FIFA concerned about Brazil violence

Relatives and friends of Douglas Rafael da Silva Pereira react around his coffin during his burial in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, April 24, 2014. [Photo/icpress.cn]

RIO DE JANEIRO - FIFA is concerned about recent violence in Brazil less than two months before the country hosts the World Cup. But Marketing Director Thierry Weil says soccer's governing body is still confident that Brazil will stage "the biggest party on Earth."

A Rio de Janeiro slum erupted in violence Tuesday after the killing of a popular local figure. Angry residents set fires and showered homemade explosives and bottles onto a busy avenue in the city's main tourist zone.

It was the latest violence to hit one of Rio's so-called "pacified" slums - poor areas that were long controlled by drug gangs.

Police began an ambitious program in 2008 to drive gangs from slums. It is part of Rio's security push ahead of the World Cup.

Brazil's daily life ahead of the soccer World Cup	Rio - City of sand, sun, samba and soccer	Armies and police sent to 'pacify' slum in Brazil