Brazil court halts work on controversial dam

A federal court in Brazil on Wednesday ordered a halt in construction at the $11 billion Belo Monte hydroelectric dam, finding that it would disrupt fishing by local indigenous people. The case drew international attention from Oscar-winning movie director James Cameron, of "Avatar" fame, who said indigenous tribes in the Amazon rainforest could turn to violence to block dam construction. Para state federal judge Carlos Eduardo Castro Martins barred Norte Energia from "building a port, using explosives, installing dikes, building canals and any other infrastructure work that would interfere with the natural flow of the Xingu River, thereby affecting local fish" stocks and indigenous fishing. The Belo Monte dam, which would be the world's third largest, is portrayed by Brazil's government as a key piece of its plan to boost national energy production needed for one of the world's fastest-growing emerging economies.