Ex-Brazil gymnastics coach denies

sexual abuse accusations

SAO PAULO (AP) — A former coach of the Brazilian national gymnastics team told a Senate committee Wednesday that he is innocent of allegations he sexually abused athletes and said the claims might stem from a conspiracy against him.

A Brazilian news show revealed last month that dozens of gymnasts and former gymnasts have accused Fernando de Carvalho Lopes of abusing them, including watching them shower, touching their genitals and asking them to masturbate in front of him.

Police are investigating.

Lopes appeared before a Senate committee and suggested that his accusers might have aligned their stories or been coached.

He said he wasn’t sure why the athletes would do such a thing. But he added that he was a strict coach and had probably caused more discontent than satisfaction over the years.

Cannes: Brazilians stress land

plight of indigenous people

CANNES, France (AP) — Cast and crew members of the Brazilian film “The Dead and the Other” held up placards on the Cannes Film Festival red carpet Wednesday to protest what they called “the genocide” of indigenous people in Brazil.

The movie is based on the filmmakers’ experience living for nearly a year in a village of Kraho people in north Brazil. It is playing in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes.

Co-directors Joao Salaviza and Renee Nader Messora joined actor Ihjac Kraho in displaying the signs calling for the protection of indigenous lands. They were attending the premiere of “Dogman.”

Brazilian politicians last year changed how land is to be demarcated for 900,000 aboriginal people. Activists maintain that without more protection, indigenous groups are being pushed off their land in violent disputes.