BRASIL: 3 Reports: A look Inside Police Controlled Slum/ Rio Cop Lusts To Be Carnaval Samba Queen; Tasty Ants Threatened By Pesticides.

AP/M.HERALD/ 3 screen feature / JULIANA BARBASSA /

A look at the favella/slum of Santa Marta since the 2008 takeover by Rio police and a rehab program to evict drug dealers was established.
AP: "The program has transformed the slums, bringing improved security, utilities and investment, and incorporating local businesses into the formal economy. But the changes also have driven up rents and increased bureaucracy, pushing many of the poorest residents further to the margins."
AND: "A survey by the state government showed real estate prices in some slums skyrocketed up to 400 percent after police took control and outsiders started eyeing the still-affordable living space."

ALSO: From by Erik German/Solana Pyne text with 4:42 video :
Rio police detective Isabella Magacho, 32, wants to be a Carnival Samba Queen.
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/brazil/101221/carnival-queen-police



FINALLY: the NYT's Alexei Barrioneuvo reports on the içás, or queen ants, eating tradition in Silveiras, 190 miles from S.Paulo and how growing pesticide use is threatening the custom.
“Tastes like mint,” said one local  about the ants. The indigena value them for protein and also as an aphrodisiac and source of natural antibiotics.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/05/world/americas/05ants.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&pagewanted=all

COLOMBIA/VENEZUELA: Santos And Chavez Repair Relations.

NYTIMES/ ANALYSIS /
SIMON ROMERO/       Colombia's coastal city of Santa Marta was the scene for the sudden reconciliation between the two ideologically opposed leaders. The meeting's tone was conciliatory perhaps because of the economic damage  to both countries caused by recent tensions. Trade between Colombia and Venezueladropped more than 30% in 2009, after Venezuela imposed restrictions on Colombian imports. There were agreements to restore relations, improve border patrols and to plan for repayments of  $800 million owed to Colombian companies.