One killed, one million on the streets: Emergency meeting called

One killed, one million on the streets: Emergency meeting called as Brazil World Cup protesters defy tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets




Brazil's President Dilma Rouseff called an emergency cabinet meeting today in the aftermath of protests last night that saw more than a million people on the streets in at least 80 cities.

The meeting in Brasilia at 13.30 BST came after a night when it appeared the government was close to losing control with serious vandalism, looting and arson hitting several major cities.
In Rio de Janeiro, at least 300,000 demonstrated in the centre of the city, with a minority of balaclaved youths fighting pitched battles with police in the surrounding streets for hours afterwards.
In the capital Brasilia, protesters besieged the Ministry of Foreign relations, smashing windows and setting fires with serious violence also breaking out the northern cities of Salvador and Recife. At least 77 were injured as police responded with tear gas, pepper spray sound bombs and rubber bullets.
One protester died after being hit by a car in the town of Ribeirão Preto, in Sao Paulo state. In a video uploaded to Facebook that apparently shows the incident, the driver of a black SUV is forced to reverse by protesters blocking the road, before spurting forwards and running over several demonstrators.
The widespread unrest – which was unimaginable less than a week ago – has led to much speculation that FIFA might be forced to cancel the ongoing Confederations Cup for safety reasons.
Local media reported that at least one of the eight teams involved was pressuring FIFA to cancel, postpone or move the tournament because of fears for the well-being of the players' families.
Reports also indicated that FIFA would seek to claim compensation from Brazil should the Confederations Cup – or even next year's World Cup – be disrupted. Such a prospect is sure to not go down well among protesters, many of whom are already unhappy with £16 billion that has already been earmarked for Brazil to prepare for those tournaments and the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
A FIFA spokesman told reporters that it had not discussed the possibility of cancelling the Confederations Cup.

source:-
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/one-killed-one-million-on-the-streets-emergency-meeting-called-as-brazil-world-cup-protesters-defy-tear-gas-pepper-spray-and-rubber-bullets-8667839.html