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    February 12, 2012

Brazil's Bahia Police End Strike

   VOA News
   Police officers begin to leave the Legislative Assembly of Bahia, where
   they were protesting to demand higher wages, in Salvador February 9,
   2012.
   Photo: Reuters
   Police officers begin to leave the Legislative Assembly of Bahia, where
   they were protesting to demand higher wages, in Salvador February 9,
   2012.

   Police in one of Brazil's largest cities have ended their nearly
   two-week strike that unleashed a spike in murders.
   Officers in Salvador, the capital of the northeastern state of Bahia,
   voted to end the strike Saturday. They had been demanding higher wages.
   Officials say a crime wave claimed more than 130 lives in the Salvador
   metropolitan area during the strike.
   Meanwhile, authorities say police may soon suspend their short-lived
   strike in Rio de Janeiro. Rio's residents were spared the violence that
   erupted in Salvador.
   The strikes renew concerns about Brazil's readiness to host the World
   Cup in 2014. Rio and Salvador are among the cities selected as venues
   for the soccer games.
   Rio will host the Olympics in 2016.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.

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