RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) – Russian appeals against Olympic bans were piling up Tuesday as IOC president Thomas Bach slammed what he called the “contemptuous” doping system blamed on the Moscow government. Bach said the Russia scandal along with Brazil’s political and economic crises had made the runup to the first Olympics in South America “challenging”. An investigation by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren which revealed state-organised doping in Russia, has overshadowed the buildup to […]
Tag: Brazil
Olympics: Brits bring own plumber to leaky athletes’ village
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) – Record-seeking Britain have pulled out all the stops for their Rio Olympics campaign — to the extent of employing their own plumber for the leaky athletes’ village. Water leaks and even a small fire have been among the problems reported at the newly built tower blocks, along with blocked toilets, exposed wiring and unlit stairwells. Australia had to delay moving in because of concerns over the accommodation, and the […]
Olympic torch riot deepens Rio Games woes
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) by Sebastian Smith A riot during the Olympic torch relay cast a shadow over the Rio Games starting in just over a week Thursday, marking a new low in a ritual that had been meant to unite Brazil. The torch is nearing the end of a 300-city relay that will end with the lighting of the Olympic flame in the Maracana stadium at the opening ceremony on August 5. But […]
Rio mayor says arrests over suspected terrorism show effective security operations
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (Reuters) — Rio de Janeiro Mayor, Eduardo Paes, said the arrest of 10 people suspected of planning a terrorist attack during the Olympic Games on Thursday (July 21) showed Brazil’s security forces are working effectively. “I see it in a positive light, it shows that the security forces are working – the suspects, the investigation, intelligence, the arrest of 10 people in Sao Paulo and in Curitiba – this shows that […]
WhatsApp briefly blocked yet again in Brazil
by Sebastian Smith RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — The hugely popular WhatsApp smartphone messaging service was briefly blocked by a Brazilian court Tuesday for the third time in less than a year after failing to surrender user data to police. The latest drama ended after the Supreme Court president, Ricardo Lewandowski, accepted an appeal against a lower court order that shut down the service nearly four hours earlier. “The suspension of service apparently violates […]
Obama administration under fire after ex-Gitmo inmate disappears
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The Obama administration came under fire Thursday over the disappearance of a former Guantanamo Bay inmate in Uruguay, as Republican lawmakers voiced fears he and others freed from the military prison could again threaten America. Jihad Diyab — a 44-year-old Syrian who was resettled in Uruguay in 2014 along with five other ex-detainees — went off the South American country’s radar several weeks ago after apparently evading border controls and […]
Olympics: WHO committee says low risk of Zika spread
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — There is a “very low risk” of the Zika virus spreading further internationally as a result of the Olympic Games in Brazil, the World Health Organization’s emergency committee on the disease said Tuesday. The statement came as worry mounted that the mosquito-borne virus, which has spread across much of Latin America and which can lead to severe birth defects in babies, might spread further when the Olympics begin in August. “The […]
Russia wins annual Battle of Nations championship
PRAGUE, Czech Republic (Reuters) — Fully equipped with armor and weapons, men and women from all over the world traveled back in time for the World Championships in Full Contact Medieval combat. The participants use weapons from the Middle ages in the championship, held in the Czech capital this year. The goal is to recreate the rawness of the medieval battle. Replicas of historical weapons like swords, axes or halberds are needed. The only difference […]
Brazil impeachment drive against Rousseff tips into chaos
BRASILIA Brazil (AFP) – by Damian Wroclavsky The impeachment of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was thrown into confusion Monday when the acting speaker of the lower house of Congress annulled the April vote by lawmakers that launched the process. Just days before the Senate seemed near certain to suspend Rousseff for six months and open an impeachment trial, the new leader of the lower house threw a spanner in the works — dramatically ramping up the […]
Brazil Senate committee vote set on Rousseff impeachment
BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) – by Damian Wroclavsky A special committee in Brazil’s Senate was to vote Friday on whether to recommend starting an impeachment trial against President Dilma Rousseff who faces being suspended from office in less than a week. The committee’s decision is non-binding but marks the last formal stage before the full Senate votes Wednesday on whether to put the leftist leader on trial. With a ‘yes’ almost certain, Rousseff is preparing to […]
Brazil Supreme Court suspends Rousseff impeachment architect
BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) — by Damian Wroclavsky A Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Thursday suspended Eduardo Cunha, the senior lawmaker at the center of efforts to impeach President Dilma Rousseff, citing his attempt to obstruct a probe into his alleged corruption. The speaker of Brazil’s lower house of Congress is the architect of the impeachment drive which is expected to see Rousseff forced to step aside from office on Wednesday. Cunha’s dramatic setback was not […]
Facebook CEO urges Brazilians to decry WhatsApp block
(REUTERS) Facebook Inc’s Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg called on Brazilians to demand his company’s WhatsApp messaging service never be blocked again after an appeals court on Tuesday overturned the application’s second suspension in five months. In a post in English on his Facebook page, the U.S. billionaire and Facebook founder urged Brazilians to gather outside Congress in the capital Brasilia at 6 p.m. (1700 EDT) on Wednesday to rally in favor of legislation that would […]
