Newsline 23 November 2009: Brazil risks US anger by hosting a visit from the Iranian president. Politicians in Ukraine try to capitalize on panic over the flu. Tamil refugees to be freed from camps ten months after the end of Sri Lanka's civil war.

Brazil's role in Middle East peace
Brazil's standing in the international community faces a test today, as president Lula da Silva hosts a visit by Iranian president Mahmoud Amadinejad. The trip, part of a tour of Latin America and Africa, comes as Iran begins five days of large war games simulating attacks on its nuclear sites. It's a move sure to increase international pressure over the country's nuclear programme - and fears over its nuclear weapons ambitions. And Brazil's ambitions as a world player go further, the country wants to play a significant role in the middle east peace process. Listen to an interview with Marcel Biato, foreign policy advisor to the president of Brazil.

The politics of influenza
The influenza panic in Ukraine is subsiding following the government's decision to re-open schools and universities. Public life in the country came to a standstill for several weeks because of an outbreak of flu, which has cost the lives of 374 people over the past month. Ukraine's been hit by a mutation of the A(H1N1) virus, but the World Health Organisation says existing swine flu vaccines will still be effective. And with presidential elections due in January, Ukraine's politicians have been quick to exploit the epidemic. Listen to an interview with Katryna Gruschenko of the Kyiv Post.

Tamil refugees set to leave camps
Over 130,000 Tamil refugees in Sri Lanka, who have been living in camps since the beginning of this year, will be released starting next month. The Sri Lankan government set up the camps in the country's north for Tamils who were fleeing fighting at the end of the country's long civil war. Colombo has come under international pressure to open the camps, as living conditions there are sub-standard. Listen to an interview with Bernard Jaspers Fayer of the Dutch aid agency ZOA in Sri Lanka.