Drug Gangs Riot in Rio de Janeiro Brazil

Some 2,000 police officers patrolled the streets of Rio de Janeiro Sunday after a bloody confrontation between rival drug gangs and authorities that killed 14 over the weekend, including two police officers.

Two suspected drug traffickers were killed and four were arrested in Sunday's operations by Rio de Janeiro's military police, the official news agency Agencia Brazil reported.

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But the atmosphere in general appeared calm in the slum known Morro dos Macacos in northern Rio, where the day before crossfire between two gangs left 12 dead, including two police officers who died when their helicopter was shot out of the sky. Residents had also set eight buses on fire during the clashes in an attempt to divert the attention of police.

"This was truly one of the worst incidents of this type," one local resident told CNN en Español, who declined to give his name for fear of his safety. "It was like a scene from a real war. It was like the world would end, lots of bullets, lots of noise."
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The violence comes two weeks after Rio, Brazil's second largest city, celebrated winning the 2016 Olympic Games.

The slain officers, Ednei Canavarro and Marcos Stader were buried Sunday, Agencia Brazil reported.

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Rio's secretary of public security, Jose Mariano Beltrame, said the helicopter was likely brought down by .30- and .50-caliber machine gunfire, the news agency said. Four other police officers onboard were injured.

Beltrame on Sunday said that despite the city's crime, there is no reason for people to doubt the government's ability to host the Olympics.

"What I say to the (International Olympic Committee) and the public is this: we have historic problems. But we also have projects and proposals. We have security policies both to fight and to pacify," he said.

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Last year, a wave of violence in Rio led to protests in December by a group called Rio de Paz. The group said 9,000 people had been slain since January 2007. Many of the deaths were caused by clashes among drug traffickers fighting for territory in Rio's slums and poor neighborhoods, said the group's president, Antonio Carlos Costa

And the Winner is RIO 2016

After years of preparation and waiting is over and the winner of the 2016 Olympic bid is Rio

Those wanting to visit the official website for the RIO 2016 Olympics may be up for a little bit of a delay as millions of 2016 Olympic fans around the world flood to see what Rio has to offer for the 2016 Olympic games.


Rio de Janeiro Elected As 2016 Host City

The city of Rio de Janeiro has been elected as the Host City of the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in 2016 following a vote by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session. IOC President Jacques Rogge made the announcement at the close of the first day of meetings of the IOC’s 121st Session in Copenhagen, Denmark.

“Well done, Rio!”

Following the election, Rogge said, “I would like to congratulate the city of Rio de Janeiro on its election as the host of the 2016 Olympic Games. Rio de Janeiro presented the IOC with a very strong technical bid, built upon a vision of the Games being a celebration of the athletes and sport, as well as providing the opportunity for the city, region and country to deliver their broader long-term aspirations for the future. This call to “live your passion” clearly struck a chord with my fellow members, and we now look forward to seeing Rio de Janeiro staging the first Olympic Games on the continent of South America. Well done, Rio!” He continued, “I would also like to thank Nawal El Moutawakel and her Evaluation Commission team for the excellent work that they undertook and which allowed us to reach today’s decision.”

Games of Celebration and Transformation
The Rio 2016 Games will be, first and foremost, a celebration of athletes, who will perform in world-class venues all located in the host city itself. The Rio Games will also celebrate and showcase sport, thanks to the city’s stunning setting and a desire to lift event presentation to new heights. At the same time, Rio 2016 will be an opportunity to deliver the broader aspirations for the long-term future of the city, region and country – an opportunity to hasten the transformation of Rio de Janeiro into an even greater global city.


A Sporting Celebration
Rio 2016 will provide the best possible environment for peak performances. Athletes will enjoy world-class facilities, including a superb village, all located in one of the world’s most beautiful cities, in a compact layout for maximum convenience. The competition venues will be clustered in four zones – Barra, Copacabana, Deodoro and Maracanã – and connected by a high-performance transport ring. Nearly half of the athletes will be able to reach their venues in less than 10 minutes, and almost 75 per cent will do so in less than 25 minutes. Of the 34 competition venues, of which 18 are already operational, eight will undergo some permanent works, seven will be totally temporary and nine are constructed as permanent legacy venues.

The Vote
The IOC members made their choice for 2016 following a long and detailed process, which included the presentations made today by the cities of Chicago (United States), Tokyo (Japan), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and Madrid (Spain)*, a report and presentation from the IOC’s 2016 Evaluation Commission, chaired by Nawal El Moutawakel, the Candidature files of each city, and a technical meeting for the IOC members held in Lausanne this June.

* Cities are listed in the order of drawing of lots as performed by the IOC Executive Board in December 2007.

2016 Olympic Games - It's Time to Choose

2016 Games: it’s time to choose
The election of the host city of the 2016 Games will take place on 2 October 2009 during the 121st IOC Session in Copenhagen (Denmark). Following the presentations of the Candidate Cities, and before the IOC members cast their votes, the Commission Chairwoman, Nawal El Moutawakel, will present a final report. The city which obtains the absolute majority of votes will be elected.


From seven applicant cities to one host city

The election in Copenhagen will be the culmination of a process which kicked off on 16 May 2007, when the IOC asked National Olympic Committees to nominate cities as Applicant Cities for the 2016 Games.

- 13 September 2007: the IOC announced the names of seven Applicant Cities, namely, in alphabetical order, Baku (Azerbaijan), Chicago (USA), Doha (Qatar), Madrid (Spain), Prague (Czech Republic), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and Tokyo (Japan).
- 4 June 2008: Four of the seven cities were selected by the IOC’s Executive Board as Candidate Cities.
- 12 February 2009: the four candidates submitted a Candidature File based on the 17 themes of the IOC’s Candidature Procedure and Questionnaire.
- 17-18 June 2009: IOC members attended a two-day briefing in Lausanne, during which the Candidate Cities presented the technical aspects of their candidature to them and answered their questions.