Brazil has "completed its biggest infrastructure project for the World Cup with only 32 days to spare, opening the country’s long-awaited new international airport terminal in São Paulo," according to Samantha Pearson of the FINANCIAL TIMES. In "defiance of critics who said it would not be ready in time, the consortium running the São Paulo Guarulhos airport started operating the glass and steel complex on Sunday" that will eventually handle "all international flights to Latin America’s biggest city." The inauguration will "help relieve pressure on Brazil’s government, which has faced growing criticism" from FIFA over the country's "lack of preparation for the tournament" (FT, 5/11).
WORKER ELECTROCUTED: The BBC reported a "worker has been killed after being electrocuted at a World Cup stadium in Brazil." The 32-year-old man "died in an accident at the new Arena Pantanal in the western city of Cuiaba where he was installing communications equipment." It is the first fatality at the Cuiaba stadium, "but eight workers have now died in accidents during the building of Brazil's 12 World Cup arenas" (BBC, 5/8).
TROOPS DEPLOYED: REUTERS' Anthony Boadle reported Brazil "began deploying 30,000 troops on Saturday to patrol its borders and beef up security for the World Cup." The army, navy and air force troops will use "river patrol boats, helicopters and planes to crack down on drug trafficking and other smuggling activities" on Brazil's 16,900-km (10,500-mile) frontier with 10 South American nations. Much of the border is "Amazon jungle that is hard to patrol and notoriously porous, allowing undocumented immigrants easy access to the country" (REUTERS, 5/10).
