Oct 22, 2011

Brazilian Navy Warships Open to Public

Brazil News

| VITORIA, Brazil – Five Brazilian Navy warships are open for public inspection this weekend at Vitoria Harbor. The five vessels, Corvette Borroso, Frigates Niteroi and Greenhalgh, Tankers Bosisio and Almirante Gastao Motta, are open from 2 pm to 5:30 pm Saturday and Sunday. The tours are free.

Brazilian Navy Frigate Niteroi (F-40) moored in Vitoria Harbor, Vitoria, Espirito Santo, Brazil, 22 October 2011

Brazilian Navy Frigate Niteroi (F-40) (Photo: Brazil Navy)

Oct 21, 2011

Young Woman Leaps from Highrise and Lives

Young Woman Leaps from Highrise and Lives
by Michael Hone

Woman who jumped from 12th floor to escape fire released from hospital

GOIANIA, Goias – Muniki Dias Goulart, 25, who survived after jumping from the 12th floor of a highrise apartment building last September 29, was released from hospital today. According to firefighters, the woman and her husband jumped from their apartment to escape a fire.

Muniki Dias Goulart, who jumped from the 12th floor apartment she shared with her father and husband to escape a fire was released from hospital Friday, 21 October, 2011

Students Build Electric Volkswagen Beetle

Students Build Electric Volkswagen Beetle
by Michael Hone

Car is zero-emission and silent

CURITIBA, Parana – A group of electrical and mechanical engineering students from the Federal Technological University of Parana (UTFPR) in Cornelio Procopio, converted an aging VW Beetle into an electrical car.

Aging VW Beetle converted into an all electric car at the Federal Technological University of Parana by students in Brazil

Update on Hospital Waste Shipped From U.S.

Update on Hospital Waste Shipped From U.S.
by Michael Hone

U.S. Law allows export of medical waste says Pitts

RECIFE, Pernambuco – U.S. law allows the exportation of used material—including material used in hospitals, according to the United States Consul, Usha Pitts, on Thursday afternoon speaking at the consulate in the Northeastern Brazilian city of Recife. The consul met with the FBI attache, Richard Cavalieri, at the consulate to discuss the seizure of medical waste shipped from Charleston, SC to the Port of Suape in Pernambuco.

Richard Cavalieri of the FBI and Usha Pitts, the U.S. Consul in Northern Brazil pictured during a meeting Thursday October 20 at the U.S. Consulate in Recife

Brazil Seems to Recognize New Libya

Brazil Seems to Recognize New Libya
by Michael Hone

Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota's Unenthusiastic Statement

RIO DE JANEIRO – Speaking at Fort Copacabana in Rio on Friday afternoon, the Brazilian Foreign Minister, Antonio Patriota, commenting on whether Brazil has recognized the new Libyan government, said simply: “This bridge has been crossed.” The remarks came one day after the death of former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota. File foto.

Oct 20, 2011

Police Seize 220 Kilos Pot and Arrest Three

Police Seize 220 Kilos Pot and Arrest Three
by Michael Hone

Police acted on an anonymous tip in Recreio

RIO DE JANEIRO – Acting on an anonymous tip, officers of the 31st Battalion Military Police (PM), raided an apartment in the upscale seaside town of Recreio, in the West Zone of Rio, Wednesday night. There, police seized 220 kilos of pot and arrested three young people who were found in the apartment, including the tenant.

Military Police acting on an anonymous tip seize 220 kilos of marijuana at an apartment in Recreio, Rio de Janeiro.

Federal Police Incinerate Tons of Marijuana

Other drugs also destroyed in power plant furnace

CAMPO GRANDE, Mato Grosso do Sul – Federal Police (PF) in this Southern Brazilian state incinerated 4.2 tons of marijuana and other drugs in a power plant furnace this morning. One kilo of cocaine and 18 kilos of hashish were also destroyed at the plant in the municipality of Navirai, 223 miles from the state capital.

Federal Agents in Ponta Pora, Moto Grosso do Sul, Brazil, incinerate 4.2 tons of illicit drugs in power plant furnace (photo: PF

Libyan Embassy in Brasilia Celebrates

Libyan Embassy in Brasilia Celebrates
by Michael Hone

Fireworks, new flags, burning posters of former dictator and dancing children mark historic day

BRASILIA – The Embassy of Libya in Brazil erupted in celebration after the announcement of the death of the former Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi. There was an explosion of fireworks, music and a bonfire as photos of the former dictator were burned in the embassy courtyard.

Libyan Embassy workers celebrate in Brasilia after announcement of Gaddafi (Kadhafi) death October 20, 2011. (photo: Globo network)

Oct 19, 2011

FBI to Join Hospital Waste Investigation

FBI to Join Hospital Waste Investigation
by Michael Hone

American Federal Bureau of Investigation to join probe of medical waste shipments to Brazil

RECIFE, Pernambuco – The Secretary of Social Defense of Pernambuco, Wilson Damazio, said on Wednesday that the American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the American Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will assist Brazilian authorities as they investigate the shipment of at least 46 tons of hazardous hospital medical waste from the Port of Charleston, South Carolina to the Port of Suape, Pernambuco.

Damazio Wilson, Secretary of Social Defense Pernambuco (photo: TV Globo

Gang of ATM Explosives Bandits Arrested

Gang of ATM Explosives Bandits Arrested
by Michael Hone

Dynamite and vehicles seized, one killed in shootout

SALVADOR, Bahia – An action by the Military Police in the city of Camacan, 326 miles from the capital, dismantled a criminal gang, arrested 7, killed one, seized drugs and 150 sticks of dynamite. The gang, with ties to the state of Espirito Santo, was targeted by the 62nd Independent Military Police of Camacan (CIPM) on Tuesday night.

Dynamite seized in Camacan, Bahia on Tuesday October 19, 2011 – photo: Military Police

Oct 18, 2011

Federal Police Seize 100 of Kilos Hashish

Drugs hidden in car body, driver arrested

BELO HORIZONTE, Minas Gerais – Federal Police (PF) seized about 100 kilos of hashish late on Monday in Montes Claros, in the Northern part of the state. According to police, the drug was hidden inside the bodywork of the car, which was also seized. The 53-year-old driver, who was caught in the act, was arrested.

Police show off 100 kilos of hashish seized from a trafficker in Minas Gerais

Man Arrested Driving with 10 Times Legal BAC

Man Arrested Driving with 10 Times Legal BAC
by Michael Hone

Tries to bribe officers, lands in jail

SALVADOR, Bahia – On Monday, 59-year-old Jorge Luis Matos was caught by Federal Highway Police (PRF) driving drunk on a highway in Bahia. Police said that after the man failed a breathalyzer test, he tried to bribe highway police into letting him escape, offering them R$200 (about U.S.$113) .

Driver in Bahia caught driving with BAC ten times legal limit

Bridge Over Rio Negro to be Inaugurated

Brazil News

| MANAUS, Brazil – The governor of the Brazilian state of Amazonas, Omar Jose Abdel Aziz, confirmed on Monday that Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff will be present for the inauguration of the Rio Negro Bridge on Monday, October 24th. The bridge links the capital, Manaus to Iranduba.

Bridge over the Rio Negro (Black River) Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil

Bridge over the Rio Negro

Update on US Hospital Waste Seized in Suape

Brazil News

| RECIFE, Brazil – The Attorney General's Office on Monday asked the Federal Police (PF) to open an investigation into the unlawful importation of medical waste by a clothing company in the Northeastern Brazilian state of Pernambuco. This follows the seizure by federal authorities last week of two shipping containers containing 46 tons of medical waste at the Port of Suape.

Workers unload hospital waste shipped from South Carolina to the Port of Suape in Pernambuco Brazil.

Oct 17, 2011

Last Week of Oktoberfest in Blumenau

Last Week of Oktoberfest in Blumenau
by Michael Hone

Officials expect 170,000 more visitors

BLUMENAU, Santa Catarina – The organizers of the 28th Annual Blumenau Oktoberfest expect to receive over 170,000 more visitors by Sunday, when the 11-day festival ends, bringing this year's attendance to 550,000.

Beautiful women grace the public square during the last week of Oktoberfest in Blumenau

Suspected of Killing Ex-wife's Lawyer Lover

Suspected of Killing Ex-wife's Lawyer Lover
by Michael Hone

Man arrested Sunday for Saturday night shooting death in Niteroi

RIO DE JANEIRO – Police on Sunday night arrested a 35-year-old man suspected of killing a lawyer in his ex-wife's house on Rua Duarte Galvao, in the Fonseca neighborhood of Niteroi. The man, who was not happy with his recent divorce, is accused of shooting to death his ex-wife's lover on Saturday night.

Man arrested for allegedly killing his estranged wife's lover on Rua Duarte Galvao in Niteroi

Foreigners Arrested with Fake Passports

Two Italians and two Cubans Arrested in Iguassu Falls

CURITIBA, Parana – The Federal Police (PF) announced today the arrest of four foreigners over the weekend in Iguassu Falls. The travelers were caught in the act of using false passports at the Friendship Bridge international crossing to Paraguay, along Brazil's Southwestern boarder.

Fake passports seized from travelers at the Friendship Bridge in Iguassu Falls

Colombians Arrested with Cocaine in Body

Colombians Arrested with Cocaine in Body
by Michael Hone

Three men each had a kilo of cocaine in digestive tract

TABATINGA, Amazonas – Federal Police (PF) announced the arrest of three Colombians, suspected of drug trafficking, on Saturday afternoon in the municipalities of Tabatinga and Benjamin Constant, in the high Solimoes, in the interior of the Brazilian state of Amazonas.

Colombian arrested by Federal Police in Tabatinga, in the Amazonas interior. Each had a kilo of cocaine hidden in digestive tract.

Oct 16, 2011

Major Crackdown on Prostitution in Fortaleza

Major Crackdown on Prostitution in Fortaleza
by Michael Hone

Bars and nightclubs closed; arrests include German Tourists

FORTALEZA, Brazil – A major anti-prostitution operation, aimed at underage girls, conducted by 260 agents from multiple police agencies, during the predawn hours Sunday, closed bars and nightclubs; arrested bar owners and managers, prostitutes and a handful of German tourists.

Bars and nightclubs closed, German citizens arrested in major anti-prostitution raids in Fortaleza, Ceara

Brazilian Warship Stops in Recife

Frigate Union stops in Recife in route to Lebanon

RECIFE, Brazil - The Navy Frigate Union, which departed Rio de Janeiro on Thursday, October 6th, stopped in the Port of Recife en route to the Eastern Mediterranean where it will patrol the Lebanese coast as part of the UNIFIL peace keeping mission.

Brazilian Frigate Union stops in Recife en route to Lebanon for six-month deployment

$100,000 Stolen from Blasted Open ATM

Victimized ATM had been reloaded the night before

RECIFE, Pernambuco – Thieves blasted open an ATM in the early hours of Saturday in the town of Petrolina, in the interior of the state of Pernambuco. According to police, at least five men participated in the theft and managed to take more than R$100,000 (about U.S. $58,000) from the machine.

Theifs blasted open a Banco Itau ATM in Petrolina, Pernambuco