MH17 Passenger Was Wearing Oxygen Mask

One of the passengers on the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 shot down over Ukraine was found wearing an oxygen mask, it has emerged.

Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans made the revelation during a late-night TV interview on Wednesday.

"You know that somebody was discovered wearing an oxygen mask and had time to put it on," he said.

Mr Timmermans gave out the information before some relatives knew

The passenger, an Australian, had the elastic strap of the mask around his neck, said Wim de Bruin, a spokesman for the Dutch National Prosecutor's Office, which is carrying out a criminal investigation into the crash.

It raises the possibility that some passengers knew the plane they were on was doomed.

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1. Gallery: Impact Marks On MH17 Fuselage

   These stills were released by the Dutch Safety Board on September 9, 2014

2. They show clearly visible puncture marks scattered across the fuselage of MH17

3. On July 17, the Malaysia Airlines flight lost all 298 passengers and crew

4. The plane was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur

5. The disaster occurred over an area of Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian separatists

6. Crash investigators say it was probably downed by "a large number of high-energy objects"

7. The Dutch Safety Board has ruled out technical fault or human error

After Mr Timmermans made the comments, Dutch prosecutors confirmed it in a letter to the victims' families.

"How and when the mask ended up around the victim's neck is unknown," prosecutors said in the letter, which was published online.

Mr De Bruin said forensic experts investigated the mask "for fingerprints, saliva and DNA and that did not produce any results.

"So it is not known how or when that mask got around the neck of the victim."

He also said he did not know where in the plane the Australian victim was sitting.

None of the other 297 victims of the crash was believed to be wearing an oxygen mask, prosecutors added. Thirty-eight Australian residents and citizens were killed in the disaster

Relatives of the Australian passenger were told about the mask as soon as it was discovered.

But the families of other victims heard about it for the first time when Mr Timmermans mentioned it during the TV interview.

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1. Gallery: The World Mourns For MH17

   Flowers continue to be left outside Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam

2. One of KLM's crews pay their respects

3. They add a bouquet to the growing number of flowers

4. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and his wife Margie attend a memorial at St. Mary's Cathedral in Sydney

5. Mourners in Australia attend a memorial service held for a family of five killed in the crash

6. Children at the ceremony in Sydney, Australia

7. A photo displayed on a memorial shows teacher, Arnold Huizen who died with his wife Yodricunda Theistiasih Titihalawa and their daughter

8. School children sit together with candles at the Pelita Bangsa school as they remember their teacher Arnold Huizen in Indonesia

9. People light candles during a candle light vigil for the victims of MH17 Kuala Lumpur

Mr Timmermans, the incoming vice-president of the European Commission, later expressed regret for revealing the information.

"The MH17 disaster goes to my heart," he said.

"I should not have made the comment. The last thing I want to do is aggravate the relatives' suffering in any way."

Relatives of victims began calling investigators asking about Mr Timmermans' comments, Mr De Bruin said.

The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 was shot down on July 17 while flying over rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine en route to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam.

The findings of an initial report by a Dutch-led team of air crash investigators appear to back up claims that the plane was hit by an anti-aircraft missile.

Kiev and the West have accused Moscow-backed separatists of shooting the down airliner with a surface-to-air BUK missile supplied by Russia.

Moscow denies the charge and has pointed the finger back at Kiev.

12.14 | 0 komentar | Read More

IS Gains Ground In Kobani Despite Airstrikes

Islamic State militants have captured more ground in a Syrian border town despite intensified US-led airstrikes.

IS fighters seized control of a third of Kobani on Thursday as calls grew louder for neighbouring Turkey to send ground forces to support the town's beleaguered Kurdish defenders.

Overnight, a US-led coalition carried out five airstrikes south of Kobani, destroying an IS support building and two vehicles operated by the extremist group, also known as ISIS or ISIL.

US Central Command said it was continuing to monitor the situation, adding "indications are that Kurdish militia there continue to control most of the city and are holding out against ISIL".

US officials have warned that the airstrikes alone may not be enough stop the IS advance on Turkey's doorstep.

Coalition jets have been targeting IS fighters around Kobani

Barack Obama on Wednesday met with military commanders to discuss the campaign amid fears troops would be needed on the ground.

"Our strikes continue, alongside our partners. It remains a difficult mission," the US president said.

Video: US Warns IS Could Take Kobani

"As I've indicated from the start, this is not something that is going to be solved overnight."

Senior US commanders have warned that the Islamists could take Kobani if more is not done.

Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said: "Airstrikes alone are not going to do this, not going to fix this, not going to save the town of Kobani.

"We know that. And we've been saying that over and over again.

"We all need to prepare ourselves for the reality that other towns and villages and perhaps Kobani will be taken by IS."

Video: Sam Kiley On The Battle For Kobani

Rear Adm Kirby said troops would be needed to defeat IS, adding: "We don't have a force inside Syria that we can co-operate with and work with."

Over the past few days, thousands of IS fighters armed with heavy weapons looted from captured army bases in Iraq and Syria had managed to push into some areas.

The fighting has forced 200,000 residents and villagers to flee and seek shelter across the border in Turkey.

Idriss Nassan, deputy head of Kobani's foreign relations committee, said the town was "still in danger" and more airstrikes were needed.

The Kurdish population, who live in many of the areas IS controls in northern Syria, northern Iraq and parts of southeast Turkey, has been pressuring Ankara to intervene to defend Kobani.

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1. Gallery: Protests Rage In Turkey Over IS

   Residents walk through a damaged street in downtown Diyarbakir following overnight clashes with police

2. Violence erupted in Turkish towns and cities, mainly in the Kurdish southeastern provinces, as protesters take to the streets to demand more be done to protect Kobani

3. Kobani, a predominantly Kurdish settlement which has been surrounded by Islamic State fighters for three weeks

6. Kurdish protesters set fire to a barricade set up to block the street as they clash with riot police in Diyarbakir

7. Flames are seen near a Turkish police vehicle in Diyarbakir during a demonstration of Kurds to demand more western intervention against Islamic State militants (IS) in Syria and Iraq

9. Kurdish protesters set fire to a public bank

10. A branch of Halkbank is set ablaze

13. Kurdish protesters clash with Turkish riot policemen

14. Police used tear gas and water cannon in Istanbul

17. Smokes rises from the Gaziosmanpasa district in Istanbul

18. A public bus burned by Kurdish protesters is pictured at the Gaziosmanpasa district

But so far, Turkey has ruled out leading a ground operation on its own.

Turkey says it does not want the town to fall and has encouraged the US to set up a no-fly zone and a humanitarian corridor (buffer zone) on the border.

France is backing calls for a buffer zone and the US and Britain said they were willing to "examine" the idea of a safe haven.

12.14 | 0 komentar | Read More

Canada Authorises Airstrikes Against IS In Iraq

By Sky News US Team

Following a request from the US, the Canadian parliament has voted to authorise airstrikes against the Islamic State militant group in Iraq.

The motion introduced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative Party passed 157-134 on Tuesday.

It allows airstrikes in Iraq for up to six months, and explicitly rules out using ground troops in combat operations.

The combat mission includes up to six CF-18 fighter jets, a refuelling tanker aircraft, two surveillance planes and one airlift aircraft.

IS forces launching an assault of Kobani

About 600 airmen and airwomen will be involved.

"The threat posed by ISIL is real," Mr Harper said in a statement, referring to the Islamic State by one of its acronyms.

Video: The Brutal Battle For Kobani

The US has been bombing IS in Syria for more than two weeks with the help of Arab allies, and hitting targets in Iraq since August.

European countries have joined the campaign in Iraq but not in Syria.

It is unclear how effective the airstrikes are in weakening the group.

IS appears close to capturing the strategically important town of Kobani near the border with Syria.

The White House welcomed Canada's deployment.

"Canadians and Americans have fought alongside each other in several major conflicts over the past century, and we are grateful for Canada's further contribution against terrorism," a White House statement said.

12.14 | 0 komentar | Read More

US Military: Airstrikes Alone May Not Stop IS

Airstrikes alone may not be able to stop the advance of Islamic State fighters in Syria, US officials have warned.

Barack Obama met military commanders to discuss the campaign against IS in Syria and Iraq amid fears troops would be needed on the ground.

"Our strikes continue, alongside our partners. It remains a difficult mission," the US President said.

"As I've indicated from the start, this is not something that is going to be solved overnight."

US-led airstrikes have continued on Kobani - where IS militants have been fighting a fierce battle with Kurdish forces - however senior commanders have warned the Islamists could still take the strategic border town.

Coalition jets have been targeting IS fighters around Kobani

Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said: "Airstrikes alone are not going to do this, not going to fix this, not going to save the town of Kobani.

"We know that. And we've been saying that over and over again.

Video: Sam Kiley On The Battle For Kobani

"We all need to prepare ourselves for the reality that other towns and villages and perhaps Kobani will be taken by IS."

Rear Adm Kirby said troops would be needed to defeat IS, adding: "We don't have a force inside Syria that we can co-operate with and work with."

The US military's Central Command said American-led forces carried out 14 coalition strikes on Wednesday and 19 bombing raids near Kobani since Tuesday, in an attempt to help Kurdish militia.

"Indications are that Kurdish militia there continue to control most of the city and are holding out against ISIL," a statement said.

Video: Airstrikes Target IS In Border Town

Activists said the strikes killed at least 45 IS militants since Monday evening, forcing the group to withdraw from parts of the town.

Over the past few days, thousands of IS fighters armed with heavy weapons looted from captured army bases in Iraq and Syria had managed to push into some areas.

The fighting has forced 200,000 residents and villagers to flee and seek shelter across the border in Turkey.

Idriss Nassan, deputy head of Kobani's foreign relations committee, said the town was "still in danger" and more airstrikes were needed.

1/18

1. Gallery: Protests Rage In Turkey Over IS

   Residents walk through a damaged street in downtown Diyarbakir following overnight clashes with police

2. Violence erupted in Turkish towns and cities, mainly in the Kurdish southeastern provinces, as protesters take to the streets to demand more be done to protect Kobani

3. Kobani, a predominantly Kurdish settlement which has been surrounded by Islamic State fighters for three weeks

6. Kurdish protesters set fire to a barricade set up to block the street as they clash with riot police in Diyarbakir

7. Flames are seen near a Turkish police vehicle in Diyarbakir during a demonstration of Kurds to demand more western intervention against Islamic State militants (IS) in Syria and Iraq

9. Kurdish protesters set fire to a public bank

10. A branch of Halkbank is set ablaze

13. Kurdish protesters clash with Turkish riot policemen

14. Police used tear gas and water cannon in Istanbul

17. Smokes rises from the Gaziosmanpasa district in Istanbul

18. A public bus burned by Kurdish protesters is pictured at the Gaziosmanpasa district

The Kurdish population, who live in many of the areas IS controls in northern Syria, northern Iraq and parts of southeast Turkey, has been pressuring Ankara to intervene to defend Kobani.

Turkey says it does not want the town to fall and has encouraged the US to set up a no-fly zone and a humanitarian corridor (buffer zone) on the border.

France is backing calls for a buffer zone and the US and Britain said they were willing to "examine" the idea of a safe haven.

12.14 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ebola Deaths Hidden As Fear Grips Liberia

By Alex Crawford, Special Correspondent, Monrovia

Liberia's few ebola treatment centres are overwhelmed with the sick and dying - with patients sharing beds and the dead laying near the desperately ill.

The country has accounted for more than half of the world's deaths from the latest ebola outbreak in West Africa and despite assurances from President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf that it is under control, evidence on the ground seen by Sky News appears to suggest otherwise.

Whole communities are gripped with fear about the virus - and terrified citizens prefer to die alone, unaided because of the stigma attached to admitting to the disease.

Dozens of ebola victims are dying in their homes in Monrovia, increasing the chances of the virus spreading.

And official numbers of victims are almost certainly unrepresentative of the real death count because of the lack of co-ordination and nationwide spread of the disease.

Video: Ebola Outbreak: On The Front Line

Small teams of about half a dozen workers set out daily to retrieve the ebola dead - most of whom have died after suffering in secret.

Their relatives are reluctant to admit ebola has caused the death, as this invariably invites ostracism from their communities and targets them as potential virus carriers.

The body recovery squads - still called "burial teams" despite government orders that all ebola victims be cremated - are doing one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.

Video: Music Protects Against Ebola

They take extreme precautions, wearing multiple protective clothing layers along with goggles, boots, gloves and head coverings to try to stay safe.

Head of Team Three, Mark Korvoyan, told Sky News: "There's no day comes that people don't die in their house. Every day, every blessing day."

There's simply too much work for the recovery teams to do, not enough hours in the day for them to track down the dead.

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1. Gallery: The Desperate Fight To Contain The Ebola Outbreak

   A man rests outside the clinic.

2. A woman is comforted after medical officials remove her husband, who is suspected of having the disease.

3. Officials try to prevent themselves from spreading the disease.

4. A local who has just brought his brother to the centre. He had to rely on plastic bags tied around his hands to try to protect himself.

5. A man thought to be infected with ebola waits for treatment.

6. Patients wait to be seen by medical staff.

7. Workers try to decontaminate themselves.

8. A worker with a child who may have caught ebola.

9. A make-shift hand-washing station in Monrovia.

10. Decontaminated boots of medical staff.

11. The basic conditions make containing the disease very difficult.

Even as they were picking up the latest corpses from the Elwa Treatment Centre, a young man was sobbing outside.

He cried: "Oh my God, I was just bringing a phone for my sister. Now they say she's died. What am I going to do? She has children..."

George Nyumah, like so many of Liberia's citizens, is frantically worried about catching the virus.

Video: Ebola: A Global Threat

So the five children his sister cares for are left alone to fend for themselves in their one-room, corrugated iron shack home.

The eldest is 16, the youngest just two and they all sleep on the dirty mattress which their sick mother lay on in the days before she was taken into the ebola centre.

Their chances of catching or carrying the virus must be very high.

Video: Spanish Nurse Contracts Ebola Virus

For that reason, their uncle George - and the rest of the extended family - will keep well away for 21 days, just to see if they develop signs of the killer disease.

Even if they survive the virus, they'll have to fight poverty and the community's suspicions in the weeks and months ahead.

:: A Spanish nurse is thought to have become the first person to contract ebola outside of West Africa - after treating a victim in Madrid.

12.14 | 0 komentar | Read More

Obama Signals Tougher Airport Ebola Screening

By Sky News US Team

Barack Obama has said his administration is working on tougher airport screening measures to help identify people who might have ebola.

The President made the announcement after meeting health and security officials who are involved in attempting to prevent an outbreak of the disease in the US.

He told reporters the chance of an outbreak in the US was "extraordinarily low", but that there was not a large margin for error.

He said: "We're also going to be working on protocols to do additional passenger screening, both at the source and here in the United States."

Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan is in a critical condition in Texas

The White House is not currently proposing a travel ban for West Africa, epicentre of the outbreak.

But Mr Obama said he would step up pressure on wealthy countries to contribute aid to those countries struggling to contain the spread of the disease.

Video: Ebola Cameraman's Mum Reveals Worry

In a reminder of the risks facing medical professionals, a nurse who treated an ebola patient in Madrid, Spain, became the first person to contract ebola outside of West Africa.

Earlier on Monday, an NBC News cameraman who contracted ebola in Liberia became the fifth American to return to the US after contracting the disease.

Ashoka Mukpo, 33, who began feeling unwell last week, was flown out of the country and admitted to a hospital isolation unit in Omaha, Nebraska.

Video: NBC Cameraman With Ebola Back In US

Meanwhile, the first patient diagnosed with ebola in the US, a Liberian national, remains in a critical condition at a hospital in Dallas.

Thomas Eric Duncan became ill after arriving in Texas from Liberia two weeks ago.

He is receiving an experimental drug, brincidofovir, which was developed by a North Carolina-based pharmaceutical company.

Video: Body Retrieval Worker Mark Korvoyan

Health officials said they were closely monitoring 10 people who had direct contact with him and another 38 people who potentially had contact with him.

So far none has shown any symptoms, according to the officials.

Dr Tom Frieden, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said earlier that officials were looking at all options "to see what we can do to increase safety of all Americans". 

Video: Liberia Gripped By Ebola Virus Fear

He said extra screening might include checking travellers to see if they have a fever, then evaluating them further if they do.

Ebola symptoms, which include fever, vomiting, diarrhoea and bleeding, generally appear between two and 21 days after infection.

The outbreak is believed to have killed more than 3,400 people in West Africa and has taken the biggest toll in Liberia.

12.14 | 0 komentar | Read More

HK Protesters Let Workers Return To Work

By Jonathan Samuels, Sky News Correspondent in Hong Kong

A deadline to clear the streets set by Hong Kong's chief executive has passed with protesters in the city's financial district allowing government workers into their offices.

The streets were far quieter than they have been in recent days with numbers of pro-democracy demonstrators down. Those still camped out looked exhausted, with many asleep on the road.

Hundreds of workers streamed along a footbridge and into the Central Government Offices complex in the harbourside Tamar district.

Workers seen returning to their offices

Many told Sky News they were pleased to be able to get to their offices.

One man said he was "relieved the situation seemed to be calming down", while a woman said she "supports the protesters and their aims" but still needs to get to work.

Video: Crunch Time For Hong Kong Protests

A knot of protesters partially blocked the entrance to the complex with barricades, but kept a narrow section open to allow the officials to pass through.

Many suited commuters were also seen walking down a six-lane road through the city which has been closed for more than a week.

They took pictures of protest signs and demonstrators as they strolled down the normally hectic main highway.

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1. Gallery: Protest Is An Art In Hong Kong

   Pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong have been keeping their message alive with highly-produced poster art celebrating the 'Umbrella Revolution'. Continue through for more images...

The crowds of protesters have been swelling and subsiding on a daily basis since their campaign began, but dwindled to their lowest point early today, as many had feared the police would use force to clear them.

On Sunday night there appeared to be confusion among the protesters' different factions, with no clear direction as to whether the demonstrators, many of them students, were going to clear streets or remain in place.

The city's embattled leader, Leung Chun-ying, had warned he would "take all necessary actions to restore social order" if key thoroughfares were not cleared for business on Monday.

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1. Gallery: Hong Kong Clashes As Sit-In Drags On

   Pro-democracy protesters gather outside the government offices in Hong Kong

2. The umbrella has become a symbol of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement

3. An anti-protester shouts at pro-democracy demonstrators in an occupied area of Hong Kong

4. Pro-democracy campaigners, mainly students, stand firm

5. Many of the anti-protesters are angry they have not been able to go to work during the protests

6. Police officers try to get a man to let go of a fence guarded by pro-democracy demonstrators

7. The protests are about to enter their second week

But the activists insisted their campaign was not losing steam after a week-long standoff that has at times erupted into violence.

"We're going to be here until we get a response from the government," said 20-year-old student Jurkin Wong who was sitting with friends as they woke from fitful slumber on the streets.

"We have to stay here. It's for our future."

Video: How Protesters Use Social Media

Negotiations about the start of talks between the two sides continues.

12.14 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ebola: Deaths Hidden As Fear Grips Liberia

By Alex Crawford, Special Correspondent, Monrovia

Liberia's few ebola treatment centres are overwhelmed with the sick and dying - with patients sharing beds and the dead laying near the desperately ill.

The country has accounted for more than half of the world's deaths from the latest ebola outbreak in West Africa and despite assurances from the President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf that it is under control, evidence on the ground seen by Sky News appears to suggest otherwise.

Whole communities are gripped with fear about the virus - and terrified citizens prefer to die alone, unaided because of the stigma attached to admitting to the disease.

Dozens of ebola victims are dying in their homes in Monrovia, increasing the chances of the virus spreading.

And official numbers of victims are almost certainly unrepresentative of the real death count because of the lack of coordination and nationwide spread of the disease.

1/11

1. Gallery: The Desperate Fight To Contain The Ebola Outbreak

   A man rests outside the clinic.

2. A woman is comforted after medical officials remove her husband, who is suspected of having the disease.

3. Officials try to prevent themselves from spreading the disease.

4. A local who has just brought his brother to the centre. He had to rely on plastic bags tied around his hands to try to protect himself.

5. A man thought to be infected with Ebola waits for treatment.

6. Patients wait to be seen by medical staff.

7. Workers try to decontaminate themselves.

8. A worker with a child who may have caught Ebola.

9. A make-shift hand-washing station in Monrovia.

10. Decontaminated boots of medical staff.

11. The basic conditions make containing the disease very difficult.

Small teams of about half a dozen workers set out daily to retrieve the ebola dead - most of whom have died after suffering in secret.

Their relatives are reluctant to admit ebola has caused the death, as this invariably invites ostracisation from their communities and targets them as potential virus carriers.

The body recovery squads - still called "burial teams" despite government orders that all ebola victims be cremated - are doing one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.

They take extreme precautions, wearing multiple protective clothing layers along with goggles, boots, gloves and head coverings to try to stay safe.

Video: Ebola: A Global Threat

Head of Team Three, Mark Vayowan, told Sky: "There's no day comes that people don't die in their house. Every day, every blessing day."

There's simply too much work for the recovery teams to do, not enough hours in the day for them to track down the dead.

Even as they were picking up the latest corpses from the Elwa Treatment Centre, a young man was sobbing outside.

He cried: "Oh my god, I was just bringing a phone for my sister. Now they say she's died. What am I going to do? She has children ..."

Video: Ebola Brit Recalls Horror Of Virus

George Nyumah, like so many of Liberia's citizens, is frantically worried about catching the virus.

So the five children his sister cares for are left alone to fend for themselves in their one-room, corrugated iron shack home.

The eldest is 16, the youngest just two and they are all sleep on the dirty mattress which their sick mother lay on in the days before she was taken into the ebola centre.

Their chances of catching or carrying the virus must be very high.

Video: How Do Clinical Trials Work?

For that reason, their uncle George - and the rest of the extended family - will keep well away for 21 days, just to see if they develop signs of the killer disease.

Even if they survive the virus, they'll have to fight poverty and the community's suspicions in the weeks and months ahead.

12.14 | 0 komentar | Read More

American Hostage's Parents Issue Video Plea

By Sky News US Team

The parents of American hostage Abdul-Rahman Kassig, formerly known as Peter, have issued a video plea asking for his safe return.

Mr Kassig appeared at the end of a clip posted online on Friday that showed the killing of British aid convoy volunteer Alan Henning by an Islamic State (IS) militant.

Ed and Paula Kassig pleaded with their son's captors to let him go in a video statement released on Saturday.

"We implore those who are holding you to show mercy and use their power to let you go," Mr Kassig's father said.

Mr Kassig converted to Islam and changed his name to Abdul-Rahman

Mrs Kassig, speaking directly to her son, added: "Most of all, know that we love you, and our hearts ache for you to be granted your freedom so we can hug you again and then set you free to continue the life you have chosen, the life of service to those in greatest need."

Ed Kassig said his son, who founded an organisation that provides aid to Syrians impacted by the country's civil war, "grew to love and admire the Syrian people and felt at home there".

Video: IS Threatens To Kill US Hostage

Peter Kassig changed his name to Abdul-Rahman after years of humanitarian work in the region "culminated in him embracing Islam", his father added.

A family spokesperson previously said that Mr Kassig's faith "has provided him comfort during his long captivity".

The 26-year-old Indiana native and Iraq War veteran was captured by IS militants on 1 October 2013 while en route to Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria.

Video: Henning's Family 'Numb With Grief'

At the end of the video showing Mr Henning's murder, an IS militant spoke directly to President Barack Obama as he threatened to kill Mr Kassig next.

He said: "Obama, you have started your aerial bombardment in Sham. So it's only right we continue to strike the necks of your people."

In the plea for his son's release, Mr Kassig said: "We asked our government to change its actions, but like our son, we have no more control over the US government than you have over the break of dawn."

Video: 'IS Call To Send Ground Troops'

On Friday, Mr Obama condemned Mr Henning's "brutal" murder, saying the US would bring those responsible to justice.

Four IS hostages - two Americans and two Britons - have been killed since the US-led airstrikes in Iraq and Syria began on 8 August.

An estimated 15 to 20 hostages are still being held by the extremist group, according to the AP news agency.

12.14 | 0 komentar | Read More

Brazil Presidential Race: Poll Gap Narrows

By Karine Mayer, South America News Editor

The world's seventh largest economy takes to the polls today, yet many Brazilians are still unsure who to vote for.

Although for the last month the race has been between two women - incumbent president Dilma Rousseff and environmentalist Marina Silva - polls show that conservative Aecio Neves has crept into second place just ahead of Ms Silva in the latest polls.

It has been a roller-coaster ride campaign but the latest polls show that 40 percent of Brazilians are likely to vote for the stability of the Worker's Party instead of the sustainable environment of Ms Silva, or a return to the Social Conservative party with candidate Mr Neves.

The three main candidates are known in Brazil just by their Christian names; Dilma, Marina and Aecio.

Brazil's President and Workers' Party presidential candidate Dilma Rousseff

Ms Rousseff, 66, Brazil's incumbent president, was imprisoned and tortured by the country's military dictatorship as an armed Marxist guerrilla group in the early 1970s.

But it was due to the former president's support and help that she stepped into the limelight and became the first female president in Brazil.

Despite her tough stance she has failed to weed out corruption, and economic growth has stumbled under her administration.

Ms Silva is the election wild card. She was born to a desperately poor family of rubber tappers in the Amazon and was illiterate until the age of 16.

She then went from working as a maid to environmental activist alongside Chico Mendes, and became Brazil's youngest ever senator in 1994.

She became an official candidate at the end of August when her running mate was killed in a plane crash.

Mr Neves comes from a political family; his grandfather, Tancredo Neves, was the first post-dictatorship elected president in 1984 but died before being sworn in.

He represents the centre-right party. Initially labelled a playboy he has toughened his image in the last few months and attacked Ms Rousseff over the corruption scandal of state run oil company Petrobras which involved some of her colleagues.

A lot still remains to be done in Brazil as the government will have to address health, education, security and urban transport, as well as getting the country's economy growing again, as it experienced its first slowdown following the World Cup.

Some 142 million Brazilians will, by law, have to vote on today as they choose their president, 27 state governors, 513 congressmen, 1069 regional lawmakers, and a third of the Senate.

Then in three weeks' time, should no candidate win more than 50%, the second round will determine the future of the country.

12.14 | 0 komentar | Read More