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SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil's federal police have arrested a high-ranking al Qaeda operative in Sao Paulo and are keeping him under tight security, a local newspaper reported on Tuesday. The suspect is allegedly a chief of international communications for al Qaeda, according to the report in Folha de S.Paulo, Brazil's largest daily newspaper. The report did not give the suspect's name or say when he was taken into custody, nor did it provide a source for the information. The arrest was surrounded by secrecy with the federal police disguising it as part of an investigation into neo-Nazi groups in...

SAO PAULO, Brazil - A plane with 176 people aboard crashed and burst into flames in Sao Paulo on Tuesday after skidding off a runway that has been criticized as being too short in a driving rain, the nation's airport authority said. There were no immediate reports of deaths by authorities, but a witness said he saw one charred body as flames shot into the sky and clouds of black smoke billowed into the air after the crash. The Tam airline's Airbus-320 skidded off the runway at Congonhas airport, then crossed a busy road at the height of rush hour...

SAO PAULO, July 17 (Reuters) - A passenger plane carrying 170 people crashed into a filling station at Sao Paulo's Congonhas airport on Tuesday after failing to brake in time upon landing, Globo News television said. Air Force Command confirmed the fire but could not say how many people were on board, if any, at the time of the accident, and whether there were any victims.

Pope's Address Upon Arriving in Brazil "Peace to All of You Who Are in Christ" SÃO PAULO, Brazil, MAY 9, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today upon arriving at the Guarulhos International Airport in São Paulo. In the discourse he addresses Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. * * * Mr President, My Venerable Brothers in the College of Cardinals and in the Episcopate, Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ! 1. I am very pleased to begin my Pastoral Visit to Brazil and to express to Your Excellency, as Head of State...

President and Mrs. Bush arrived today in São Paulo, Brazil; the first in a six day visit to Latin America. This trip will underscore the commitment of the United States to the Western Hemisphere and will highlight our common agenda to advance freedom, prosperity, and social justice and deliver the benefits of democracy in the areas of health, education, and economic opportunity. (Click here for more information) Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva welcomed the first couple to his country and later accompanied President Bush on a tour of Petros Transporte S.A. Facility, a fuel distribution center in...

A woman whose year-old daughter died of a drug overdose was charged with murder after police found traces of cocaine in the baby's bottle, police said Monday. Daniela Toledo do Prado, 21, brought her daughter Vitoria to the hospital on Saturday night, complaining that the child was suffering from convulsions caused by drinking spoiled milk. The child vomited repeatedly and died of heart failure early Sunday, police investigator Paulo Roberto Rodrigues said. Doctors found a suspicious white powder on the girl's tongue. The mother claimed the powder was milk but it tested positive for cocaine, Rodrigues said. Police searched the...

Recent violence in Sao Paulo may just be the tip of the iceberg: Many parts of Brazil and indeed across Latin America, governments have capitulated to gangsters, and the rise of organized crime could end the recent leftward shift across Latin America. Garbage containers block the road into slum district Vigario Geral, one of the most dangerous favelas in Rio de Janeiro. A visitor approaches the barricade, two youths appear from the shadow of a nearby building. They're carrying machine guns, and handguns are tucked into their pants. "You want to go to church, right?" the older of the two...

Even before the two hundred bullet-pierced corpses had time to stiffen, a whole crowd of “experts” showed up in all major newspapers and TV channels of three continents to tell a gullible audience that the recent murders in São Paulo and Santos, Brazil, were caused by poverty. Yes, extreme poverty bought thousands of Uzis and AK-47s and tons of ammunition, bribed hundreds of police officers and politicians, paid for the services of terrorist trainers from Spain, Cuba, Venezuela and Iran. The very leader of the rebellion, Marcos “Marcola” Camacho, admitted that the operation was prepared in close association to the...

At least 30 people, including 19 policemen, have been killed in a spate of attacks in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Armed criminals targeted officers in 55 attacks in the early hours of Saturday. Authorities blamed the First Command of the Capital (PCC) faction. The attacks may be in response to a transfer of PCC inmates, analysts say.The attacks were followed by jail revolts, with 100 hostages being taken. The state governor insisted Sao Paulo would not bow to organised crime.

SAO PAULO, Brazil - Thousands of fans surged through security barriers Saturday at an autograph session for a wildly popular Mexican band, leaving three people crushed to death and 38 injured, mostly teenagers. The incident came only weeks after police in New Jersey and Texas also struggled to contain unexpectedly large turnouts of fans for the RBD band, which stars in the television show "Rebelde." The show has made RBD one of the most popular groups in Latin America and among Spanish-speaking communities in the United States. Between 10,000 and 15,000 fans gathered outside a shopping center in Sao Paulo...

SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) - At least 1.5 million evangelical Protestants rallied in the heart of this city's financial district Thursday, demonstrating their growing clout in the world's largest Roman Catholic country. Brazil's 13th "March for Jesus" began Thursday morning as hundreds of thousands of faithful from several evangelical sects walked more than 1 mile from the University of Sao Paulo's School of Medicine to skyscraper-lined Avenida Paulista. The number hymn-singing marchers swelled and by the time they reached Avenida Paulista the crowd had grown to 2 million, according to the Reborn in Christ Church that organized the event. Sao...

NPR.org, April 2, 2005 · "Tip O'Neill was correct," says Father Tom Reese, editor in chief of America, the Catholic weekly magazine. "All politics is local... even in the Catholic Church." Reese suggests that instead of focusing on the possible papal candidates as a bookie would look at horses in the starting gate, try to think about the election from the point of view of the electors, the cardinals who cast the votes. "Each cardinal is thinking, how will this candidate go over in my diocese?" Reese says. "If you're from the Third World, you're concerned with people who are...

Brazil to Send Aircraft Carrier to Help Tsunami Victims Written by Irene Lôbo Friday, 07 January 2005 Brazil's government is studying the possibility of increasing its aid to the Asian and African countries affected by the tsunami and even send an aircraf carrier. The matter was discussed this morning by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Lula gathered with some of his aides at a political coordination meeting, which was attended by he Minister of Defense, José Alencar, and the head of the Cabinet of Institutional Security (GSI), Jorge Armando Félix, among others. At a special meeting, President Lula,...

In the first of a series of weekly interviews, we talk to Steve and Michelle, newcomers from the U.S., who moved to Sao Paulo from London six months ago. They have since been busy reorganizing the Democrats Abroad group, but still manage the odd trip to the beach where Steve is brushing up his surfing skills. Tell us a little about the Democrats Abroad group in Brazil? Democrats Abroad is an outlet for American Democrats and anyone else who wants to get politically involved and who is not satisfied with the present US administration. We also want to be a...