From KING GEORGE ISLAND — The sleek architecture and hotel-like accommodations are reminiscent of a luxury ski lodge, but this is Brazil’s USD 100 million, state-of-the-art, brand-new research base in Antarctica. The country planned to reopen its facilities at the South Pole this afternoon, eight years after a devastating fire killed two people and destroyed 70 percent of the old facilities, built back in 1984.
The official inauguration of the base was delayed until tomorrow, due to bad weather. Vice President Hamilton Mourão, Science and Technology Minister Marcos Pontes, and Defense Minister Fernando Azevedo e Silva are lodging in the...