news.ft.com By Frances Williams Published: March 19 2003 4:00 | Last Updated: March 19 2003 4:00

The World Trade Organisation yesterday set up a dispute panel to investigate Brazil's complaint that US cotton subsidies worth nearly $4bn (£2.54bn) a year are illegal under international trade rules.

Brazil says the subsidies are squeezing its exports in world markets and depressing world prices, costing Brazilian cotton farmers $640m last year in lost foreign earnings. India, Pakistan, China, Taiwan, Argentina and Venezuela, as well as Canada and the European Union, yesterday asked to be third parties in the case. www.wto.org Frances Williams, Geneva

www.grandforks.com Posted on Sun, Mar. 16, 2003 Associated Press

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - Nearly 700 wildfires fueled by dry conditions and high winds burned out of control in Brazil's Amazon jungle Sunday despite stepped-up efforts to battle the blazes.

The number of fires burning across the state of Roraima, which borders Venezuela and Guyana, more than doubled to 686 on Sunday, according to satellite monitoring by Brazil's environmental protection agency Ibama.

"Our fight against the fires is intensifying each day, but it's very dry and very windy up here," Ibama spokeswoman Monica Gil told The Associated Press from Roraima.

Ibama said it could not give an accurate estimate of the damaged or destroyed areas until the fires are extinguished. But early last week, when only 86 fires were recorded, 25,600 acres of forest and scrub land had burned.

The fires were sparked by farmers clearing agricultural land, and quickly got out of control because of extremely dry conditions caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon, an unusual warming of parts of the equatorial Pacific Ocean.

About 330 firefighters and Ibama officials were fighting the blazes, along with three helicopters and army transport vehicles, Gil said. Another 92 firefighters were expected Monday.

The fires raged at the entrance of the Yanomami Indian reservation, home to the world's largest Stone Age tribe. On Friday, fires crossed about 2 miles into the reservation, Environment Minister Marina Silva said.

About 26,000 Yanomami live on a 25 million-acre reservation straddling the border of Brazil and Venezuela.

Meteorologists say rain is not likely for another week.

In 1998, severe dryness from El Nino led to wildfires in Roraima that burned 736,000 acres of forest and scrub. The fires eventually were extinguished by rain.

www.alertnet.org 14 Mar 2003 23:50 By Axel Bugge

BRASILIA, Brazil, March 14 (Reuters) - Brazil's military presence in the massive Amazon needs to be beefed up with soldiers and aircraft to guard a region "where there are operations by clandestine forces," Defense Minister Jose Viegas said on Friday.

Viegas said the 24,000 soldiers based in Brazil's Amazon jungle -- an area of 1.54 million square miles (4.1 million sq km) which is larger than western Europe -- need to be increased "to give preventive protection to our empty spaces."

"We have airspace that needs to be guarded, it is a region where there is some instability, where there are operations by clandestine forces," Viegas said in an interview with Reuters.

"In this sense, Brazil's military presence is insufficient because we need a robust presence along rivers, the access points to our neighbors, the capacity for quick movement of ground forces and an air presence compatible with the necessity of surveillance," he said.

Latin America's largest country has long worked to clamp down on drug and arms traffickers, illegal loggers and miners operating in its Amazon. Brazil's Amazon borders on seven countries, including war-torn Colombia.

Troops have been gradually transferred to the Amazon from the south -- where Brazil traditionally had its greatest military presence because of regional rivalry with neighboring Argentina.

Viegas said these transfers would continue "gradually, to the extent that we have the resources."

The minister -- who was Brazil's ambassador to Russia under the previous government before joining the Cabinet of new center-left President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva -- said he was not worried about Colombian Marxist rebels in the Amazon.

He said incursions by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia -- known as FARC -- into Brazil were infrequent. "There were one or two episodes in recent years," he said. "The FARC have no interest in getting close to us."

Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe visited Brazil last week, when Lula pledged "total solidarity" with Colombia's fight against rebels and drug trafficking. The FARC denies smuggling drugs but admits to "taxing" coca -- the raw material used to make cocaine.

Brazil is a major market for Colombia's cocaine, much of it smuggled through the Amazon.

Turning to the so-called triple frontier region of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, Viegas said "there is no proof, or evidence of actions, by terrorists in the region."

"We have worries about terrorist acts, the same worries that any country should have," he said. "But we do not consider ourselves targets, nor actors, nor do we shelter (terrorist) actors."

www.forbes.com Reuters, 03.14.03, 6:01 PM ET

WASHINGTON, March 14 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund on Friday gave Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva its strongest endorsement yet, approving a $4.1 billion payment under the nation's $31.4 billion loan. The approval of the payment, the first since Lula took office in January, affirms the IMF's support of the new president's economic policies. Brazil won the massive bailout last September to allay investors' fears that, if Lula were elected president, he might abandon economic reforms.

www.thestar.com.my BY LIM CHYE KHIM

BRASILIA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad will arrive here today for a three-day official visit during which he will have discussions with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to further improve ties between the two countries. 

“The visit is at the invitation of President Lula to enhance bilateral ties, which have been very good,” Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Dr Leo Michael Toyad said. 

He said that the meeting between the two leaders tomorrow (Monday) would also be an opportunity for Dr Mahathir to follow up on outstanding matters with the new president, who took office in January. 

This is the Prime Minister’s second visit to the country. Dr Mahathir, who will be accompanied by his wife, Datin Seri Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, and several government officials, last visited Brazil in 1991. 

Dr Toyad said besides trade, the discussions tomorrow would cover regional and international issues, including the threat of war against Iraq and other problems in the Middle East, terrorism and globalisation. 

Also expected to be brought up at the meeting between the two leaders are co-operation between the two countries in international fora, like the G15, United Nations and the World Trade Organisation, as well as regional co-operation between Asean and Mercosur, the economic grouping comprising Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. 

“Our experience in economic development and how we tackle social issues and the (Asian) financial crisis are also likely to be brought up,” Dr Toyad said at a briefing here yesterday. 

He said Malaysia was the biggest Asean trading partner for Brazil while Brazil was Malaysia’s second biggest trading partner in Latin America, after Mexico. 

“We have three big investments here in Brazil – Supermaxx Importadora S/A – US$2mil (RM7.6mil) which distributes examination gloves, Abric S/A , manufacturer of seals for containers and trucks – US$3.67mil (RM13.9mil) – and Amaplac S/A Ind. de Madeiras – US$13.2mil (RM50.16mil) – which is into plywood manufacturing,” he said.  

Major exports to Brazil include electronic integrated circuits, TV and radio parts, natural rubber, semi-conductors, computers and computer components, gloves, transformers for radio and television sets, cameras and palm oil. 

Malaysia’s overall export figure for 2001 was US$347mil (RM1.31bil), while last year it rose to US$357mil (RM1.35bil). 

Imports from Brazil last year amounted to US$281mil (RM1.06bil), the main items of which were sugarcane, soya bean, iron ore and military weapons. 

Dr Toyad said that the various states of Brazil (the country has 26 states and one federal district) were keen to have their own joint projects with Malaysia. 

Another area where Brazil was interested to go into was agricultural development, with Mardi and Embrapa (Brazilian business enterprise for agricultural research) are likely to extend their co-operation into the fields of bio-technology and bio-diversity. 

He said that the two countries had signed an agreement on science and technology in 1996. 

Other bilateral agreements that have been concluded between Malaysia and Brazil – the largest South American country with a population of 176 million – include an air services agreement (1995), bilateral trade agreement (1996) and, partial visa abolishment agreement (1996). 

Dr Toyad said that after arriving here, the Prime Minister would attend a dinner hosted by Malaysian Ambassador Tai Kat Meng at Rumah Malaysia.  

Tomorrow Dr Mahathir will proceed to Palacio do Planalto, the office of the president, for the official welcoming ceremony where he will be received by Lula. 

This will be followed by a meeting between the Malaysian and Brazilian delegations and later Lula will host a state lunch for Dr Mahathir at Itamaraty Palace. 

The next day Dr Mahathir will go to Sao Jose dos Campos for a visit to Embraer, the aircraft manufacturer, and Avibras, the military equipment maker. 

He will leave for home on Wednesday via Buenos Aires.