Brazil sends more relief aid to
tsunami-ravaged countries
A
Brazilian air force plane is to
depart Friday night from Galeao
Airport of Rio de Janeiro for
Medan of Indonesia, carrying six
tons of medicine and nine tons
of water for the victims of the
Dec. 26 tsunami.
Also on board is a team of
experts of the armed forces and
the ministries of Health,
Agriculture and Foreign Affairs.
Their mission is to assess the
most urgent needs of the
survivors and guide the actions
of the Brazilian government in
the region.
This is the third batch of cargo
sent by the Brazilian government
to the tsunami-devastated
countries. With Friday's
shipment, Brazil's aid materials
to Asian countries totaled 92
tons.
The financial value was not
estimated by the authorities,
although the air transportation
expenses alone amounted to 1.2
million US dollars.
Meanwhile, President Luiz Inacio
Lula da Silva held a meeting
with Defense Minister Jose
Alencar and Jorge Felix, chief
of Institutional Security
Cabinet, to discuss the
possibility of increasing
assistance to the affected
countries.
Reports said Brazil will send an
aircraft carrier with 1,200 men
of the navy, troops of the Army
Engineers Battalion and
helicopters to the affected
area.
On Tuesday, general Jorge Felix
will represent Brazil at the
meeting of donor countries,
organized by the United Nations
at Geneva, Switzerland. The
meeting will decide on new
donations and also the
possibility of moratorium of
debts of countries affected by
the catastrophe.
Death toll in Argentine
nightclub fire rises to 190
The death toll from a blaze in a
Buenos Aires nightclub rose to
190 after two young women died
on Friday, local health
authorities said.
A total of 214 injured people
still remain in hospitals, 102
of them in intensive care.
A fire broke out in the
Republica de Cromagnon nightclub
in downtown Buenos Aires on Dec.
30. Most of the dead were
teenagers.
One of the nightclub owners was
arrested on Dec. 31. He will
face up to 20 years in prison if
convicted, police said. A
security official has resigned
over the catastrophe.
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Triple crash kills 25 in
Bolivia
At least 25
were killed and 50 others
injured when three buses
collided with one another in
west Bolivia Friday, police
said.
The triple crash occurred
Friday morning in the region
of Ayo Ayo, 85 km south of
the administrative capital
of Bolivia, La Paz, when one
of the vehicles tried to
overtake the other and
head-on crashed into the
third bus coming in the
opposite direction.
Rescue brigades rushed the
injured to different
regional hospitals.
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