Brazil Braces for Waves of Cup Protests

June 6, 2014

Rio De Janeiro, Jun 6: With a week to go before the World Cup kicks off, Brazilian authorities are bracing for waves of public protests over the cost of staging the event.

Cup Protests

Caught out by the scale of demonstrations which accompanied last year's Confederations Cup dress rehearsal event, authorities have made detailed plans to counter anything from street protests to full-blown terrorist attacks.

"We have defined 15 areas of intervention over the past year and a half and have drawn up protocols on how to respond in each case, based on repeated testing.

"We are ready," government state secretary for major events Andrei Rodrigues said. "When it comes to security one can never let one's guard down."

Around 157,000 troops and police will be deployed across the 12 host venues for the Cup, running from June 12-July 13. Some 20,000 private security agents will also be on hand in the stadiums -- some 1,800 per venue in an USD 860 million operation.

In addition, 120 police officers from 40 countries will collaborate with the Brazilian authorities as they jointly collate and assess intelligence.

Militant groups have called a series of demonstrations during the World Cup as they look to reignite the kind of social protests which drew more than a million people into the streets 12 months ago. Those large-scale protests saw loud calls for more investment in public services, an end to rampant political corruption and for World Cup costs to be reined in.

This year, "we have the feeling that they (the protests) will be on a smaller scale," says Justice Minister Jose Eduardo Cardozo.

Military police, responsible for maintaining public order, have been preparing for the demonstrations. They have received training along the way from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and French riot police.

The military police units have been kitted out with hi-tech uniforms making their members look like something out of "Robocop". In Rio, meanwhile, mounted police units have been stocking up on horseshoes.

President Dilma Rousseff promised in April that nobody would be allowed to get near the 32 World Cup teams.

But last week, striking teachers got near enough to the Brazilian team bus to plaster the vehicle with protest stickers and also briefly blocked their exit from the airport at Rio.

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News Network
June 13,2020

Melbourne, Jun 13: Former Australia wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist and current opener David Warner have expressed gratitude to two Indian students for helping people in the country during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gilchrist thanked Sharon Varghese, an Indian student who did her Bachelors in Nursing from the University of Wollongong.

Varghese has been was working on the frontline along with other health care workers to look after the residents of aged-care during the global health crisis.

"She gave up her time to work as an aged-care worker throughout that time. Sharon, I want to say congratulations on the selfless act and for wanting to thank people in Australia because you have enjoyed three and a half years living here. And that’s wonderful to hear," Gilchrist said in a video message.

"Just want to let you know, all of Australia, all of India and more importantly, your family will be so very proud of your efforts."

In another short video, Warner thanked Queensland-based Indian student, Shreyas Sheth.

"Namaste. I am here to say thank you to Shreyas Sheth who is doing selfless work to help others during the COVID crisis. Shreyas is doing his Masters in Computer Science at the University of Queensland and he has been part of University’s outreach program, preparing and delivering food packets to students in need right now," Warner said in the video.

"So I just want to say ‘good on ya’. I am sure your mum and dad and India are proud of you. Keep up the great work."

The videos were shared by Austrade India official twitter account, which have hit almost 10 thousand views in last one week.

Apart from the two cricketers, another Social Media Influencer Amy Aela also sent her thank you note to Liya, an Indian student from Griffith university for her work in providing mental health support to communities in Australia during the pandemic.

"Liya I just want to thank you...we definately need more people like you...just remember that Australia is so so proud of you, India is proud of you..please keep up the good work," Aela said.

Former Australian footballer Craig Foster also sent his thank you message to another Indian origin nurse Arushi from Deakin University. More than 100,000 Indian students are studying in Australia, currently making them one of the biggest cohorts of international students in the country.

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News Network
March 13,2020

Mar 13: The start of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the world's most lucrative cricket competition, has been postponed from March 29 until April 15 over the coronavirus, the Indian cricket board said Friday.

"The Board of Control for Cricket in India has decided to suspend IPL 2020 till 15th April 2020, as a precautionary measure against the ongoing Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation," the BCCI said in a statement.

The two-month Twenty20 competition is estimated to generate more than $11 billion for the Indian economy and involves cricket's top international stars.

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Agencies
April 25,2020

London, Apr 25: Former Australian cricketer Graeme Watson who was fighting cancer, has died at the age of 75.

Primarily a middle-order batsman and a medium-pace bowler, he featured in five Tests from 1967 to 1972 and two ODIs in 1972, ESPNcricinfo reported.

The all-rounder earned the national call during the 1966-67 tour of Rhodesia and South Africa. Watson slammed a half-century in the first innings of the second Test of the series.

However, the medium-pace bowler was ruled of the next test after suffering an ankle injury. He returned for the fourth Test in Johannesburg where scalped his career-best 2 for 67 but failed to leave a mark with the bat as Kangaroos lost the series.

In 1971-72 he moved to Western Australia and played a major role in their Sheffield-Shield win in 1971-72, 1972-73, and 1974-75 seasons.

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