RIO DE JANEIRO – Known locally as ‘Tropical Superhero,’ and dressed as a giant pineapple, beach vendor Jose Assis de Souza plies his trade on Rio’s famous beaches. The 44-year-old pineapple salesman receives as many requests for photos as he does for food as he trudges up and down Ipanema and Leblon beaches.
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RIO DE JANEIRO – The ‘New Face of Sweden 2013′ belongs to 22-year-old Brazilian model Louisse Freire, according to Swedish news site Sundsvall. Elected to the title Tuesday, the Maranhao beauty will now compete for the ‘New Face of Europe,’ title in a November pageant at Disneyland Paris.
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RIO DE JANEIRO – Beer-flavored ice cream maker Ambev drew a warning from the National Council for Advertising Self-Regulation (CONAR) this week. The council said placement of the launch campaign for Skol Ice Cream, an ice cream flavor made with Brazil’s most popular beer, on Facebook raised concern.
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RIO DE JANEIRO – A traffic camera monitoring the BR-277 highway recorded a passenger ejected from a moving vehicle during a rear-end collision. The accident occurred Friday in Iguazu Falls, in western Parana state.
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VATICAN CITY – ‘The Pope is Argentine, but God is Brazilian,’ said President Dilma Rousseff, after meeting with the new pontiff early Wednesday at the Vatican. The Brazilian president also told reporters that Pope Francis I is ‘very excited’ about attending World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro later this year, originally scheduled for Pope Benedict XVI.
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RIO DE JANEIRO — Already covered in tattoos over 70 percent of his body, 39-year-old Rodrigo Fernando dos Santos decided to get an “eyeball tattoo.” Rodrigo, known as Musquito in the town where he lives with his wife in Sao Paulo, said that he wept black-ink tears for two days after the procedure.
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RIO DE JANEIRO – Christ the Redeemer remains bathed in emerald-green light this weekend in honor of Saint Patrick’s Day. The iconic statue, recognizable as the main symbol of the city, joins other landmarks around the globe illuminated in green in homage to the patron saint of Ireland.
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RIO DE JANEIRO — Traveling Brazil by bus is now a lot easier for foreign tourists than ever before. A new website – available in English, Spanish and Portuguese – makes searching for bus routes and purchasing tickets as easy as booking airline travel.
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RIO DE JANEIRO – Spider-Man came to the rescue of a young woman in Southern Brazil Tuesday night, after a thief assaulted her. A pizza deliveryman in the resort city of Balneário Camboriu, in Santa Catarina state, dressed as Spider-Man – his work uniform – chased down the crook, pinned him down and recovered the woman’s stolen purse.
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RIO DE JANEIRO – An event to promote the Ferrari brand to some of Brazil’s 18 new dollar-millionaires minted each day went horribly wrong Sunday. An amateur cellphone photographer recorded the moment a Ferrari high-performance sports car veered off the track, plowed through a separation barrier, and mowed down two spectators in Flamengo, in Rio’s fashionable South Zone.
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RIO DE JANEIRO – After flipping his car Friday morning, a driver in Southern Brazil asked police for two minutes alone before submitting to the Breathalyzer. They allowed him a moment after he explained that he wanted to pray – unsuccessfully, it turns out – that the test would prove his sobriety.
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RIO DE JANEIRO – Police in southeastern Brazil arrested a man after he complained to them that his girlfriend of three years had buried him alive. As it turns out, the 37-year-old victim had an outstanding arrest warrant for attempted murder in Belo Horizonte dating from 1999.
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RIO DE JANEIRO – Two rival gangs of pirates simultaneously raided a yacht at dawn off the coast of Fortaleza Monday, fighting each other for control of the vessel. According to the captain, the two groups of bandits battled each other for the privilege of plundering the luxury yacht.
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RIO DE JANEIRO – Christ the Redeemer remains bathed in blue light this weekend, to draw attention to the campaign to eradicate polio worldwide. The End Polio Now campaign worked with the Rotary Club and the World Health Organization (WHO) to light up the statue to bring awareness to the fight against the disease.
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RIO DE JANEIRO – The latest version of the venerable board game Monopoly is causing controversy in Rio de Janeiro, the city it celebrates. City council members and schoolteachers disapprove of the new version of the game “Monopoly – Olympic City,” claiming the game extolls the deeds and actions of the city’s mayor more than the charms of the city.
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