Even at anything-goes Carnival, these lyrics raise eyebrows

In this Feb. 19, 2017 photo, a couple dances during the “If you don’t give me….then you lend me” Carnival street party on Ipanema beach, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The typical view of Carnival in Brazil is anything goes, with no headdress too big, no outfit too small, no song too ribald, but this year some organizers of the world’s best known party are drawing the line at lyrics that are sexist, homophobic or racist.

Military police back on duty for second day in Brazil

More than 1,000 military police returned to patrols in Espirito Santo on Sunday as the southeastern Brazilian state inched toward normalcy after a protest left a security vacuum that fueled a crime wave. Schools in the state are scheduled to reopen Monday and public transport will resume a full schedule, the president’s office said on Twitter.

Brazilian governor wants more troops to help quell violence

A Brazilian governor said Wednesday that he needs more soldiers to help cope with a police crisis that has led to a wave of violence and at least 80 deaths in his southeastern state. Cesar Colnago, acting governor of Espirito Santo, told reporters that he would ask the federal government for more troops, saying the 1,000 soldiers already sent were not enough to stem the tide of violence.

Military police families’ protest paralyzes Brazilian state

Protests by friends and family of military police officers in a coastal Brazilian state have touched off a crime wave and forced the shutdown of some state services, authorities said Monday. At the request of the Espirito Santo state government, federal troops began arriving Monday night to help patrol the streets.

Brazil sends troops to state torn by violence due to police strike

Brazil’s president on Monday ordered 200 troops to the southeastern state of Espirito Santo, where a police strike in recent days sparked a wave of violence including what is already believed to be dozens of murders. The law enforcement stoppage in a state struggling with a budget shortfall is the latest example of how depleted public finances, amid Brazil’s worst recession on record, are crippling even basic health services, education and security in some states.