Brazil, Venezuela, and Chile say refugees welcome

Brazil will welcome Syrian refugees with “open arms,'' President Dilma Rousseff said yesterday. In a video message marking Brazil's Independence Day, Rousseff said she wanted to “reiterate the government's willingness to welcome those who, driven from their homeland, want to come live, work and contribute to the prosperity and peace of Brazil.  “Especially in these difficult times, these times of crisis, we have to welcome refugees with open arms,'' she added. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ordered his foreign ministry to take steps to receive 20,000 Syrians in the country. Chile's President Michelle Bachelet, meanwhile, said her country also would be willing to accept refugees, without specifying a number or nationality. More…