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As President Barack Obama spoke a few words in Portuguese at Rio de Janeiro's Municipal Theatre drawing upon similarities between Brazilian and U.S. Histories and making reference to Brazilian culture, analysts believe that Brazil's relationship with the United States over trade and foreign policy has warmed as a sustained applause echoed throughout the theatre. "Our journeys began in similar ways," Obama said during his speech. "We became colonies claimed for distant crowns, but soon declared our independence. We welcomed waves of immigrants to our shores, and eventually cleansed the stain of slavery from our land," Obama said. Eduardo Eugenio Gouvea Viera, who represents FIRJAN Brazil's leading industry federation said "It was an historic speech. The message he gave was that the most worthy value to Brazilians and Americans is freedom," Viera told Brazil's official Agencia Brasil reports CNN. Abdias Nascimento, a representative of Brazil's Movimento Negro, said Obama's speech was "profound. Obama succeeded in striking the most sensitive chords in the souls of Brazil and Americans." In stark contrast, former Environment Minister Marina Silva, criticized Obama for abstaining from mentioning the environment and emissions trade negotiations, issues that have divided Brazil and the U.S. Early Sunday, President Obama's entourage made its way to Rio de Janeiro's infamous favela (a Portuguese word for "shanty") Cidade de Deus, whose social issues of drug wars and racial disparity were memorialized in the film "City of God" oringally "Cidade de Deus," directed by Fernando Mirreille and Katia Lund that was nominated for an Academy Award. The Obamas' visit to the favela was a symbolic if not an historic gesture that was well received by the Brazilian public in a nation known for its strong African heritage but a less than favorable record on racial and class discrimination. Favela residents cheered the arrival of the first family and Cidade de Deus schoolchildren watche

Univision, the premier media company serving the U.S. Hispanic community, announces that it will host a Historic Education Town Hall with with President Barack Obama that will be taped and then later aired as a television news special entitled Univision News Presents: The Moment is Now - The President, Hispanics and Education. The Town Hall will be held on Monday, March 28, 2011 and hosted by Univision's news anchor Jorge Ramos at the following location: Bell Multicultural High School 3101 16 Street, NW 9405 Washington, DC 20010 The Town Hall event will give President Barack Obama the opportunity to engage with students, parents and teachers about education and Hispanic educational achievement. The event will also focus on better preparing students for college and 21st century careers, greater parental engagement in education, and the politics of reforming the educational system according to a Press Release. The Town Hall will be taped at Bell Multicultural High School from from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. EDT and will air without commercial interruptions at 7 p.m. EDT/PDT, 6 p.m. CDT on the Univision Network, and closed-captioned in English on CC3 where available. The event will also be streamed online at www.EsElMomento.com in English and Spanish as well as simulcast on Univision Radio in Spanish. PRESS INFORMATION: Beginning at 8 a.m. EDT although subject to change, pre-registered members of the press are invited to cover and will have access to wi-fi, a mult box and feed to the Town Hall taping. In addition, refreshments will be served. It is asked that all media RSVP by Saturday, March 26. RSVP/CONTACTS: Carolina Valencia - (646) 673-6494, cvalencia@unvision.net Paula Alvarez - (347) 268-7408, pmalvarez@univision.net ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: In the lead up to the Town Hall, students, parents and teachers will have the opportunity to submit an education-related question for President Obama. Questions can be submitted to Univision until Sunday, March 27, 2011 thro

Obama was right not to jeopardize reconciliation between Ankara and Yerevan. President Barack Obama trod a fine moral line this month between his past campaign promises to use the word genocide to describe the World War I massacres of Armenians in the Ott

President Barack Obama pledged in his first TV interview-with the Arab satellite channel Al Arabiya-that America under his watch would "listen with respect and not dictate" to the world. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has further announced that this c

In the face of police brutality, crackdowns on political parties and media, and a host of other violations ahead of Egypt's Nov. 28 parliamentary election, human rights advocates are calling on President Barack Obama to use U.S. leverage to persuade Egypt

The election of Barack Obama has raised enormous expectations around the world, including in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). While President Obama's attention has understandably been focused predominantly on formidable challenges at home, in the M

Capping a nearly two-year consultation involving dozens of U.S. and international leaders, a new report by three U.S. think tanks is calling on President-elect Barack Obama and other leaders to implement sweeping reforms in global governance to more effec

President Barack Obama is scheduled to deliver a speech in Cairo in June 2009 in which he is expected to reach out to the Islamic world, part of the continuing work of repairing the ties between the United States and Muslims that were so damaged under the

For perhaps the first time since Iran and the U.S. broke ties in 1980, there are real prospects for fundamental change. The new U.S. president, Barack Obama, stated willingness to talk unconditionally. Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, implicitly

George W Bush made democracy-support a central theme of his presidency. Barack Obama, by contrast, has downplayed it. Yet the latter's approach may achieve more effective results, says Mariano Aguirre.

WASHINGTON, Mar 11 (IPS) - Scores of Middle East and democracy experts released an open letter to U.S. President Barack Obama Tuesday asking him to focus more of his foreign policy efforts at making reforms in the region, including boosting human rights.

President Barack Obama pledged in his first TV interview-with the Arab satellite channel Al Arabiya-that America under his watch would "listen with respect and not dictate" to the world. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has further announced that this c

In early March 2009, a group of more than 100 experts and scholars from the United States and the Muslim world issued an open letter to President Barack Obama, urging him to make support for democracy in the middle east a top priority. The letter - conven

WASHINGTON, Mar 16 (IPS) - The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama should work hard on areas of common interest with Russia in order to build a "partnership, however uneasy," that would serve Washington's interests in key areas, including non-pr