The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Sao Paulo

  • Neymar visits Pele after surgery

    Neymar spent time with Pele in hospital, raising the spirits of his Brazilian compatriot after emergency surgery.

    The PSG star shared a picture on his Instagram page with the 78-year-old legend and both men seemed in high spirits. The three-time World Cup winner arrived back in his homeland on Tuesday.

    In Neymar’s snap, Pele was lying in a hospital bed and clasped hands with the young forward, who simply wrote ‘king’ as a caption.

    Pele was in Paris when he fell ill and was taken in for emergency surgery due to a severe urinary infection.

    He was treated in the American Hospital of Paris after an event with Kylian Mbappe. And has now flown back to Brazil and was mobbed upon arrival, looking under-standably worse for wear after surgery and the long haul flight.

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    Fans, carers and media representatives surrounded him at Guarulhos International Airport near Sao Paulo as he was whisked away in a waiting car.

    Pele has suffered a number of health issues in recent years, arriving for the World Cup draw last year in a wheelchair and suffering with numerous problems with his hips and knees.

    ‘I’ suffered from a severe urinary infection that demanded medical and surgical assistance as an emergency,” the three-time World Cup winner explained.

    Neymar and Pele are both considered among the best Brazilian talents the world has ever seen and have a close relationship. No doubt Pele appreciated the visit from his young protege and pledged to return to work as soon as possible.

  • Black people more likely to be murdered in Brazil – Study

    Black people more likely to be murdered in Brazil – Study

    Black citizens in Brazil are 23.5 per cent more likely to be murdered than non-blacks, a study published by the Brazilian Public Security Forum and the Institute for Applied Economic Research said on Tuesday.

    According to the report 2017 Atlas of Violence, the murder rate among black citizens rose by 18.2 per cent between 2005 and 2015.

    The report added that among non-blacks, the rate fell by 12.2 per cent over the same period.

    The figures reflect inequality between black and non-black people in Brazil.

    According to the study, of every 100 people murdered in Brazil, 71 are black.

    “We not only have a sad historical legacy of discrimination by skin colour, but also, when it comes to lethal violence, we have an open wound that keeps getting worse in (the) latest years,’’ the study stated.

    Report says there is a significant variation in the murder rate among Brazilian states.

    The three states with the sharpest rises in the murder rate of black citizens from 2005 to 2015 were all in the north-eastern region , Rio Grande do Norte (331.8 per cent), Sergipe (197.4 per cent) and Ceara (149.7 per cent).

    On the other hand, the states with the sharpest falls in the murder rate of black people were Sao Paulo (50.4 per cent) and Rio de Janeiro (41 per cent), both in the south-eastern region.

    According to the atlas, among cities, there is also a significant change: only 2 per cent of Brazilian cities, 111 out of over 5,000 municipalities, witnessed half of the murders that occurred in Brazil in 2015.

  • 2016 Olympics: Nigeria, Colombia in quarter-finals

    2016 Olympics: Nigeria, Colombia in quarter-finals

    Nigeria’s Dream Team VI still topped Group B of the Rio 2016 Olympics men’s football event in Sao Paulo in spite of a 2-0 loss to Colombia on Wednesday.

    Nigeria thus advanced to Saturday’s quarter-finals after six points from three matches, having scored six goals and conceded six, with Colombia picking the runners-up spot with five points.

    A first-half strike from captain Teofilo Gutierrez and a second-half penalty kick from Dorlan Pabon ensured the South Americans joined their West African opponents in the quarter-finals.

    Needing a win to secure their place in the last eight, it was Colombia who took an early lead through Gutierrez.

    Pabon’s fine forward ball from the left flank picked out the unmarked Sporting Lisbon striker at the top of the Nigeria penalty box.

    Gutierrez then applied a neat volleyed finish to beat goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi and give Colombia a fourth minute advantage.

    The early goal gave Colombia the confidence to attack Nigeria’s backline and create more quality chances.

    In the 19th minute, Akpeyi denied Harold Preciado’s close-range header before Pabon caused another scare for Nigeria after getting in behind the defence before shooting wide.

    The Group B winners then created chances of their own before the break, with the best of Nigeria’s opportunities coming in the 28th minute.

    This was when Oghenekaro Etebo put Sadiq Umar’s low cross wide of the far post in the Colombia penalty box.

    Etebo also tested Cristian Bonilla with a well-hit free-kick that was blocked away by the legs of the Colombia goalkeeper.

    Colombia’s determination to reach the knockout stages was reflected in their willingness to extend their lead after half-time.

    Just after the hour mark, they were rewarded with a penalty kick after Akpeyi took down Preciado in the Nigeria penalty box.

    Pabon stepped up to drive the spot kick home and double Colombia’s advantage.

    Colombia could have had a third goal in the 73rd minute but Preciado was unable to find the target from close range after controlling

    Gutierrez’s pinpoint cross from the left.

    NAN reports that Colombia will play their quarter-final clash in Sao Paulo on Saturday, while Nigeria travels to Salvador for their last eight encounter.

  • Brazil’s Senate commission vote on president’s impeachment

    Brazil’s Senate commission vote on president’s impeachment

    The Brazilian Senate’s Special Commission on the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff, has approved its first meeting that it would vote on May 6 on whether the process should continue or not.

    If the commission votes and makes its recommendation, a full Senate vote could take place on May 11, the Commission’s Rapporteur, Antonio Anastasia said.

    Anastasia is a senator from the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB).

    Under the Brazilian law, if a majority of senators, or 41 out of 81 vote in favour of the impeachment, Rousseff will be removed from office for 180 days as a full impeachment trial goes ahead, and Vice President Michel Temer would become the interim president.

    A final impeachment vote would require a two-third majority to oust her.

    On the same day, representatives from Brazil’s largest labour unions, urged Rousseff to take active measures to shore up her support and mobilise people against “the coup”.

    Union leaders sent her a package of suggestions, including the expropriation of lands to implement agricultural reform, the removal of law bills currently being viewed by Congress, which might harm workers’ rights, among others.

    They also asked that representatives of labour unions be given government positions, currently left vacant after former allies of Rousseff’s Workers’ Party abandoned her amid her impeachment fight.

    The letter also invited Rousseff to participate in an event on May 1 in Sao Paulo, which will see a massive turnout against her impeachment and in defence of workers’ rights.

    Labour unions and their members have been stalwart defenders of Rousseff and her predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, whom they see as champions of the Brazilian working classes.