Morocco continued with their brilliant performance that saw them reach the World Cup semi-finals in December 2022, beating Brazil 2-1 in a friendly game at Grand Stade de Tanger Stadium on Saturday.
Being both team’s first game after the World Cup, the Atlas Lions delivered a brilliant performance before their home fans, while the Sambo boys suffered another defeat after their humiliating exit from the World Cup.
Brazilians had a couple of clear chances early in the first half but could not convert any of them. Sofiane Boufal gave Morocco the lead 29 minutes into the game, when he made a brilliant turn in the penalty box before firing into the left corner, leaving Brazil one goal down into the first half break.
Brazil returned to the second half playing better and harder to control the game. But Morocco’s defence line proved impenetrable for the Samba Boys.
After much effort, Manchester United star Casemiro levelled for Samba Boys in the 67th minute with a curl from outside the eighteen yard box.
But again Morocco will not allow the game end in a draw.Abedelhamid Sabiri made it two for the Moroccans in the 79th minute, roofing a shot into Brazil’s net.
With Saturday’s win against five-time World Cup winner Brazil, the Moroccans made another statement that their World Cup performance last year was not a fluke.
Brazil’s ex-President Jair Bolsonaro has applied to extend his stay in the United States on a six-month visitor’s visa amid claims that he wants to escape facing a lawsuit on returning home.
The Financial Times first confirmed the development by citing Mr Bolsonaro’s immigration lawyer, Felipe Alexandre.
The 67-year-old politician travelled to Florida in December, two days after the inauguration of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as Brazil’s new president.
In the wake of Mr Lula’s inauguration, thousands of Mr Bolsonaro’s die-hard supporters trooped to the street across Brazil, protesting the emergence of the incumbent president.
The protesters invaded and damaged government buildings while demanding the election that brought Mr Lula to power be overturned.
Following the violence across various cities in the country, authorities in Brazil launched an investigation into the part Mr Bolsonaro played in the inciting attacks to topple a democratically elected government official.
It is one of several pending legal issues awaiting the former president once he returns home from the U.S.
Mr Bolsonaro, reported to have entered the U.S. on an A-1 visa, would not be entitled to immunity from legal prosecution once he returns to Brazil.
The A-1 visa is reserved for sitting heads of state.
A Brazilian bodybuilder and TikTok star who went viral by injecting himself with life-threatening oil to create 23-inch biceps, has died on his 55th birthday in Ribeirao Preto.
Valdir Segato from Sao Paulo, who was inspired by the physiques of Arnold Schwarzenegger and fictional characters like The Hulk, used synthol injections for years despite risking strokes and infections to produce hulking biceps, pectorals, and back muscles.
According to Mail Online, Segato was warned he faced amputation or nerve damage, and muscle disfigurement six years ago but continued to use the injections to bulk himself out.
The former construction worker even vowed that he wanted to get even bigger.Speaking in 2016, he said: ‘They call me Hulk, Schwarzenegger and He-Man all the time and I like that. I’ve doubled my biceps but I still want to be bigger.’He proudly posted images and videos to social media, calling himself ‘Valdir Synthol’ on Instagram.
According to local media, he died after after being taken to hospital complaining about shortness of breathOne man named Moisés da Conceição da Silva said on the day Segato died, he had asked his mother for help, complaining about a shortness of breath.It was around 6 am, more or less.
He came crawling through the back house and came to the front. Then he knocked on my mother’s window, knocked, knocked, then she woke up and he said ‘help me, help me because I’m dying,” Moisés said, according to Brazil’s Globo news publication.
He was taken to the North Emergency Care Unit (UPA) – a medical facility in the city but could not be saved. ‘They put him in the car and then the neighbour went to the UPA. He arrived at the UPA, he fell at the reception, having a heart attack. I think he had a heart attack’, Moisés told the news website.
Moisés’ brother, Jadson da Conceição, told Globo that this was not the first time Segatohad to be rushed to hospital, and had previously complained of shortness of breath. The first time, he said, they were able to get him to the hospital on time. This time, he said, there was no saving him.
Eighteen people have been confirmed dead with dozens declared missing, after exceptionally torrential rainfall triggered mudslides and floods in a hilly part of Rio de Janeiro state of Brazil, officials reported on Wednesday morning.
According to a statement by the Rio state’s firefighter department, over 180 troops have been despatched to the affected zone to help with rescue efforts.
The report also said officials fear a rise in the death toll as rescue teams searched the devastated regions in the Petropolis district, where hundreds of people had died following heavy rains in 2011.
“Indicating the heavy downpour, the firefighter department has revealed that the area received 25.8 cm of rainfall in just three hours throughout the day on Tuesday, which is nearly as much as the preceding 30 days combined,” a statement by the Petropolis’ City Hall said.
The Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently on a trip to Russia, said in a tweet he has asked his ministers to provide prompt assistance to the victims.
“God comfort the families of the victims,” the President wrote.
The heads of Brazil’s army, navy and air force have all resigned as President Jair Bolsonaro struggles to contain a crisis over his leadership.
The defence chiefs are reported to have stepped down in protest at what they see as an attempt by Mr Bolsonaro to exert undue control over the military.
On Monday, the president was forced to reshuffle his cabinet after his foreign and defence ministers both quit.
Mr Bolsonaro’s popularity has plummeted over his response to Covid-19.
Brazil’s far-right president, who came to power two years ago, has consistently opposed quarantine measures, arguing that the damage to the economy would be worse than the effects of the coronavirus itself.
He has also told Brazilians to “stop whining” about the situation. Nearly 314,000 people have died of Covid-19 in Brazil, with more than 12.5 million confirmed cases.
It is reportedly the first time in Brazilian history that the chiefs of the army, navy and air force have stood down together over a disagreement with the president.
The three men – Gen Edson Leal Pujol, Adm Ilques Barbosa and Lt Brig Antonio Carlos Bermudez – resigned on Tuesday, a day after the president’s loyal Foreign Minister Ernesto Araújo was forced to quit following heavy criticism by lawmakers.
Mr Araújo was accused of poorly handling relations with China, India and the US, which lawmakers said resulted in Brazil having insufficient quantities of Covid-19 vaccine.
Defence Minister Fernando Azevedo e Silva then quickly followed suit, prompting a cabinet reshuffle. The defence minister clashed with Mr Bolsonaro over loyalty of the armed forces, which he said should be directed to upholding the constitution rather than supporting the president personally.
The BBC’s Latin America correspondent, Will Grant, says Mr Bolsonaro is now facing his biggest political crisis since taking office in January 2019.
Combined with his mismanagement of the coronavirus pandemic, our correspondent adds, the pressure on the right-wing leader has ramped up significantly in recent weeks.
Mr Bolsonaro, who has previously raised doubts about vaccines and defended unproven drugs as treatment, said last week that he would make 2021 the year of vaccinations. “Very soon we’ll resume our normal lives,” he said.
Brazil has been struggling with the rollout of its vaccination programme across the vast country. So far, it has been using the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and China’s CoronaVac, both of which require two jabs.
Brazil has also approved the use of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and placed orders for the single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine and the Russian-made Sputnik V jab.
Brazil’s daily Covid-19 death toll passed 3,000 for the first time earlier this month, pushing hospitals close to collapse and raising fears that the country could become a threat to global public health.
Two cities – Porto Alegre and Campo Grande – have exceeded ICU capacity.
In its report it warned that figures pointed to the “overload and even collapse of health systems”.
“The fight against Covid-19 was lost in 2020 and there is not the slightest chance of reversing this tragic circumstance in the first half of 2021,” Fiocruz epidemiologist Jesem Orellana said, quoted by AFP news agency.
“The best we can do is hope for the miracle of mass vaccination or a radical change in the management of the pandemic.
“Today, Brazil is a threat to humanity and an open-air laboratory where impunity in management seems to be the rule.”
Last week experts told Valor Economic newspaper that deaths would soon surpass 2,000 a day. They warned that the only way to avoid this was if the federal government took over national coordination of the fight against the virus, recommending lockdowns, the use of masks and a mass vaccination drive.
More than eight million people have had their first vaccination dose so far, representing just over 4% of the population.
On Tuesday, the country also recorded more than 70,000 cases, a 38% increase on last week, according to local media. The recent rise has been attributed to the spread of a highly contagious variant of the virus thought to have originated in the Amazon city of Manaus.
Despite this, President Jair Bolsonaro has continued to downplay the threat posed by the virus.
Earlier this week he told people to “stop whining”. Speaking at an event, he said: “How long are you going to keep crying about it? How much longer will you stay at home and close everything? No-one can stand it anymore. We regret the deaths, again, but we need a solution.”
A number of quarantine measures have been taken by regional governors, which Mr Bolsonaro has opposed, arguing that the collateral damage to the economy will be worse than the effects of the virus itself.
President Jair Bolsonaro has told Brazilians to “stop whining” about Covid-19, as he criticised measures to curb the virus despite a surge in cases and deaths.
His comments came a day after Brazil saw a record rise in deaths over a 24-hour period.
Brazil is facing its worst phase of the pandemic yet, leaving its health system in crisis.
In response some cities and states have imposed their own restrictions.
Brazil’s health ministry says more than 260,000 people have died with Covid-19, the second-highest pandemic death toll in the world after the US.
On Thursday, another 1,699 deaths were added to that tally, a slight decrease on Wednesday’s record 1,910. Meanwhile, a further 75,102 cases of coronavirus were reported, the second-highest daily rise on record.
The explosion of cases has been attributed to the spread of a highly contagious variant of the virus thought to have originated in the Amazon city of Manaus.
Yet on Thursday Mr Bolsonaro continued to downplay the threat posed by the virus.
“Stop whining. How long are you going to keep crying about it?” Mr Bolsonaro said at an event. “How much longer will you stay at home and close everything? No one can stand it anymore. We regret the deaths, again, but we need a solution.”
What reaction has there been to President Bolsonaro’s comments?
The comments were met with a furious response from São Paulo’s governor, João Doria, who has been particularly scathing of Mr Bolsonaro’s handling of the pandemic.
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Doria called President Bolsonaro “a crazy guy” for attacking “governors and mayors who want to buy vaccines and help the country to end this pandemic”.
“How can we face the problem, seeing people die every day? The health system in Brazil is on the verge of collapse,” Mr Doria said.media captionMr Doria described President Bolsonaro as “a crazy guy”
President Bolsonaro has consistently opposed quarantine measures introduced by governors, arguing that the collateral damage to the economy will be worse than the effects of the virus itself.
“Unfortunately, Brazil has to fight, at this moment, two viruses: the coronavirus and Bolsonaro virus. This is a sadness for the Brazilians,” Mr Doria said.
What measures are cities and states introducing?
Concerned about the strain on hospitals, mayors and state governors have taken matters into their own hands in recent days.
Rio de Janeiro is the latest city to announce a partial lockdown, placing restrictions on bars, restaurants and beaches.
The measures, which will take effect on Friday for one week, will require bars and restaurants to shut early and suspend commercial activity on the city’s famed beaches.
The measures come after São Paulo state – Brazil’s largest, with 46 million people – declared a “code red” situation, ordering non-essential businesses closed for two weeks starting Saturday.
Frustrated state governors announced on Tuesday that they would join forces to buy vaccines directly from manufacturers rather than wait for the federal government to deliver them.
Brazil, the worst-affected country by Covid in Latin America, has lagged behind in its roll-out of Covid vaccines.
The new variant, named P.1, was first detected in people who had travelled from Manaus to Japan in January. The researchers studying it think it first emerged in Manaus in early November and has been spreading there quickly since.
Their data – which is still preliminary – suggests that the P.1 variant could be up to twice as transmittable as the original version of the virus.
It also suggests that the new variant could evade immunity built up by having had the original version of Covid. They put the chance of reinfection at between 25% and 60%.
Manaus, in the Amazon region, was one of the hardest hit cities in the first wave of the pandemic.
One study of blood donors suggested that three quarters of the city’s population had been infected with Covid by October.
It was expected that the people infected in the first wave would have acquired some degree of protection or immunity. And yet, the city has seen a second wave of infections.
Researchers think this may be because a new variant has emerged which may be evading immunity provided by past infections.
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