Brazilians’ discontent hits the streets
SAO PAULO – Brazilians took to the streets of cities and towns across the country Sunday for anti-government protests being watched as a barometer of discontent with the increasingly unpopular President Dilma Rousseff.
Called mostly by activist groups via social media, the demonstrations assailed Rousseff, whose standing in the polls has plunged amid a snowballing corruption scandal that has embroiled politicians from her Workers’ Party as well as a sputtering economy, a weakening currency and rising inflation.
But the protests drew relatively modest crowds, likely giving the president some breathing room. Huge numbers had come out for two earlier rounds of demonstrations this year.
Iraqi prime minister slashes his Cabinet
BAGHDAD – Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Sunday ordered his Cabinet reduced from 33 members to just 22, consolidating the body as part of a major reform push in response to mass protests against corruption and poor governance.
The decision, announced by his office, would eliminate four ministries, including those of human rights and women’s affairs, and consolidate others. The announcement did not mention whether there would be any changes to the remaining ministries.
The move follows a far-reaching reform plan approved by parliament last week that eliminated the country’s three vice presidencies and three deputy prime ministers. The plan also reduced the budget for the personal bodyguards of senior officials and transferred it to the interior and defense ministries.
Gay couples exchange vows in Puerto Rico
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – More than 60 couples from around the region gathered in Puerto Rico’s capital Sunday to exchange vows at a same-sex marriage ceremony while a crowd of supporters snapped photos and cheered.
The mass ceremony at a promenade in San Juan’s colonial district took the same-sex couples through the traditional marriage vows and exchange of rings.
The event follows the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in late June requiring every state to recognize same-sex marriages. The U.S. island’s governor signed an executive order soon after that ruling to comply.
Organizer Ada Conde, an attorney who filed a federal lawsuit seeking to have her same-sex marriage recognized in Puerto Rico before the Supreme Court decision, said Sunday’s ceremony was a “celebration of the triumph of love.”
Migrants in Turkey seek entry to Europe
BODRUM, Turkey – The city of Bodrum, a magnet for wealthy tourists from Turkey and around the world, is drawing plenty of other visitors – migrants fleeing conflicts in the Middle East and Africa and seeking a better life in Europe, a continent so close they can almost reach out and touch it from the Bodrum peninsula’s many beaches. At its closest point, Kos is only 2.5 miles from Turkey.
Migrants, mostly from Syria, but also from Afghanistan, Iran and African nations often try to cross from the secluded beaches of Bodrum peninsula in groups upward of eight people in inflatable plastic boats meant for a maximum of four, powered by tiny electric outboard motors and plastic paddles.
A Turkish government official said that the human smugglers have turned to the Aegean in the past year using inflatable boats he called Zodiacs, after patrols increased on popular migrant routes across the Mediterranean.
Associated Press
