2016 Rio Olympics - Rio de Janeiro gets ready to welcome 5,00,000 tourists

Rio Olympics 2016 - Rio de Janeiro has entered the one-month countdown phase to becoming the first South American city to host the Olympics. Stadiums are all ready and finishing touches are on as Brazil waits to welcome at least 5,00,000 tourists for the August 5-21 Games.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 6 July 2016.

The mayor, Eduardo Paes, and Brazil's Olympic committee boss Carlos Nuzman explained in a news conference about how Rio has tried to transform from a beautiful but crumbling city to glittering stage for the world's most-watched event. The Mayor has said that the city is 100 percent ready during the presentation of a new bus expressway - this is a part of an overhaul to the overburdened transportation system.
Some 10,000 athletes will compete over 19 days in Rio. Familiar sports icons like sprinter Usain Bolt and swimmer Michael Phelps are expected to attend.
Olympic newbie sport rugby sevens and golf will make a comeback after more than a century's absence. The authorities will deploy 85,000 police backed by soldiers on the streets of Rio to maintain law and order. This would be twice as many as used in the 2012 London Olympics.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Brazil street carnival with the fears of Zika virus looming large

#brazil #ZikaVirus #mosquitoes #microcephaly #streetcarnival Medics have warned that Brazil's nationwide street carnivals could, this year, turn into an 'explosive cocktail' that could increase the pace of spread of the Zika virus. The combination of huge crowds of people wearing little clothing and with rain gathering on rubbish-filled streets will put participants in the celebrations at high risk.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 4 February 2016.

Moreover, due to the arrival of large number of tourist, there is also a risk of them becoming infected with Zika and carrying it to their home countries. There is a genuine risk of people getting infected with the disease and spreading and proliferating it around the globe.
The problem is that there will be large concentrations of people wearing skimpy clothing and forgetting to put on insect repellent - they will be more susceptible to being bitten by mosquitoes. And, in case it rains, the rain water combined with larger than usual amounts of rubbish on the streets will be ideal for the mosquitoes to breed.
In the opinion of health officials, over 100,000 people have been exposed to the Zika virus in Recife, the area which has seen the highest number of cases. However, carnival celebrations in the area and all over the country are continuing normally as planned.
So far, in the last four months, around 4,000 cases have been recorded in Brazil where the mosquito-borne Zika virus might have resulted in microcephaly in infants. The effect of the virus is to give rise to an abnormally small head in newborns and is associated with various disorders including decreased brain development.


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Brazil declares war on mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus

#brazil #ZikaVirus #microcephaly #Aedesaegypti Brazil has declared war on mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has, in a recorded TV message to the nation, indicated that a war is on to fight on mosquitoes that are responsible for spreading the Zika virus. She has drawn up a plan to hold a national mobilization day when thousands of soldiers and state employees would work to eradicate the insects in homes and offices because these deadly mosquitoes generally breed in or near people's homes.
This has been reported in bbc.com dated 4 February 2016.

Zika has been linked to babies being born with underdeveloped brains or microcephaly. It is spreading through the Americas and the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the disease, linked to the virus, a global public health emergency.
In her speech, the Brazilian President has revealed that a large amount of federal resources were being released to fight Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, since it was a fight that "cannot be lost". She wants everyone to join the battle. Till such time science develops a vaccine against the Zika virus, the only efficient method in hand is to engage in a vigorous battle against the mosquito.
The Aedes mosquitoes become active during the spring and summer months.
Incidentally, UN and US health officials have accused Brazil of not sharing enough samples and data to determine whether the virus is responsible for the increase in the number of babies born with abnormally small heads. The lack of information is leading to problems to provide diagnostic tests, drugs and vaccines. The laboratories in the US and Europe want to study samples from previous outbreaks so that effective research can be carried out on the evolution of the virus.


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Inmates use mouse to carry drugs between cells in Brazil prison

It is now the turn of drug addicts to turn mouse into drug carriers as has been seen in the Barra da Grota prison in Brazil - this has been seen by prison guards in this notoriously overcrowded and chaotic jail of Brazil.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 5 November 2015.

The guards had seen a mouse being used by inmates to courier drugs between the cells. There were tiny bags of drugs tied to its tail.
The prison is located some 1770-Km inland from Recife and checking the prison cells revealed that there were 29 small packets of marijuana and 23 cocaine. The CCTV footage is being examined to try and discover the prisoner was the mouse's master and had masterminded the operation.
The mouse was caught and released nearby.
Incidentally, using animals as couriers for drugs is not new. In 2009, Brazilian prisoners were caught using carrier pigeons to fly in contraband. And, in January 2012, a cat was caught in Brazil while trying to slip through the prison gates with tools taped to its body - the tools included a saw and drills.
Moreover, in August 2012, the Russian police realized that a cat was being used to smuggle heroin into a prison.

(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)


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Brazilian street robber cries when woman victim holds him in jiu-jitsu grip till police arrive

The Brazilian street robber had not reckoned with the fact that his would-be victim was an expert in jiu-jitsu and, when he tried to rob her, he was in for a surprise. The woman floored him in a jiu-jitsu move and held him in a leg grip for 20-minutes until the police arrived.
The robber kept pleading for mercy and, it has been revealed in the CCTV footage that the man was sobbing and crying for his "daddy" and pleading desperately for someone to call the police but, the woman had him by his neck in a triangle choke.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 5 September 2015.

It has now transpired that the robber and another man had earlier approached the woman and another woman on a street in Acailandia in western Brazil not knowing that his would-be victim was a professional MMA fighter and jiu-jitsu blue belt.
She is in possession of six professional MMA fights on her record and, pounced on the men after they had cornered the women on a motorbike and demanded they hand over their mobile phones.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Brazil sets up ATTO in Amazon rainforest to save the world

#ATTO #brazil #rainforest #Amazon #ClimateChange Brazil has installed a 325-meter high tower in the pristine Amazon jungle with a mission to save the world – this newest skyscraper is a white and orange metal frame called Amazon Tall Tower Observatory, or ATTO. It is touted as a bold new tool to understand climate change and the vital role of rainforests.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 26 August 2015.

The tower is one meter (3.3 feet) higher than the Eiffel Tower and is also taller than London`s loftiest building, the Shard. However, it will be surrounded not by the typical city din of honking horns and engines, but probably of the chatter of cicadas and tropical birds.
The cost of the tower is about $7.4 million and it consists of 15,000 pieces. It was inaugurated last week, but will begin operation of collecting data only later in the year.
It has been constructed deep in the Uatuma nature reserve, 350 kilometers (217 miles) from the city of Manaus and is reachable only after hours of rough roads and a boat ride. Obviously, the ATTO is remote and a joy for the climate scientists because, that way, it would be possible to collect pure data.
The Max Planck Institute of Chemistry is partnering with Brazilian research agency Inpa on the German-Brazilian funded project.
There is a similar structure known as ZOTTO in Russia`s Siberia region. (Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)


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#joinville #busplunge #santacatarinastate #brazil It was a tragedy of no mean proportions as a tourist bus plunged into a 1300-ft ravine in Brazil killing at least 54 people as reported in news.sky.com dated 15 March 2015.
The bus was carrying evangelical Christians and the accident occurred when the driver failed to negotiate a curve and lost control on a bend. Rescue operations are on as rescue teams are searching for bodies at the crash site in a mountainous area of Santa Catarina state.
The bus was believed to be on its way to a religious event in Parana state when it crashed six miles from the city of Joinville.
As per witnesses, the driver appeared to have lost control, and the police have said that preliminary indications were of brake failure. The weather and road conditions cannot be blamed because both were good at the time of the crash. The dead bodies recovered so far include eight children, 24 women and 14 men while ten people have sustained severe injuries and have been shifted to hospitals.
Incidentally, nearly 43,000 Brazilians are killed every year in road accidents and, for the decade from 2002-2012, the accident rate surged by over 24%. It seems with the economy growing and the population topping 200 million, nearly 10,000 new cars are added daily to Brazil's roads.

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Rio de Janeiro carnival expected to net $780 million – 5 days of fun assured

#riocarnival #kingmomo #sambaparade #petrobras #brazil The annual carnival of Rio de Janeiro consisting of five days of over-the-top parades and raucous, alcohol-soaked street parties has kicked off as reported in foxnews.com dated 15 February 2015.
This carnival is famous all over the world and people rom far off places gather to join in the fun in spite of major problems that Rio is facing. Problems like more evidence of Brazil's stalling economy, an ongoing drought and a snowballing corruption scandal at state-run oil giant Petrobras. But, these have not dampened the spirit.
As a part of the annual ceremony to mark the official start of the festivities, Eduardo Paes, the Mayor of Rio handed over the keys of the city to King Momo, the mythical jester who reigns over the extravaganza.
Musicians from Unidos da Tijuca, the samba group that won last year's flamboyant parade competition, played a medley of the samba classics that make up the city's tried and true Carnival soundtrack while some dancers showed off their fancy footwork.
The Mayor said the festivities were sure to bring more than a welcome dose of fun. As per estimates, over 450 street parties were expected to bring an estimated 975,000 tourists out onto the streets and these visitors are expected to add nearly $780 million into the local economy.
The carnival would end on Wednesday after the all-night-long samba group parades at the city's Sambadrome, where there would be thousands of musicians, sequin and feather-clad samba dancers and costumed revelers to compete for the title of the year's top group.

Three scantily clad girls engineer jailbreak for 28 hardened criminals from Brazil jail

#jailbreak #novamutum #brazil #prisonguards #orgy The daring jailbreak of 28 hardened criminals from the Nova Mutum public jail near Cuiaba in central Brazil has left the administration red-faced as reported in foxnews.com dated 8 February 2015.
The trio apparently knocked on the door and asked the guards if they could come inside to “chat and drink” and what followed was totally unthinkable.
The escape was engineered by three scantily clad girls who seduced the guards and then gave them spiked drinks. Once they were out to the world, the girls took the keys and freed the convicts. The plan was hatched by one of the inmates who is behind bars on an attempted murder and robbery rap, and the plan was played out to perfection by the girls.
It seems the three scantily-clad women promised the guards an orgy -- and then plied them with drugged cheap whiskey.
The three prison wardens were found inside the jail handcuffed to beds. Missing along with the inmates were guns and ammunition.
Subsequently, eight of the 28 escapees has been recaptured. The three seductresses left behind a bag of lingerie and dominatrix police uniforms.

Brazil facing unprecedented drought conditions with water and power cuts

#saopaulodrought #brazil #peddleboat Brazil is in the grip of an unprecedented drought situation with water taps running dry and power is being rationed as the coffee crops have been hit, businesses have been forced to close and peddle-boat operators have had to suspend operations because lakes have dried up.
It is believed to be the worst drought in history spreading from São Paulo to Rio de Janeiro and beyond with over four million people affected by rationing and rolling power cuts.
Brazil is realizing the hard way that its very survival is threatened and it can no longer rely on once abundant water supplies in a period of rising temperatures and diminishing rainfall.
As a result of this the political and economic fallout for the world’s seventh biggest economy is increasingly apparent as protesters in dry neighborhoods take to the streets.
São Paulo – the most populous city in South America has been worst hit by the drought. The shortage over the year has resulted in shortages and the water in the city has been reduced to a quarter since last January. And, they have been warned that the situation could deteriorate.
As many as six cities have been hit by blackouts due to weak hydroelectricity generation and high demand for air conditioning with temperatures soaring to over 35C.
To counter that, utilities are going in for more of fossil fuels, adding to the cost of energy and greenhouse gas emissions. The government has acknowledged that Brazil is also now importing power from Argentina to tide over the crisis and cover the shortfall.
The water shortage in Brazil and associated problems highlights the effects of global warming that will be felt on ground and these should be taken as warning signs of what could finally happen not only in Brazil but anywhere else in the world. Once the ecological balance is disturbed due to global warming, water bodies keep drying up and availability of water diminishes. When rainfall becomes erratic, the problem aggravates further and, we have to face such problems.