BRAZIL'S OIL REFORM THREATEN OLYMPICS
RIO DE JANEIRO () - A proposed cut to Rio de Janeiro's share of Brazil's oil revenues has provoked a furious reaction in the beach-side city, with officials saying the change would jeopardize its ability to host the World Cup and the Olympic Games.
Source: Reuters
- The head of Rio's Olympics organizing committee on Monday became the latest official to warn against an oil reform amendment approved by the lower house of Congress, saying a resulting funding shortage could leave the city unable to prepare for the 2016 Games.
- "The reduction in revenues from oil exploration would leave the state of Rio de Janeiro without the conditions to complete the works needed for the 2016 Games," Carlos Arthur Nuzman said in a statement.
- Nuzman, who also is head of the Brazilian Olympic Committee, added that a lack of funding could lead to a breach of Rio's contract with the International Olympic Committee, which awarded the city Latin America's first Olympics last October.
- The approval of the amendment last week forcing Rio to share its oil riches with other states could cost the state about 7 billion reais ($4 billion) a year, officials say. State officials say the amendment would mean a cut of about 80 percent in Rio's share of future oil royalties.
DESPITE OF SHOOT OUT, KILLING 14 IN RIO, BRAZIL VOWS SAFE OLYMPICS ?
RIO DE JANEIRO – At least 2,000 police officers patrolled this coastal city Sunday and Brazilian officials pledged to host a violence-free 2016 Olympics despite bloody drug gang shootouts that left 14 people dead.
Source: AP
- An hourslong firefight between rival gangs Saturday in one of the city's slums killed at least 12 people, injured six and saw a police helicopter shot down and eight buses set on fire.
- Police said Sunday that they killed two other suspected drug traffickers in overnight clashes near the Morro dos Macacos ("Monkey Hill") slum where the gangs fought for territory a day earlier. But the area was largely peaceful.
- Two officers died and four were injured Saturday when bullets from the gang battle ripped into their helicopter hovering overhead, forcing it into a fiery crash landing on a soccer field. Officials said they did not know if the gangs targeted the helicopter or it was hit by stray bullets.
- Gunfire on the ground killed 10 suspected gunmen and wounded two bystanders.
- Authorities said the violence only toughened their resolve to improve security ahead of the Olympics and before 2014, when Brazil will host the World Cup soccer tournament with key games in Rio, the country's second-biggest city.
- Rio state Public Safety Director Jose Beltrame told reporters that the violence was limited to a specific area of the city of 6 million and "is not a problem throughout all of Rio de Janeiro."
- He said authorities will follow through with promised efforts to reduce crime.
- "We proved to the Olympic Committee that we have plans and proposals for Rio de Janeiro," Beltrame said. "We proved that our current policy not only consists of going into battle, it also consists of keeping the peace."
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