travel news review


14 May '99
After two weeks of polluted "praia" and nose pinching, divers have repaired a broken sewage pipeline off the shore of Rio de Janeiro. The pipeline that pumps sewage past Rio's world renowned Ipanema and Copacabana beaches burst recently and tons of raw sewage chased away the thousands of visitors. The waste transformed the ocean along the South Zone into a darkened and defiled waste land. Beach-goers are advised to avoid the South Zone until the pollution subsides.

7 April '99
The Dalai Lama was welcomed to Brazil recently by religious, political and pop fans. To begin his second visit to Brazil since the 1992 conference on the environment, the samba superstars Gilberto Gil and Elba Ramalho performed a special concert for the Buddhist monk on Monday night in Curitiba. The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, who has pressed China for autonomy but not formal independence for Tibet, will spend 4 days speaking at seminars, and publicly meeting with religious figures, politicians and artists. Chosen at age five as the reincarnation of Tibet's god-king, the Dalai Lama won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his nonviolent approach to ending the Chinese occupation of Tibet. Apart from attending the concerts, movie premieres and flower-bearing processions staged in his honor, the Dalai Lama is scheduled to speak in Brasilia to Congress. He is optimistic about negotiations with China.

22 January '99
Even as the Brazilian real floats and foreign interests contemplate flight as prices rise, there's still more to Brazil than money matters. In Rio the more musically inclined Brazilians honored the flamboyant founder of bossa nova music, Antonio Carlos Jobim, by renaming their international airport after the much-loved composer. In the early 1960s Jobim burst onto the international music scene with bossa nova - an eclectic mix of traditional samba infused with jazz. Not since the be-fruited Carmen Miranda had a musician brought so much fame to Brazil and Brazilian music. Jobim died in 1994 at the age of 67 but his bossa nova continues to be played all over the world.

13 May '98
And on the flip side, a drought in north-eastern Brazil, the country's poorest region, is forcing people to steal food to survive. The drought, the worst in decades, has destroyed most of the region's crops, and almost 10 million people are suffering from hunger. The government has promised aid but many fear this is the beginning of a long and widespread famine.

6 May '98
In Brazil, good deals are hard to find but following the deregulation of the airlines many of them are offering fabulous discounts on their domestic flights. Although the government continues to set the fares, airlines are now able to offer discounts and make changes in their routes. Some airlines are responding to the new competitive arena with discounts of up to 50%.

15 April '98
Conservationists are calling for an international boycott of Brazil's most popular natural tourist attraction, Iguacu Falls, until a 20km (13 mi) road through Iguacu Falls National Park is permanently closed to car traffic. Residents of the villages near the falls have ignored the road's closure, protesting the damage to their businesses and the loss of contact between communities.

1 April '98
While Roraima in the north burns, you can thoroughly experience the rain forest by taking a walk through the treetops in Bahia. Opening in June, a suspended walkway, 105m (350 ft) long and 13-18m (45-60ft) above the ground, allows visitors a rare opportunity to experience the rich bio-diversity of an area adjacent to the Reserva Biol≤gica Mico Leπo de Una outside IhΘus, Bahia. The reserve is home to several threatened species and the walkway brings you up into the habitat of the golden lion tamarin, the maned sloth and the red-tailed parrot. The walkway is part of an effort to encourage the development of eco-tourism in Brazil.

25 March '98
The worst forest fires in the area's history continue to rage out of control in Roraima, the northernmost part of Brazil, between Venezuela and Guyana. The blazes have so far claimed more than 1.5 million acres (600,000ha) of drought-stricken farmland and pastures, and flames have begun to burn portions of the area's rainforest, seriously threatening the indigenous Yanomami people.

25 February '98
Brazil passed a new environmental law this past week that will improve the country’s legal protection for the Amazon and other natural resources. The law increases fines and sentences for poaching, pollution and illegal exploitation of natural resources. While previous regulations were inadequate because of weak penalties and ineffective enforcement, the government is committed to enforcing these new laws.

18 Feburary '98
Last Friday, a fire destroyed Rio de Janeiro's domestic airport, Aeroporto Santos Dumont. Flights were quickly rerouted to the nearby international airport, Galeao. Santos Dumont is one of Brazil's busiest airports and, less than a week before the world-famous Carnival begins on 21 February, is also in its busiest travel season. Although the terminal was destroyed and will take months to repair, the runway was unharmed and officials hope to make arrangements to continue using it to handle the high volume of air traffic to the city.

11 Feburary '98
Last Wednesday, a group of bandits hijacked a tourist train outside Rio and robbed the passengers at gun point. The train was returning from visiting the Cristo Redentor, or Christ the Redeemer, statue on top of Corcovado. Although no one was hurt, the passengers, which included an international group of teenage exchange students, were badly frightened.