Brasilia - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva demanded Thursday that industrialized countries take responsibility in the efforts to overcome the current global financial crisis, which he said was created by "white people with blue eyes."

In a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in Brasilia, Lula again stressed that it is necessary to regulate the international financial system.

Brasilia  - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva demanded Thursday that industrialized countries take responsibility in the efforts to overcome the current global financial crisis, which he said was created by "white people with blue eyes."

In a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in Brasilia, Lula again stressed that it is necessary to regulate the international financial system.

Sao Paulo  - The veteran Brazilian striker Ronaldo confirmed his recovery 13 months after knee surgery with a brace in Corinthians' 2-2 draw against Ponte Preta, in which he played the full game for the first time since the operation.

Ronaldo, 32, who has undergone three major knee injuries in his career, now has scored an average of 0.8 goals per game at his Brazilian club, very close to the best numbers of his footballing life.

Brasilia  - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva launched an ambitious two-year, 15-billion-dollar plan Wednesday to build affordable housing.

The programme has the two-fold goal of stimulating the construction sector amid the global economic slowdown and alleviating Brazil's severe housing shortage.

Experts estimate that 8 million new homes are needed to satisfy demand in South America's most populous country.

Buenos Aires - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has long made it clear that he does not like going to international summits as anything other than a protagonist - and he is travelling to London for the G20 summit in April with very clear views.

Protectionism is not a way out of the ongoing global economic and financial crisis, he is bound to say, and it is industrialized nations which caused the crisis in the first place and therefore should bear the brunt of the cost by helping poorer countries recover from the effects.

Berlin - Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana beach first comes to mind when people envision Brazil or perhaps the sprawling favelas around the big cities.

The world's fifth largest country, regularly criticized for doing too little to stop deforestation, has hardly stood out as a leader in ecotourism.

But that's about to change, said Marcelo Pedroso, director of the Brazilian tourism board Embratur. Speaking at this month's ITB international travel trade show in Berlin, Pedroso said, "We want to promote ecotourism more."