World facing 'unprecedented climate emergency': Brazil's Lula

NEW DELHI — Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told world leaders Saturday the planet was facing an "unprecedented climate emergency" while addressing the G20 Summit in India.

"The lack of commitment to the environment has led us to an unprecedented climate emergency," said Lula at the two-day meeting in New Delhi. "Droughts, floods, storms and fires are becoming more frequent."

G20 leaders meet this weekend during what is likely the hottest year in human history, but hopes are slim that the divided grouping can agree ambitious action on the crisis.

Any failure to do so could lower expectations ahead of crucial COP28 climate talks that begin in November in the United Arab Emirates.

In July, G20 energy ministers failed to even mention coal in their final statement, let alone agree a phase down roadmap, and there was no progress on the renewables goal.

G20 countries account for 85% of global GDP and a similar amount of global climate warming emissions, making action in the forum crucial to real progress.

Agence France-Presse

Football: Neymar returns as Brazil brush aside South Korea to reach World Cup quarters

DOHA, Qatar -- Neymar returned from injury to help inspire Brazil to a 4-1 victory over South Korea on Monday as the favorites cruised through to the quarter-finals of the World Cup.

The world's most expensive player had sat out his team's last two matches with a sprained ankle suffered in their opening 2-0 win over Serbia.

But he came back for this last-16 tie as Tite's team clicked into gear and delivered an ominous message to their rivals, at least before easing off in the second half.

Vinicius Junior opened the scoring inside seven minutes before Neymar added another from the penalty spot to move to 76 goals for his country, leaving him just one away from equaling Pele's all-time record tally.

Richarlison's brilliant goal made it 3-0 and Lucas Paqueta added another before half-time to leave South Korea shellshocked.

Paik Seung-ho pulled one back but by then Brazil were thinking about Friday's quarter-final clash with 2018 runners-up Croatia.

"The time has come to go further," Neymar told Brazilian broadcaster Globo, referring to their defeats in the semi-finals in 2014 and quarter-finals four years ago.

"We are dreaming of winning the title, that's obvious, but we have to go step by step.

"This was the fourth game. There are three to go but we are prepared. Our minds are focused on winning the title.”

The five-time world champions had not scored four goals in a knockout game at the tournament since 1998.

Here they played at times with the joy associated with the Brazilian national team, the players coming together to celebrate each goal by showing off their dance moves and their coach even joining in.

If they finished playing within themselves, their first-half display was superb and a fitting tribute to the great Pele.

The Brazilian legend had said he would watch the game from the Sao Paulo hospital to where he was admitted last week for cancer treatment, and supporters in Doha's Stadium 974 unfurled a banner with a get well soon message to him.

It was a chastening experience for Son Heung-min and South Korea, who have still never won a World Cup knockout match outside their own country.

Their coach Paulo Bento later announced he would not be continuing in the role.

"I believe we can be very proud of what we have done at this World Cup, and what we have done over the last four years to get here," said Bento.

Tite made 10 changes to the Brazil team after rotating his squad for last Friday's inconsequential 1-0 loss to Cameroon, with Danilo also returning from injury at left-back.

- Richarlison stars again -

With Alisson Becker back in goal and Thiago Silva and Marquinhos playing too, this was Brazil's first-choice defense but their forwards quickly put the tie to bed.

The opener came from their first shot on target as Raphinha burst away from Kim Jin-su on the right and his ball across goal came to the feet of Vinicius who coolly picked his spot.

They then won a penalty as Richarlison was caught by Jung Woo-young and Neymar duly beat Kim Seung-gyu -- his last six goals for Brazil have now all come from the spot.

Alisson was then called into action to tip over a vicious long-range effort from Hwang Hee-chan, but Brazil scored their third in style just before the half-hour mark.

Richarlison juggled the ball on his head three times just outside the area before laying it off to Marquinhos and then continuing into the box to get on the end of Silva's pass which he slotted home for his third goal at this World Cup.

Paqueta got their fourth nine minutes before the break with a first-time finish as he connected with a Vinicius ball held up from the byline.

They took their foot off the pedal in the second half, although Raphinha was denied on several occasions by the goalkeeper.

Korea though deserve credit for keeping going and were rewarded inside the final quarter-hour as substitute Paik brought down a clearance and sent in a ferocious shot from 25 metres that brushed off Silva to beat Alisson.

Agence France-Presse

Football: Pele hospitalized again for colon cancer treatment

SAO PAULO, Brazil -- Brazilian football great Pele has been hospitalized in Sao Paulo since Monday as part of his treatment for colon cancer, the medical center that treats him said.

The clinical condition of Edson Arantes do Nascimento is "good and stable, and he should be discharged from hospital in the next few days," the Albert Einstein Hospital said Tuesday in a statement.

Considered by many the greatest footballer of all time, Pele is the only player in history to win three World Cups (1958, 1962 and 1970).

Known in Brazil as "O Rei," or "The King," the 81-year-old must go to the hospital at least once a month to undergo check-ups and continue chemotherapy against the colon tumor that was detected last September, according to his family.

Before his diagnosis of colon cancer, which led to Pele being hospitalized for a month last year, the former star of Santos and the Brazilian team was hospitalized in Paris in 2019 and transferred to Sao Paulo to have a kidney stone removed. 

In 2014, the legendary "10" was hospitalized in intensive care due to a urinary tract infection that forced him to undergo dialysis on his left kidney, after the right one was removed in the 1970s due to an injury when he was still a player .

He also had hip problems that limited his mobility and forced him to use a wheelchair.

Agence France-Presse

Raging virus, few shots. How Brazil missed its chance to secure COVID-19 vaccines

RIO DE JANEIRO — Weeks after other Latin American countries began inoculating their citizens against coronavirus, Brazil finally administered its first shot on Jan. 17 using China's Sinovac Biotech Ltd vaccine.

With efficacy of just over 50% - barely above Brazil's threshold for regulatory approval - the Chinese shot was not the government's first choice. But for now, there is little else available.

The country's principle strategy - to manufacture 100 million doses of the AstraZeneca PLC vaccine locally - has been plagued by repeated delays. That effort isn't expected to yield a finished product until March at the earliest. 

AstraZeneca last week sent 2 million emergency doses to help Brazil get started. Meanwhile, Brazil's Health Ministry has yet to sign deals with other vaccine makers.

The delays leave Brazil's 210 million residents vulnerable to one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks on the planet. Brazil has tallied more than 218,000 COVID-19 fatalities, second only to the United States, and vaccinated less than 0.5% of its population.

Brazil's vaccine rollout is just the latest misstep by its Health Ministry, which President Jair Bolsonaro has stocked with active-duty and retired military men with little public health experience. 

Those newcomers failed to grasp how quickly they needed to move to secure supplies amid heated global competition, and the importance of hedging their bets by striking deals with multiple manufacturers, according to interviews with more than a dozen current and former officials, pharmaceutical executives, diplomats and public health experts.

The ministry's hesitance led to a missed opportunity back in August to order 70 million doses of a vaccine made by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE, with delivery starting in December, Pfizer said in a Jan. 7 statement.

Reuters also viewed an internal Health Ministry WhatsApp chat log, containing thousands of messages exchanged between senior officials last year as the global race for vaccines was heating up. The messages reveal that the new leadership team prioritized hydroxychloroquine and its cousin chloroquine, anti-malarial drugs championed by Bolsonaro as COVID-19 treatments despite little scientific evidence that they work.

"There was not sufficient focus on the vaccines, and a lack of technical vision," former Health Minister Nelson Teich told Reuters in an interview. Teich resigned in May in a disagreement with Bolsonaro over the hydroxychloroquine strategy.

Reuters sent a detailed list of questions for this story to the president's office, which directed queries to the Health Ministry. The ministry did not respond.

Bolsonaro - who contracted the coronavirus last year and says he won't take any COVID-19 shot - has defended his government's vaccine rollout. "With respect, nobody would do better than my government is doing," he said in a Jan. 15 television interview.

While many nations have struggled to obtain vaccines as manufacturers strive to meet global demand, Brazil was better positioned than many. It has a long history of successful inoculation drives, and its state-funded production facilities can churn out vaccines at scale.

The federal government squandered those advantages, said Marcia Castro, a native Brazilian and professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.

"It's a succession of errors that began from the start of the pandemic," she said. "And sadly, we're measuring those mistakes in the number of deaths."

HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE OBSESSION

The AstraZeneca shot was supposed to be the main pillar of Brazil's inoculation plan. According to a person involved in the deal, the Cambridge, England-based firm started talking to the Health Ministry about buying its vaccine around early June.

By then, Teich, the former health minister, was gone, replaced by Eduardo Pazuello, an Army general with no medical background. He quickly surrounded himself with other military men.

Negotiations with a ministry in upheaval were challenging, said the person familiar with the talks.

"There were no decisions being driven from the top," the person said, referring to Bolsonaro and the new ministry leadership.

The new officials were betting on hydroxychloroquine to mitigate Brazil's pandemic, months of internal ministry WhatsApp chats viewed by Reuters revealed. Vaccines were mentioned infrequently in the chats, and at times with skepticism.

For example, on June 12, just days after being named deputy health minister, Elcio Franco, a retired Army colonel, alerted colleagues to a magazine article featuring AstraZeneca's top Brazilian executive discussing the company's vaccine. Franco expressed surprise that anyone might volunteer to participate in a vaccine trial.

"Who would be a guinea pig?" Franco wrote to his colleagues.

Franco did, however, express confidence in hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine.

In June, COVID-19 deaths per day were reaching new highs in Brazil, official data showed. Franco claimed the opposite was true.

"Death rates are dropping dramatically due to Bolsonaro's treatment protocol," he posted to the internal WhatsApp group on June 15. "Chloroquine is reversing the situation."

Franco did not respond to requests for comment through the Health Ministry or his LinkedIn account.

Brazil is now dealing with another surge of infections that's pushing hospitals to the breaking point in several cities.

The Health Ministry has doubled down on anti-malarials. It publicly has urged infected people to take them soon after the onset of symptoms, and this month it sent 120,000 hydroxychloroquine pills to the badly hit northern state of Amazonas.

 ASTRAZENECA TALKS

The person involved in the AstraZeneca talks said the Health Ministry's leadership didn't appear to grasp how quickly they'd need to act to secure a portion of the company's limited supply.

In an initial meeting around the start of June, Pazuello, the new chief, showed interest in buying the vaccine, "and then got up and left the room," the person said. "He didn't come to future calls."

Pazuello did not respond to requests for comment.

During ministry talks, AstraZeneca officials stressed the need for Brazil to make a financial commitment to guarantee delivery, the source said.

Ministry newcomers were still mastering government red tape, slowing the transaction, three people familiar with the situation said. The officials also proceeded cautiously to avoid any perception that they stood to profit from an unproven vaccine, following public graft scandals that had upended the country in recent years, the people said.

"They fear that people will assume there were kickbacks involved and their opponents will use it as a reason to launch an investigation," the source said.

Meanwhile, Britain, the European Union and the United States signed large deals with AstraZeneca.

With Brazil's Health Ministry dithering, AstraZeneca reached out to officials in other parts of government to help unlock funding, said the person involved in the negotiations.

AstraZeneca did not respond to requests for comment.

On June 27, Brazil announced it had signed a $127 million agreement to start producing AstraZeneca's vaccine at Rio de Janeiro's federally funded Fiocruz Institute. Franco, the deputy health minister, said in late June that Brazil would initially produce some 30 million doses of the vaccine, half by December 2020, the rest in January 2021.

But Fiocruz has yet to manufacture a single dose because it lacks the active ingredient needed to make the vaccine. The first shipment of that Chinese-made material is now delayed until around Feb. 8, Fiocruz said this week, without giving a reason. Fiocruz had previously predicted it would produce finished doses by March. It will update that forecast once the ingredient arrives, the statement said.

Yang Wanming, China's ambassador to Brazil, said in a Tuesday press conference that "technical" obstacles were holding up the shipment. He did not elaborate.

With its timetable slipping, the Health Ministry in late December appealed to AstraZeneca, which was able to source 2 million ready-to-use shots from India. Those doses, which arrived in Brazil on Jan. 22, will immunize just 0.5% of Brazil's population.

PFIZER FAILURE

Negotiations with Pfizer, meanwhile, have turned testy. The Health Ministry publicly has chastised the company for demanding Brazil sign a waiver shielding it from any potential liability regarding its vaccine.

Pfizer says many countries have signed the waiver; it blames Brazil's government for dragging its feet. In a January statement, the company said it began talks in June with the Health Ministry, which it said passed on Pfizer's August 15 offer to supply 70 million doses.

With those negotiations bogged down, Brazil's government has turned to the Sinovac shot.

Bolsonaro, a vocal China critic, had vowed never to purchase the Chinese vaccine. On Jan. 13, he delighted in pointing out to supporters that the vaccine's Brazilian trials, conducted at São Paulo's Butantan Institute, a public biomedical research center, had shown a disappointing efficacy rate of 50.4%.

But with few options left, the Health Ministry recently announced a deal to purchase up to 100 million doses from Butantan.

On Jan. 18, Bolsonaro struck a more conciliatory tone. Sinovac's shot, he told supporters, was "Brazil's vaccine."

-reuters

During pandemic, Brazilian horror park reopens as drive-thru

SAO PAULO (AP) — A large Ferris wheel with red lights illuminates a gloomy path at a horror theme amusement park in Brazil. A line of cars carrying spectators moves slowly as actors dressed up as werewolves and witches approach the vehicles with outstretched arms. Another apocalyptic scene appears on the sidewalk: two zombies devouring a victim.

People in dozens of cars gathered on Friday at the Hopi Hari amusement park in the city of Vinhedo, in the state of Sao Paulo. The horror theme park, closed because of the pandemic, reopened with a change aimed at preventing the spread of the new coronavirus: people enjoy the scary entertainment without getting out of the car.

Hopi Hari provides weary families who have been cooped up for months with the thrill of ghosts, ghouls and monsters in a drive-thru option. During the 2.7-kilometer (1.6-mile) tour that takes around 30 minutes to be completed, visitors pass through seven main attractions that include short reproductions of horror movies such as “The Exorcist.”

“They are adapting, and this is very nice. It allows us to leave our home and have fun,” said 61-year-old Jose Purgato, who went to the park with his family.

Sao Paulo is the Brazilian state with the largest number of coronavirus cases reported - more than 800,000 - and about 31,000 confirmed deaths from COVID-19.

Some Brazilian cities have offered drive-in cinemas and even a circus for people watching from cars.

“We were locked at home for such a long time,” said 31-year-old Tariana Souza, who described the horror theme amusement park as “an escape from our routine.”

___

De Sousa reported from Rio de Janeiro.

Associated Press

Neymar set to mark 100th game with Brazil

SAO PAULO— Ahead of his 100th game with Brazil, Neymar is adamant that he still deserves special treatment in the national team despite never having won a major title in his nine years wearing the famous yellow shirt.

The 27-year-old forward will reach the century mark in a friendly against Senegal in Singapore on Thursday, and defended his status as the team’s biggest star even though Brazil won this summer’s Copa America without him.


“I was always one of the main figures and one of those carrying it all on my back,” Neymar said at a news conference Wednesday when asked about getting special treatment. “I never ran away from that. I always played my role in the national team very well. When a player reaches that level it is normal that there is a different treatment.”

“I was in places that had players with more history than me and I had to respect what coaches did for them,” the Paris Saint-Germain striker added. “Messi has a different treatment at Barcelona. Is it because he is better looking? No. It is because he is decisive. He earned it. I don’t say that only about myself, but I say it about everyone that has performances at that level. That is normal in soccer.”

Neymar’s comments come at a time when some Brazil fans have accused coach Tite and the Brazilian soccer confederation of being too lenient with the striker over his problems off the pitch. Those include his altercation with a fan after the French Cup final in April; his insistence that his father-agent was allowed into Brazil’s dressing room during a pre-Copa America friendly; and a rape allegation that was recently closed by police.

Neymar is currently at odds with PSG’s fans as well after trying to force a return to Barcelona during the offseason.


And in Brazil, he remains the country’s most polarizing player.

His statistics with the national team are impressive: 61 goals and 42 assists in 99 games so far. That puts him one goal behind two-time World Cup winner Ronaldo, who is in second place on Brazil’s all-time list of top scorers with 62. Pele tops the list with 77.

With Neymar in the team, Brazil has 70 victories, 19 draws and 10 defeats. But aside from the 2013 Confederations Cup, no titles.

At the 2014 World Cup at home, Neymar injured his back in the quarterfinal win over Colombia and the team was humiliated 7-1 by Germany in the semifinals without him. At least year’s World Cup in Brazil he was far from his best after recovering from a foot injury, and made little impact as Brazil lost 2-1 to Belgium in the quarterfinals.

And this summer he had to miss the Copa America because of an injury he sustained shortly before the tournament.


Asked about his best memories with the national team, Neymar picked his debut, his World Cup debut in 2014 and the goal he scored in the opening game of the tournament against Croatia.

“There is a positive balance, but it isn’t all about victories in the life of an athlete,” Neymar said. “There are many disappointments, defeats and mistakes. But if you fight for it, in the end, you make up for your mistakes. I am very happy to reach that mark of 100 matches. Not even in my best dreams I thought this could happen.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Huawei to build US$800 million plant in Brazil

BEIJING — Huawei Technologies Co Ltd will invest $800 million to build a factory in Brazil, the world’s fourth-largest smartphone market, by 2022 as part of broader efforts to beef up its presence in foreign markets to offset the fallout of global economic uncertainty.

The factory will be located in the south-eastern state of Sao Paulo, its Governor Joao Doria said on a trip to Shanghai, where he met with Huawei executives.


Doria noted that Huawei is ramping up efforts to build the plant as Brazil is expected to hold its 5G spectrum auction next March. Industry insiders predicted the auction would be the largest in the world so far.

The Chinese tech giant disclosed in a statement the possibility of producing smartphones at the new plant. “Depending on the performance of the smartphone operation in the local market, Huawei will consider building a plant in Sao Paulo in the near future,” it said.

Sources who wished to remain anonymous told China Daily that Huawei is also likely to produce telecom equipment related to 5G in the plant, including 5G smartphone and base stations.

Huawei has been operating in the South American country for over two decades. In May, it launched its P30 Pro and P30 Lite models with high-resolution cameras in the country.


Brazil is a country with fast-growing information and technology businesses and also a potential big market for tech firms.

Brazilian software association ABES forecast a 10.5 percent increase in IT spending in the country this year, even higher than the 9.8 percent growth in 2018.

“Due to high barriers to entry, Brazil’s smartphone market is very consolidated,” Parv Sharma, research analyst from market consultancy Counterpoint, said earlier in a report.

“However, this landscape will be challenged by Huawei which is planning to re-enter the market by partnering with Brazilian consumer electronics manufacturer in latter part of 2018,” Sharma said.

Although Huawei is facing some bottlenecks in the foreign market amid the current global trade uncertainties, the company has gained support from many countries, including Brazil.


In June, Brazil’s Vice-President Hamilton Mourao said that Huawei will not be banned from operating a 5G mobile telecoms network in the country.

In an interview with valour Economico, Brazil’s largest financial newspaper, Mourao said the idea of banning Huawei is not being considered by the nation’s government. “No, not here, not in our government… We are a country in need of being more digitally integrated,” he said.

source: technology.inquirer.net

Neymar fitness in the spotlight as Brazil face Croatia

Brazil will keep a close eye on the fitness of star striker Neymar when the World Cup contenders face Croatia in a friendly at Anfield on Sunday.


Neymar, who scored four goals in the 2014 World Cup, has not played any form of football since February after breaking his foot.

The 26-year-old Paris Saint Germain ace sat out training on Thursday as a precaution.


But his Brazil team-mate Fernandinho has given a positive assessment of Neymar’s condition just two weeks before the start of the World Cup on June 14.

“By the movements and dribbles he has been doing in training, he has shown he is well,” said the Manchester City midfielder.

“He is confident which is important, he shows that he isn’t scared of our defenders as he takes them on without fear.

“This is the first steps to getting his confidence back to 100 percent for the World Cup.

“We also support his recovery because without a doubt he will be the difference for our team.

“I’ve been in his position when I was younger, being injured isn’t easy even when getting back from injury doing daily workouts even when the bone is still hurting is still difficult.

“Neymar is ready. He is fit. He’s not had a good injury and it takes time to recover. But he’s training well, he’s feeling well.”

Neymar could play some part as a substitute at Anfield, but Selecao boss Tite is unlikely to take any unnecessary risks, with their opening World Cup fixture against Switzerland looming on June 17.


That said Neymar must surely have some game-time, with a friendly against Austria in Vienna on June 10 serving as Brazil’s other warm-up fixture.

Coutinho returns

Brazil, five-time world champions, have spent the week training at Tottenham ahead of their opening World Cup warm-up fixture.

The match with Croatia gives the Liverpool crowd the opportunity to see former Reds star Philippe Coutinho.

Brazil forward Coutinho left Liverpool for Barcelona in January, while his international colleague Roberto Firmino will also be hoping to feature on his home club ground.

It is uncertain what kind of reception Coutinho will receive, with Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish this week requesting the “boo boys” to stay away from the match.

“We haven’t had that conversation about Philippe returning to Anfield,” Fernandinho said.

“But I believe he’s happy because he spent a couple years at Liverpool, had some fantastic games where his performances managed to take him to Barcelona and the Brazilian national team.

“I believe it will be an honor for him to return to a city and home he knows well.”

Brazil has an injury doubt over Renato Augusto and he is likely to miss Sunday’s fixture due to a right knee issue.

But Brazil’s squad has had a relaxed feel to it this week ahead of the more serious work.

There is a sense of wishing to right wrongs of the past, with the 7-1 semi-final defeat to Germany at their home World Cup four years ago still weighing heavily on their minds.

Yet Brazil has always been regarded as the most watchable team in world football and intend to carry on their role as great entertainers, win, lose or draw in Russia.

“We cannot promise the title, but we can promise great matches,” said captain Thiago Silva this week.

“By the time of the World Cup you will see great football.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Miss Universe draws record-high 34M tweets; Thailand, PH bets most mentioned

The recently concluded Miss Universe peageant in Manila which saw the Philippines’ own Pia Wurtzbach relinquishing her crown to Iris Mittenaere of France generated a record-breaking number of tweets, Twitter said on Tuesday.

Twitter said a total of 34.6 million Miss Universe-related tweets were recorded during the live event—the highest tweet volume for an entertainment event during a live show.

The most mentioned contestants during the pageant were Chalita Suansane of Thailand (Top 6), Philippine bet Maxine Medina (Top 6), and Raissa Santana of Brazil (Top 9).

It was also Thailand’s Suansane who won the Miss Universe online voting, which earned her a spot in the Top 13.

The most talked about moments were the end of the evening gown competition, end of the interview round, Miss Kenya being asked about United States President Donald Trump, end of the swimsuit segment, and the announcement of Top 6 contestants.

Despite Medina’s loss, Twitter noted that Filipino users tweeted out “big support” to the Philippine representative.

Here are the top Twitter moments on the 65th Miss Universe pageant: https://twitter.com/i/moments/825598159409647616

source: technology.inquirer.net

Olympics: True bromance as Phelps and Lochte eye Rio finale

RIO DE JANEIRO—The curtain comes down on one of swimming’s great rivalries on Thursday when Olympic giants Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte lock horns one last time.

Phelps will look to win the men’s 200m individual medley for an incredible fourth successive Games while Lochte, so often the bridesmaid, finally tries to get one over on his fellow American.

After the formalities of Wednesday’s semi-finals, both swimmers indulged in some sweet-talk before their last dance in Rio.

“The history [he] and I have had with one another it’s something special,” said Phelps, who won his record 20th and 21st Olympic gold medals on Tuesday.

“We’ve been racing for the last 12 years and having one more battle tomorrow will be fun,” he added after qualifying quickest for the final in a time of one minute, 55.78 seconds.

“Ryan and I have grown closer as friends this year — so we’ll have one more time to hop in the pool and duke it out.”

Phelps has caught fire in his fifth and final Olympics, winning gold medals in the 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relays and the 200m fly, and Lochte is under no illusions about the size of the task he faces.

“It’s going to take a perfect performance in order to beat him because of how tough a competitor he is,” said world record holder Lochte, who has taken two silvers and a bronze behind Phelps in Athens, Beijing and London.

“He won’t give up and that’s awesome. That’s why he brings out the best in me.

“Any chance I can get up and race Michael, that’s the best,” gushed Lochte, second fastest in the semi-finals half a second behind Phelps. “We’ve been racing since 2004. He’s the toughest competitor I’ve ever gone up against.

“When we go up on the blocks, we’re always trying to win — that’s just the competitive instinct we have,” he added. “But win or lose we’re still good friends.”

Brazilian Thiago Pereira qualified third quickest in front of his home fans in 1:57.11 but the real danger is likely to come from Japan’s Kosuke Hagino, who won the 400m medley in Rio and has plans to gatecrash the American party.

“Tomorrow I just have to swim my own race and leave everything out there,” the 21-year-old Japanese told AFP after winning his heat in 1:57.38.

“I really don’t care about Phelps or Lochte. They’re heroes of mine, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to front up.

“Precisely because they are heroes of mine, I want to give them my best shot, give it everything I’ve got.”/RGA

source: sports.inquirer.net

US Rio swimmer aimed for Olympic career at age 8

He dreamed big at a very young age, and fulfilled that dream in 13 years.

American swimmer Ryan Murphy won the 100-meter backstroke in the 2016 Rio Olympics on Monday night, grabbing his first gold medal in his athletic career.

Years ago as an eight-year-old, Murphy penned a letter to his parents, enumerating his steep dream to be an Olympian including setting an astounding world record and being “the best swimmer in the world.” Moreover, he sketched a mini-portrait of himself with his sparkling gold medal.

American broadcasting network NBC posted the gleeful letter on its Twitter account.

Ryan Murphy wrote this when he was a young boy. Ryan, this isn't the end – it's just the beginning! #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/zCEFfrCMDb

— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) August 9, 2016

 

“I hope my swimming life continues and I become an Olympian when I grow up,” Murphy, now 21, doodled in his letter. “I hope I will break the world records. I want to be the best swimmer in the world.”

Although he did not stamp a world record in his beloved sport, he was able to achieve one of his childhood goals, which is to own a gold medal.  Gianna Francesca Catolico

source: sports.inquirer.net

Vietnamese rejoice at first Olympic gold

Vietnamese rejoiced Sunday after their country won its first ever Olympic gold medal, a victory made all the more sweeter by the fact that regional rival China was beaten along the way.

Hoang Xuan Vinh, a 41-year-old a serving army colonel who first learned to shoot with AK47 rifles, made history in Rio overnight when a near-perfect final shot in the men’s 10-meter air pistol clinched him gold.

Vietnamese state media reported that Vinh would receive $100,000 from the state on his return — a handsome sum in a country where the average annual income is around $2,100.

Vinh’s victory shunted Brazil’s Felipe Almeida Wu and China’s Pang Wei into second and third respectively, something that was seized on by jubilant Vietnamese.

“So proud! But the greatest happiness was that we won over China,” Nguyen Cao Ky Duyen, a Vietnamese music show host based in the US but popular in her homeland, wrote on Facebook./rga

source: sports.inquirer.net

Visa to unveil ‘debit rings’ in Rio Olympics

There’s a sixth ring that will roll out in the upcoming Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

International financial services company Visa announced on Thursday that it will unveil NFC (near field communication)-enabled payment rings to 45 Team Visa athletes representing the company. Prepaid money is stored in the rings, which can be reloaded and hovered in 4,000 NFC-capable POS terminals in the different Olympic venues.

In a report by CNN Money and Techradar, these rings, which come in white or black ceramic, are waterproof–they can be submerged underwater up to 50 meters (164 feet), and do not require either electronic charging or batteries.

Using its Visa Token service, the wearable prototype can be used when it is scanned over the sensor on a card reader for payment.

Missy Franklin, a four-time Olympic gold medalist for swimming, mentioned in a statement, “As an Olympian, rings have a special meaning to me. The Visa ring is a great innovation that I know all the athletes competing in Rio will enjoy as it will be.”

“It’s great to go from a competition to purchase [something] without having to carry a wallet or card.”

Visa is the only card accepted at the Rio Olympics, which will begin on Aug, 5, and the company is notable for experimenting cutting-edge prototypes in every sponsored event such as the Olympics.

It is expected that Visa will develop the technology for its millions of clients later this year. Gianna Francesca Catolico

source: technology.inquirer.net

Neymar on path to greatness with Brazil

SAO PAULO, Brazil—Despite being only 22 years old, Neymar has already done enough to be ranked among Brazil’s greatest players of all time.

If he can keep it up, not even the great Pele may be standing in front of him when the youngster hangs up his boots.

Brazil’s most promising player in decades is living up to expectations and has set himself on a path to greatness. He is enchanting with his brilliance and putting up numbers that few others have achieved at his age.

He is already Brazil’s fifth-greatest scorer with 40 goals with the national team, and is well on pace to surpass Pele’s record of 77 as the nation’s most prolific scorer.

If Neymar keeps scoring like this, he may break Pele’s record before he turns 28, in 2020. Pele was only two months older than Neymar when he netted his 40th goal. Only Pele and Romario have a better goal average than Neymar with the national team.

“I am very happy and proud of the progress of Neymar since he moved to play in Europe,” Pele told The Associated Press in an email. “This season, he keeps proving that he’s one of the best players in the world. His growth as a player is fantastic and very beneficial for the Selecao.”

Among the few Brazilians who have more goals than Neymar are Zico, Romario and Ronaldo, longtime heroes in the land of soccer.

Neymar reached his 40th goal after scoring four times in a friendly against Japan last month, and in the coming weeks he has a chance to move closer to Zico’s mark of 48 goals when Brazil plays friendlies against Turkey and Austria. Romario has 55 goals in official matches with the Selecao, while Ronaldo had 62.

“We both came from Santos FC where we developed the same set of skills: creativity, passing, clinical finishing and, of course, insatiable hunger for goals,” Pele told the AP.

While Pele spent most of his career in Brazil, Neymar was quick to move to European soccer. He went straight from Santos to Barcelona, and it didn’t take long for him to start succeeding alongside the likes of Lionel Messi.

In Brazil, many say Neymar already has what it takes to become the best player in the world.

“Maybe it won’t happen this year, but by next year he will be named the best in the world, I’m certain,” former Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira told Brazilian media recently. “He’s already an idol.”

Neymar had just started to catch everyone’s attention when Zico, the star of Brazil’s 1982 World Cup team, said the youngster could become as good as Pele or Diego Maradona.

“He does things that Maradona was never able to do,” Zico told local channel Esporte Interativo a few years ago. “Maradona was as great as he was thanks to what he could do with his left foot, but he was never able to use his right leg effectively. Neymar has this ability to play well using both of his legs.”

But even Zico pointed to some of Neymar’s weaknesses at the time, including his less-than superb heading skills, an area where Pele thrived. Neymar also was criticized because of his dives and for failing to perform well with the national team early in his career.

He has steadily improved in most areas and is a much more mature player today. Neymar has been diving less often and is behaving better both on and off the field. A season playing alongside the best in the world in Europe helped him progress rapidly.

He also improved with the national team, becoming Brazil’s captain and the player carrying the fans’ hopes for a sixth world title.

“I don’t know what my limit is,” Neymar said after he surpassed Bebeto as Brazil’s fifth-best scorer. “I’m not thinking about surpassing Pele, that’s not my goal. My goal is to keep scoring to help the national team and to help my teammates.”

It’s not only the goals that make Neymar a special player.

He lacks the physical strength that Pele used to have, and also doesn’t seem to have the same above-average quick-thinking of the three-time World Cup champion, but Neymar has similar light-footed skills and uses his incredible speed to make up for some of his weaknesses. Like Pele, Ronaldo and Romario, he also has outstanding precision on his finishes.

Neymar does have some advantages over players such as Ronaldo and Romario, who became stars mostly because of their goal-scoring ability. Neymar is not only about scoring goals, he is more of a playmaker, and uses his ball skills and speed to create scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates. Ronaldo used mostly his strength to get past defenders, while Romario was more about using good positioning inside the area and precise strikes.

Contrary to a classic No. 10 such as Zico, who had outstanding ball control and was always trying to put his teammates in position to score, Neymar is constantly challenging defenders and using his dribbling skills to get near the opponent’s area.

Although it remains too early to tell how Neymar will be compared to other Brazilian greats, it’s likely that his success will depend largely on whether he can win with Brazil and lead the five-time world champion back to its glory days.

Pele had already won two World Cups by the time he was 22. Neymar missed out on a chance to win his first world title thanks in part to a back injury that ruled him out of some of this year’s tournament in Brazil.

And there is always the chance that Neymar may never be as good as everyone expects, as happened to Robinho, who also was touted as a promising star when he transferred to European soccer as a 21-year-old. Also a Santos player, Robinho moved to Real Madrid instead of Barcelona, but never played up to expectations.

He played in two World Cups and remains with the national team, but never became the type of star that Brazilians had hoped for after he started making headlines as a teenager.

Only time will tell if Neymar will be more like Robinho or more like Pele.

source: sports.inquirer.net

LeBron struggles but Cavs beat Heat in OT

RIO DE JANEIRO — LeBron James scored seven points while playing only 20 minutes against his former team, and the Cleveland Cavaliers went on to beat the Miami Heat 122-119 in overtime Saturday in an exhibition game in Brazil.

Kevin Love, who was acquired by Cleveland a month after James left the Heat to return to Ohio, finished with 25 points in an entertaining game in the beachfront city that will host the 2016 Olympics.

Chris Bosh led Miami with 19 points. The Cavaliers are 2-0 in the preseason and the Heat fell to 0-3.

The HSBC Arena, which will be used for gymnastics during the Olympics, had a sold-out crowd of 15,411, with the top ticket advertised at $350 and green and yellow Brazilian flags adding to the color.

James shook hands with the Heat starters at the tipoff, but made little eye contact. James said in practices in Rio there was no bad blood, which was confirmed by former teammates Dwyane Wade and Bosh.

”He’s on another team,” Bosh said Friday. ”I think he’d understand that. I understand that. We’ll have plenty of time to talk in the summer, and that’s how it is now.”

The real tension between the Heat and Cavs comes on Dec. 25, when the teams meet for the first time in the regular season.

James struggled in the first half and played little after that, but his new team carried him. James shot only 1 of 6, missed his only 3-point attempt and his first three free throws.

According to a report this week by Forbes, James overtook Tiger Woods as the most marketable athlete in the world.

It was the Cavaliers’ 32-year-old Brazilian center Anderson Varejao who got the loudest applause, upstaging James when the teams were introduced. Varejao left Brazil at 19 to begin playing abroad.

”I’ve been waiting my entire life for this,” Varejao said from an on-court microphone. ”I hope you enjoy it.”

They did.

James missed the first shot of the game, a fall-away jumper from the left wing. Moments later Varejao scored the first points of the game on the Cavs’ second trip down the floor. He finished the first quarter with eight points as the Cavs led 27-21.

Miami trailed by 20 points, but rallied against the Cavs’ reserves to tie it at 105 and force overtime. Cleveland stretched the lead to 122-119 on two free throws by Joe Harris with 13 seconds left. Miami’s Shabazz Napier missed two 3-point attempts in the final seconds.

The Cavs played without guard Kyrie Irving, who sprained his right ankle before the team left the United States.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Netherlands beats host Brazil 3-0 to finish 3rd

BRASILIA, Brazil — When it was all over, it was the Netherlands receiving a standing ovation from the Brazilian crowd. Brazil walked off the field to boos, after another demoralizing loss to end its home World Cup.

The Netherlands’ remarkable campaign ended on a high note after Robin van Persie and Daley Blind scored early goals to help give the team a 3-0 win over Brazil in the third-place game on Saturday.

“We can look back at a very successful tournament,” Dutch coach Louis Van Gaal said. “I’m proud of my players.”

The Netherlands finishes a World Cup unbeaten in regular play for the first time, having lost to Argentina on penalties in the semifinals. After finishing runner-up in 2010, the third place is the best position for the Dutch squad since it lost the final in 1974 and 1978.

The Brazilian fans loudly greeted the Dutch players after they received the third-place medals, applauding on their feet.

“I would like to thank all people in Brazil for their great support,” Arjen Robben said. “For us it was the best way to end this tournament. We fully deserved third place the way we played. It’s a very big achievement.”

The loss added to Brazil’s frustration at the home tournament following the disastrous 7-1 defeat to Germany. After the final whistle, the team was loudly booed by the nearly 70,000 fans that attended the match at the National Stadium in Brasilia. Many had already left even before the late third goal by the Dutch. It’s the first time since 1940 that Brazil lost two consecutive competitive games on home soil.

“It’s a terrible feeling, I don’t know what to say,” Oscar said. “After a huge loss to Germany, today we tried our best from the beginning to win third place but it wasn’t our day. We have to see what went wrong so we can improve for the future.”

Brazil conceding 14 goals in the tournament, the most ever for the team. The previous worst had been 11 goals in the 1938 World Cup. Now it conceded 10 in its last two games.

“It was supposed to be an even match but after the early goal things started going their way,” Scolari said. “I don’t think we played that bad. The players fought hard from the start. They created chances, so it’s difficult to lose 3-0. But they deserve all the credit in the end, they reached the semifinals.”

Van Persie converted a penalty kick three minutes into the match after Robben was brought down by Brazil captain Thiago Silva on the edge of the area. Blind added to the lead in the 17th with a shot from near the penalty spot after defender David Luiz made a mistake while trying to clear a cross in front of the goal. Georginio Wijnaldum rounded off the win in injury time with a shot inside the near post.

“The most beautiful was our resilience. We were knocked out but we came back and finished third,” Wijnaldum said. “We wanted to close it out well.”

Brazil looked lost from the start, making many of the same defensive mistakes that marked the historic defeat to the Germans four days ago. The Netherlands took advantage with quick passes and speed in the attack.

Silva had to foul Robben after being beaten on the run, leading to van Persie’s firm left-foot shot into the right upper corner to put the Dutch ahead.

The Dutch wanted a red card for Silva for a professional foul, but Algerian referee Djamel Haimoudi only gave him a yellow. Silva had missed the semifinal against Germany because of a yellow card suspension.

Blind added to the lead after Luiz failed to clear a cross, heading the ball right back to the Dutch defender for an easy goal.

Wijnaldum closed the scoring in injury time with a goal from inside the area after a cross by Daryl Janmaat.

“It’s frustrating,” Silva said. “We didn’t deserve to have it end like this. But unfortunately it’s football. I have to apologize to our people. The fans supported us even during the 7-1 loss and again today. They booed in the end, but it was normal. They have feelings too.”

It was the fourth time Brazil played in a third-place match. It beat Sweden in 1938 and Italy in 1978, and the only other loss had come against Poland in 1974.

The Netherlands had played in the third-place match one other time. It fell to Croatia 2-1 in 1998 after being beaten by Brazil in the semifinals.

Van Gaal, in his final match with the Netherlands before joining Manchester United, had to play without midfielder Wesley Sneijder, who was injured while warming up for the game.

Scolari made six changes from the team that started in the loss against Germany, the national team’s worst defeat in its 100-year history.

___

Lineups:

Brazil: Julio Cesar; Maicon, David Luiz, Thiago Silva, Maxwell; Luiz Gustavo (Fernandinho, 46), Paulinho (Hernanes, 57), Ramires (Hulk, 73), Willian, Oscar; Jo.

Netherlands: Jasper Cillessen (Michel Vorm, 90); Dirk Kuyt, Ron Vlaar, Stefan de Vrij, Bruno Martins Indi, Jordy Clasie (Joel Veltman, 90), Daley Blind (Daryl Janmaat, 70); Georginio Wijnaldum, Jonathan de Guzman; Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Prostitutes play match on World Cup sidelines

BELO HORIZONTE — Brazilian prostitutes and a Christian evangelical group played a football match Saturday in World Cup host city Belo Horizonte, taking over a central street to raise awareness about sex workers’ rights.

Gathering just after Colombia played Greece in the southeastern city, the women set up an impromptu pitch using traffic cones for goalposts and played to the enthusiastic cheers of onlookers.

The prostitutes, calling themselves the Naked Football Club — though in fact they played in the green and yellow uniforms of Brazil — teamed up with the visiting evangelicals from the United States to take on a local university team in a match with a message.

“Rights must be the same for everyone. We’re no different from anyone else just because we’re sex workers,” player Patricia Bonges told AFP.

“We are finally breaking that prejudice and stigma.”

Her American teammate Jenny Jack said the game was about showing that “you just love people, you don’t judge, you don’t change people, you just love them.”

Prostitutes in Brazil have long complained of discrimination and called for the government to treat their profession like any other, including with programs to help older sex workers.

The match was organized by the Prostitutes’ Association of Minas Gerais, the state where Belo Horizonte is located.

The association has also helped some of the city’s 80,000 sex workers prepare for the World Cup by offering free English classes at a local mall.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Google maps World Cup soccer venues

SAN FRANCISCO — Google Maps on Thursday began letting soccer fans dive into World Cup venues in Brazil without having to leave home.

The free online mapping service added “Street View” imagery of all 12 World Cup stadiums along with scenes captured on roads painted in festive tribute to the major global sporting event.

“Whether you’re watching the games from the comfort of your couch or packing your bags for Brazil, Google Maps is your ticket to the World Cup,” Street View program manager Deanna Yick said in a blog post.

“And if you’re lucky enough to have a physical ticket to Brazil, don’t forget to pack Google Maps for mobile.”

Google mapping applications for smartphones or tablet computers include tools for finding the most efficient ways to get to games using buses or trains in host cities.

The service also features maps of the insides of stadiums, airports, malls and other spots soccer fans may want to explore, according to Yick.

Images from other potential locations of interest, such as Iguacu National Park and St. Michael of the Missions, were also added to Google Maps.

source: technology.inquirer.net

Ronaldo, Portugal await World Cup playoff draw

ZURICH — Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal will find out Monday who they must beat in a playoff to reach the World Cup in Brazil.

France and Franck Ribery would be the toughest possible test for the Portuguese as the in-form and highest-ranked of four unseeded nations in the draw at FIFA.

Portugal, No. 14 in FIFA’s monthly world standings, is seeded with Greece (No. 15), Croatia (No. 18) and Ukraine (No. 20), which is one spot ahead of the French after the qualifying groups finished last week.



France (No. 21) is unseeded with Sweden (No. 25), Romania (No. 29) and Iceland (No. 46).

Two-legged playoffs are scheduled for Nov. 15 and 19.

The four winners complete Europe’s 13-strong entry in the 32-team World Cup draw on December 6.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Brazil concerned about hotel price hikes at World Cup

SAO PAULO—The Brazilian government is concerned that some hotels listed on FIFA’s website for the 2014 World Cup plan steep price hikes during the tournament and is reportedly considering investigating the FIFA-appointed agency in charge of accommodation. 


Brazil’s tourism board has notified the justice ministry after its research showed that rates will be up to 500 percent more expensive during the World Cup in some hotels offered by the agency MATCH Services on FIFA’s website.

“It’s probable that MATCH is exercising intermediation fees that are a lot higher than usually exercised in the tourism market,” the board said in a document obtained by The Associated Press, “harming the rights of potential consumers.”

MATCH denied any wrongdoing on Saturday, saying it “provides a totally transparent price structure.”

“With a small number of exceptions where MATCH Services has had to accept higher than normal rates, all other participating hotels have accepted and agreed to embrace FIFA’s and MATCH’s policy to provide reasonably acceptable rates,” it said in a statement.

The Swiss-based company is primarily responsible for contracting and delivering accommodation for the FIFA community, including its officials, delegates, guests and staff. It also sells rooms to FIFA’s commercial affiliates, the media and customers of the official hospitality program. Rooms are offered to the general public through the FIFA website operated and maintained by MATCH.

The study by the tourism board, known as Embratur, compared prices in several dozen hotels in the 12 host cities. It was conducted through researching prices announced on booking websites, the hotels’ sites and FIFA’s official web page.

Embratur did not say exactly how many hotels were compared, but of the 65 hotels listed in the study’s results 22 increased prices more than 200 percent, with six offering rates at least 300 percent higher. The biggest increase was by a hotel in the northeastern city of Salvador, which will charge $509 per night during the World Cup, a 583 percent increase compared to the $75 it charged this July.

The host cities with the smallest increase in rates are Recife and Sao Paulo, with hikes of about 100 percent on average. The capital of Brasilia had the most expensive hotel in the study, with certain rooms costing $639 per night, a 376 percent increase compared to the current price.

The study showed that the average cost for a room in Rio de Janeiro during the World Cup will be $461, more than double the rate in Johannesburg for the 2010 World Cup final in South Africa.

Embratur said it wants to negotiate better prices in part because it’s afraid that excessive rates during the World Cup may hurt Brazil’s tourism in the long run.

“Raises without limits may satisfy the profit expectations of some, but they are bad for the sustainability of the business,” Embratur president Flavio Dino said in a statement sent to the AP. “We are hosting these mega events in Brazil to help increase the flux of tourists in the country in the long run. The government will do everything possible to protect the image of the country and of the industry itself.”

Pricey hotel rooms became a hot topic last year during the Rio+20 UN conference, when the hotel sector took advantage of the spike in demand to charge exorbitant rates. The average cost of a room in Rio during the conference rose to nearly $800 a night, prompting a barrage of criticism from conference delegates. The European Parliament canceled its entire 11-person delegation due to the costs.

President Dilma Rousseff’s office got involved at the time and negotiated with the hotel sector to reduce some of the prices.

In its letter to the justice ministry, which is responsible for handling consumer rights issues, Embratur also criticized MATCH for imposing minimum stays of at least two nights at the World Cup hotels. The document dated June 17 was obtained by the AP on Friday.

MATCH may also reportedly be targeted by Brazil’s antitrust agency for potential violation of free competition rules. The Valor Economico newspaper has said that prosecutors have already asked the agency to investigate the company’s operations.

MATCH has vehemently defended itself, saying that “it is incorrect to suggest” that the hotels it signed a contract with in Brazil are overcharging.

“The rates secured by MATCH Services from its partner hotels and those it offers to its customers are in the vast majority of cases reasonable and compare well to rates available outside of the FIFA World Cup,” it said in a statement. “(Hotels are) acting in a fair and reasonable manner taking into account the market forces and the investment made by them.”

It added that higher prices were already expected in Brazil during a major event like the World Cup.

“These prices are dictated by the prices MATCH Services have been able to secure from the hotels,” it said. “They are not the product of an abuse of a dominant position held by MATCH Services, but rather the fact that the Brazilian hotel industry by tradition over many decades has enjoyed high yields per room night during major events, whether it is a major conference, Carnival, New Year or Formula 1 racing.”

The president of the Brazilian Association of the Hotel Industry downplayed the Embratur study, calling it opportunistic because nearly all of the rates had already been set a long time ago. Enrico Fermi said the prices were established when MATCH signed agreements with more than 800 hotels right after Brazil was picked as World Cup host in 2007.

“FIFA told us that the prices here are acceptable and compatible with the international market,” Fermi told the AP in a telephone interview.

The average price of a room in Johannesburg for the 2010 final was $200, while in Berlin in 2006 it was $300, according to Embratur.

“To compare room rates in Sao Paulo and Rio for the 2014 FIFA World Cup to those that MATCH Services provided in Johannesburg for the 2010 FIFA World Cup does not make sense,” MATCH said in its statement. “All it would prove is that the difference is in line with the difference at any given time between the cost of accommodation in Rio or Sao Paulo and Johannesburg.”

Brazil ranks 33rd in the list of most expensive hotel rates in the world, according to Fermi.

The local World Cup organizing committee and Brazil’s sports ministry referred all requests for comment to Embratur. FIFA said only MATCH would comment.—Tales Azzoni

source: sports.inquirer.net