Head of public body coordinating Olympic planning resigns

AP

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — An army general who has headed the public body that coordinates planning for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro resigned on Friday.

In a brief statement issued late in the day, the office of Brazil President Dilma Rousseff said General Fernando Azevedo e Silva had stepped down. The statement gave no details.

In an announcement last month, Azevedo de Silva's Olympic Public Authority said public and private spending on the games had reached almost 38 billion Brazilian reals ($14 billon). The figure was in line with previous estimates.

He took over late in 2013 and worked on coordinating Olympic spending with national, state and local governments. He worked separately from the local organizing committee and its budgeting.