, reconciliation between the two communities is slow, says our correspondent. If this election is deemed free and fair, it may increase the chance of more states recognising an independent Kosovo, our correspondent says. Kosovo has so far been recognised by 63 out of 192 UN members. Thousands of Nato peacekeepers are still stationed there.
Brazil's two largest cities - Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo - suffered widespread blackouts due to a problem at the Itaipu dam on Paraguay border.Several other cities were also affected by the power failures which lasted more than two hours. The country lost 17,000 megawatts of power after the massive dam went offline, possibly because of a storm MBT shoes sale. The director of the dam said that it lost its entire hydroelectric output, but power is now largely restored. Neighbouring Paraguay also suffered a brief, total power failure. In Brazil's major cities, the underground railway systems in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo shut down, after the power cuts hit soon after 2200 (0000GMT), leaving many passengers stranded longchamp outlet uk. Thousands of rail passengers had to walk down underground tracks to reach stations. No traffic lights or street lights were working in Rio, the hardest hit city, and Sao Paulo, forcing traffic to stop or slow to a crawl. Crime concernsExtra police had been ordered onto Rio's streets to prevent any opportunistic crime, reports said. The BBC's correspondent in Sao Paulo, Gary Duffy, said the power outage happened at a time when millions would have been watching the country's popular soap opera on TV. Neighbourhood blackouts are common in the city of 19 million mbt shoes sale, but the scale of this outage was remarkable, he added. The power failure also affected the southeastern states of Minas Gerais and Espirito Santo, the southwestern state of Mato Grosso do Sul, parts of the central state of Goias, and the federal district of Brasilia, although the capital itself was unaffected. In all, nine of Brazil's 27 states were affected. The Itaipu dam provides Brazil with 20% of its electricity. Mines Related articles:

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