Brazil News in English: Travel, Tourism, Crime, Culture, Celebrities, Videos, Beautiful People
| SAO PAULO – On Saturday, Sao Paulo businessman Walter de Oliveira, accompanied by his family, drove to Sorocaba, SP, to reunite with his mother after 40 years apart. His mother left him in an orphanage at age four suffering from tuberculosis.
Walter de Oliveira and Dona Isaura (photo: G1 Sao Paulo)
| SALVADOR, Bahia – Capoeira master Joao Pequeno, 93, who passed away Friday afternoon, was buried today at the Bosque da Paz cemetery in Salvador. The soulful sound of the berimbau gave voice to the pain of the capoeiristas who attended the funeral.
Joao Pequeno (photo: G1 Bahia)
| SAO PAULO – About two months ago, authorities in Sao Paulo discovered a device being used by some malicious taxi drivers to inflate their fares by twenty percent. The electronic equipment, which is attached to the taximeter and activated by remote control, inflates the distance traveled and the time of the ride, increasing the fare.
Sao Paulo taxi meter (photo: nacahaca.com)
| CAMPO GRANDE, Brazil – Late Friday night, Military Police (PM) in Fatima do Sul arrested a man carrying four bags of cocaine base paste inside his underwear. Police spotted the suspicious looking 36-year-old man, known as Gabriel, in the area of Travessão do Guilherme.
Cocaine Hidden in Underwear (photo: douradosinforma.com.br)
| SAO PAULO – Airline workers in Brazil are preparing for a possible nationwide strike which could begin as soon as next Tuesday, December 13th. The move towards a strike began this Wednesday, when the last round of negotiations with airlines was canceled for a lack of agreement between the parties.
Congonhas International Airport (photo: blgcdn.com)
| MACEIO, Brazil – Police arrested a 68-year-old Italian man, known by the nickname 'Pepe', this morning accusing him of sexually abusing young girls. The Civil Police (PC) are hunting two other men, known by the nicknames 'Nelito' and 'Coroa,' for pimping.
Italian 'Pepe' Arrested in Alagoas (photo: j2011.com.br)
| BRASILIA – President Dilma Rousseff, speaking on Friday at the 2011 Human Rights Award in the nation's capital, defended the right to “disagree” in Brazil. Speaking to an audience of people involved in the fight for human rights, the president also criticized social inequality and said “we can not be a country of 190 million with growth only for some.”
Dilma Rousseff at 2011 Human Rights Award (photo: terra.com.br/Wilson Dias/Agência Brasil)
| BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil – The zoo in the capital reported on Tuesday, that the gorilla Idi Amin is being treated for an infection in his left forearm. The Western Lowland gorilla, named after the notorious African dictator, immigrated to Brazil in 1975, coming from France when he was only two years old.
Idi Amin (photo: Pedro Triginelli/G1 Archive)
| RIO DE JANEIRO – A YouTube video of Frenchwoman trying on jeans in her native land has gone viral in Brazil, with nearly a million views in the last month. The woman, identified as Laura Frison, can be seen trying—unsuccessfully—to fit french cut jeans over her apparently Brazilian bumbum.
Bottom of Laura Frison (photo: youtube.com via G1 Tech)
| RIO DE JANEIRO – Visitors to the resort town of Buzios, a leisurely three-hour drive from Rio, can now take a virtual journey to the depths of the local sea. The Coral Reef Natural Park Visitor Center was inaugurated on Thursday.
Coral Reef Natural Park Visitor Center (photo: City of Búzios/Sérgio Quissak via G1 Rio)
| FLORIANOPOLIS, Brazil – A 35-meter (115-foot) Christmas tree installed on the main avenue of the capital, Florianopolis, was lighted this week. The structure, built beside a seaside pier and featuring 50,000 LED lights, was turned on Monday, but due to the theft of wires by vandals the inauguration was postponed until last night.
Florianopolis Christmas Tree 2011 (photo: Fabricio Escandiuzzi via terra.com.br)
| BRASILIA – Luxury Swiss watchmaker Hublot launched on November 30th, a limited-edition watch in honor of the Brazilian architect Oscar Neimeyer and the City of Brasilia. The famed architect, now 104 years old, designed the then futuristic city, which became the national capital in April, 1960.
Aero Bang Niemeyer (photo: G1 Brasilia)
| CURITIBA, Brazil – Environmental Police on Wednesday, rescued a baby iguana from the Christmas mail in the city of Londrina, in northern Parana. The reptile was mailed this morning in a small cardboard box containing no food.
Baby Iguana was Mailed (photo: G1 Parana)
| GOIANIA, Goias – A 39-year-old man was arrested Tuesday afternoon, suspected of seducing women on the internet to make money. According to the Civil Police (PC), the cyber-lothario would meet his victims on social networking sites on the web.
Left Broken Hearts (Illustration: agencialvo.com)
| FLORIANOPOLIS, Brazil – Two laborers working on a residential highrise in Blumenau had to be rescued on Tuesday after their scaffolding collapsed. The laborers were working on the facade of the building at the 12th floor when falling debris disabled the scaffold's control system, dumping them overboard and leaving them hanging from safety cables for over an hour.
Workers Hanging from Highrise (photo: terra.com.br)
| JOAO PESSOA, Brazil – Forensic experts and police conducted new search Monday night at the home of the Finns who were killed on the south coast of Paraiba. Six agents of the Civil Police (PC) Special Operations Group (GOE) and the Institute of Forensic Science spent more than three hours trying to find traces of blood inside the residence, located in the small coastal town of Conde.
One of the victims (photo: G1 Paraiba)
| GOIANIA, Brazil – Police on Tuesday, announced the arrests of three suspects in the slaying of soccer fan Pamella Munike, 17, on November 6th, in the town of Maua. The teenager was shot in the head while returning from a party after a match between the teams Goias Sports Club and Vila Nova.
Pamella Munike Valpato (photo: G1 Goias/TV Anhanguera)
| SAO PAULO – The Brazilian Consumer Protection Agency, Procon, on Tuesday, confirmed a R$3.2 million real ($1.8 million USD) fine against McDonald's restaurants. The announcement was made by the Alana Institute, a social development agency, which questioned the practice of including toys along with Happy Meals.
Unhappy Ronald McDonald (photo: unrealitymag.com)
| BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil – Civil Police (PC) in Iturama this morning are searching for 672 kilograms of marijuana which disappeared from the station house Sunday night. Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, the chief of police said that the marijuana was discovered missing on Monday.
Civil Police Station, Iturama MG (photo: G1 Minas)
| RIO DE JANEIRO – About 70% of hotel rooms in Rio are already booked for New Year's week, announced the Brazilian Association of Hotel Industry for the State of Rio de Janeiro (RJ-ABIH) on Tuesday.
Copacabana Fireworks (photo: G1 Rio)
| SAO PAULO – Graciella Carvalho, the runner-up of last week's Best Butt in Brazil 2011 contest poses with the December issue of Maxim magazine which features tasteful nude photos of her. Posing at the magazine's headquarters in Sao Paulo today one couldn't help but be enchanted with her little yellow dress and matching panties.
Graciella Carvalho (photo: G1 Sao Paulo)
| CURITIBA, Brazil – Federal Highway Police in Iguassu Falls on Monday, seized a minivan laden with over 17k packs of contraband cigarettes being smuggled from Paraguay. The trunk and interior cabin of the Opel Meriva was fully loaded, leaving room only for the driver, reported terra.com.br.
Cigarette Smuggling Vehicle in Foz do Iguaçu (photo: terra.com.br)
| GOIANIA, Brazil – A company of firefighters captured a 20-foot-long and pregnant anaconda Monday morning after being called to a factory in rural Goias. Workers at the factory in the town of Palmeiras, 84 km (52 miles) from the capital, were able to corner the serpent in a bathroom until firefighters arrived.
20 Foot Pregnant Anaconda (photo: terra.com.br)
| BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil – Bandits blasted open an ATM early Saturday morning in the town of Conselheiro Lafaiete, destroying the machine but getting no cash. One shop next door was completely destroyed and others in the shopping mall where the machine was located were badly damaged, according to G1 Minas Gerais.
Store destroyed by dynamite (photo: G1 Minas Gerais)
| RIO DE JANIERO – A Dutchman was arrested Saturday night, carrying 78 capsules of pure cocaine at Tom Jobim International Airport in Rio de Janeiro. According to Federal Police (PF), he was boarding a flight to Amsterdam.
Netherlands Flag (photo: me.andering.com)
JOAO PESSOA, Paraiba – Civil Police (PC) are struggling to find relatives of three Finns found dead in a sugarcane field in Pitimbu, Paraiba on Friday. According to Globo TV, police in the north-eastern state, believe that the three were killed elsewhere and their bodies dumped in the field.
Finnish Flag (photo: onlinecasinos.org)
