World Cup

Brazil activists fear a new bill could mean protesters are charged with terrorism

VICE News

SÃO PAULO — Activists in Brazil say a proposed law defining terrorism will criminalize protest movements, including those looking to use media attention on the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro to highlight social injustices and push for reforms.

The bill, authored by President Dilma Rousseff’s office, was amended on its way through the lower house of Congress to add specific exemptions for social movements, but these were removed when it sailed through the Senate last week. It now heads back for a final reading by Brazil’s deputies, and would require final approval by the president.

Supporters of the bill argue Brazil needs legislation to define and fight terrorism, though experts charge that the move stems from pressure from the U.S.-led anti-terrorism body — the Financial Action Task Force, or FATF — amid fears of sanctions that could exacerbate the country’s recession.

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After World Cup, Brazil Asks: Was It Worth It?

Mashable

RIO DE JANEIRO – Well, that was that. Brazilians had been hungry to host another World Cup final in Rio’s historic Maracanã stadium since 1950, and although in the end things didn’t go to plan on the pitch, many have praised the country’s enthusiasm, hospitality and what turned out to be a dramatic and unforgettable World Cup.

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VIDEO: Brazilians on Neymar World Cup exit

Video by Cedar Attanasio; produced/translated by Ben Tavener

SÃO PAULO – Just hours after Brazil secured its place in the World Cup semifinals the news broke that the country’s golden boy, Neymar Jr, who had been stretchered off during the quarterfinal clash against Colombia, had fractured a vertebra and would miss the rest of the tournament.

We asked Brazilian fans on Avenida Paulista how they thought their team had fared, and what the country would do without its rising star on the pitch.

See photos and video from the São Paulo Fan Fest during the quarterfinal clash

UPDATED: Two dead in Brazil World Cup city overpass collapse

Anadolu Agency – UPDATED 4 July 10:15am

SÃO PAULO – An overpass under construction in the Brazilian World Cup host city of Belo Horizonte collapsed onto a busy highway on Thursday, killing two person and injuring 22 others, officials confirmed to the Anadolu Agency (AA).

The flyover fell on four vehicles – a bus, two trucks and a car – at around 3:10pm local time (18:10 GMT).

The structure is part of the city’s new rapid bus transit system – part of the city’s World Cup urban mobility project – and was meant to be ready in July.

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World Cup fans opt for beach over sky-high hotel prices

Anadolu Agency – by Steffen Stubager & Asger Mow, additional reporting and editing by Ben Tavener

RIO DE JANEIRO – Hundreds of football fans in Brazil for the World Cup are refusing to pay sky-high accommodation prices and instead are opting to sleep rough during the key sporting event.

In Rio de Janeiro, football fans from all over the world can be seen sleeping in the main bus station and on the city’s famous beaches, where temperatures have tumbled to 15°C at night and rain has been a regular feature.

Fans, including many from Argentina, Colombia and Chile, have come to Brazil for weeks in some cases without booking any accommodation and, for most, the risk is directly linked to hotels inflating prices during the World Cup.

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Brazil’s football frenzy drowns out World Cup critics

Anadolu Agency

SÃO PAULO – Exactly who brought football to Brazil and precisely when they did it is still a moot point.

Some say it was Charles Miller, the son of a British railway worker who was building train lines in São Paulo, and others point to Thomas Donohue, a dye worker from Busby in Scotland, who sowed the soccer seed in Rio de Janeiro – both sometime around the late 1890s.

However the sport made the 9,000km leap from Britain, some 120 years later Brazil has earned the title of O País do Futebol – the Land of Football – and deservedly so.

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