Brazil, the world's leader in gun-related murders, went to the polls yesterday to decide on a proposal to ban the sale of firearms and munitions.
In a world first, the South American country's 122 million voters will decide in a national referendum whether to ban the trade and sale of guns and munitions.
crime level
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who pushed through a gun control measure in 2003, is backing the measure that is pitting farmers who are worried about defending themselves against business executives who say that the level of crime in Latin America's biggest economy is unacceptable.
The results are expected to be close.
According to a poll this month of 2,200 people by Rio de Janeiro-based Ibope, 49 percent oppose the change and 45 percent favor it.
gun deaths
A gun-related death occurs once every 15 minutes in the South American country.
According to recent UNESCO statistics, Brazil, with 21.71 gun deaths per 100,000 people, is world second behind Venezuela, with 34.30 deaths.
In comparison, Spain has a rate of 0.78 and Britain has 0.29.
Between 1979 and 2003, 550,000 people have died from gun deaths in Brazil.
The measure is backed by prominent stars and rappers such as the pop music star Lulu Santos, who was robbed of his car, money and documents recently in his upscale neighborhood in Rio.
`long overdue'
"This was long overdue. Brazil holds the record. We have an undeclared civil war. In my city Rio, an armed robbery takes place every 90 seconds," he said.
The Roman Catholic Church also supports the referendum.
In another country where uncontrolled gun use is a problem -- the US -- a bill that would shield gun manufacturers from crime victims' lawsuits cleared another hurdle on its way to approval.
The US House of Representatives approved the law that cleared the Senate in July, and sent it to US President George W. Bush for certain signature.
The bill's passage was hailed as a "historic victory" by the gun lobby.
LANDMARK CASE: ‘Every night we were dragged to US soldiers and sexually abused. Every week we were forced to undergo venereal disease tests,’ a victim said More than 100 South Korean women who were forced to work as prostitutes for US soldiers stationed in the country have filed a landmark lawsuit accusing Washington of abuse, their lawyers said yesterday. Historians and activists say tens of thousands of South Korean women worked for state-sanctioned brothels from the 1950s to 1980s, serving US troops stationed in country to protect the South from North Korea. In 2022, South Korea’s top court ruled that the government had illegally “established, managed and operated” such brothels for the US military, ordering it to pay about 120 plaintiffs compensation. Last week, 117 victims
China on Monday announced its first ever sanctions against an individual Japanese lawmaker, targeting China-born Hei Seki for “spreading fallacies” on issues such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and disputed islands, prompting a protest from Tokyo. Beijing has an ongoing spat with Tokyo over islands in the East China Sea claimed by both countries, and considers foreign criticism on sensitive political topics to be acts of interference. Seki, a naturalised Japanese citizen, “spread false information, colluded with Japanese anti-China forces, and wantonly attacked and smeared China”, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters on Monday. “For his own selfish interests, (Seki)
Argentine President Javier Milei on Sunday vowed to “accelerate” his libertarian reforms after a crushing defeat in Buenos Aires provincial elections. The 54-year-old economist has slashed public spending, dismissed tens of thousands of public employees and led a major deregulation drive since taking office in December 2023. He acknowledged his party’s “clear defeat” by the center-left Peronist movement in the elections to the legislature of Buenos Aires province, the country’s economic powerhouse. A deflated-sounding Milei admitted to unspecified “mistakes” which he vowed to “correct,” but said he would not be swayed “one millimeter” from his reform agenda. “We will deepen and accelerate it,” he
‘HYANGDO’: A South Korean lawmaker said there was no credible evidence to support rumors that Kim Jong-un has a son with a disability or who is studying abroad South Korea’s spy agency yesterday said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s daughter, Kim Ju-ae, who last week accompanied him on a high-profile visit to Beijing, is understood to be his recognized successor. The teenager drew global attention when she made her first official overseas trip with her father, as he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Analysts have long seen her as Kim’s likely successor, although some have suggested she has an older brother who is being secretly groomed as the next leader. The South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) “assesses that she [Kim Ju-ae]
RSS