Sandra Torres poll bid 'rejected'

30 June 2011 Last updated at 09:30 GMT Sandra Torres had said she would divorce her husband for the love of her country Guatemalan electoral officials have rejected the presidential candidacy of ex-first lady Sandra Torres for "supposed legal fraud", her party says.

Party leaders said they would appeal against the decision.

Ms Torres divorced President Alvaro Colom earlier this year to overcome a constitutional ban on close relatives of the president running for the job.

The opposition said the divorce was a cynical political ploy ahead of September's presidential election.

The decision by the Supreme Electoral Court is a further twist in attempts by Ms Torres to run for office.

She confirmed her intention to separate from her husband of eight years in March in a tearful address to the nation.

She said she and Mr Colom were putting their love for Guatemala ahead of their "great and solid" love for each other.

Opposition politicians denounced the move as electoral fraud and legal challenges were filed, temporarily halting divorce proceedings.

In May, Guatemala's constitutional court quashed all legal challenges to the divorce.

On Wednesday, the electoral authorities refused to register her candidacy.

Deputy Christian Boussinot, from the governing National Unity of Hope (UNE) party, told reporters the electoral court had based its decision on a "supposed legal fraud" by Ms Torres in divorcing her husband.

Party leaders said they respected the court's rulings but would be launching an appeal to ensure she could be registered as a candidate.

Ms Torres has played a prominent role in Alvaro Colom's presidency, supervising the government's poverty relief programmes.

If elected, she would be Guatemala's first female president.

But opinion polls put her well behind former army general Otto Perez Molina, who has promised a tough stance against rising crime.

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Pao de Acucar battle intensifies

30 June 2011 Last updated at 09:31 GMT Pao de Acucar is Latin America's second biggest retailer The battle between France's Carrefour and Casino for Brazilian retailer Pao de Acucar is heating up.

Casino has raised its total stake in the company to 43.1%.

It followed an approach by Pao de Acucar's chairman Abilio Diniz to merge the company with the Brazilian assets of Carrefour, Casino's big rival.

Casino has started arbitration proceedings against Mr Diniz, saying that the secret merger talks violated the terms of their partnership.

The proposed Pao de Acucar-Carrefour deal would create a firm with a 27% market share and sales of more than $40bn (?25bn) a year.

Pao de Acucar is already Latin America's second-biggest retailer.

As well as its Pao de Acucar and Extra supermarket chains, it also has a majority stake in the Ponto Frio and Casas Bahia chains that sell electrical goods and furniture.

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Colombia condemns rebel attack

29 June 2011 Last updated at 23:40 GMT Maj Felix Antonio Jaimes Villamil was ambushed as he arrived on the scene Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has condemned as "cowardly" an ambush by left-wing Farc rebels that has killed a senior police officer.

Maj Felix Antonio Jaimes Villamil was killed by an explosive device in north-western Antioquia province.

Police said the explosives were set off as Maj Jaimes arrived to investigate a rebel attack on two buses.

The Colombian authorities say the Farc have stepped up their attacks on civilians and security forces alike.

Police say three people were injured early on Wednesday when members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) burned down two buses and a lorry on the main road linking Colombia's second city, Medellin, with the Atlantic Coast.

Officials said Maj Jaimes, the commander of Antioquia's highway police, travelled to the area to oversee the evacuation of the victims.

Two police agents who were accompanying Maj Jaimes were also injured when the device went off.

President Santos called the ambush "terrorist and cowardly".

"This shows that the Farc are ever more desperate and weak," the president said.

Colombian security forces have killed a number of Farc leaders over the past year, and arrested many others.

The attack happened on the main road from Medellin to the Atlantic Coast, near Yarumal

The group's top military commander Jorge Briceno, better known as Mono Jojoy, was killed in an army bombing raid last September.

And the army says it is getting ever closed to Farc leader Alfonso Cano, whose head of security it killed in March.

But the rebels also have been stepping up their attacks on both civilian and military targets.

The Colombian hauliers' union has asked the government to increase security on the country's highways.

They said the attack was the ninth so far this year in Antioquia, with some 40 vehicles burned by the guerrilla nationwide.

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World Cup woes?

30 June 2011 Last updated at 08:09 GMT By Mark Broad Economics reporter, BBC News The BBC's economics editor, Stephanie Flanders, reports from Sao Paulo on preparations for the 2014 World Cup

"Mark of the first kick", says the sign in the middle of a large mound of orange earth on the outskirts of Sao Paulo.

In less than three years' time, after a rousing opening ceremony, the 2014 World Cup will kick off from this exact point in a new 65,000-seat stadium.

That is the theory, anyway.

At the moment, it is a challenge to keep your balance on the hill where the sign stands - and the same uncertainty seems to pervade Brazil's preparations for the tournament.

Many of the stadiums are behind schedule and over-budget, and pressure is mounting to put things back on track.

After months of quiet grumbling from international football's governing body, Fifa, last month the organisation's general secretary, Jerome Valcke, said: "It's amazing that Brazil is already very late. They are proving how difficult it is to hold a World Cup in Brazil, just as it was in South Africa."

The rising price of building materials, costly changes demanded by Fifa and delays have left an air of uncertainty over the project.

Rising wage inflation is also causing problems. Earlier this month, workers at the stadium in Belo Horizonte walked out, demanding higher wages and improved conditions.

But the operations director for the new Corinthians stadium in Sao Paulo, Federico Barbosa, appears relaxed as he surveys the diggers scraping away at the hillside on the site.

Work continues on the Maracana stadium 24 hours a day Extra resources

Work on the site began about a month ago, but they have already dug away much of the earth to start laying the foundations of the stadium.

"As the work goes on, we will need extra resources. Eventually we will have 2,000 people working on the site," says Mr Barbosa.

"It's going to be a challenge to get the work done, as we will have to work through the rainy season. But we... expect to have it finished by December 2013, two months ahead of Fifa's deadline."

But the project is already behind schedule and will not be ready for the 2013 Confederations Cup, which is being used as test event for the World Cup.

There have also been concerns of the cost of the project, with the Brazilian sports minister calling on the developers, Odebrecht, to cut the budget by 20%.

There are more than 20 men milling around the pitch at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro. But there is not a ball in sight.

The teams of workers are accompanied by four huge diggers and a fleet of lorries ferrying soil out of the stadium. To keep the project on schedule, work continues 24 hours a day.

The Maracana was redeveloped in 2007 for the Pan-American Games, but Fifa told the organising committee it had failed to meet World Cup regulations.

The man who seems to hold the weight of the stadium on his back is head of construction Icaro Moreno. With a pencil tucked behind his ear, he says: "We had to knock down 70% of the stands due to Fifa requirements.

"They demanded that the stands were steeper in profile and that there were no blind spots for spectators.

"We then had to redesign the roof after we found that it was unsafe.

Brazilian football great Carlos Alberto says: "Don’t worry, we’re going to be ready before the World Cup"

"We have also had to demolish the upper and lower tiers as well, but we are now on schedule and we expect to finish the work by December 2012."

Struggling airports

One of the big challenges for Brazil is to transport the spectators between the 12 host cities across the country.

The burgeoning middle class in the country has been taking to the air in ever increasing numbers. The number of internal flights has risen by 80 million in the past five years and the same increase is predicted by 2014.

The government is selling shares in the state operator, Infraero. It hopes the cash injection will speed work to be completed in nine of the airports.

"Sao Paulo is an international airport but it has only two terminals but has a population of over 20 million people - it's ridiculously badly served," says HSBC bank chief economist for Latin America, Andre Loes.

But despite all the concerns about the speed of the preparations for the World Cup, Mr Loes says it will act as catalyst for Brazil's greater infrastructure development.

"The World Cup and the Olympics will force us to have major projects ready on time. The tough thing will be to make sure it does not have any inflationary effects."

Spectacular goal

"When people meet me in the street they still call me captain," says Carlos Alberto, the leader of Brazil's World Cup winning side in 1970.

Surrounded by pictures of him scoring a spectacular goal in the final of the tournament, Mr Alberto is sanguine about all the concerns.

"This is the Brazilian style. Fifa always come to Brazil, and they go to look at stadiums and ask what's going on, and we say, 'Don't worry, we're going to be ready before the World Cup,'" he says.

Brazilians have always had their own style on the pitch and it seems that is the same for their preparations for the World Cup.

After all, they have already won the tournament five times. Most people in Brazil believe it will not be beyond them to host it in 2014.

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French food fight for Brazil firm

29 June 2011 Last updated at 07:34 GMT Pao de Acucar was founded in Sao Paulo in 1948 Two French food giants are locked in a battle to take over Brazil's number one retailer, Grupo Pao de Acucar.

Proposals to merge Pao de Acucar with the local operations of Carrefour are opposed by rival Casino, which already has a stake in the Brazilian group.

The proposed Pao de Acucar-Carrefour deal would create a firm with a 27% market share and sales of more than $40bn (?25bn) a year.

Pao de Acucar is already Latin America's second-biggest retailer.

As well as its Pao de Acucar and Extra supermarket chains, it also has a majority stake in the Ponto Frio and Casas Bahia chains that sell electrical goods and furniture.

Pao de Acucar's shares rose 12.6% on Brazil's main stock exchange on Tuesday after news of the deal emerged.

Secret talks

Brazilian investment fund Gama announced the merger plan on Tuesday. Under the terms of the offer, it will combine Pao de Acucar and Carrefour's Brazilian assets into a new company, to be called Nova Pao de Acucar.

Gama said investment fund BTG Pactual and the BNDES state development bank had committed $2.8bn to the deal, as well as $710m in debt financing.

The deal followed talks between Carrefour and Pao de Acucar chairman Abilio Diniz, whose family founded the firm in Sao Paulo in 1948.

Since 1999, Pao de Acucar has been part-owned by another French firm, Casino, which denounced the proposal to merge with Carrefour as "illegal".

Casino said it was disappointed with Mr Diniz for negotiating a deal without its authorisation.

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Ecuador protest police convicted

28 June 2011 Last updated at 21:08 GMT Police protested in a number of Ecuadorian cities in September against plans to cut their bonuses A court in Ecuador has found six police officers guilty of crimes against the security of the state, during a protest last September in which the president was forcibly detained.

President Rafael Correa had to be rescued by the military after being tear-gassed and held for several hours in a hospital by police angry about plans to cut their bonuses.

He described the events as an attempted coup.

The six men will be sentenced later.

They include the former head of security for Ecuador's congress, Colonel Rolando Tapia.

President Correa vowed to purge the police and punish those responsible after the dramatic events of 30 September last year.

Images of the unrest were beamed around the world amid widespread fears that Ecuador could be witnessing a coup attempt, not merely a protest by the police and parts of the military.

The country has faced a number of coups and coup attempts in its turbulent political past.

Defiant address

Events turned violent after thousands of police launched a series of protests across the country, refusing to patrol the streets, blocking roads and seizing control of their barracks.

They were demonstrating against cuts to their benefits imposed by a public spending law, which had been passed as part of a government austerity drive.

Mr Correa, who had made an emotional and defiant address at a barracks in the capital, Quito, was jostled by protesters and then stunned when a tear gas canister was fired near his head.

In the subsequent confusion, he was rushed to a police hospital, supposedly for treatment, but then not allowed to leave.

Meanwhile, a contingent of troops took control of Quito's international airport, in a parallel demonstration against the cuts.

The head of the armed forces pledged his support to Mr Correa, and loyalist troops stormed the police hospital where he was being held.

In the gunfight that followed, a number of people were killed, but Mr Correa was rescued and taken to the presidential palace, where he addressed jubilant supporters.

The police chief resigned in the wake of the uprising, and was replaced the next day.

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Precious catch

29 June 2011 Last updated at 07:18 GMT Fishermen are hoping that bountiful catches will resume Communities in southern Bolivia's Tarija region rely heavily on fishing the Pilcomayo River. But as the BBC's Mattia Cabitza reports, irregular rains have led to a rapid build-up of sediment that has disrupted fish life cycles, putting livelihoods at risk.

It is the height of the fishing season in southern Bolivia, and dozens of men, women and children gather with much anticipation on the muddy banks of the Pilcomayo River.

With the help of a wooden boat and a couple of men up to their waists in water, people from Capirendita, a Weehnayek indigenous community, lay a long net across the whole width of the river.

In a matter of minutes, they start pulling on a rope and the net begins to emerge from the brown waters.

The eyes of the whole community scan over the net, laid flat on the river bank, in search of a bountiful catch in the mesh. But very few fish are flapping on the sandy bank.

A prized catch: Fisherman shows off a sabalo (Prochilodus lineatus)

"It's only five," says a man, after he has put them all inside a large fibre bag that is a stark reminder of how much they used to net.

"Last year, we were catching 10,000 a day," says Jose Segundo, a leader of the community of 220 families.

"But now, not even 1,000. They're not even enough to feed us."

His wife, Roxana Cabrera, looks out of their makeshift tent, her three young children beside her. She is also worried they can no longer make a living from fishing.

"Every time we lay the nets, it's just 10 or 15 fishes at most," she says.

"We now make no more than 10 bolivianos ($1.44, 80p). We used to make 300 bolivianos."

Changing rainfall

The Bolivian government has declared the Pilcomayo region a national disaster zone.

"We are living through a very critical time," says Alejandro Romero, of the National Technical Office of the Pilcomayo and Bermejo Rivers.

"We're seeing environmental degradation of considerable magnitude in the whole Pilcomayo basin."

Mr Romero explains that the river naturally carries up to 170m tonnes of sediment each year, which is deposited in the lower basin in neighbouring Paraguay and Argentina, where the Pilcomayo flows.

But in the last two years, a disrupted rainfall pattern in Bolivia, where the river rises, has accelerated the process of sedimentation, he says.

More intensive downpours mean that the river carries more water downstream at a higher velocity, causing faster erosion along its course.

The community is working together to try to cope with falling stocks

This phenomenon, Mr Romero explains, creates larger than usual sand banks in the plains of Paraguay and Argentina.

The sediments there block the flow of the Pilcomayo after the rainy season, when it is natural for its volume of water to substantially decrease.

"There's a tract of the river that has seen a gradual build-up of sediments, and it is now blocked," says Mr Romero.

The tract he refers to is at the entrance of the Banado La Estrella, a huge swamp in the Formosa province of Argentina where the sabalo, the fish of the Pilcomayo, feeds and fattens.

Seeking solutions

Like salmon in North America and Europe, the sabalo, on which 6,000 families in Bolivia alone depend, swims upstream to spawn.

But because of the build-up of mud, it cannot complete its life cycle and reach its natural reproductive grounds in southern Bolivia.

Catches of sabalo have declined dramatically

"The situation of the indigenous people is very worrying," says Moises Sapiranda, the leader of Orcaweta, an organisation which groups together the 42 Weehnayek and Tapiete indigenous communities in Bolivia.

"We've depended on fishing for more than 500 years. It's the only food we've got during the fishing season," he says, referring to the period from 15 April to 15 September.

"If people don't fish, they go hungry and they migrate to other areas in search of work."

Because of the changing weather patterns, the Bolivian government fears the problem is likely to recur every year, and affect on a regular basis the 1.5 million people who live in the whole Pilcomayo basin.

"First of all, we need to do engineering work to guarantee a permanent constant flow of water," says Nelson Aguilar Rodriguez of the National Technical Office of the Pilcomayo and Bermejo Rivers.

"The other option is to build artificial lagoons in Bolivian territory so that we can have fish here," he says.

Such move would be unpopular with Bolivia's neighbours, because it would mean diverting water away from their agriculture and industry.

Jose Segundo and his family depend on the fish they catch

Bolivia recognises this would be a last resort. It wants Argentina to dredge the sediments on its tract of the river, so that the fish can swim upstream once again.

Argentina says it has begun doing this work, and that it will take weeks to finish.

But despite the assurances that Bolivia and its neighbours are doing all they can, people who depend on the river are far from satisfied.

"For us, the Pilcomayo is like a mother that gives us life," says Moises Sapiranda, the Orcaweta leader.

"Our people are now united and we will continue to pressure the authorities."

Mr Sapiranda says they will set up road blocks, and are ready to protest and keep on protesting until the problem is solved.

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New Chavez footage on Cuban TV

29 June 2011 Last updated at 03:50 GMT The new images show an apparently well Hugo Chavez

New pictures and video footage of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez have been shown on Cuban state television.

Very little has been seen or heard from Mr Chavez since he had an emergency operation in Cuba on 10 June, prompting speculation about his state of health.

The new images show an apparently well Mr Chavez dressed in a tracksuit in the colours of the Venezuelan flag, chatting animatedly with Fidel Castro.

Cuban TV said the images were taken on Tuesday.

The footage was the lead item on Cuban news. The newscaster described the meeting as "fraternal", but he gave no details about the Venezuelan president's condition.

It showed the two men standing and sitting down as they chatted.

Continue reading the main story

Let these images serve to bring peace to the people of Venezuela regarding the health of President Chavez”

End Quote Venezuelan Communications Minister Andres Izarra The BBC's Michael Voss in the Cuban capital Havana said the footage seemed to be taken in the grounds of the hospital where Mr Chavez had his operation.

Mr Chavez's unexpectedly long absence from Venezuela has prompted debate there on whether he should delegate executive power to his vice-president.

Venezuelan officials have said the surgery was for a pelvic abscess, but there has been speculation in the Venezuelan and foreign press that the president's condition could be more serious.

Uncertain return

"Let these images serve to bring peace to the people of Venezuela regarding the health of President Chavez," Venezuelan Communications Minister Andres Izarra said on state TV.

"To those of you who are speculating over the president's health, there he is... fine, recovering well."

Until the release of the latest images, only one set of photos of Mr Chavez since his operation had been made public.

These showed him flanked by Fidel and Raul Castro - the former and current leader of communist Cuba - who were apparently visiting him in hospital in Havana.

Mr Chavez had also given only one interview - by phone to a Venezuelan-funded television channel, Telesur.

And in the past few days, there have been several messages posted on his Twitter account.

But his output has been noticeably restricted, especially when compared with his normal, frequent appearances in the media.

There is as yet no clear timetable for his return.

But on Sunday, the president of the National Assembly, Fernando Soto Rojas, said Mr Chavez could be back in the country in time for Venezuela's bicentennial celebrations on 5 July.

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Mexico players suspended for Copa

Barcelona B's Jonathan Dos Santos is the brother of Tottenham's Giovanni Eight players in Mexico's Copa America squad have been suspended for six months for indiscipline, with reports claiming they had female guests in their hotel rooms during training.

The Mexican Football Federation would not disclose the details on Tuesday.

Mexico is fielding a youth team for the tournament, with Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez not playing.

Jonathan Dos Santos - brother of Tottenham winger Giovanni - was one of the eight players suspended and fined.

Israel Jimenez, Nestor Vidrio, David Cabrera, Marco Fabian, Javier Cortes, Jorge Hernandez and Nestor Calderon were the others involved in the incident - reported to have taken place after Saturday's 1-0 win over Ecuador, Mexico's final warm-up match.

Their first match in the tournament in Argentina, which starts on Friday, is on 4 July when they play Chile in Group C.

Continue reading the main story

The only 2011 Copa America match scheduled to be played in Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires, is the final on 24 July. But that venue is now under question after recent rioting at River Plate's Monumental Stadium. Eight venues in Argentina are being used - several in smaller cities that are largely unknown outside the country

"The players confessed," said Hector Gonzalez Inarritu, director of Mexico's national teams selection.

"They are very hurt, very sorry and they have said they are sorry to their fans.

"They are assuming the consequences. I am not going into details of what happened. The rules were broken, the code of discipline was broken and I have to act."

The players, who were each fined $4,100 (?2,570), are expected to be replaced.

Earlier this year, in June, five Mexico internationals tested positive for the banned substance Clenbuterol during the Concacaf Gold Cup.

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Mexico's Carstens loses IMF bid

28 June 2011 Last updated at 20:57 GMT Christine Lagarde will start her five-year term at the IMF on 5 July France's Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, 55, has been named the first woman to head the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Ms Lagarde fought off Mexico's Agustin Carstens for the job, although an IMF statement said that both candidates "were well qualified".

She received backing from America and Europe and key emerging market nations, including China, India and Brazil.

The post became vacant following the resignation of Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

"The results are in: I am honoured and delighted that the board has entrusted me with the position of MD of the IMF!" Ms Lagarde said via Twitter minutes after the announcement.

In a statement, the IMF said that its 24-member board regarded both candidates as highly suitable for the job, but had decided on Ms Lagarde "by consensus".

'Leadership'

Messages of support poured in, with UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne saying he was "delighted" and French President Nicolas Sarkozy calling it "a victory for France".

Mr Carstens said he had sent Ms Lagarde his "best wishes and full support", adding that he hoped she would "make meaningful progress in strengthening the governance of the institution".

Continue reading the main story

I will make it my overriding goal that our institution continues to serve its entire membership”

End Quote Christine Lagarde IMF Managing Director US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said: "Minister Lagarde's exceptional talent and broad experience will provide invaluable leadership for this indispensable institution at a critical time for the global economy."

Although Ms Lagarde is the first woman to become managing director since the IMF was created in 1944, she maintains the tradition that the post is held by a European.

It has been convention that Europe gets the IMF, while an American gets the top job at the World Bank.

Mr Carstens, Mexico's central bank governor, campaigned on a platform that this time the IMF chief should reflect the emergence of developing nations as an economic force.

However, Ms Lagarde toured the world drumming up powerful support in the Middle East, Asia and South America.

Her appointment looked effectively sealed on Tuesday when America and Russia came out in her favour.

Immediate task

In a signal to IMF members who fear she will be overly-focused on Europe, Ms Lagarde said in a statement: "I will make it my overriding goal that our institution continues to serve its entire membership.

The IMF's David Hawley announces Christine Lagarde's appointment

"As I have had the opportunity to say to the IMF board during the selection process, the IMF must be relevant, responsive, effective and legitimate, to achieve stronger and sustainable growth, macroeconomic stability and a better future for all."

However, when Ms Lagarde begins her five-year term on 5 July, her immediate task will be to deal with the efforts of the IMF and European Union to resolve the Greek debt crisis and prevent contagion to other eurozone economies.

In a television interview minutes after her appointment, Ms Lagarde pressed Greece to move quickly to push through unpopular austerity measures that the IMF and EU have said are a prerequisite for further aid.

On a day of riots and protests throughout Greece, she said: "If I have one message tonight about Greece, it is to call on the Greek political opposition to support the party that is currently in power in a spirit of national unity."

Meeting Strauss-Kahn

Mr Strauss-Kahn resigned abruptly on 18 May after being arrested in New York for an alleged sexual assault. He denies the charges.

Ms Lagarde said that following the turmoil of his arrest, she wanted to unify the IMF's staff of 2,500 employees and 800 economists and restore their confidence in the organisation.

She also said she wanted to meet Mr Strauss-Kahn, if permitted to by the US government.

"I want to have a long talk with him, because a successor should talk with their predecessor," Ms Lagarde said during an interview on French television channel TF1.

"I can learn things from what he has to say about the IMF and its teams," she said.

Before becoming France's finance minister in June 2007, she was minister for foreign trade for two years.

Prior to moving into politics, Ms Lagarde, a former champion swimmer, was an anti-trust and employment lawyer in the US.

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Jamaica 'better off as British colony'

29 June 2011 Last updated at 00:06 GMT Jamaica has seen debate as to whether or not to keep the British monarch as its head of state A survey for a Jamaican newspaper suggests most islanders believe the country would have been better off if it had remained a British colony.

The poll, commissioned by The Gleaner, found that 60% of respondents backed this view. But 17% disagreed.

A thousand people took part in the survey, out of a population of 2.7m. The poll has a reported margin of error of plus or minus 4%.

Jamaica is due to celebrate 50 years of independence next year.

It is not clear what main reasons the respondents had for their choices.

But the island has struggled with high levels of poverty and crime.

The Gleaner has interpreted the results as suggesting "six in every 10 Jamaicans...long for 'the good old days'".

Cut royal links?

It is also not clear how this finding sits in the context of a long-running debate on whether the island should become a republic.

The Jamaican Prime Minister, Bruce Golding, has said he would like the island to cut its links with the British monarchy in time for the 50th anniversary.

The island achieved full nationhood on 6 August, 1962.

Mr Golding believes the time is right for a referendum on a platform of constitutional change.

As reported last month by the Jamaican Labour Party, this would involve coming to a consensus on issues such as how a new head of state would be appointed, and what would replace the United Kingdom Privy Council as the island's court of final appeal.

Whatever decisions may be reached, Mr Golding is certain of one thing.

"I have long believed that if I am to have a queen, it must be a Jamaican queen," he has declared.

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Eight shot dead in Rio drug raid

23 June 2011 Last updated at 21:56 GMT Rifles, grenades and drugs were found during the operation, police said Police in Rio de Janeiro say eight suspected drug traffickers have been killed during a raid in a slum area.

The group died in two separate exchanges of gunfire - lasting several hours - in the Engenho da Rainha neighbourhood, military police said.

Police said they later discovered rifles, pistols and grenades.

The police have targeted a number of slums recently as they attempt to clear high-crime areas ahead of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics.

'Gunfire until dawn'

The operation started on Wednesday night, when Rio's Special Operations Battalion (the Bope) entered the Engenho da Rainha favela looking for suspected drug traffickers.

An intense firefight ensued between police and alleged gang members, and gunfire shook the neighbourhood until dawn on Thursday.

Police say the first confrontation started on the Guarabu Road just before midnight, when three suspected drug traffickers were killed.

According to Rio's military police, a short time later officers were fired on from another part of the favela. Five suspected traffickers were killed in the second exchange.

A local resident was also injured when he was caught in the crossfire.

Police said they confiscated two rifles, ammunition, three pistols, two grenades, and a quantity of drugs during the operation.

Rio de Janeiro has long been considered one of the most violent cities in Brazil, but analysts say that among the country's urban areas it has seen the biggest fall in criminal activity in recent months.

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Clashes after River Plate relegated

27 June 2011 Last updated at 09:11 GMT Police used water cannon to disperse River Plate fans at the end of the match

Dozens of people have been injured in clashes that broke out in Buenos Aires after Argentina's legendary football club River Plate were relegated to the second division.

The violence erupted inside the stadium. Street battles between angry fans and police continued outside.

River needed to win by two clear goals against Belgrano de Cordoba, but only managed a 1-1 draw.

This meant that River dropped to the country's B league for the first time.

The match, held in River's Monumental stadium, had to be abandoned in the final minute, amid chaotic scenes.

River Plate's fate seemed sealed after Mariano Pavone missed a penalty

Police fired water cannon up into the stands, following a pitch invasion by furious River fans.

Players from both teams had to be escorted off the field.

The violence continued after the game, with clashes outside the stadium between hardcore fans and helmeted riot police, as helicopters hovered overhead.

Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas, and also deployed mounted units to try to disperse the fans, who threw rocks and set fire to vehicles and rubbish bins.

At least 65 people were hurt, among them more than 20 police officers, according to Argentine media.

In all, more than 2,000 police had been deployed before the game in an unparalleled security operation for a club game.

Tears

The game itself was a fiercely fought contest. River had gone 1-0 up within the first five minutes.

Continue reading the main story

"From hope and euphoria to sadness and violence" - Clarin, Argentina

"River Plate: 110 years of glory and a day of infinite sadness" - Telam, Argentina

A football game saw the Monumental (stadium) go from hope to senselessness in 90 minutes - La Nacion, Argentina

"Like a true Argentine tango, River's last three seasons end in tragedy" - Gazeta Esportiva, Brazil

"A giant falls, setting off a roar that reverberates around the world" - El Pais, Uruguay

"Drama of the 'millionaires': it is as if Real Madrid were relegated - El Pais, Spain

"The nightmare has come true...League B is no longer a spectre but a harsh reality" -La Gazzetta dello Sport - Italy

But they saw their lead slip in the second half, after a Belgrano goal.

Then the man who had scored River's goal, Mariano Pavone, had a penalty saved, to the stunned reaction of more than 50,000 home fans. And that effectively sealed their fate.

By the end of the game, some of their players were in tears.

River, which has won more domestic titles than any other club (33), was one of only three never to have dropped out of the first division.

Many commentators have described it as a drop into the "abyss".

Argentina's press reacted to the result with disbelief.

The national daily, Clarin, wrote: "No-one, absolutely no-one, will be able to forget this day."

It said while Belgrano had been the "executioner", they did not bear most of the responsibility for River's fate.

And it added that "even the poor refereeing... and the management errors" that had helped bring the club to this point did not justify the incidents at the end of the game.

"Incredible but real" was the headline in the sports paper, Ole.

It flagged up the fact that River's descent has been presided over by one of its all-time greatest players - Daniel Passarella, the club's current president.

Police were among the injured in the troubles that marred the match

In recent weeks, River's fans have reacted angrily to a string of poor results, demanding his resignation.

It has been a steep fall from grace for Passarella, the man who captained Argentina's World Cup winning squad in 1978.

He was idolised by River's supporters when he played for club.

River's decline on the pitch has been mirrored by financial problems.

The club is currently carrying an estimated $19m (?12m) of debts.

This could mean River is forced to sell off several players.

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Bolivia bids to achieve food security

27 June 2011 Last updated at 07:15 GMT Spiralling prices and food shortages forced the government of Evo Morales to re-think policy Bolivian President Evo Morales, has signed a new law which aims to ensure food security for his country.

Under the plan, state-owned companies will be set up to produce seeds and fertilisers.

The government aims to safeguard biodiversity and protect native foodstuffs, as well as ending dependence on foreign seed companies.

Early this year, there were violent protests across the country, sparked by food shortages and spiralling prices.

The recent rise in global food prices forced many Bolivians to abandon their indigenous staples, such as quinoa, in favour of cheaper, imported products.

The government plans to invest $5bn (?3.1bn) over 10 years, with generous credits to small farmers, in order to bring about what it calls a food revolution to ensure Bolivians can feed themselves for generations to come.

"My comrades, when we act as players in the production, we are going to improve this production," President Morales told a crowd of supporters.

Indigenous crops

Bolivia is home to thousands of native varieties of crops, including potato and corn.

The Morales government wants to improve genetic stock through natural selection.

It rejects what it describes as an invasion of genetically-modified seeds, fearing they will contaminate indigenous species, and prove to be too expensive for small farmers to buy.

Lisa Panades, the Bolivian representative of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, said the legislation was a step in the right direction.

"The law aims and is creating the conditions to boost food production, especially among small farmers who are the most vulnerable. Of course, the law on its own is not enough, but I think that - with the government's backing - if the law is applied well, there are excellent conditions for Bolivia to guarantee its food sovereignty."

Bolivia has been far from immune to the recent volatility in food prices. Sugar prices doubled earlier this year.

Some highland communities have taken to eating rice and pasta instead of their traditional crops, such as quinoa, because of price rises.

In February, President Morales abandoned a public appearance in the mining city of Oruro, in the face of an angry protests over food shortages and price rises.

There were violent demonstrations in a number of Bolivian cities.

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Cocaine challenge

23 June 2011 Last updated at 14:11 GMT By Dan Collyns BBC News, Ene-Apurimac Valley, Peru On the front line of Peru's drugs war

Peru's Ene-Apurimac valley is the world's densest coca-producing belt but it is also home to some of the Andean nation's poorest people.

More than half the population live in poverty, yet the Andean-Amazonian valley, better known by its Spanish acronym as the VRAE, is a virtual drugs factory supplying Argentina, Brazil and Europe with high quality cocaine.

Coca farmers here no longer limit themselves to growing and harvesting their plantations.

They have branched out into processing the drug in hundreds of artisanal "cocaine kitchens" scattered throughout the valley.

Soldiers stationed in the VRAE say they have come across Olympic swimming-pool sized pits where piles of coca leaves drenched in a cocktail of chemicals are stamped on by villagers as if pressing grapes for wine.

Seizures

Most experts agree Peru's cocaine producers are now more efficient, getting more of the drug out of the raw material of coca.

This area can see up to five coca harvests in a year.

Soldiers are fighting "terrorism and trafficking", officers say

The UN's World Drug Report for 2011 showed the VRAE's coca coverage increased by 13% in 2010 to 19,700 hectares (48,679 acres) - a third of Peru's total of 61,200 ha.

Peru's coca leaf coverage is practically on a par with Colombia's.

Overall, Colombia's coca coverage decreased by some 16% between 2009 and 2010, while Peru's rose by 2%.

And on some measurements, Peru is a bigger producer of coca leaf than its neighbour.

In both 2009 and 2010, Colombia seized 10 times more cocaine than Peru, according to the UNODC figures. Most analysts agree this suggests Peru is the biggest de facto exporter of the drug.

Some 4,500 military personnel are deployed throughout the VRAE, an area that straddles the Andes mountains and the Amazon jungle.

The soldiers' main mission is counter-insurgency to combat the estimated 500 Shining Path fighters who control much of the drugs trade.

The US state department has offered a reward of up to $5m for information leading to the capture of the rebels' leader in the VRAE, Victor Quispe Palomino.

Continue reading the main story

The powers-that-be are the Shining Path and the drugs trade. What kind of state presence is that?”

End Quote Ruben Vargas Security expert Gen Luis Howell, chief of the Joint Command of the Peruvian Armed Forces, says they are combating "not just terrorism but also drug trafficking".

He acknowledges that they have made few gains but he says his men have pacified the area and kept the rebels away from population centres.

But the security operation has come at a price. Some 60 police and army officers have been killed in the past three years but no important Shining Path leader has been captured or killed.

Ruben Vargas, a Peruvian security expert, says both the military operation and attempts to bring economic development and basic services to the VRAE have failed.

"In the VRAE - which is the principal cocaine-processing laboratory in Peru - many villages don't have drinking water or electricity, the schools don't have teachers, the clinics don't have medical supplies and the powers-that-be are the Shining Path and the drugs trade. What kind of state presence is that?" asks Mr Vargas.

Lucrative journey

The predominance of the narco-economy drives many young men to join the army of "mochileros", or backpackers.

Each carrying between 10kg to 20kg of unrefined cocaine in their packs, they march in columns out of the valley and into the Andes.

President-elect Ollanta Humala: Tackling the drugs trade is a key task

Choosing the most remote routes and protected by Shining Path rebels, they trek for several days until they reach a staging point where the drugs are bought.

They can earn up to $500 (?313) a trip, a small fortune in VRAE.

"Which would you rather be - a soldier or backpacker?" jokes army Gen Leonardo Longa.

Peruvians still tend to run the drugs trade in the country's interior, but security experts say that Mexican drug gangs, particularly the Sinaloa cartel, have displaced Colombian drug lords in Peru's coastal cities.

In recent years, there have been several drug-related killings, mainly of Colombians.

The murders caused alarm because they were unusual.

Gustavo Gorriti, an investigative journalist who focuses on security and corruption, believes organised crime could "quickly get out of control".

"When it reaches a certain level it's so much harder to eradicate. Mexico has a mid to high-level insurgency - it's a for-profit, capitalist insurgency but an insurgency nonetheless," he says.

Mr Vargas believes that if and when the Peruvian authorities decide to really tackle drug trafficking, this will mean more seizures of cocaine.

That in turn will trigger a response from the traffickers, he says, and "that is when we will see a rise in the levels of narco-violence".

The incoming government of President-elect Ollanta Humala may well face key decisions.

Mr Humala's election manifesto spoke of decriminalising coca farmers and even the low-level cocaine processors and smugglers.

Mr Gorriti believes that would be a positive step away from the "repressive" policy of the US-led counter-narcotics efforts, which he says criminalises much of the population in the VRAE.

Mr Vargas, however, says being too lenient with those involved in the drugs trade would be "naive".

The real concern is that if Peru's increasing cocaine production is accompanied by a spike in organised crime and the presence of Mexican cartels, the small coca farmers and small-time producers would be the least of the administration's worries.

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Boom or bubble?

27 June 2011 Last updated at 23:07 GMT By Mark Broad Economics reporter, BBC News, Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro's property boom underlines the speed of Brazil's economic expansion "House prices in some parts of Rio are up nearly 80% in the past year," says Ronaldo Coelho Netto, an estate agent in Rio de Janeiro, looking up at a new development near the city centre.

The Paco Real residential area is in a part of the city that was previously only considered a des-res by Rio's criminals and drug lords.

But times have changed and a new mood is sweeping the country.

Football's World Cup comes to Rio in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016. The vast oil reserves off the city's coast will begin pumping crude imminently.

Like Brazil as a whole, Rio is booming and the city's new middle class have caught the property owning bug.

The house price boom shows no immediate signs of abating.

Raids led by armed squads of police are not the traditional route to pulling up property prices, but it's working in Rio.

So far, 18 of the city's favela slums have been raided by police in a process known as "pacification".

By invading the favelas, the government hopes to force out the local drug dealers and criminals and bring order and economic development for the local residents.

"Areas near the pacified favelas used to be places that people avoided living in. Now people are looking to buy there and the prices are rising," according to Mr Netto.

Residents are now less concerned about the "stray bullet" premium that used to come as standard with many Rio properties.

Flood of money

The contrast between Brazil and Portugal, its old colonial power, could not be more stark.

Billionaire Eike Batista says Brazil is "living a cycle of growth like the US lived in the 1960s"

While one was struggling to finance itself and had to be bailed out by the EU and IMF, the other is struggling to deal with large amounts of money flooding into the economy.

While interest rates in the eurozone have only recently crept up to 1.25%, the main rate in Brazil reached 12.25% earlier this month.

This has caused a flood of money to flow into Brazil as investors look for a return on their investments in the stock market, as well as in areas like property.

In the first three months of this year, Brazil saw a net inflow of $35bn into its economy, more than the whole of 2010.

As foreign money has flooded in, natural resources have been going the other way - but not at the rate that many would like to see.

"Our ports are Jurassic and our airports are miserable," says Eike Batista, Brazil's richest man and the 8th richest in the world.

Mr Batista started out prospecting for gold in the Amazon in 1980s and has expanded his business to take in iron ore production, shipbuilding and oil production.

In fact, fact there are not many areas of business that Mr Batista does not have an interest in: he's opened a floating restaurant, has plans for a new luxury hotel and has started a real estate business.

But despite his wide-ranging interests, one word keeps popping up in his conversation: infrastructure.

South America's Rotterdam When it is finished, the Acu shipping docks will be a key trading link between Brazil and China

Up the coast from Rio is Batista's one-man attempt to solve the infrastructure bottlenecks that he believes have held back Brazilian industry.

The Acu Superport will be the largest in the Americas, able to dock the largest ship in the world, the Chinamax, and will have everything from a car building plant to a cement factory.

"China is the factory of the world, because they set up all the ports along the coast and created an efficient logistics system around it," he says.

"All our ports are in the middle of the cities, which make things very slow. Our aim is to make Acu the Rotterdam of South America," says Mr Batista.

While Mr Batista might aspire to the efficiencies of some European ports, his business focus is firmly locked on China.

The iron ore that will start leaving Acu towards the end of the year will mostly be heading to China.

He has formed a partnership with the Chinese company Wuhan Iron and Steel, and has even opened Rio's first gourmet Chinese restaurant.

"China is putting more than 20 million new consumers into the world each year, add to that the two million we're adding in Brazil and the three million from India - it's clear we're living a cycle," says Mr Batista.

But all this boom has a downside.

Continue reading the main story

When I started out I imported almost nothing from China. Now 60% of the materials I import come from factories there ”

End Quote Leonardo Hallal Textile businessman On a busy market street in central Sao Paulo, shoppers push past each other in the narrow alley.

Lining the stalls is everything from toys to electrical goods, but nearly every single item has the three very telling words on the packaging: Made in China.

Brazil's economic boom has come at a price as the currency, the real, has soared in value - up nearly 40% in the past year against the dollar.

The strength of the real has made imports from the East increasingly cheap, but has pushed many domestic manufacturers out of business.

According to the Association of Textile Importers, the rise of China and the fall of domestic producers means that 80% of the costumes for this year's Rio carnival were made in China.

De-industrialisation?

Leonardo Hallal has seen the rise of China first hand since he started his clothing textile business in 1996.

Rummaging through a rail of clothes in his Sao Paulo design studio, he explains how things have changed for his industry.

"When I started out, I imported almost nothing from China. Now 60% of the materials I import come from factories there," he says.

The strong currency means he can import cheaper fabrics from the East and sell them at a good profit to designer labels in Brazil. It's no surprise that Mr Hallal's main business trips are to the factories of China and not to manufacturers in his native country.

The effect of cheaper imported goods for Brazilian consumers is obvious to see, but many are worried that if the real continues to remain strong, it could see more de-industrialisation in a country once proud of its manufacturing sector.

Brazil has never been more confident about its place in the world

While the traditional powerhouses of world economic growth are stuck in the mire of slow growth, Brazil is finding it hard to control its boom.

Last year it clocked up growth of 7.5% and this year, despite a slowdown in the rest of the world, economists are still expecting an expansion of more than 4%.

Despite the optimism of many in the country, there are challenges ahead.

There are worries that the slow progress for the World Cup and Olympics could cause international embarrassment and there are concerns that the country is not manufacturing more, rather than simply shipping out raw materials to the rest of the world.

But for all the potential problems of the future, Brazilians are very much living in the present.

Looking out from his office over the bay towards Sugarloaf Mountain, Eike Batista, Brazil's self-appointed cheerleader-in-chief, is bullish about the country's prospects.

"We have our own oil, we've got natural resources - I believe we're living a cycle of growth like the US lived in the 1960s," he said.

Even if the Brazilian boom does eventually turn to bust, it won't be through a lack of ambition.

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Football: Mexico hold England

By Sam Lyon
BBC Sport Venue: GermanyDate: 26 June - 17 JulyCoverage: Watch all England matches live on the Red Button and BBC Sport website (UK only); listen on BBC Radio 5 live; highlights on BBC Two; final live on BBC Three Highlights - Mexico 1-1 England

England's World Cup campaign got off to an inauspicious start as they were held by Mexico in their opening game of Group B in the Wolfsburg Arena.

Hope Powell's side settled after a nervy start and were rewarded for their early dominance through Fara Williams's looping header on 21 minutes.

Mexico then drew level against the run of play when Monica Ocampo's speculative 30-yard effort crept in.

Thereafter England failed to fire, with Eniola Aluko missing two fine chances.

It is a draw that will feel a little like a defeat for England after they dominated long periods of the game.

Afterwards Powell said: "No excuses, we have played better and we will have to play better if we want to stay in this tournament."

She added: "The goal flew in, didn't it, but to concede the way we did was bitterly disappointing. We would have expected Karen [Bardsley, England's goalkeeper] to have saved that.

"We dominated up until that point and she was devastated to have let that goal in. It let them back into the game but at least we did not lose."

The last time England played Mexico, back in 2005, they ran out 5-0 winners - but their opponents have improved greatly since then.

England went into the game as favourites, along with Japan, to qualify from Group B.

But Maribel Dominguez caused an early scare when she threatened to break in behind the England defence only to be halted by a fine Faye White tackle inside the area.

However, Mexico were on the back foot for long periods in the opening half hour. The influential Kelly Smith fired inches wide with a left-footer from 20 yards, while Karen Carney saw a curled effort deflected behind.

And it was from the resulting corner that England broke the deadlock, Carney's pin-point delivery being met by the head of Williams, who directed a fine header into the top corner.

Rachel Yankey and then Williams were denied by Cecilia Santiago, at 16 the youngest keeper to play in either a men's or women's international tournament, as England controlled proceedings.

Powell grateful not to lose opener

Then Mexico drew level in the 33rd minute through Ocampo, although England keeper Karen Bardsley should have done better in dealing with the forward's 30-yard effort which dipped into the top corner.

It was just the tonic Mexico needed and the match became a far more even contest.

England maintained an edge in possession and territory, with Aluko wasting two golden opportunities to restore the lead - first missing the ball entirely from six yards and then shooting wide from Smith's intelligent cut-back.

England must be clinical - Williams

Smith, too, was inches away from bundling in a winner in the last 10 minutes but just failed to get on the end of Ellen White's cross.

So Mexico got the draw they set out for and, with tournament favourites Germany awaiting the runners-up of this group in the quarter-finals, it means England have plenty of work to do in their two remaining group matches.

In the day's earlier game, England's Group B opponents Japan beat New Zealand 2-1, Yuki Nagasato and Aya Miyama firing home either side of Amber Hearne's reply for the Kiwis.

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Uncertainty over Chavez absence

26 June 2011 Last updated at 06:58 GMT Media were given a picture of Mr Chavez being visited in hospital by Fidel and Raul Castro, but aside from that he has not been since his operation There is growing uncertainty in Venezuela over President Hugo Chavez's health, two weeks after he underwent an operation in Cuba for what the authorities said was a pelvic abscess.

On Friday the Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said Mr Chavez - who is still in Cuba - was in what he called a "great battle" for his health.

But Vice-President Elias Jaua accused the media of stoking speculation.

"We will have Chavez for a long time!", he said on Saturday.

The normally loquacious Mr Chavez, 56, had been uncharacteristically quiet since apparently undergoing surgery on 10 June in Cuba. He had been visiting the island as part of an international tour.

He had fallen silent after making a telephone call to state media on 12 June to tell them he was recovering quickly, and that medical tests showed no sign of a "malignant" illness.

Mr Chavez is normally a regular user of the micro-blogging site Twitter, but no messages were posted to the site for 19 days until Friday, when fresh tweets began to appear.

They did not directly address the question of his health. The latest tweet sent on Saturday evening said his daughter Rosines had arrived to visit him with his grandchildren.

Press 'rejoicing'

But correspondents say the resumption of tweets will do little to address speculation about the president's health.

He has not been seen - aside from in photos provided to the media showing Mr Chavez being visited by Cuban leaders Fidel and Raul Castro in hospital. And there is little clear indication of when he will return to Venezuela.

President Chavez's mother and brother talked to the public last weekend

Opposition politicians have complained that it is unconstitutional for Mr Chavez to govern from abroad.

And correspondents say his absence has raised the question of who will succeed Mr Chavez, in the absence of any obvious candidate with Mr Chavez's charisma and ability to connect with his supporters.

But on Saturday Vice-President Jaua dismissed the speculation and drew a parallel with the reporting of an attempted coup d'etat in April 2002, when Mr Chavez was ousted from power only to be returned two days later in a triumphant show of popular and military support.

"Chavez is a human being who is recovering to continue the battle," Mr Jaua said.

"The national and international press are rubbing their hands and rejoicing about the state of the president's health, even talking about the president's death, as they did back on April 11," he said - referring to the 2002 coup.

"We tell them and remind them from here, that after April 11, there was an April 13" - the date when Mr Chavez was returned to power.

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Pride on parade

25 June 2011 Last updated at 11:44 GMT By Beth McLoughlin Rio de Janeiro Gay rights campaigners say homophobia is a serious problem across Brazil Upwards of a million people are expected to party under the rainbow flag in Brazil's biggest city, Sao Paulo, on Sunday in the 15th Gay Pride March.

Participants have a lot to celebrate, including a ruling in May by the Supreme Court that recognised the rights of same-sex couples regarding their rights to visit each other in hospital and jointly own property in the same way married couples do.

But despite the partying set to take place in Brazil's cosmopolitan metropolis, the march has not been without controversy.

Leaflets given out by City Hall advised participants to avoid "scandalous" clothes - a move criticised by the march's organisers who said they were not consulted.

Life cut short

Homophobia is a problem across Brazil, often in the smaller towns and cities. In some instances this manifests itself in violence.

According to gay rights campaigners, there were 260 murders of gays, lesbians or transvestites in Brazil last year. They estimate there have been 65 killings so far this year.

Angelica Ivo is determined to see justice done for her son Alexandre

Someone who experienced Brazil's homophobia is Angelica Ivo from Sao Goncalo, a suburb of Rio de Janeiro.

In June last year, her 14-year-old son, Alexandre, was beaten and strangled to death by skinheads who suspected him of being gay after seeing him at a party.

The suspects have not been prosecuted due to a lack of evidence.

"They didn't know my son, they had only seen him at the party. He hadn't had any sexual experiences yet, either with boys or girls. He was just starting his life.

"He never fought with anyone, and hated violence. I can't understand how anyone could have such hate inside themselves that they could do this," says Ms Ivo.

She says will continue to fight for justice for her son.

"Brazil is a very hypocritical society, it pretends to be tolerant but it isn't. We have the best carnival in the world and it appears that everyone lives together harmoniously, yet gay couples still can't kiss in public," Ms Ivo says.

"Every time we have a march to promote tolerance, the Church groups organise an even bigger one in the name of the family."

Ms Ivo recently presented a petition to Brazil's Senate asking for the approval of a law that would criminalise homophobia.

Although a law from 1989 forbids prejudice on the grounds of race, colour, religion, or national origin, there is no legislation relating to homophobic crimes.

"If this law already existed, many crimes would not have been committed," says Ms Ivo.

Kit controversy

Activists can point to some changes in recent months.

As well as the court ruling granting more rights for same-sex couples, an awareness campaign in Rio called "Rio Sem Homofobia" (Rio without homophobia), was launched by city authorities in May.

"Things have got a bit better, with gays and lesbians more visible than before, and some changes in the law. But change needs to start in schools, training teachers as well as children," says Jandira Queiroz of Rio's Sexual Policy Watch.

President Dilma Rousseff decided the anti-homophobia kits were not appropriate

"This is a very conservative country, and still a very macho society... If you go to the countryside, you will find even more machismo. It is common to hear people say it is better your son was dead than gay."

In a sign of sensitivity over the issue, President Dilma Rousseff decided not to go ahead with planned "anti-homophobia kits", sex education films supposed to combat homophobia.

She said the material did not give an objective view of homosexuality.

At the time, President Rousseff said the government would defend education and the fight against homophobia.

"However, the government cannot allow any group to make propaganda relating to sexual orientation. We cannot interfere in people's private lives," she said.

Ms Rousseff's decision came after Church groups and their allies in Congress protested and threatened to block any forthcoming legislation unless the education packs were pulled.

Those opposed to same-sex civil unions insist their stance is not homophobic

Federal deputy Anthony Garotinho said that the films focused on sexual orientation without tackling prejudice.

"Public money should be used to to combat homophobia and not stimulate sexual options," said Mr Garotinho, one of the leaders of the evangelical bloc in Congress.

State representative and evangelical singer Mara Lima, a vocal opponent of the kits, commented after the decision: "This is a victory for the family."

The popular media also reflects the divisions of opinion in Brazil.

Former international footballer Edmundo caused a stir when he told O Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper, in response to speculation that his son may be gay: "No-one wants to have a homosexual son."

He later explained that this was because of the prejudice they could suffer.

While transsexual and homosexual contestants have appeared on Big Brother, television debates about homophobia have also featured far-right commentator and Congressman Jair Bolsonaro, who has compared gay marriage to legalising paedophilia.

With "Straight Pride" trending this past week on Twitter in Brazil, Sunday's partygoers have as much to mull over as to celebrate.

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Camera reveals Mayan tomb secrets

25 June 2011 Last updated at 01:53 GMT A tiny remote-controlled camera peers inside the Mayan tomb

The inside of a Mayan tomb thought to be 1,500 years old has been filmed by archaeologists.

Using a tiny video camera, the researchers were able to capture images of the burial chamber in Palenque in south-eastern Mexico.

As the device was lowered 16ft (5m) down into the tomb, they saw red paint and black figures emblazoned on its walls.

The scientists say the images will shed new light on the Mayan civilisation.

Royal necropolis?

The tomb in Palenque was discovered in 1999 and then filmed using a tiny camera lowered on a pole, but archaeologists have not been able to excavate for fear of undermining the pyramid.

Continue reading the main story

It is very probable that the fragmented bones are lying directly on the stones of the floor”

End Quote Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and Histor Palenque was a Mayan city-state in what is now Mexico's Chiapas state, but after its decline during the 8th Century AD it was absorbed into the jungle.

It has been extensively excavated, in particular over the past two decades, but much of it remains to be uncovered.

Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (Inah) said its archaeologists had been aware of the tomb for more than a decade, but had not been able to examine it.

"Its difficult location and the work to consolidate the plinth had until now impeded penetration into the enclosure, which jealously guards the remains of a very important person from this ancient Mayan city," Inah said in a statement.

It said that the researchers overcame the difficulties by lowering the remote-controlled camera the size of a matchbox down along a narrow shaft into the largely intact chamber.

Inside, the camera revealed nine black figures painted on blood-red walls, along with jade and shell fragments, which are believed to be part of a funerary costume.

But unlike in other tombs in Palenque, no sarcophagus has been found. "It is very probable that the fragmented bones are lying directly on the stones of the floor," Inah said.

Experts say the tomb probably dates to between AD431 and 550, and could belong to the first ruler of Palenque - K'uk Bahlam I.

Another theory is that it could even belong to Ix Yohl Ik'nal, the city's early female ruler.

Archaeologist Martha Cuevas said the tomb's proximity to other burial sites suggested it may be part of a royal necropolis.

Correction 28 June 2011: To make it clear it is not the first time the tomb has been filmed.

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Argentine media heirs in DNA test

24 June 2011 Last updated at 22:59 GMT Marcela and Felipe Noble Herrera say their rights to privacy are being violated The adopted heirs to Argentina's main media group have given DNA samples hoping to quell suspicions they were stolen as babies during military rule.

Marcela and Felipe Noble Herrera said they wanted to end the "harassment" of themselves and their adoptive mother - the owner of Argentina's Clarin Group.

Samples will be compared with DNA from murdered political prisoners.

The issue of babies taken from prisoners in the "Dirty War" of the 1970s is highly emotive in Argentina.

Several hundred babies are believed to have been taken from detained parents and given to families loyal to the military during its 1976-83 rule.

Up to 30,000 people were kidnapped and killed in a state-sponsored crackdown on left-wing dissent, human rights groups estimate.

Rights group the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo has campaigned for 10 years to have DNA samples from the Noble Herrera siblings analysed, but the battle has become increasingly politicised.

Rights 'violated'

In recent years Clarin - owned by Ernestina Noble Herrera - has been staunchly opposed to centre-left Argentine President Cristina Fernandez.

Mrs Fernandez has urged the courts to clarify the identity of the Noble Herrera siblings.

They in turn accuse Mrs Fernandez of using them in her row with their mother's company, something the government denies.

The siblings claim their rights have been violated.

"No-one wants to persecute them," said Cabinet chief Anibal Fernandez. Their identity, he added, "needs to be resolved and the easiest way to do it is with a blood sample".

If the tests prove the Noble Herrera siblings were taken from detainees, their adoptive mother could face a criminal investigation.

In 2009, Argentina's congress passed a measure allowing forcible extraction of DNA in such cases, even when the people concerned do not want to discover their past.

The Grandmother group aims to find children born to women held in secret prisons during the 1976-1983 dictatorship. It has identified dozens of illegally adopted children so far.

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Venezuela jail officials arrested

28 June 2011 Last updated at 10:22 GMT Families have been trying to find out what has happened to inmates Venezuelan authorities have confirmed that two high-ranking officers at a jail near Caracas have been arrested on suspicion of arms and drugs-smuggling.

The men, along with a National Guard captain, are accused of smuggling weapons into El Rodeo prison.

Twenty people died when rioting broke out in the prison earlier this month, leading to an ongoing stand-off between prisoners and security forces.

Armed inmates are holding some 1,000 other prisoners hostage, officials say.

Prosecutors said the men being held are Luis Rafael Aranguren, the governor of El Rodeo II, one wing in the prison complex, and the deputy governor of El Rodeo I, Ruben Jose Gonzalez Heredia.

Authorities also arrested Capt Jose Camargo Gomez.

They are suspected of belonging to a ring that smuggled weapons into the prison.

Waiting game

Rioting erupted in El Rodeo prison in Guatire on 12 June. There has been a tense stand-off since it was quelled on 17 June.

Several days later, troops took control of most of the complex and many of the inmates were transferred to other jails.

But a stand-off continues in one section of the prison and there have been sporadic gun battles.

One soldier and two prisoners have been killed in the violence, authorities say.

Officials say they remain open to dialogue, but that order must be restored.

Venezuela's overcrowded prisons see frequent riots between rival gangs.

The prison system, built to hold about 14,500 inmates, is currently estimated to house some 46,000 prisoners, according to the Venezuelan Prisons Observatory, which monitors prison conditions.

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River of tears

27 June 2011 Last updated at 16:09 GMT By Daniel Schweimler BBC News, Buenos Aires Disbelief to dismay: Pavone's penalty miss helped to seal River's fate When a football club as big and successful as River Plate falls, it falls very hard.

And for a club as big and prestigious as this one, relegation to the Argentine second division for the first time in its 110-year history is about as serious and humiliating as it can be.

River Plate is an institution and most Argentines believe it belongs in the top division.

Even their arch rivals, Boca Juniors, when they have finished gloating, will want the club back for the twice-yearly clash between the two teams, the superclasico - one of the biggest, most exciting and lucrative matches on the world football calendar.

The post-mortem into where it has all gone so terribly wrong for River Plate began almost immediately.

That was even before the broken glass had been swept up and the stadium repairs carried out after fans rioted following the 1-1 draw against Belgrano that condemned their club to relegation.

This fan's agony was shared by many in the stadium and beyond

There are likely to be wholesale personnel changes as the club adapts to its reduced status.

The club president and former player Daniel Passarella has said he will stay on, despite calls for his resignation.

"They'll have to carry me out, feet first," he said.

"I never thought this could happen"; "The saddest day of my life"; "I'm in mourning forever," are just some of the many comments posted on River fans' websites.

Others have had to be removed for their insulting content.

Money worries

The players have simply said they will be back.

But escaping from 'La B', as the Argentine second division is called, will not be easy.

Firstly, the club's television money will be reduced from 28m pesos ($6.8m, ?4,2m) a year, to 4m pesos.

It will have to lower entrance fees and will lose revenue because, as a result of crowd violence, away fans are not allowed in the second division.

Young star Erik Lamela: Will he join the long exodus of River players?

Then the value of its squad will be diminished.

Argentine clubs survive and thrive by selling their best players abroad, to Europe and the rest of Latin America.

More than 1,000 Argentine players ply their trade at foreign clubs. But few foreign scouts look for potential talent in the lower Argentine divisions.

Football analysts and fans blame the regular sale of their best players abroad for what they see as a decline in standards across the Argentine league.

It has created a parity that has allowed the smaller clubs a look in and broken the dominance of the big two teams, River Plate and Boca Juniors.

The league in Argentina is designed so that the big clubs should not go down.

Relegation is determined by the average number of points accumulated over three years, which previously allowed those with the money to buy better players and move away from the danger zone. But the better players are now not available.

While the Argentine league as a whole has been suffering, River have had their own specific problems that reduced them to a consistently poor team over the past few years.

They have had five managers in the past three years and a change at the top when Daniel Passarella took over as president from the previous, much criticised top man, Jose Maria Aguilar.

The fans questioned the sale of some of the better players, and threw their hands up in exasperation at the purchase of some of their replacements.

Anti-depressants

Many clubs in Argentina suffer from the excesses of their hard-core fans or barra brava, but perhaps none more so than River Plate.

They have attacked their own stadium, damaged players' cars and some of their leaders are in prison awaiting trial on charges that they killed a rival gang member.

Yet River still had the chance to save themselves with a two-leg play-off against aspiring but humble Belgrano from the second division.

Fans' anger at the club's management had been building ahead of Sunday's defeat

River Plate's rivals call them Las Gallinas or the chickens for their failure to win crucial games in the past.

They were true to that sobriquet, losing 2-0 in the first leg and only managing that draw in their own stadium, missing a penalty into the bargain.

Psychiatrists have spoken about the impact that firstly the tension of the battle against relegation and then the misery of the drop may have on River fans, not accustomed to failure of this magnitude.

They report an increase in the number of calls to help-lines and the demand for anti-depressant drugs.

Sports psychologist Marcelo Roffe wrote in the La Nacion newspaper: "There's a state of intense grief among the fans about the team going down since River Plate is the Argentine side that's won most titles and what's happening just doesn't sink in."

Some say football is just a game. But the television pictures of hundreds of grown men reduced to tears and the scenes of violence and frustration after the game testify that in Argentina, at least to River Plate fans, it's much more than that.

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Argentine example

28 June 2011 Last updated at 14:41 GMT By Robert Plummer Business reporter, BBC News The Greek protests recall the street demonstrations in Argentina in 2001-02 As the financial crisis in Greece drags on, experts hunting for precedents have repeatedly referred to the country that last suffered a comparable economic fiasco: Argentina.

In the worst-case scenario, Argentina's recent past is Greece's future.

The peso collapse, massive default and subsequent social and political unrest that rocked Argentina in 2001-2 are being seen by many economists as an awful warning for the politicians in Athens and Brussels.

Even at first glance, Greece's woes have a lot in common with those of Argentina nearly a decade ago.

On the level of gut instinct - which is, after all, the way the markets generally work - the Greek crisis has the same slow-motion train-crash feel that characterised Argentina's slide into turmoil.

In Argentina's case, the government struggled to keep the economy on the rails, even though it had help from the International Monetary Fund, for most of 2000 and 2001, before President Fernando de la Rua was forced to resign.

His replacement, Adolfo Rodriguez Saa, lasted just a week in office. But before stepping down, he triggered a $102bn debt default which the country is still trying to remedy.

Ordinary Argentines suffered the consequences of the crisis. The unemployment rate hit 21.5% and did not return to single digits until the end of 2006.

Short-term view

If that era of turmoil in Argentina has anything to teach the world, it is debatable whether Argentina itself has, in fact, learned anything from the experience.

In Buenos Aires as in Athens, it is still popular to blame outsiders such as the IMF for the country's plight, without really admitting the extent to which its own behaviour contributed to the crisis.

The Argentine president has chosen her finance minister as her running mate in October

And with Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner running for a second term as president in elections on 23 October, the same short-term approach to the economy is very much in evidence.

Just as Greece fiddled its national statistics in order to be allowed to join the euro in the first place, Argentina's blatant falsification of its inflation data has been widely denounced by financial analysts.

Many observers have noted that Greece's problems can be properly resolved only by years of painful structural reforms, while doubting whether Greeks really have the stomach for such a solution.

In Argentina, too, any desire to tackle the economy's underlying structural problems vanished once the country returned to growth, heightening fears that its current boom will eventually prove to be unsustainable.

Currency crunch

Aside from the protracted nature of Greece's suffering, there are other, deeper parallels between the two countries' predicaments.

For a start, they both locked themselves into a currency regime that gave them no flexibility.

Greece, of course, is in the eurozone, so its monetary policy is decided by the European Central Bank in Frankfurt.

Mr Machinea failed to turn Argentina's economy around

In contrast, Argentina kept its own currency, the peso. But under the Law of Convertibility, passed in 1991 and not abandoned until January 2002, its value was fixed at parity with the US dollar.

That policy was the brainchild of Peronist President Carlos Menem's finance minister at the time, Domingo Cavallo, as a way of restoring the currency's credibility after years of rampant inflation.

Initially, it worked well - so well that it became an article of faith for the opposition Radical Party, too.

In the late 1990s, I interviewed the Radicals' Jose Luis Machinea, tipped for the finance portfolio once the party won the next election.

He was adamant that "convertibility" would be the cornerstone of his policy - and he kept his word when he got the job in December 1999.

But he lasted less than 15 months in office before resigning as the government's efforts to defend the currency peg led to unpopular spending cuts.

Outstanding debts

Argentina had let its public debt get out of control, as Greece has now - although Greece's position is far worse, with public debt now at 158% of GDP, as opposed to 62% of GDP in Argentina in 2001.

At the same time, the link to the dollar meant that it suffered from the ups and downs of the US economy, just as the eurozone imposes a one-size-fits-all straitjacket on its diverse economies that stops them devaluing or setting their own interest rates.

Not all Greek protests take the form of riots

If Greece is to go down the route of Argentina, it will have to leave the euro and default on most of its debt.

This scarcely looks attractive, since Argentina is still being penalised for its own default. Although it has already struck deals with the majority of its creditors, it remains unable to borrow on world markets.

Argentina is currently in talks with the Paris Club group of lenders to settle the bulk of its outstanding debts, but there is little sign of progress.

Of course, Greece has those much higher debt levels than Argentina did - and it is less competitive in world markets.

And whereas there was little or no wider contagion from the Argentine default, a Greek exit from the euro would make matters worse for other countries on the euro-periphery, such as the Irish Republic and Portugal.

The Argentine and Greek economies, by the way, are broadly similar in size nowadays - the IMF's world ranking last year put them at number 27 and number 32 respectively.

But before its crisis, Argentina's was a whole lot bigger - in 1999, it was the 16th-largest. That's another reason for Greece to beware the siren voices that urge it to default.

Under the mattress

Argentina clearly has lessons to teach the eurozone. But the UK, too, should pay attention.

In the late 1990s, when convertibility was still working for Argentina, there was a feeling among the Buenos Aires elite that the country had genuinely changed and become a more responsible place.

In the days of hyperinflation, people had maintained the value of their savings by exchanging their local cash for dollars and hiding them somewhere in their homes.

Argentina's protests were as bitter as Greece's are now

The only bank that was trusted was the "colchon bank" - "colchon" being Spanish for mattress.

That habit briefly abated, but is now back again. Much as Britain never really eliminated boom and bust, so Argentina's essential nature remains unchanged.

And if you want evidence to back up the view attributed to Bank of England governor Sir Mervyn King before last year's UK general election - that the resulting government would have to take such unpopular economic measures that it would be out of power for a generation - look also to Argentina.

It might have been Mr Menem's Peronists that pegged the currency and ran up the debt, but the resulting crisis happened on the Radicals' watch - and it almost destroyed them as a political party.

So far, Greece's leaders seem unprepared for the destructive effect that the current crisis may have on their own political system. But unless they manage to muster a cross-party consensus for the government's five-year austerity package, the prospects look bleak.

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Uruguay backs army rule inquiries

28 June 2011 Last updated at 00:59 GMT Relatives of Uruguayans who went missing during military rule demonstrate every year in Montevideo Officials in Uruguay say the country's President, Jose Mujica, will remove obstacles that have prevented courts from investigating alleged human rights abuses committed under military rule.

A government official said Mr Mujica would sign a decree later this week.

This will enable the courts to look into more than 80 cases previously blocked under an amnesty law.

Some 200 people were kidnapped and killed by the security forces during the 1973-1985 period of military rule.

An amnesty law providing a broad level of protection for members of the military and police was passed in 1985.

It is still in force, despite numerous challenges. In May, an attempt to annul it in congress narrowly failed.

The law has been ruled unconstitutional in the Supreme Court, but it has survived two national referendums, in 1989 and 2009.

'Ethical' decision

Under one of the amnesty law's provisions, the president could decide whether investigations into cases of alleged abuses should be allowed to proceed.

During the presidencies that followed military rule, many cases were blocked.

Now President Mujica - a former left-wing militant who himself was imprisoned and tortured under military rule - will revoke these decisions.

The presidential secretary, Alberto Breccia, said this was being done for "ethical" reasons, but also to comply with a recent ruling from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

Earlier this year, the court instructed Uruguay to guarantee that the amnesty law did not prove an obstacle in one such human rights investigation.

Mr Breccia also said that Uruguay had obligations under various international human rights treaties it had ratified.

In a statement, the president's office stressed that it would be up to the courts "to determine how each case will continue, and whether or not to take the files out of the archive".

It also explained why the president was not issuing the decree immediately.

This was to give time to any relatives who might - for their own reasons - no longer want cases re-opened to make representations to this effect.

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Five die in Peru anti-mine clash

25 June 2011 Last updated at 07:00 GMT A number of people were reportedly injured in the clashes near Juliaca At least five people have died and more than 30 were injured in clashes between police and anti-mining demonstrators in southern Peru, hospital officials say.

Violence in the Puno region started when about 1,000 people were prevented from breaching a security fence around the international airport in Juliaca.

The protest was part of a two-day strike over a silver-mining contract given to a Canadian corporation.

The government cancelled the project as the protests were going on.

Demonstrators feared that it would increase pollution, while bringing few benefits to the local population.

Locals v multinationals

Flights were cancelled during the protest, stranding hundreds of tourists who had been visiting the town on the shores of the world's highest navigable lake, Lake Titicaca.

The protesters attempted to storm Juliaca airport twice.

They later attacked a police station in the nearby town of Azangaro, Interior Minister Miguel Hidalgo said, adding that police there were in a "difficult situation".

The BBC's Dan Collyns in Lima says the Puno region on the border with Bolivia has been in the grip of a generalised protest against all mining activity for more than a month.

In May, indigenous Aymara protesters blocked roads between the two countries for three weeks.

The disputes over natural resources pit poor locals against multinational companies, our correspondent says.

The social conflicts have come to characterise the outgoing government of President Alan Garcia, with critics saying he often took the side of the large companies, he adds.

Incoming President Ollanta Humala also has promised to bring an end to such disputes.

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