Brazil boosts security ahead of Olympics in Rio de JaneiroJuly 13, 2016 - 10:20 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The federal government in Brazil says it is releasing additional funding to beef up security ahead of next month's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, BBC News reports. Sports Minister Leonardo Picciani said the armed forces would get an extra $24m to help them meet security needs. The military would begin patrolling sports venues from 24 July, he added. More than 80,000 police and soldiers will patrol the streets of Rio for the duration of the games. The state of Rio de Janeiro has recently cut budgets across the board, including that of the police. The police in Rio recently staged demonstrations against the late payment of salaries and a lack of basic necessities like car fuel and toilet paper. Correspondents say the protests are a symptom of the political and economic woes which have engulfed Brazil in recent times. Brazil's Senate suspended the country's President Dilma Rousseff in May, and then began impeachment proceedings against her over allegations that she manipulated the government budget ahead of her 2014 re-election campaign. On the economic front, government figures for the first quarter of 2016 showed that Brazil was experiencing its worst recession in 25 years. And the Olympic organising committee has had to deal with news that several famous sportsmen - including golf world number one Jason Day - have withdrawn from the games because of fears about the Zika virus. However, the CEO of the games has said that concerns about the virus affecting the Olympics have been "blown out of the proportion." Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Get Started: An educational platform for young startuppers The Get Started program which operates in two phases is an important platform for young startuppers. Byblos Bank Armenia celebrates Students' Day with scholarship recipients YSU students who received scholarships from Byblos Bank Armenia gathered in a casual setting to meet with the Bank's CEO, Hayk Stepanyan. Azerbaijan extends Rune Vardanyan’s arrest by 5 months A court in Azerbaijan has extended the arrest of former Nagorno-Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan by five months. Armenia border residents dissatisfied with delimitation Residents Kirants are dissatisfied with the results of the delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. |