BLAME IT ON THE BASSA NOVA

Small town in southeastern Brazil to honor Yasser Arafat
The New Year's Eve celebrations in the small community of Paraiba do Sul will honor a figure the town's mayor says hasn't been honored anywhere else in the West - the late Yasser Arafat. Moments before the clock rings in 2005, a fireworks and light show will serve as a backdrop to the unveiling of a life-sized statue of the Palestinian leader holding the traditional symbol of peace, the olive branch. The 5-foot, 7-inch bronze statue will be part of an open-air memorial that includes a marble map of Palestine and a replica of the Palestinian flag, also in marble, Paraiba do Sul Mayor Rogerio Onofre said. ``It is the first time a memorial in Arafat's honor has been built in the Western world,'' Onofre said.

CHECK OUT THIS PICTURE OF THE STATUE AT ISRAELLYCOOL