Major investment in alternative energy planned

04 February 2015 Wednesday

Turkey will invest $16 billion in hydroelectric power generation over the next four years, the energy commission formed as a part of 10th Development Plan said on Wednesday.

Turkey has the most technically feasible hydropower potential in Europe -- meaning that the potential for developing power generation from water sources is considerable, even greater than that of Norway and Sweden which follow Turkey in terms of potential.

The investment in hydroelectricity will be the largest one of the total $50 billion that Turkey will invest in energy from 2015 to 2018, within the scope of the government's 10th Development Plan.

The plan's major guidelines are the diversification of Turkish energy sources, the commission said. Investment in nuclear energy and coal power generation are also on the agenda.

Hydroelectric energy already constitutes an average of 20 percent to 25 percent of Turkey's total energy mix. The share of natural gas in Turkey's energy mix is around 40 percent on average, an amount the commission would like to reduce.

Increasing Turkey's alternative energy capacity is also significant for reduction of hydrocarbon imports, which create a huge burden on country's economy.

 To further reduce dependency on hydrocarbons, an investment of $11 billion in nuclear power generation will be made over the same period.

Turkey plans to begin the infrastructure construction of the Akkuyu nuclear plant this year. This is a four-reactor facility in the Mersin province on Turkey's Mediterranean coast. Power from the nuclear plant will replace about 10 percent of hydrocarbon generated power in Turkey's power mix when it is fully operational.

Investments in coal plants will be around $10 billion with the aim of increasing the share of coal reserves in the economy.  But natural gas plants will get only $5 billion. Turkey aims to increase coal's share to 30 percent by 2023 in the power mix from about 24 percent currently, taking greater advantage of domestic sources.

Turkey aims to keep the natural gas plant count stable as part of diversifying energy sources.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/154354/major-investment-in-alternative-energy-planned.

Searching for Turkey's missing children

04 February 2015 Wednesday

Where is Yakup? It’s been 10 minutes since dinner has started at grandpa’s home in a remote village of eastern Turkey. And Yakup has disappeared. No one is that concerned. It is not unusual for a three-year-old to wander off…

But, 25 years later, his father is still looking for him.

Sakip Ergun, 57, was not present when his son first went missing.

"I had sent my wife with my three children to grandpa's, who lives in our village,” he says.

He has "done everything" to find his son, but nothing has brought him back.

There have been no clues on his whereabouts since he disappeared in a village of almost 500 people in the Turkish province, Erzurum. "I have no foes, thank God," the father says.

"We went on many TV broadcasts," said Sakip. He even met then-president Suleyman Demirel.

But back then, Turkey had not have a police force department for missing people until the relentless cries and demands of distraught families bore fruit.

As the question -- Where is Yakup ? -- lingers, Sakip has no choice but to find comfort in the fact that his numerous efforts to find his son have served to help others track down their loved ones.

Police forces look for nearly 4,000 missing children on average every month in Turkey.

The Turkish national police launched a special team in 2013 of 5,000 experts and police to ramp up searches for missing  persons, and found more than 2,600 people in four months, including a few who were missing for more than 20 years.

For a long time, Sakip searched for his son, who would now be 29, with a childhood photo. However, this has changed as Turkish police teams use photo-aging techniques to create an illustration of missing children's potential adult faces.

But despite the improvements in search techniques for missing children in Turkey, still thousands -- some of which are not children anymore -- remain missing, according to reports.

More than 445,000 missing people have been found between 1995 and 2014, according to the Department of Smuggling, Intelligence, Operations and Information Gathering.

Some 7,070 children, though, are still missing according to a November 2014 department report.

While the Ergun family does not know what happened to Yakup, most cases involving missing children are the result of problems within families or related to drug abuse.

The head of the Association of Families Whose Relatives Went Missing, Zafer Ozbilici, said that socioeconomic issues were the main reason behind missing children cases.

"In general, those children are repressed and from families in financial difficulties or with domestic issues," said Ozbilici, who created the association, after his brother went missing in 1992.

The association has launched various campaigns such as a bus touring Turkey, or grocery bags showcasing pictures of missing children.

It must be noted that almost all children who go missing are brought back to their families within 30 days.

According to the police department report, only one in 1,000 of the missing children could not be found within the six months following the disappearance.

Still, Ozbilici warns, it is very dangerous for a child to spend more than 24 hours outside of his home, as it is possible for him to be either a victim or perpetrator of a crime.

He urges for more cooperation among institutions, such as security forces or the family ministry, to accelerate searches.

"An officer is stalled with official paperwork in the time that he could spend on finding a missing child," he complains, citing as an efficient solution the alarm system for missing people in the U.S. called AMBER.

AMBER alert is an emergency code interconnecting the police force with media outlets and other broadcasting means to warn the public to be on the lookout for a certain missing person.

Many families have spent all they have to search for their missing child, says Ozbilici.

"They lose their wealth and savings," says Ozbilici.

Sakip Ergun has spent loads of money during these 25 long years. He once had 10,000 posters and fliers with the picture of his son printed on them.

"We are still waiting as we are believers. You cannot abandon hope from God's mercy," he says.

"People can accept death and live with it. This is much harder than death as you do not know what to accept and you get exhausted after continuous waiting and you keep thinking about your child's whereabouts," says Ozbilici.

That's what Sakip has been living through for a quarter of a century.

And the question remains: Where's Yakup?

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/154332/searching-for-turkeys-missing-children.

Erdogan aims to create stronger presidential system

Semih Idiz
February 3, 2015

Putting aside all pretenses of the political impartiality required of him under the constitution, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has started to campaign on behalf of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which he wants to see emerge stronger from the general elections on June 7.

Erdogan is not toiling for the future of the AKP, though, but for his own political future as an executive president, which he hopes to bring about by means of a new constitution to be drafted on his behalf by the AKP. Polls already indicate the AKP will win the elections with a comfortable lead, but this is not enough for Erdogan.

He needs the party, which he co-founded and headed until he was elected president in August 2014, to win at least a two-thirds majority in parliament so that it can draft a new constitution and submit it to a referendum without support from other parties.

He made this amply clear in an address to a crowd of supporters in the central Anatolian city of Kirsehir on Jan. 30.

“You will show the necessary attitude on June 7 and display the strength necessary for a new constitution in the same way that the nation displayed its will during the presidential elections. You will lay the foundation of the New Turkey,” Erdogan said.

Erdogan has also made it clear over the past few days that the main aim in drafting a new constitution would be to introduce a presidential system in Turkey that would replace the current parliamentary one.

“We have to move fast without getting bogged down. … A new constitution, a new system of government, will take all the burden off politics and the economy. We must not put this off any longer,” Erdogan told members of the Association of Industrialists and Businessmen (TUMSIAD) on Jan 31. “Does the opposition want a presidential system? It does not. So this means it is the right thing to do. It’s as simple as that,” he said defiantly.

Opposition parties accuse Erdogan of trying to increase his personal powers through a presidential system that they claim will turn Turkey into a totalitarian country. Remarks by Erdogan have fueled speculation in this regard. He argued recently, for example, that it was difficult to govern freely under the present system.

“I should be the one determining who I work with, but can’t do this under the present system because there are those, the judiciary for example, who prevent it,” Erdogan said in an interview with the state-run TRT network Jan 29. “You can’t run a country, or a city in this way. This is the inadequacy of the parliamentary system,” Erdogan said. He went on to give examples from other countries to reinforce his argument.

“For example, the system in England is a semi-presidential one in which the operative factor is the queen. Is there a sultanate in the US? It’s not a sultanate if it is the US, Brazil, South Korea or Mexico. So why does it become a sultanate when the idea is advocated for Turkey?” Erdogan asked.

His critics were quick to point out that Erdogan has a mistaken notion of the British system of government, and conveniently overlooks the checks and balances that exist in the US system restricting the powers of the president.

“The president intends to run the country through presidential decrees. This does not exist in any presidential system. … Erdogan wants a special kind of presidency for himself. This is called a dictatorship,” Akif Hamzacebi, a senior member of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) said in a news conference in Ankara.

Erdogan’s supporters, however, disagree. Resul Tosun, a columnist for the daily Star, wrote Jan. 30 that the system proposed by Erdogan is one where the president is not impeded by such things as “votes of confidence,” “parliamentary questions” or “interference by opposition parties.”

Tosun said this was essential “because Turkey needs work to be carried out without interruption,” and that under a presidential system the president was accountable to the people at election time. He also argued that if Turkey had this system, the achievements of the AKP administration over the past 12 years would have been at least threefold.

Such unquestioning support for a system that is not constrained by any democratic institution does not get across-the-board endorsement within the AKP. Etyen Mahcupyan, a former journalist who is currently an adviser to Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, and who is not averse in principle to a presidential system, believes that Erdogan’s Islamist support base would not want to see a “hegemonic” presidential system in Turkey.

Muharrem Sarikaya, a seasoned political commentator and the Ankara representative of the daily Haberturk, also points out that there are senior names within the AKP who are cool to the idea of a presidential system. President Abdullah Gul, a founding member of the AKP, is among these, according to Sarikaya. Parliamentary Speaker Cemil Cicek, another prominent AKP member, has also expressed doubts in the past about a presidential system for Turkey.

“The system Erdogan is proposing is beyond what one sees in the world and specific to Turkey,” Sarikaya told Al-Monitor, indicating that this system is unicameral, and has nothing to balance the exercise of political power. “It entails the bureaucracy is attached exclusively to the president, whose decrees are also free to a great extent of judicial control,” Sarikaya added.

There is also the question of where this debate leaves Davutoglu, who is already seen by the opposition as an irrelevant political figure given that the reins of power remain firmly in Erdogan’s hands today, although constitutionally the prime minister heads the executive.

Many also wonder what significance the AKP, which Erdogan is relying on to transform Turkey into a presidential system, will have under a presidential system, other than acting as a parliamentary rubber stamp for presidential decrees or introducing laws under the president’s tutelage.

There is also the question of whether the AKP will get the votes it needs change the constitution on its own. Erdogan may get his way if the pro-Kurdish People's Democracy Party (HDP) runs on its own in the June elections, even if its chances of overcoming the 10% electoral threshold appear slim.

If it fails to garner enough support, its votes will automatically go to the leading party, which in this case is more than likely to be the AKP. Other conditions for Erdogan’s plans to work require that the AKP’s vote does not fall below 43%. That Erdogan has begun to campaign on behalf of the AKP is taken by some as a sign that he has concerns in this respect.

“Erdogan got nearly 52% of the vote during the presidential elections. This, however, does not necessarily represent the vote the AKP will get. He is therefore trying to convince the electorate that the vote in June will actually be for him,” Sarikaya said.

Erdogan will, of course, continue to hold the reins of power as long as the AKP wins the elections and has a majority in parliament, even if it does not come up with the numbers needed to draft a new constitution. He is aware, however, that his executive decisions as president will remain open to debate in that case.

This is why Erdogan is expected to campaign intensely on behalf of the AKP in the coming weeks and months, even though the present constitution does not allow him to do this legally.

Source: al-Monitor.
Link: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/02/turkey-erdogan-presidential-system-campaign.html.

Turkey trains over 800 policemen from 15 countries

30 January 2015 Friday

Turkey offered vocational training program to over 800 police officers from 15 countries in 2014, a government agency revealed Friday.

According to the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency, the program included police officers from Afghanistan, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Azerbaijan and Palestine among many other countries.

The government agency began the "international police training cooperation project" in cooperation with Turkey’s Security General Directorate in 2007.

Turkish police officials shared their professional knowledge and experience with their foreign colleagues.

The training courses included fight against terrorism, cybercrime, murder inquiry, defending tactics, responding to public disturbance, fighting against robbery and electronic intelligence. The participants expressed their satisfaction with the training program and called on the government agency to extend the project.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/154077/turkey-trains-over-800-policemen-from-15-countries.

Turkey's foreign minister wants end to 'pressure' on Tatars

30 January 2015 Friday

Increasing pressure on Crimean Tatars is unacceptable, Turkey's foreign minister has said.

Mevlut Cavusoglu was speaking at the 24th African Union Summit in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, where he said Crimean Tatars have been facing pressure since the Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.

Cavusoglu’s comments come after Deputy Chairman of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis Ahtem Ciygoz was taken into custody on Thursday by the Russian Federal Investigative Committee on suspicion of organizing "mass disorder" in front of Crimea's parliament.

Simferopol witnessed clashes on Feb. 26, 2014 when Crimean Tatars and other pro-Ukrainian activists clashed with pro-Russian demonstrators.

A referendum on the status of Crimea was held on March 16, 2014. A majority of the Crimean population voted to become part of the Russian Federation. The U.S. and EU denounced the referendum as illegitimate, as the region was occupied by Russian soldiers at the time.

Although Turkey is among the countries opposed to Russia’s annexation of Crimea, and one that defends the territorial integrity of Ukraine, Turkey did not implement the Western-led economic sanctions imposed on Russia.

Today, Cavusoglu said Turkey had aired problems related to Crimean Tatars to Russian president Vladimir Putin during his visit to Ankara on Dec. 1, adding that the Turkish side “did not see any positive developments in this regard."

Russia had previously said that it is ready to grant ethnic and cultural rights to the Crimean Tatar people.

"I hope these pressures will end and that Crimean Tatars will be given the rights that have been violated so far," said Cavusoglu.

According to Turkey’s Foreign Ministry, there are 280,000 Crimean Tatars in Crimea, about 13 percent of the total population.

24th African Union Summit

Over 35 African leaders met Friday in Addis Ababa for the 24th Ordinary Session of the African Union’s Heads of State and Government Summit.

The two-day summit's theme is: "Year of Women’s Empowerment and Development towards Africa’s Agenda 2063."

Cavusoglu held a bilateral meeting with his Ethiopian counterpart Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus about regional and international developments.

"Together with China and India, we are one of the three strategic partners of the African Union," said Cavusoglu.

Turkey has been an observer state in the African Union since 2005 and has also been considered a strategic partner for the union since 2008.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/154079/turkeys-foreign-minister-wants-end-to-pressure-on-tatars.

Turkey condemns arrest of Crimean Tatar deputy chairman

30 January 2015 Friday

Turkey has condemned Friday the arrest of a top Crimean Tatar official by the Russian Federal Investigative Committee.

Releasing a written statement on Friday, Turkey's Foreign Ministry called the arrest of Deputy Chairman Ahtem Ciygoz a new way of suppressing the Mejlis - the governing body for Crimean Tatars.

"We express that these kind of illegitimate implementations serves no one's interest, expect the liberation of Mr. Ciygoz and see respect to our Crimean Tatar kin's democratic and humanitarian rights," the statement said.

Ciygoz was taken into custody Thursday on suspicion of organizing "mass disorder" in front of Crimea's parliament in Simferopol on Feb. 26, 2014, when Crimean Tatars and other pro-Ukrainian activists clashed with pro-Russian activists.

A statement by the Russian Investigative Committee said unidentified people had called on Crimean Tatars to create trouble, which ended in brute force against the members of Russian Unity headed by the current Crimean Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov.

Mevlut Cavusoglu also raised the issue on Friday during a speech at the 24th African Union Summit in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

"Increasing pressure on Crimean Tatars is unacceptable," the foreign minister said.

Since Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014, Crimean Tatars have said to be facing discrimination and pressure for their opposition to the annexation.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/154094/turkey-condemns-arrest-of-crimean-tatar-deputy-chairman.

Muslim Brotherhood leader sentenced to 1.5 years in jail

by JT
Feb 15, 2015

AMMAN –– Deputy overall leader of the Muslim Brotherhood Zaki Bani Rsheid was on Sunday sentenced to one and a half years in prison on charges of harming Jordan’s ties with a friendly state.

The sentence was handed to Bani Rsheid by the State Security Court under the 2014 amended Anti-Terror Law, a member of the Islamic movement told The Jordan Times.

The top Islamist leader was arrested in late November of last year in response to a critical statement posted on Facebook accusing the United Arab Emirates of promoting “Zionist” foreign policies and indirectly sponsoring “extremism” in the region.

Source: The Jordan Times.
Link: http://jordantimes.com/muslim-brotherhood-leader-sentenced-to-15-years-in-jail.

Ukraine cease-fire largely holding, Debaltseve still tense

February 15, 2015

LUHANSKE, Ukraine (AP) — A cease-fire that went into effect Sunday in eastern Ukraine appeared largely to be holding, officials said, except for around the strategic railway hub of Debaltseve.

Heavy fog shrouding sodden fields muffled the sound of artillery, but regular shelling could still be heard Sunday from Luhanske, a town about 15 kilometers (9 miles) to the northwest. Associated Press journalists were blocked from moving closer by Ukrainian troops, who said it was not safe to travel ahead.

The cease-fire has kindled slender hopes of reprieve from the conflict between the government troops and Russian-backed separatists that has claimed more than 5,300 lives since it began in April. Attention will be focused in the coming days on Debaltseve, where Ukrainian forces have for weeks been fending off severe onslaughts from the rebels. The town is a railway link between the main separatist-held cities of Donetsk and Luhansk.

This latest cessation of hostilities was agreed after a marathon session of diplomacy last week that brought together the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France for talks in the capital of Belarus, Minsk.

Under the deal hammered out at those negotiations, the progress of the cease-fire is to be monitored by observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin complained Sunday that rebels had barred OSCE monitors from reaching Debaltseve to report on developments there.

"It quite clearly shows who is in breach of the Minsk agreement," Klimkin said. The press office for government military operations in the east said in a statement that Sunday was characterized by a relative degree of calm.

"There has unfortunately not been a total cessation of fire, however," the statement said. A spokesman for the Ukrainian army general staff, Vladislav Seleznyov, said during a morning briefing that shelling was noted 10 times, with all but one incident occurring in the Debaltseve area. Another military spokesman, Andriy Lysenko, said Sunday that nine Ukrainian troops had died over the previous day's unrest.

The rebels have in turn accused the Ukrainians of deploying artillery in the Debaltseve area shortly after midnight. Also, they argue that since they have fully encircled Debaltseve, the territory should be deemed as being theirs.

But Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, as he issued the cease-fire order at one minute after midnight Kiev time Sunday (2201 GMT, 5:01 p.m. EST), said the road to the town remained open and that Ukrainian troops there had been resupplied with ammunition.

At an army checkpoint along the road to Debaltseve, a commander said the shelling appeared to have come from an area beyond Debaltseve controlled by "gangs other than the Russians and the separatists, such as Cossacks." The commander, who would identify himself only as Sanich, said these forces "submitted to no authority."

Donetsk, the separatist stronghold, was quiet Sunday morning with no shelling from government forces, the Donetsk News Agency, a separatist mouthpiece, reported, citing the city administration. In the Luhansk region, two civilians were killed shortly after midnight in the town of Popasne as a result of shelling, regional authorities said. The town lies directly on the front line, only a few kilometers (a mile or two) from the nearest separatist positions.

The shells hit a shop, a medical clinic and a private residence, Luhansk Governor Hennadiy Moskal said in a statement. "The owners of the house — an 87-year-old man and a 67-year-old woman — died under the ruins," Moskal said.

The hours before the cease-fire were marked by ferocious battles around Debaltseve, as Ukrainian armed forces undertook desperate attempts to gain control over a highway linking the town to their rearguard.

The U.S. State Department said satellite images from eastern Ukraine offer "credible pieces of evidence" that the Russian military has deployed larger amounts of artillery and multiple rocket launchers around Debaltseve to shell Ukrainian forces. The images could not immediately be verified.

Russia has repeatedly denied Western claims that it has sent troops and equipment to aid the rebels. Cessation of hostilities is only the first in a series of planned steps agreed to in Minsk. Withdrawals of heavy weaponry from the front line, creating a zone roughly 50-140 kilometers (30-85 miles) wide, depending on the caliber of the weapons, are to begin Monday and be completed in two weeks. No provisions are envisioned for the withdrawal of troops.

The peace plan also requires the Ukrainian government to resume paying pensions and state benefits to citizens in rebel-held territory. Ukraine's financial blockade against the rebels has led to a catastrophic collapse in living standards in eastern Ukraine, depriving the poorest of any immediate means of support.

Leonard reported from Kiev, Ukraine. Associated Press journalists Balint Szlanko in Artemivsk, Ukraine and Matt Lee in Washington also contributed to this report.

Polish presidential candidate vows better ties with Russia

February 14, 2015

OZAROW MAZOWIECKI, Poland (AP) — The presidential candidate for Poland's main left-wing party on Saturday criticized what she called the Polish government's antagonistic attitude to Russia, saying she would be willing to speak directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Magdalena Ogorek told a convention of the Democratic Left Alliance that Poland cannot afford to continue being described as "enemy No. 1" in the Russian media. Poland's center-right government, which includes communist-era dissidents, has been one of Europe's most vocal critics of Putin's actions in Ukraine.

Ogorek said her party, the successor to the Cold War-era Communist party, condemns Russian actions in Ukraine but wants Warsaw and Moscow to communicate. "I would not be afraid to answer messages from Vladimir Putin and I would pick up the receiver to call (him)," Ogorek said. "Russia is and will remain our neighbor."

Ogorek, 35, and several other candidates face an uphill battle in their attempt to unseat the popular incumbent, Bronislaw Komorowski, in the May 10 presidential vote. Ogorek has the support of only around 5 percent of voters, and critics say her youth and lack of political experience make her an unconvincing candidate.

Ogorek has a doctorate in history, has worked in public administration and has had minor roles in films and TV soap operas. An attempt to win a parliament seat in 2011 failed. After her speech Saturday, Ogorek once again refused to take questions from reporters. That has sparked some criticism — and a lack of knowledge about her views has allowed some Poles to focus on things like her striking good looks and the fact that her last name means "cucumber" in Polish.

Thousands rally against austerity across Greece

February 15, 2015

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — About 20,000 people gathered in central Athens Sunday to support the newly elected government's push for a better deal on Greece's debt.

Protesters carried banners denouncing economic austerity and Greece's creditors. Similar rallies took place in several Greek cities and about forty other solidarity gatherings were staged across Europe and in Australia, Brazil and the US.

The Greek government has enthusiastically welcomed these rallies while insisting that they are spontaneous affairs, organized through social media. On Monday, a gathering of Eurozone finance ministers will consider Greece's proposal for short-term "bridge financing" without the onerous terms previously imposed on the country, until a longer-term solution to Greece's crushing debt is found.

So-called technical level talks with creditor representatives ended Saturday, Greek officials say.

Foreigners in Rio take crash course in samba for Carnival

February 15, 2015

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — There is a self-deprecating phrase Brazilians with poor dancing skills use to explain their awkwardness at the parades during Carnival: I samba like a foreigner.

But even foreigners visiting Brazil for Carnival celebrations can learn a few basic moves thanks to the patience of dancing duo Nete Vieira and her husband Naldi. They teach the basics of rhythmic bouncing, marching and arm waving that will help newcomers have fun, and feel less intimidated, while joining the raucous parties that crowd the streets of Rio de Janeiro.

"They look funny, yes," Nete Vieira confesses about the students. "But what I like is how much interest and effort is shown on their part, a lot more than Brazilians. Some of them do get it by the end."

On Sunday, 10 samba novices from Latin America and Europe watched Nete demonstrate master-level moves in a conference room at the Hotel Rio Othon Palace next to Copacabana Beach. Her feet seemed to be set on fast-forward motion as she shimmied over the wooden floors in black platform heels, her moves accentuated by a feather headpiece.

"It's all about finding the right drum to follow. It's hard to get into that beat," she said. A Spanish woman glided elegantly, more like Ginger Rogers than Carmen Miranda. Maybe she wasn't ready to join one of the skilled dance troupes in the world-famous Sambadrome parade, but she was having fun.

"I have been practicing yesterday and today, and I am enjoying every minute," said 74-year-old Mariperta Martin of Granada, Spain. She was on her second day of the class called "Samba for Gringos," using the term Brazilians affectionately use for most foreigners.

By halfway through the 40-minute-long class, many of the students were soaked, including Uruguayan-born Roberto Birindelli, an actor who has a supporting role in "Imperio," a Brazilian prime-time soap opera.

"I heard 'samba for gringos' and I said: I am in. It's a dream I have had for years," said the actor who has lived in Brazil since 1978. More than a dozen people just peeked into the room, but none dared attempt to follow the extremely fast steps or muster the energy required to keep pace. A Japanese couple dressed for the beach in sun hats and shorts appeared to consider accepting the challenge, but they slipped out and grabbed a nearby elevator instead.

For Venezuelan tourist Janet Buriel, 41, it's all about trying, even if you fail. "It's my first time, and it's very different than salsa," she said. "If anything, it was good exercise," she laughed, drying the sweat on her forehead.

It's mud madness at Brazilian Carnival party

February 15, 2015

PARATY, Brazil (AP) — Forget the sexy nurses, the pirates and devils. At the Bloco da Lama Carnival street party, swamp creature is the costume of choice.

Revelers in the seaside colonial town of Paraty on Saturday threw themselves into deposits of black, mineral-rich slime, emerging covered head-to-toe in the sludge. Bikinis and trunks disappeared beneath the mud, which highlights both gym-pumped pectorals and beer-fed guts.

Those hoping to remain pristine didn't last long at the Bloco da Lama, which translates from the Portuguese as "Mud Street Party." One woman wearing a spotless, white bikini was chased by a reveler freshly emerged from the mud who said: "She's so clean, it makes me want to hug her."

Her swimsuit soon became a black bikini. "Usually when you think of Brazilian Carnival, you think of sequins and feathers — not mud," said French tourist Marion Douchet, 28, as she smeared the stuff onto the back of her neck and the few other spots clean skin was still visible. "It's fun, it's original and it's exotic."

Patricia Azevedo, who owns a hotel in town, said the mud was helping her beat the intense mid-summer heat. "When you go to a normal 'bloco' you're all packed together like sardines and it gets insanely hot," said Azevedo, 43, a vine tiara giving her swamp creature look the crowning touch. "The mud is really refreshing — plus I don't even need sunscreen."

Legend has it the "bloco" was born in 1986 after local teens hiking in a nearby mangrove forest smeared themselves with mud to discourage mosquitoes and then wandered through Paraty. The party grew year after year, but revelers eventually were banned from parading in the colonial downtown after shopkeepers complained pristine white walls were stained with the hard-to-remove mud.

Now revelers dance on the beach instead, getting down and dirty to competing soundtracks of Brazilian funk and house music amid cavemen chants of "uga, uga." As the afternoon wore on and the number of empty beer cans abandoned on the sand multiplied, so did the flying mud balls, hurled willy nilly by over-enthusiastic teenagers. Real estate in the mud deposit became scarce.

"It's good spirited fun," Azevedo said. "I mean, I haven't looked at myself in the mirror, I'm sure I look ridiculous. But then again, everyone does."