Brazil increases funding to UNRWA

Friday 16/12/2011

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Brazil announced a pledge of $7.5 million to UNRWA on Friday, in a move described as an unprecedented contribution from the Latin American country, Palestinian Authority media reported.

The official news agency in Ramallah, Wafa, reported that the announcement was delivered at a ceremony in Gaza between the Brazilian representative to the PA, Ligia Maria Scherer, and UNRWA chief Filippo Grandi.

"These important contributions will make Brazil one of UNRWA’s most significant donors and will help the Agency meet the rising needs of the refugee population it serves," Wafa reported, quoting a statement.

Scherer also expressed Brazil's concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Wafa said.

"We believe in this connection that UNRWA's mission is essential in addressing the needs of Palestinian refugees, due to its presence on the ground and specific mandate within the UN system.

"The international acknowledgement and the local appreciation of the Agency’s work bear witness to its vital role. Strengthening UNRWA is critical to help the Palestinian people," Scherer said.

Source: Ma'an News Agency.
Link: http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=445476.

Brazilian forests cleared

BRASILIA, Brazil, May 20 (UPI) -- The Brazilian space research institute said deforestation in the country increased 400 percent over the course of a year, causing a political stir.

Satellite images depicted deforestation increased from 25,451 acres in March and April in 2010 to 146,533 acres during the same period in 2011, the BBC reports.

Brazilian Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira said the revelation was troubling and announced the government was establishing a special panel to address the findings.

"Our objective is to reduce deforestation by July," she was quoted as saying.

Environmental protectionists argue increased demand for soy and cattle is behind the decision made by farmers to clear more forests from their land. Most of the declines came from the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, a key soybean-producing region.

Others blame the government for dragging its feet on laws regulating deforestation. Advocates of change said more clearing is needed to stimulate the country's agriculture sector, however.

A forest code in place since 1934 spells out how much land a farmer can clear. Currently, 80 percent of the land in the Amazon region must remain forested.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2011/05/20/Brazilian-forests-cleared/UPI-89311305898428/.

China and Brazil Inundate Latin America with Dams

By Mario Osava

RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb 2, 2011 (Tierramérica) - The growing presence of Chinese and Brazilian capital in Latin America's energy sector is facilitating the construction of hydroelectric complexes, but is also the fueling nationalist stances that are adding to the environmental criticisms of those major projects.

The three biggest hydroelectric dams in Ecuador are being built by Chinese companies, which have broken the hegemony of Brazilian construction firms like Odebrecht and Andrade Gutierrez.

Financing from China's Export-Import Bank, which is covering nearly all the costs, made those dams viable at a time when Ecuador had limited access to credit as a result of the public debt review promoted by the government, beginning in 2007, and its decision not to pay 4 billion dollars in debts, claiming it was not Ecuador's responsibility.

Brazil is also financing dam projects through its National Economic and Social Development Bank (BNDES). But those investments were hurt in 2008 when the Ecuadorian government of Rafael Correa expelled Odebrecht, accusing the firm of flaws in the construction of the San Francisco hydroelectric dam and demanding 210 million dollars in compensation.

The competition between Brazil and China, which both have surplus capital and construction companies specializing in major projects, has created conditions favorable for exploiting the energy potential of Latin America's abundant rivers.

In Peru, this power bid already has a winner. Five hydroelectric complexes are to be built in the Peruvian Amazon region. "They are being planned in function of Brazilian interests," which will be the sole beneficiaries, Alfredo Novoa, director of the non-governmental organization ProNaturaleza, told Tierramérica.

The environmental activist challenges the projects because he believes that Peru has sufficient energy-generating potential to meet current electricity demand, and can expand in the future through wind and other sustainable energy sources that do not entail the environmental and social costs of the dams in the Amazon jungle.

This nationalist reaction to the expansion of hydroelectric dams also condemns the financing from BNDES, which has stipulated that Brazilian equipment and inputs will be used to build the dams in Peru.

It is a mechanism that Brazil utilizes to boost its high added-value exports, as well as the interest and revenues of its companies, which will be partners or builders of the dams.

The energy agreement that Brazil and Peru signed in June 2010 for building five hydroelectric dams in the Peruvian Amazon was the result of "asymmetric negotiations," said Novoa, because it establishes sales to Brazil of surplus electricity for 30 years.

According to Novoa, Peru does not need new energy sources from the Amazon, but Brazil does, so it is evident who will benefit from the hydroelectric projects.

"You don't negotiate with Brazil, you just agree," Peru's President Alan García is alleged to have said in a private meeting with business leaders, diplomats and civil society representatives in Chile, according to a statement posted Jan. 20 on Twitter by Chilean political analyst Patricio Navia.

The dams and electrical transmission lines to be built will result in the deforestation of 1.5 million hectares of the Peruvian Amazon, according to estimates by engineer José Serra in a study for ProNaturaleza.

China has concentrated its investment in Peru in the mining sector, while Brazil has set its sights on fossil fuels, transportation infrastructure and hydroelectric dams in areas near the Peru-Brazil border.

The capital from the two emerging giants played an important role in Peru's economic growth and reduced its dependence on the United States, which has yet to overcome the economic crisis that exploded in 2008, political scientist Cynthia Sanborn said in a Tierramérica interview.

Brazilian companies are active in a variety of sectors in the Peruvian economy, but "I haven't seen much civil society resistance to those investments, with the exception of the hydroelectric projects," said Sanborn, a U.S. expert who heads the research center at the Peruvian University of the Pacific.

Chinese capital has faced opposition after Shougang Hierro, which has had mining operations in Peru since 1992, caused widespread contamination with a spill of oils and lubricants, and was accused of violating labor laws, just as two other Chinese firms faced conflicts that ended in death and injury.

Nicaragua is another country whose hydroelectric dams are in the hands of Brazilian firms, which have benefited from the fact that this Central American country does not have relations with China, because of its diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

The Brito hydroelectric project, granted in 2007 to the Brazilian Andrade Gutierrez construction firm, set off controversy and criticism from environmentalist because the dam on the San Juan River would reverse the natural flow towards the Caribbean, sending it instead to the Pacific. The dam is to have a capacity of 250 megawatts, with an initial cost of 600 million dollars.

Another Brazilian company, Queiroz Galvão, won the contract to build the Tumarín Dam, with the potential for 220 megawatts.

As for Brazil itself, Chinese investment has grown dramatically in the last to years, in various sectors. Curiously, Chinese firms have focused on buying electricity transmission and distribution companies, as well as others active in Brazil's oil fields.

They are two types of investments: one to acquire reserves of non-renewable natural resources to meet China's own growing demand, the other to generate employment for its citizens abroad and to export equipment, said Adriano Pires, an energy consultant and director of the Brazilian Infrastructure Center.

China is one of the few countries developing new technologies to carry out major infrastructure projects, but it will be hard for it to penetrate this sector in Brazil, as it did in Africa and Ecuador, because Brazil's own construction firms are very competitive, Pires told Tierramérica.

However, China is indeed a factor in the current boom in hydro and thermoelectric complexes, selling turbines and equipment at low prices.

Chinese investment only appears to be "timid" because much of it does not appear in the statistics, like the cases in which they have bought majority shares in major companies, pointed out Luis Afonso Lima, president of the Brazilian Society for Transnational Corporation Studies. Such is the case of the Swiss automotive company Volvo, he said by way of example.

But the focus of Chinese investment does not seem to be making electrical energy a priority in Brazil, he said.

With nearly 3 trillion dollars in international reserves, China is working to transfer its investment in U.S. Treasury bonds to other assets, agreed energy consultant Pires.

*Gonzalo Ortiz (Quito), José Adán Silva (Managua) and Milagros Salazar (Lima) contributed reporting.

*This story was originally published by Latin American newspapers that are part of the Tierramérica network. Tierramérica is a specialized news service produced by IPS with the backing of the United Nations Development Program, United Nations Environment Program and the World Bank.

Source: IPS.
Link: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=54329.

Brazil death toll likely to reach 1,000 from floods, mud

Fri, 21 Jan 2011

Rio de Janeiro - Several dozen more bodies were recovered Friday, bringing the death toll to 785 from more than a week of floods and mudslides, according to figures released by civil defense workers.

Officials fear the death toll will top 1,000, based on reports that another 400 people are still missing.

Heavy rainfall dropped the disaster on the state of Rio de Janeiro - a broad swath of countryside just beyond the city of Rio.

Recovery teams continue to work round the clock in the hilly Serrana region searching for the dead, while civil defense units distributed food and water. Most roads have been cleared for passage.

Brazil's worst weather catastrophe in recent history has left at least 6,000 people homeless. Another 8,000 people had to temporarily vacate their homes because of flooding, and spent some time in emergency shelters.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/363611,reach-1000-floods-mud.html.

Brazil: Death toll surpasses 650 in flooding disaster

Mon, 17 Jan 2011

Rio de Janeiro - The number of dead in flooding and mudslides in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro reached 652 Monday.

The disaster has affected the mountainous area of the state, and worst hit are the cities Nova Friburgo, with 302 dead, and Teresopolis with 272 dead. In the historic city of Petropolis, home to luxury vacation villas, there were 57 dead, with a further 19 killed in Sumidouro and two more in Sao Jose do Vale do Rio Preto.

The Red Cross complained Monday that municipal officials in Teresopolis were hindering its efforts to rescue survivors.

"It's an embarrassing situation," Red Cross doctor Martius de Oliveira was quoted as saying in the online edition of the daily O Globo.

City officials denied the allegations and said they are cooperating with Red Cross officials to palliate the effects of the rain that has devastated the area for six days.

Brazilian media complained that poor coordination and other aspects of a chaotic response are preventing aid from being distributed to those who need it.

According to the daily Folha de Sao Paulo, at least 170 tonnes of aid, including food, water, medicine and clothes, cannot be distributed for these reasons.

The daily O Estado de Sao Paulo said that similarly poor coordination is affecting the departures of helicopters intended to rescue entire families who have been isolated by the mudslides and flooding with little food and water and no electricity.

Beyond coordination problems, the destruction of infrastructure including bridges and mudslides that block roads, make the task of taking aid to the worst affected areas of Teresopolis, Nova Friburgo and Petropolis particularly tough.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/362778,surpasses-650-flooding-disaster.html.

Brazil flooding death toll exceeds 600

Sun, 16 Jan 2011

Rio de Janeiro - The death toll from Brazil's weather catastrophe rose to 608 on Saturday as rescue teams continued to unearth bodies from rubble and mudslides, fire and rescue officials said.

Another 100 people were reported missing.

The disaster centers on the state of Rio de Janeiro, the hilly countryside around the city of Rio. Worst hit are the cities Nova Friburgo, with 271 dead, and Teresopolis - about 100 km from Rio - with 261 dead. In the historic city of Petropolis, home to luxury vacation villas, there were 55 dead.

Brazil has mounted its largest rescue and recovery operation in history. Thousands of rescue workers, firefighters and civil defense officials, police officers, soldiers and volunteers have deployed.

In some areas, clean water and food has run out. Electricity remains down days after the storms on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Meteorologists expect a new wave of heavy rainfall on Sunday in the mountainous Serrana-Region. The governor of the state of Rio, Sergio Cabral, has designated a seven-day official period of mourning over the coming week.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/362528,death-toll-exceeds-600.html.

Brazil bids farewell to Lula as Rousseff steps in

By Raymond Colitt

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazilians spilled on to the streets of the capital on Saturday to witness the swearing in of the first woman to become Brazil's president and bid farewell to the most popular leader in the country's modern history, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Dilma Rousseff, a 63-year-old a former Marxist guerrilla turned technocrat who had never run for elected office before sweeping October's election, will take the reins of an emerging giant with a booming economy, vast new oil reserves and growing diplomatic clout on the global stage.

But she will also inherit a country with a long list of daunting challenges that Lula failed to tackle, including an overvalued currency that is hurting industry, rampant public spending that is fueling inflation, and notorious bureaucracy that stifles investment and discourages innovation.

When Rousseff's motorcade passes Brasilia's modernist government buildings in a convertible 1953 Rolls Royce flanked by an all-female security detail, many Brazilians will be there to salute their outgoing, not their incoming president.

"I'm here to thank Lula for all he's done. If Dilma can do half of that I'll be happy," said Izabel Rosales Figuereido, who traveled from the western state of Mato Grosso do Sul to attend Rousseff's inauguration.

Lula is a tough act to follow. In his eight years in office, Brazil won a long-sought investment grade credit rating, more than 20 million Brazilians were lifted out of poverty, and unemployment fell to an all-time low of 5.7 percent. And while glaring inequalities persist, the middle class now accounts for more than half the population in this vast country of 190 million people.

The folksy former metalworker, who groomed Rousseff to be his successor, leaves office with a sky-high personal approval rating of 87 percent and legendary status among the poor.

Rousseff, who appointed an experienced and respected economic team, will maintain the mostly market-friendly policies that helped cement Brazil's place among the elite BRIC group of fast-growing emerging economies that also includes Russia, India, China and now South Africa.

She has also pledged to build on the social welfare programs championed by Lula with hopes of eradicating extreme poverty in Brazil by the time it hosts the World Cup in 2014. Two years later, Brazil will also host the Olympic Games.

But Rousseff lacks Lula's remarkable charisma, which was key for the former union leader to push his legislative agenda through an often unruly Congress.

POLITICAL SKILLS TO BE TESTED

A bookish technocrat who served as Lula's energy minister and chief of staff, Rousseff's political skills will be put to the test early on as she tries to marshal support for spending cuts and wage caps intended to shore up public finances.

"The question is whether she has the courage and support to stand up to vested interest," said Pedro Simon, senator for the PMDB, the largest party in Rousseff's coalition. "There's already an army of scoundrels wanting the victory spoiled."

One of the first challenges of her 10-party coalition will be a politically sensitive tax overhaul she plans to send to Congress early in her tenure, something Lula avoided.

Rousseff is expected to wield a heavy government hand in several sectors of the economy, particularly the oil industry. Developing vast, new offshore oil reserves spells huge opportunities for more wealth and jobs but risks sidelining private capital and technology.

Given the many pressing demands at home, she is likely to take a lower international profile and avoid courting controversy, like Lula did when he angered Washington with mediation efforts over Iran's nuclear program.

Rousseff has signaled she wants to warm ties with the United States and has distanced herself from Iran, harshly criticizing Tehran's human rights record.

Washington will be one of her first foreign destinations, a close aide said this week, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is among 30-plus foreign dignitaries attending the inauguration ceremony.

(Additional reporting by Ana Nicolaci da Costa and Leonardo Goy; Editing by Todd Benson and Jackie Frank)

Abbas lays first stone of Brazil embassy

BRASILIA (AFP) - President Mahmoud Abbas laid the first stone Friday of what will become a Palestinian embassy in Brazil, the most important Latin American country to recognize a sovereign Palestinian state.

The symbolic act underlined a general movement in South America to recognize Palestine as a country, despite sharp criticism from Israel and US lawmakers.

Argentine, Bolivia and Ecuador have followed Brazil's decision, made early December, to formally acknowledge a Palestinian state based on the borders which existed before the 1967 Six-Day War when Israel seized the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.

Uruguay has said it will do likewise early in 2011.

Other Latin American countries, including Cuba, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Venezuela, recognized Palestinian statehood several years ago.

Abbas carried out the ceremony in Brazil's capital under a light rain, posing the stone in ground donated by the Brazilian government in the same district as other diplomatic missions.

Doves were released during the act to represent peace, though one of the birds provoked laughter when it perched on Abbas's head.

Following the ceremony, Abbas was to meet outgoing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, to thank him for the recognition of Palestinian statehood.

On Saturday, the Palestinian leader was to attend the inauguration of Lula's elected successor, Dilma Rousseff.

The move by most of South America to recognize a Palestinian state has angered both Israel and the United States, which have said a Palestinian state can only be achieved through a negotiated peace deal.

The Palestinians have reached out asking for bilateral recognition of their statehood after peace talks with Israel reached an impasse.

Abbas has refused to return to talks while Israel builds settlements on land the Palestinians want for a future state, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to put a new freeze in place.

The United States has proposed the two sides resume indirect talks.

The Palestinians have refused and said they will turn instead to alternative options, including bilateral recognition of statehood and going to the United Nations to seek recognition.

Brazil has a Palestinian immigrant community of at least 50,000, officials say.

Source: Ma'an News Agency.
Link: http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=347144.

Rio unveils Olympics logo for 2016

Sat, 01 Jan 2011

Rio de Janeiro - The organizers of the 2016 Olympic Games unveiled the official logo for the event at a glittering celebration New Year's Eve.

The unveiling was staged at the legendary Copacabana beach, where 1.5 million people gathered to celebrate the arrival of the new year.

The logo shows three stylized human forms who are dancing in a circle, connected at hands and feet. The logo was described as an "inspiration for the present and a legacy for the future."

The logo was projected on a screen across from the luxury Copacabana Palace hotel, and was also printed on a huge flag that was rolled out across the human masses.

Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, was present for the ceremony.

The logo was chosen after a competition among 139 Brazilian agencies, which were narrowed down to a final group of eight.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/360336,unveils-olympics-logo-2016.html.

Rousseff hosts Bulgarian prime minister in Brasilia

Thu, 30 Dec 2010

Brasilia - Brazilian president-elect Dilma Rousseff, whose father was born in Bulgaria, received as a guest Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyco Borisov Thursday in Brasilia.

Rousseff is to become the first female president in Brazil's history Saturday, when she succeeds Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Her father, poet-businessman Petar Roussev (known as Pedro Rousseff in Brazil), left Bulgaria in 1929. He eventually married a Brazilian schoolteacher, the president-elect's mother, and became a relatively wealthy man.

The Brazilian presidency's foreign affairs adviser Marco Aurelio Garcia said Borisov presented Rousseff with a photograph of a sister of her late father. He also insisted on an invitation made earlier by Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov for her to visit the land of her forebears.

"She promised to visit the country, probably in the next European summer," Garcia said.

He noted that Borisov also gave Rousseff a message of congratulations from Herman Van Rompuy, president of the European Council.

Rousseff and Borisov met at Itamaraty Palace, the seat of the Brazilian Foreign Ministry, where the Bulgarian visitor also met with Brazil's designated foreign minister under Rousseff, Antonio Patriota.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/360217,bulgarian-prime-minister-brasilia.html.

Lula weeps in last speech as president

Wed, 29 Dec 2010

Rio de Janeiro - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva burst into tears in his last speech in office.

As he addressed a crowd late Tuesday in his native state, Pernambuco, where he was born into poverty 65 years ago, Lula cried at least three times. He will step down on Saturday as his handpicked and popularly elected successor, Dilma Rousseff, is inaugurated.

First, he shed tears when he recalled how he rose from a poor child in the rural town of Caetes, near the city of Garanhuns, in Pernambuco, to the presidency of the world's eighth-largest economy.

Tears flowed again when a local poet expressed Pernambuco's gratitude to "the best-loved president of the Brazilian land."

Finally, Lula cried when he recalled his win in the 2002 presidential election, after three consecutive defeats in 1989, 1994 and 1998: "I lost because a portion of the poor people had no confidence in me."

"I remember that in 1989, in Casa Amarela (a poor neighborhood in Recife), a woman came out of an old little house and told me, 'I won't vote for you because you will take away everything I have,'" Lula said.

"I went back home and told Marisa (his wife) that I was scared, because the people I wanted to help were afraid of me. And Marisa told me, 'Try again, because it will work out some day.' And it worked out in 2002."

Lula thanked God for his experiences.

"I am grateful to God. Had it not been for God's finger, it would not be normal for a poor man from Caetes, who fled hunger, to become president. Whoever does not believe in God should believe," he said.

Lula vowed that his successor, Rousseff, will do even more to lead Brazil.

"She will do much more. I am leaving the presidency, but don't you believe you will be rid of me, because I will be on the streets of this country to help solve Brazil's problems," he said.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/360073,lula-weeps-speech-president.html.

Lula compares leaving politics to 'quitting eating or breathing'

Tue, 28 Dec 2010

Brasilia - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has ruled out leaving politics altogether, saying it "would be like quitting eating or breathing."

In a column published Tuesday in several Brazilian newspapers, he wrote: "There is no chance that I may leave politics. I cannot throw out of the window the experience I gathered by leading a government that is regarded as very successful."

Lula retains record popularity ratings but was constitutionally barred from standing for a third consecutive term in office. He is to hand over power Saturday to his handpicked successor, Dilma Rousseff, who will become Brazil's first female president.

Lula said he plans to travel around Brazil "to verify" what his administration did, and to help poor countries in Latin America and Africa through Brazilian models that bring together "economic growth and effective income transfer policies."

Praising Rousseff, Lula said he expects her to surprise observers with "her ability to command, to deliver, to drive things."

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/359949,quitting-eating-or-breathing.html.

Brazil donates land for Palestinian embassy

RAMALLAH (Ma’an) -- Palestinian ambassador to Brazil Ibrahim Az-Zein received the title to a piece of land Monday, where the Palestinian embassy in Brazil will stand following that country's recognition of a Palestinian state earlier in the month.

Following the presentation of the generous gift, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement thanking Brazil for what it said was a 22-dunum track of land with an estimated value of $14 million.

The announcement came one day after chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat said publicly that 10 European Union countries would soon upgrade their Palestinian representative offices to full diplomatic status in a show of support for Palestinian state-building efforts.

"The Palestinians will not stop working to gain their freedom through all available channels and in peaceful ways," Erekat told Ma'an.

He said the Palestinian cause has gained international support in recent months and affirmed that Norway's decision to upgrade its representative office to an embassy had caused Israel much anxiety.

Source: Ma'an News Agency.
Link: http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=344025.

Lula censures anti-Iran sanctions

Tue Dec 21, 2010

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has harshly criticized the decision to impose economic sanctions on Iran over its nuclear energy program.

On Monday, Lula said that the sanctions could have been avoided if the United States had accepted a declaration issued in Tehran in May.

The foreign ministers of Iran, Turkey, and Brazil signed a declaration in Tehran on May 17, according to which Iran would ship 1200 kilograms of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey to be exchanged for 120 kilograms of 20 percent enriched nuclear fuel rods to power the Tehran research reactor, which produces radioisotopes for cancer treatment.

The nuclear declaration gives Iran a guarantee since the low-enriched uranium would be stored in Turkey and would be returned if Iran does not receive the 20 percent enriched nuclear fuel within one year.

Despite the fact that Iran agreed to conduct the fuel swap in a third country — a demand made by the West that Iran had previously rejected due to guarantee concerns — on June 9 the UN Security Council passed a resolution imposing a fourth round of sanctions on Iran following an intense US campaign claiming that Iran's nuclear program could have potential military applications.

The Brazilian president also said he received a letter from US President Barack Obama in May, which set conditions for Iran to avoid sanctions. He added that those terms were met in the fuel swap declaration and emphasized that the anti-Iran sanctions are therefore unnecessary.

Iran has described the sanctions as illegal, saying that as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), it has the right to enrich uranium to produce fuel.

Lula also stated that the US cannot be the lone arbitrator of the Middle East, saying, "There will not be peace in the Middle East as long as the United States is the guardian of peace. It is necessary to involve other countries in negotiations (between Israel and the Palestinians)," DPA quoted him as saying.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/156405.html.

Ahmadinejad: Brazil, Iran to host future nuclear talks - Summary

Sat, 18 Dec 2010

Tehran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Saturday that after the Turkish city of Istanbul, Brazil and Iran would next serve as venues for nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers.

"The nuclear talks in Geneva were fruitful. I hope the same positive course will be continued in Istanbul, and after that in Brazil and Tehran," he said in a live interview with the state television network IRIB.

Ahmadinejad was referring to negotiations with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States over Iran's nuclear program.

Iran says its uranium-enrichment program is purely meant for energy generation, but the West fears it is designed to build a nuclear bomb. The United Nations Security Council has hit Iran with several rounds of sanctions over the issue.

Ahmadinejad has repeatedly insisted that other countries besides the six world powers - namely Turkey and Brazil - should not only be involved in the talks, but also serve as meeting hosts.

Driving Ahmadinejad's argument is the fact that Turkey and Brazil have not only supported Iran's right to pursue peaceful nuclear projects, but also were the only two countries that voted against the latest Security Council resolution on Iranian sanctions.

The two nations were also involved in a deal inked in May in Tehran on a uranium swap that would see Iran store at least 1.2 tons of its low-enriched uranium in Turkey, to later exchange it with nuclear fuel for its medical reactor in Tehran.

Ahmadinejad, as well as Ankara and Brasilia, believe that the swap deal could be one of the only options to settle the five-year dispute over Iran's controversial uranium enrichment.

The six world powers agreed in Geneva last week to hold the next round of talks in Istanbul, but said that Turkish officials could not attend the talks - just as Swiss officials did not attend the Geneva meeting either.

Ahmadinejad said the return to the negotiation table in Geneva showed that the world powers had "failed" despite several rounds of sanctions meant to "deprive Iran from its nuclear rights."

"The world powers must once and for all acknowledge Iran's nuclear rights, and it is now time to turn the path of confrontation into cooperation," he said.

"Right from the beginning, we have stressed that we want to follow the path of cooperation and discuss global political and economic challenges and even discuss nuclear cooperation," he added.

Ahmadinejad and his new foreign minister, Ali-Akbar Salehi, have shown willingness to improve ties with the world powers and seek a way out of the nuclear dispute, but categorically reject making any concessions over the country's nuclear rights.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/358817,nuclear-talks-summary.html.

Rio's Sambadrome to be made larger for Olympics

Tue, 14 Dec 2010

Rio de Janeiro - Rio de Janeiro's Sambadrome, the world- famous venue of the city's trademark Carnival parades, is to be made larger to seat an additional 15,000 people for the 2016 Olympics.

The Sambadrome - designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, who was awarded the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1988 - opened in 1984 with a capacity for 60,000 spectators.

Once the changes are made it is set to host Olympic archery events and the start of the marathon in Rio 2016.

"This is a present for Rio," Mayor Eduardo Paes said as he unveiled the plans Tuesday.

Paes said enlarging the compound would cost about 18 million dollars, with the work likely to begin after the 2011 Carnival. The 15,000 new seats were to be built in a former soft drinks manufacturing facility and would be paid for by the company that owns the factory.

"The city of Rio is moving forward to launch all it promised the International Olympic Committee for the Games. And that without spending a cent of public money," Paes said.

The mayor noted that the changes would include increased access for the handicapped, a security room and spaces for doctors.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/358168,sambadrome-be-larger-olympics.html.

Brazil's Lula sticks up for Assange

Thu, 09 Dec 2010

Brasilia - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva stuck up Thursday for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, and called those keen on protecting freedom of expression to protest over his arrest in Britain.

"The lad was arrested and I see no protests in favor of freedom of expression. There is nothing. The lad only posted what he read onto the website. Guilt rests not on the person who disclosed (the leaked documents), but on those who wrote them," Lula said in Brasilia.

The leftist Lula, a former trade union leader, has himself come under fire by press freedom advocates for his plans to create an agency to regulate media content. He is set to leave office after eight years on January 1.

Assange, 39, is in Wandsworth Prison in London after Sweden sought his extradition on rape charges. Sweden denies this has any connection with US efforts to bring Assange to justice for gradually releasing 250,000 leaked US diplomatic cables.

Assange has denied the Swedish allegations, saying they are part of a smear campaign.

Lula said he will order the publication on the Brazilian Presidency's blog of a protest against Assange's arrest.

"I think we have to stand up for freedom of expression. Here are my protests and my solidarity," he said.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/357428,brazils-lula-sticks-assange.html.

Brazil recognizes Palestine

Israel expresses disappointment over Brazil's decision to recognize a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders.

05 Dec 2010

Israel has expressed disappointment at Brazil's decision to recognize a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, saying it flew in the face of efforts to negotiate a peace deal.

In a public letter addressed to Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, on Friday, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the Brazilian president, recognized Palestine as an independent state within the 1967 borders.

The decision came in response to a personal request made by Abbas on November 24, according to the letter published on the foreign ministry's website on Friday.

"Considering that the demand presented by his excellency [Abbas] is just and consistent with the principles upheld by Brazil with regard to the Palestinian issue, Brazil, through this letter, recognizes a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders," it said.

The letter refers to the "legitimate aspiration of the Palestinian people for a secure, united, democratic and economically viable state coexisting peacefully with Israel."

Israel anger

A statement from the Israeli foreign ministry said: "The government of Israel expresses sadness and disappointment over the decision by the Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva a month before he steps down.

"Recognition of a Palestinian state is a breach of the interim agreement which was signed between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in 1995 which said that the issue of the status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be discussed and resolved through negotiations," it said.

Such a move also contravened the 2003 Middle East roadmap for peace, which said a Palestinian state could only be established through negotiations and not through unilateral actions, the statement said, warning that unilateral steps would harm attempts to build trust.

"Every attempt to bypass this process and to decide in advance in a unilateral manner about important issues which are disputed, only harms trust between the sides, and hurts their commitment to the agreed framework of negotiating towards peace," the Israeli statement said.

International support

The international community backs Palestinian demands for a state in most of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, all territories occupied by Israel in the 1967 six day war.

But the United States and most Western governments have held back from recognizing a Palestinian state, saying it should be brought about through a negotiated peace agreement with Israel.

In a parallel statement, the Brazilian government assured relations with Israel "have never been more robust."

Brazil has offered to help mediate Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, which were briefly revived in September before grounding to a halt over the resumption of Israeli settlement building in the occupied territories.

Abbas says he will not return to negotiations while Israel continues to build on land the Palestinians want for a future state. But Israel has so far refused to impose a new ban.

Over the last few weeks, Abbas has repeatedly said he would explore other options if peace talks with the Israelis collapse, one of which would see him seeking United Nations' recognition of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders.

On Thursday, a Palestinian official said Washington had officially informed them that attempts to secure a new Israeli settlement freeze had failed, but US officials refused to confirm or deny the report.

Abbas visited Brazil in 2005 and 2009, and Lula made the first-ever trip by a Brazilian head of state to Palestine and Israel in March this year.

Source: al-Jazeera.
Link: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/12/201012504256198565.html.

Rio Will Have Brazilian Army Peace Force

Security officials call it a long-term operation

By Bruno Menezes
Epoch Times Staff

Dec 3, 2010

RIO, BRAZIL—Rio de Janeiro will get a peacekeeping task force similar to the Brazilian mission in Haiti. The announcement was made early on Thursday by the Brazilian Army commander, Gen. Enzo Peri, during an official visit to the operations area, said Agência Brasil, a Brazilian government news agency.

Gen. Peri said plans are already underway for the peacekeeping task force, which is unprecedented in Brazil, and are expected to be deployed by the end of the month. In the past, police controlled the operations, while the army participated in siege and isolation activities with around 800 men.

Accompanying Gen. Peri was Gen. Adriano Pereira Junior, commander of the Eastern Military, who said the peacekeeping force comprises 8,000 men to guarantee law and order—or urban policing—and strengthen operations in other Rio slums.

The army troops are preparing to occupy the interior of the "favelas" or slums of the German Complex (Complexo do Alemão) and Cruzeiro Village (Vila Cruzeiro), replacing police who in turn will focus more on weapon and drug seizures.

According to Rio's Secretariat of Security, the operations in northern Rio's German Complex were planned two years ago. The delay was due to lack of manpower and logistics, now solved by the participation of the armed forces.

German Complex Still Under Fire

For the last six days, the complexes have been under gunfire and weapon and drug seizures since the occupation of the German Complex by security forces on Sunday, Nov. 28.

Involving some 2,600 law enforcement personnel, the occupations began after a series of attacks were initiated on Nov. 21, when panic spread throughout the city and more than 100 vehicles were burned out. According to security officials, the attacks were a reaction from drug traffickers against the installation of the Pacification Police Units (PPUs) in the slums and surrounding areas.

The military police are now seeking a group of outlaws who took refuge in the Tijuca Forest, Abril News reported. On Thursday, the police arrested four leaders in other parts of Rio, according to the newspaper, O Estado. Many drug traffickers have fled the German Complex to smaller slums and are now spread across the Baixada Fluminense, located in northern Rio.

So far, 20 traffickers suspected of ordering the attacks have been transferred to the Maximum Security Prison of Catanduvas in the state of Pará, which houses the country's most dangerous criminals, the news agency, O Dia reported. The Brazilian Lawyer's Order (OAB) has temporarily suspended and is suing lawyers of some of the main leaders in detention on the suspicion they passed commands onto the gangs.

Long-Term Peacekeeping Project

Sergio Cabral, the Governor of Rio, said on Monday that the military should remain in the region until the PPUs are established, which is scheduled for the first half of 2011 with potentially more than 2,000 police.

"We will not sleep on the laurels of past victories," Cabral said at a forum on urban infrastructure for the 2016 Olympics. "We wake up early with new challenges which are to effectively regain territories still occupied by a parallel force. These steps require coordination with the Ministry of Defense and the Federal Police."

José Mariano Beltrame, the Rio state security secretary, said the occupations will be long-term, according to the Security Secretariat's website.

At the inauguration of the 13th PPU held in an area where a police helicopter was shot down by drug traffickers last year, Beltrame said, "God willing, next year, many other communities will be able to live as these thirteen are living today. I'm sure that in another few years, we will deliver another Rio de Janeiro to society."

Beltrame said the police are already preparing new units for communities in the south of the city at Vidigal and Rocinha, the largest slum in Latin America.

According to police, so far the operations have resulted in 223 arrests, 50 deaths, 109 burned out vehicles, and the seizure of 410 motorcycles and 200 stolen vehicles (many luxury), plus 40 tons of marijuana and cocaine, and a highly destructive arsenal of more than 200 weapons, including pistols, rifles, machine guns, shotguns, grenades, anti-tank bazookas, and anti-aircraft guns.

Some weapons seized are similar to those used by guerrillas and terrorists in other countries, and some have been diverted from the Brazilian army. The drugs are being incinerated.

Jéssica Almeida, Rio security sub-secretary, said that by police estimates the seizures have already caused a loss of US$59 million to the drug traffickers—a figure which impressed even the more experienced officers, reported Globo TV.

Gustavo Trompowski, professor at the College of War, spoke about the German Complex's occupation.

"It gives a clear impression that that was the general headquarters, the center of their operation and their large commercial warehouse," Trompowski said. "Within a few hours, the amount seized was four or five times that of the past year."

The expert believes the weapons are being smuggled to the bandits via sea routes, Paraguay, and Colombian FARC guerrillas, who have connections with Brazilian drug traffic.

International Security Measures Required

Last Thursday, the Federal Police began Operation Five Stars to thwart a scheme of international drug trafficking that has been under investigation since last year, according to the newspaper, O Estado. The drugs came from Bolivia and were distributed to six states. Six gang members have been arrested.

The federal government has also reinforced policing of the borders with Paraguay and Bolivia, where more than 80 percent of drugs and weapons enter Brazil and fuel organized crime. This measure, part of Operation Sentinel—which involves many levels of national security in conjunction with Paraguay—will support the operations in Rio and also help prevent the entry of logistical support and the flight of criminals.

On Monday, Justice Minister Luiz Paulo Barreto met with Sacha Llorenty, the government minister of Bolivia, in Brazil to negotiate joint actions against the drug traffic.

Barreto said these are medium to long-term actions that should also include Peru and other South American countries. "South America should jointly seek solutions to this problem," he told Agência Brasil. "And the best way to do this is through cooperation, information exchange, and joint operations."

According to a study by the Brazilian Institute of Public Opinion and Statistics (Ibope) released on Thursday, 88 percent of Rio residents approve of the war against drug trafficking.

The survey polled 1,000 people from Nov. 27 to 29. The community service hotline received 853 calls from residents in a single day, breaking records since its inception. Police said operations in the slums of the German Complex and Penha have already reduced crime rates by 70 percent in surrounding regions.

A civilian police survey shows that more than 20 percent of the population—1.2 million people in 150 communities—live in favelas dominated by drug traffic, and that 100 other communities are dominated by militias composed of corrupt former police and military officers.

Source: The Epoch Times.
Link: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/46935/.

Israel 'saddened' as Brazil recognizes Palestinian state

JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Israel on Saturday said it was disappointed by Brazil's decision to recognize a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, saying it flew in the face of efforts to negotiate a peace deal.

The decision was announced by outgoing Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a public letter addressed to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, which was made public by Brazil's foreign ministry Friday.

"The government of Israel expresses sadness and disappointment over the decision by the Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva a month before he steps down," a statement from the Israeli foreign ministry said.

"Recognition of a Palestinian state is a breach of the interim agreement which was signed between Israel and the Palestinian Authority 1995 which said that the issue of the status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be discussed and resolved through negotiations," it said.

Such a move also contravened the 2003 Middle East roadmap for peace, which said a Palestinian state could only be established through negotiations and not through unilateral actions, the statement said, warning that unilateral steps would harm attempts to build trust.

"Every attempt to bypass this process and to decide in advance in a unilateral manner about important issues which are disputed, only harms trust between the sides, and hurts their commitment to the agreed framework of negotiating towards peace."

Lula's letter was sent in response to a personal request made by Abbas on 24 November, the Brazilian document said.

The move by Brazil comes as peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians teetered on the brink of collapse following the end of a temporary ban on Jewish settlement building in the West Bank.

Abbas says he will not return to negotiations while Israel continues to build on land the Palestinians want for a future state. But Israel has so far refused to impose any new curb on settlement building.

Source: Ma'an News Agency.
Link: http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=338760.