Brazil’s Middle Eastern Trade Interest
By Sibel Tinar, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazil made headlines around the world with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s recent visit to Iran, during which Brazilian and Turkish leaders helped broker a nuclear deal with the country that has been causing anxiety among the United Nations with its ambiguous nuclear ambitions. Brazil [...]
Lula Helps Broker Iran Nuclear Deal
By Jewellord Singh, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazilian President Lula da Silva and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan have reached a deal with Iran after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad agreed to deposit 1,200kg low-enriched uranium in Turkey. The swap agreement aims to continue the negotiations of Iran with the international community that will [...]
Brazil Reacts to Gulf Oil Disaster
By Jewellord T. Nem Singh, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – Drilling rig Deepwater Horizon exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in April 20th, taking eleven lives, and continues to leaks 1,000 barrel per day. British Petroleum (BP), the main company leasing the oil rig, is in charge of the clean up, but the on-going [...]
Favela Pacification Spreads to Tijuca
By Mira Olson, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – Seven favelas in Tijuca were invaded and occupied by police forces last Wednesday, April 28th, in preparation for the establishment of the city’s first Police Pacification Unit (UPP) in this part of Rio’s North Zone. The occupation is part of the city’s continued efforts to create [...]
Belo Monte Dam Bid Won
By Sarah de Sainte Croix, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – Despite fierce national and international opposition mounted over several decades and a week of last-ditch legal wrangling, the contract for the controversial Belo Monte Hydro-Electric Dam project went to auction last week and was won by the consortium Norte Energia. José Ailton de Lima, [...]
Brazil and U.S. Sign Defense Pact
By Sarah de Sainte Croix, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – Last Monday, April 12th, Brazil and the U.S. signed a comprehensive defense cooperation agreement (DCA) designed to strengthen military ties between the two countries, in spite of lingering tensions over Iran’s nuclear program. The U.S. defense secretary Robert Gates declared, “This agreement will lead [...]
Favelas Demolished as Rains Kill 230
By Doug Gray, Senior Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – Last week’s flooding wreaked havoc in Rio with the heaviest rains in fifty years bringing the city to a standstill on Tuesday and Wednesday. With the death toll now estimated at around 250 people following a huge landslide in Morro do Bumba, the Governor Sergio [...]
77 Dead as Storm Rains Chaos on Rio
By Doug Gray, Senior Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – Monday night saw intense rains fall on Rio de Janeiro which continued throughout Tuesday, flooding roads, causing landslides, and prompting city mayor Eduardo Paes to recommend Cariocas not to attempt their journeys to work or school on Tuesday morning. Winds up to 75km/hour struck the [...]
Brazil’s Most Secure Voting Ever
By Sarah de Sainte Croix, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazil’s voting technology has come a long way since the first recorded election in 1532, when votes were cast in wax balls (called ‘pelouros,’) to establish who would administrate the towns and villages created by the newly-arrived Portuguese. In 2000, when the United States [...]
World Urban Forum Arrives in Rio
By Doug Gray, Senior Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – The week after a conference was held in PUC University, Gavea, to discuss the current travails of the United Nations, one of its more successful programs, The World Urban Forum (WUF), arrives in Rio de Janeiro to discuss modern urban life at a time when, [...]