Briefly: Americas

BRAZIL

President returns to work after pneumonia

BRASILIA | Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff returned to the Brazilian capital Monday after spending the night in a Sao Paulo hospital, where she was treated for pneumonia, her office said.

Mrs. Rousseff, 63, received treatment Sunday for what was diagnosed as a mild case of pneumonia in her right lung.

The Brazilian leader cleared her calendar Monday while recovering from her illness and was taking a course of antibiotics, her office said.

CHILE

Radioactive Japanese cars shipped to port town

SANTIAGO | Customs agents detected low levels of radioactivity in cars shipped from the Japanese port of Yokohama, officials said Monday.

The radioactivity was found in 21 of nearly 2,500 cars that arrived in the port of Iquique aboard the Hyundai 106 cargo ship.

About a hundred port workers have protested, saying their health was at risk.

But Chilean Deputy Treasury Secretary Miguel Angel Quesada said Monday that the Chilean nuclear commission has confirmed that the radioactivity is too low to cause damage to humans.

He said the cars will be hosed down on board and any radioactivity will be contained inside the ship.

This is the first Japanese shipment to Chile to show radioactivity since Japan’s massive March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster.

ARGENTINA

Argentines burn trains over delayed commute

BUENOS AIRES | Angry mobs in Argentina burned train cars in at least three stations after a derailment caused long delays in Monday’s commute.

Police said the mobs also attacked ticket booths, train conductors and officers who tried to restore order.

Huge plumes of smoke went up from at least three trains along the Sarmiento line, which links the capital with western suburbs.

Dozens of people were involved, and several were arrested.

Buenos Aires Trains spokesman Gustavo Gago said it’s not easy to set a train on fire, but the mobs appeared to be well-organized, destroying security cameras and coming prepared for the arson attacks.