds are part of a Norwegian donation of up to US$1 billion, to be transferred by 2015 to the Brazilian Development Bank, [...]
Illegal Expats Offered Visa Amnesty
By Doug Gray, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – Friday June 26th saw President Lula finally rubber stamp the planned 2009 visa amnesty designed to regularize illegal workers in Brazil. The amnesty has become a mythical golden egg among illegal residents of late, with rumors abound as to whether it will or won’t be passed. [...]
Festas Juninas Light up Rio
By Maíra Amorim, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – In Brazil’s winter months of June and July, folkloric events take place throughout the country. A tradition that began in Portugal, the festivals commemorate Saint John, Saint Peter and Saint Anthony. The associated rituals were brought to Brazil during colonial times, and have since become a [...]
Port Revitalization Project Launched
By Jaylan Boyle, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – The project to revitalize the port area of Rio was officially launched last Tuesday by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Governor Sergio Cabral and Mayor Eduardo Paes. Forecast expenditure for the initial stage of the project is US$392 million, and will include the redevelopment and [...]
Free Broadband Project Expanded
By Jaylan Boyle, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – State Governor Sergio Cabral has announced the extension of the government-sponsored free internet project into traditionally underserviced areas. The initiative, known as Projeto Orla Digital (Digital Beachfront Project), started in September 2008 and aims to link the entire population of Rio to wireless broadband. This latest [...]
Life’s A Beach in El Salvador
By Aaron Smith, Contributing Reporter EL SALVADOR – It’s amazing how busy one can be doing absolutely nothing. That’s exactly what we discovered on a small stretch of El Salvador’s 300 kilometers of Pacific Ocean coastline. We had planned to do many things: surf lessons, horseback riding, the laundry and re-stitching the Brazilian flag to [...]
Flamengo Wins National Basketball Title
By Jayme Monsanto, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – The 2008/2009 season was a period speckled with bad luck and worse timing for the Flamengo basketball team. The team suffered delayed salaries, financial instability, and difficulties in finding a good venue to host important matches. In spite of their troubles, Flamengo managed to claim three [...]
Van Driver’s Protest Turns Ugly
By Doug Gray, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – Tuesday June 23rd saw angry protests in Laranjeiras in front of the Palacio Guanabara, residence of Governor Sergio Cabral. Injuries and traffic chaos stretching across Zona Sul were reported. Police fired plastic bullets at the crowd and used pepper spray to maintain control. Throughout the night [...]
Quiosque-athon 2009 – Rio’s Kiosk Crawl
By Sarah Coursey, Editor RIO DE JANEIRO – This Fourth of July in Rio the Norwegian flag will be proudly paraded from kiosk to kiosk in Zona Sul, from Leblon to Leme. Not to be confused with a blind American patriot, this banner is actually the official symbol of the Scandinavian-flavored event Quiosque-athon 2009. Its [...]