Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | AFP | Hosts Brazil finally launched their campaign for Olympic gold as sought after starlet Gabriel Barbosa struck twice to defeat Denmark 4-0 on Wednesday, as two-time champions Argentina bowed out of Rio 2016. Barcelona star Neymar is still yet to hit the net, but …
Read More »Rio’s glittering opening launches Olympics 2016
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | AFP | The Rio Olympics opening ceremony started with fireworks and laser lit choreography on Friday as Fireworks and laser-lit choreography launched the Rio Games on Friday as Brazil sought to forget seven years of troubled preparations and the Olympic movement temporarily put aside …
Read More »Football: Neymar tasked with delivering Brazil’s elusive gold
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | AFP | Brazil has barely got over its World Cup disaster and now it is counting on Barcelona star Neymar to finally deliver a treasured first football Olympic gold medal. Olympic gold is the only international title to elude Brazil in an illustrious history that …
Read More »Brazilian judge blocks WhatsApp nationwide
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | AFP | A judge on Tuesday suspended the WhatsApp smartphone messaging service across Brazil, where it is hugely popular, for failing to surrender user data in a police investigation. “WhatsApp is blocked across the whole national territory,” a spokesman for the court in Rio de …
Read More »Zika experts say quitting Olympics an ‘over-reaction’
Paris, France | AFP | Only pregnant women and people planning a family need fear Zika, disease experts said Wednesday after golfer Rory McIlroy became the latest athlete to withdraw from the Olympics over virus fears. The mosquito-borne virus, which can also be transmitted via sex, is thought to cause …
Read More »WHO: Zika will not spread or disrupt Olympics
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 …
Read More »Olympics: Long jump champ freezes sperm over Zika fears
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Olympic long jump champion Greg Rutherford has made the decision to freeze his sperm because of fears about the Zika virus at this year’s Games in Rio de Janeiro. Rutherford’s girlfriend, Susie Verrill, said the couple were increasingly worried about mosquito-born Zika, which can …
Read More »Brazil’s Rousseff suspended to face impeachment trial
Brasília, Brazil | AFP | Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was suspended Thursday to face impeachment, ceding power to her vice-president-turned-enemy Michel Temer in a political earthquake ending 13 years of leftist rule over Latin America’s biggest nation. A nearly 22-hour debate in the Senate closed with an overwhelming 55-22 vote …
Read More »Court order shuts down WhatsApp in Brazil, again
Sao Paulo, Brazil | AFP | Irate Brazilians found themselves without the popular WhatsApp smartphone messaging application for the second time in six months Monday, after a court blocked the service for 72 hours. A flurry of angry commentary immediately broke out online after a small-town judge blocked WhatsApp nationwide …
Read More »Brazil lawmakers authorize Rousseff impeachment
April 18 5.00am Uganda time Brazil lawmakers give green light to Rousseff impeachment trial Brasília, Brazil | AFP | Brazilian lawmakers on Sunday authorized impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff in a rowdy, circus-like showdown that plunged Latin America’s biggest country into profound political crisis. Opposition deputies in the lower …
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