BRASIL:1ST UPDATE: Shootout In Rio Hotel, Kills One;35 Hostages Released.

LINK CHANGE/ NYTIMES/ 22 AUG UPDATE/  A more than 3-hour shoot-out occurred after ten men invaded Rio's popular Intercontinental Hotel in São Conrado and took 35 tourists hostage but released them hours later after negotiations. The gunmen were holding the hostages in the kitchen of the hotel, but we negotiated with them," said a spokeswoman. "All of the hostages are freed and 10 suspects are in custody." One alleged gang member was killed during the attack that left four police wounded.

BRASIL: Scot Arrested For Nudity On Rio Beach.

GUARDIAN.UK/    A Scottish tourist, 42-year-old Paul Terrance Walker, was charged with "inconvenient conduct" after witnesses told police he stripped naked and harassed locals on Avenida Atlantica that runs alongside Rio's famous Copacabana beach. "He was making obscene gestures, showing his intimate parts to women and waving himself around," said a police official. "We're not sure what he thought he was doing."

Rio Police Take Over Two Slums...Peacefully.

From The Latin American Herald Tribune.

The favelas(slums)of Babilonia and Chapeu Mangueira were recently occupied- peacefully- by Rio police.

The drug dealers fled when they heard 100 police would be stationed there.