Brazil - The African Mirror

Mar

2024

Police arrest former soccer player Robinho in Brazil

POLICE arrested former soccer player Robinho in the Brazilian city of Santos to serve out a nine-year prison sentence for rape, local news website G1 reported. Robinho's defence had filed a petition to Brazil's Supreme Court to avoid his arrest, but the appeal was rejected on Thursday. On Wednesday, a separate local court ruled the athlete must serve his sentence in Brazil, though he was convicted in Italy.

Mar

2024

By Mpho Rantao

São Paulo heats up with dramatic win for Sam Bird

MOTORING NEWS

FORMULA E returned from a month-long break and travelled to Brazil for the fifth round of the world championship. Sam Bird celebrates towards the podium of the 2024 São Paulo E-Prix. Picture: Supplied São Paulo, a city with a rich motorsport heritage, was electrified as it geared up for the adrenaline-pumping race that brought feisty competition and flying front wings. NEOM McLaren’s Sam Bird stormed to win the race, a tough battle against Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans that carried after the second safety car right until the end of the race 34-lap race. Evans and Bird engage in a…

Nov

2023

By The African Mirror

Brazil submits letter of intent to host 2027 Women’s World Cup

FOOTBALL

BRAZIL has submitted a letter of intent to soccer's governing body FIFA to host the 2027 Women's World Cup, the South American country's Minister of Sports Andre Fufuca said. Fufuca presented the documents to FIFA President Gianni Infantino while he was in Rio de Janeiro for the Copa Libertadores final, which was won by Brazilian club Fluminense for the first time. "I delivered it to FIFA and Brazilian Football Confederation on behalf of President Lula," Fufuca said on X, formerly known as Twitter. "The Government Declaration formalising Brazil's intention to host the 2027 Women's Football World Cup and the government…

Oct

2023

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Superdeep diamonds from West Africa and Brazil unveil critical insights on earth’s evolution

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION

A scientific analysis of ‘superdeep' diamonds, a type of diamond that originated between 180 and 620 miles deep into the earth and was extracted from mines in Brazil and Western Africa, has exposed new processes of how continents were formed. According to a press statement from the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, the diamonds were analyzed by a team of experts, including Karen Smit of the Wits School of Geosciences. “We wanted to date these diamonds to try and understand how the earliest continents formed,” Smit explains. Formed between 650 and 450 million years ago, the diamonds have shown how supercontinents…

Jul

2023

By The African Mirror

Ethiopia wants to join the BRICS group of nations: an expert unpacks the pros and cons

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

A few years ago, the BRICS grouping – Brazil, Russia, China, India and South Africa – had lost salience because three of its members were in severe economic difficulty. Brazil, Russia and South Africa are primarily natural resource exporters and were badly affected by the global commodity price bust of 2014. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has now given BRICS a new geopolitical salience as the members and their respective allies respond to events. PADRAIG CARMODY, Professor in Geography, Trinity College Dublin In the emerging world order, there is also now increased demand to join BRICS, in part as a countervailing…

Jul

2023

By The African Mirror

Ethiopia asks to join BRICS bloc of emerging economies

BUSINESS

ETHIOPIA, one of Africa's fastest-growing economies, has asked to join the BRICS bloc of emerging markets, the foreign ministry said. The term BRIC was coined by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O'Neill in 2001 to describe the rise of Brazil, Russia, India and China. The BRIC powers had their first summit in 2009 in Russia. South Africa joined in 2010. "We expect BRICS will give us a positive response to the request we have made," foreign ministry spokesman Meles Alem told journalists, according to the state-run news agency ENA. Ethiopia will continue to work with international institutions that can protect its…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

South Africa to host BRICS summit despite Putin arrest warrant

NEWS

CARIEN DU PLESSIS SOUTH Africa said it will host the BRICS bloc summit in August as planned, amid speculation that it may move to China so Russia's President Vladimir Putin can attend in a nation not obliged to arrest him on war crimes accusations. South Africa has a duty as a signatory to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to arrest Putin if he attends the talks between the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China, due to an arrest warrant over the deportation of children from Ukraine. Putin denies the charges. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa met with him on…

Jun

2023

By WENDELL ROELF

BRICS ministers put on show of strength as Putin arrest warrant looms large

NEWS

BRICS foreign ministers asserted their bloc's ambition to rival Western powers but their talks in South Africa were overshadowed by questions over whether Russia's president would be arrested if he attended a summit in August. South Africa's foreign minister Naledi Pandor said her country was mulling options if Vladimir Putin, the subject of a war crimes arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), came to the planned BRICS summit in Johannesburg. As a member of the ICC, South Africa would theoretically be required to arrest Putin, and Pandor was bombarded with questions about that as she arrived for…

Mar

2023

By The African Mirror

Brazil investigates undeclared $3 million jewellery gift to Bolsonaro

WORLD

BRAZILLIAN Justice Minister Flavio Dino ordered police to investigate an alleged attempt to bring in undeclared jewellery, a gift from Saudi Arabia valued at $3.2 million, to former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro. The diamond necklace, ring, watch and earrings gifted to Bolsonaro and former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro by the Saudi government were seized by customs officials at Sao Paulo's international airport in October 2021. The luxury jewellery, made by Chopard of Switzerland, was found in the backpack of a government aide who had travelled to Riyadh with then Energy Minister Admiral Bento Albuquerque. The Saudi embassy did not reply to a…

Jan

2023

By The African Mirror

Brazil bids farewell to ‘king of soccer’ Pele with 24-hour wake

NEWS

LAIS MORAIS and EDUARDO SIMÕES THE Brazilian coastal city of Santos, which sporting giant Pele turned into a byword for soccer brilliance during a glittering club career, started bidding goodbye to its hero with a 24-hour wake. Mourners lined up to see Pele's body in an open casket in the centre of the field at the Vila Belmiro stadium, home of the Santos Football Club. Pele died on Thursday at 82 after battling colon cancer. "Pele leaves millions of Santos fans across our country. He was the creator of Brazilian soccer," said Antonio da Paz, a fan outside the stadium for…