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Rio to allow fans for Brazil-Argentina final of Copa America
AFP
Rio de Janeiro, one of the Brazilian cities hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, on Friday gave the go-ahead for thousands of fans to attend Saturday’s Copa America final against Argentina at the Maracana stadium.
The city has decided to allow a crowd of up to 7,800 people, 10 percent of the stadium’s full capacity of 78,000.
This would make it the first match in the 2021 Copa America, South America’s largest international football tournament, with fans in the stands.
The decision was based on the organizers presenting protocols “of operation and accreditation that adopt measures to protect the health of those involved, using appropriate tools to prevent contagion and the propagation of Covid-19”, said a notice in the official gazette Friday.
Those wishing to attend must arrive with a negative coronavirus test taken no longer than 48 hours earlier. Once inside, they will be required to observe social distancing.
Each side will receive 2,200 tickets for their fans.
Argentina’s football association said it would give its share out free to Argentines living in Brazil.
The hosts have not said how they will distribute theirs.
The tournament, organized by CONMEBOL, the South American football federation, kicked off on June 13 in Brasilia amid widespread criticism of the decision to give the event to Brazil, the country with the second-highest Covid-19 death toll after the United States.
The pandemic has claimed more than 530,000 lives in the country — some 29,000 of them in Rio alone.
The city’s mortality rate from the virus is 432 per 100,000 inhabitants, almost double the 252/100,000 countrywide figure.
Despite opposition from politicians, citizens and some players and coaches, Brazil agreed at the 11th hour to host the world’s oldest international tournament after CONMEBOL took it from co-hosts Argentina, battling a pandemic surge, and Colombia, where dozens have died in anti-government protests.
Strong support for hosting the event came from Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, whose much-criticized handling of the pandemic is the subject of a parliamentary investigation.
The Copa America is taking place at the same time as the European Champions, which are being played at 11 venues, with fans.
The Euros final at the 90,000-capacity Wembley Stadium on Sunday will be played with some 60,000 spectators.
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Trump files $15 billion defamation suit against The New York Times
U.S. President Donald Trump has filed a $15 billion defamation and libel lawsuit against The New York Times, which denounced the legal move on Tuesday as an attempt to silence the press.
In this new stage of his presidency, the 79-year-old Republican leader has escalated his long-standing hostility toward traditional media, repeatedly attacking critical journalists, limiting their access, or taking them to court.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in Florida, seeks $15 billion in damages, along with additional punitive compensation “in an amount to be determined at trial.”
The New York Times had reported last week that Trump threatened legal action over articles concerning a birthday letter allegedly sent by him to financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The letter featured a typed message inside the outline of a nude woman. Trump denies that the accompanying signature is his.
“For too long, The New York Times has been allowed to lie, defame, and slander me freely — and that ends NOW!” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.
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Maduro warns Venezuela would enter armed struggle if attacked by foreign forces
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro stated on Friday that if his country were attacked, it would enter a phase of armed struggle, amid his claims of “threats” from the United States, which is conducting a military deployment in Caribbean waters near Venezuela’s coast under the pretext of combating drug trafficking.
Maduro emphasized that Venezuela is currently in the non-armed phase, which he described as political, communicational, and institutional, but added that if the country were somehow aggressed, it would move to a planned, organized armed struggle involving the entire population, whether the threat is local, regional, or national.
“We would enter a stage of armed struggle, in defense of peace, territorial integrity, sovereignty, and our people,” Maduro said during an event activating citizen militias, broadcast on state channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV).
He also noted that Venezuela is currently in a phase of readiness and preparation to defend the country and will proceed to the deployment of defensive capacities, including training and retraining of the entire Venezuelan population.
Maduro described the Venezuelan people as pacifist yet warrior-like, asserting that “no one will enslave us, neither today nor ever.”
Sin categoría
USCIS gains law enforcement powers: Agents now authorized to investigate and arrest immigration violators
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), traditionally responsible for handling naturalizations, visas, residence permits, and work authorizations, is now expanding its role to include law enforcement powers, according to a statement released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Under the new directive, specially designated USCIS agents are now authorized to investigate, arrest, and bring to justice individuals who violate U.S. immigration laws. Previously, USCIS primarily managed administrative and bureaucratic processes, while enforcement responsibilities were handled by agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Illegal immigration has been a central issue under President Donald Trump’s administration, with DHS reporting that over 300,000 migrants have been arrested in the first six months of his presidency. However, the number of people who have crossed U.S. borders illegally in recent years remains controversial, with experts estimating between 8 to 10 million individuals.
The policy shift also comes amid heightened legal battles over immigration enforcement. Recently, a federal judge blocked the deportation of minors to Guatemala, who were moments away from boarding a flight. Trump’s aggressive measures, including large-scale raids in cities like Los Angeles, have faced multiple judicial challenges, some upheld and others overturned at various federal levels, including the Supreme Court.
According to the DHS statement, the expanded authority allows USCIS to “manage investigations from start to finish rather than referring cases to ICE,” aiming to reduce backlogs and combat fraud within the immigration system.
USCIS Director Joseph B. Edlow will have the power to appoint and train special agents under the order signed by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, ensuring that the agency can effectively execute its newly granted enforcement responsibilities.
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