Australian Chef de Mission Kitty Chiller is disappointed Rio Olympics organizers "have ignored her request to heighten security in the host city ahead of the Games," according to AAP. Chiller said that she has "had no reply from Games organisers to her June 20 letter, which followed the gunpoint robbery of an Australian Paralympian in Rio." Chiller said, "It is disappointing because every day that we don’t get a response means one less day that what we asked for can be in place." Chiller had asked Rio organizers "to bring forward their deployment of some 85,000 security personnel, ahead of the August 5 official opening of the Games." Her move "came after Paralympian Liesl Tesch and team physiotherapist Sarah Ross were robbed while training in Rio" (AAP, 7/5).
ON PATROL: In Rio de Janeiro, Lise Alves wrote with a month to go before the start of the 2016 Olympic Games, the Brazilian national security "has taken over the security of all installations to be used for the competitions and the Olympic Village where athletes will be staying." According to the Ministry of Justice, "a joint federal, state and local security scheme has been set into motion to make sure the Games go on without any incidents." According to Brazil Secretary for Major Events at the Justice Ministry Andrei Rodrigues, 85,000 agents, including armed forces personnel, police officers and firefighters, "will be at hand to ensure safety on the streets of Rio de Janeiro" (RIO TIMES, 7/5).
UNWELCOME GUEST: CNN's Flora Charner wrote a group of Brazilian scientists "have detected a drug-resistant bacteria growing off of some of Rio de Janeiro's most stunning beaches, one month before the city is due to host the 2016 Olympic Games." According to lead researcher Renata Picao, the "super bacteria" entered the city's waterways when sewage coming from local hospitals got channeled into the bay. The news "comes as Rio prepares to host hundreds of thousands of athletes and tourists during next month's Summer Olympics." Among the beaches flagged were Flamengo and Botafogo, "which border the bay where Olympic sailors are scheduled to compete" (CNN, 7/5).
UNAVOIDABLE: The AP reported sailors complained about an oil slick "that turned white boats brown with crews in town practising for the Olympics, which open in a month." Finnish sailor Camilla Cedercreutz said, "We’ve never seen anything like this. It was all over the place. There was no way you could avoid it." Cedercreutz said that "the slick filled part of the bay on Sunday, staining her boat from bow to stern." Cedercreutz: "You get mad because it shouldn’t be like this anywhere. It shouldn’t be this dirty" (AP, 7/5).
'RAINFOREST PROTECTION': RT reported the Brazilian government "plans to give away 9 million condoms in Rio de Janeiro during the Olympic Games in August." The latex condoms "are made from Amazon rubber trees gathered by tappers known for a devotion to rainforest protection." The IOC said that around 450,000 of the condoms "will go to athletes and staff staying at Olympic village." The factory's condoms "are often distributed by the Brazilian Health Ministry for major events, such as the Carnival of Brazil" (RT, 7/4).
