Tuesday News Briefs

Gay Pride = big market

Over 3 million people gathered in Sao Paulo on Sunday to attend the 14th annual Gay Pride Parade, making it the world's largest gay pride march, according to organizers. "Dancing to music blasting from sound trucks Sunday, they condemned homophobia and demanded equal rights for homosexuals. They also said they would push candidates in this year Brazil's presidential election to support their cause." The parade has the backing of the government - and get this - even has the state controlled oil company, Petrobras, as a main sponsor. Companies interested in tapping a big, big market might be wise to investigate how to become involved.

Brazil will meet deadlines for 2014 World Cup

That according to Brazil's Sports Minister, Orlando Silva, who guarantees that construction work will begin on stadiums in the second semester of this year. Despite currently having no stadiums in  Brazil that would be adequate to host a World Cup game under FIFA's standards, Silva appears to be "tranquilo" in relation to the schedule. On a personal note, I can't wait to see the final taxpayer bill for these projects, including the overcharges.

Visa-free in Russia

Monday was the first day that Russians and Brazilians no longer needed visas to visit each other's country. The Russia-InfoCentre states that "The Brazilian government is counting upon the increase of tourist traffic from Russia. Now the tourist flow is not very intensive." (Don't get your hopes up.)