Entertainment

• Tuesday, April 29th 2014 - 06:15 UTC

  Overwhelming support for Dani Alves from FIFA, fellow players and Dilma

  

  FIFA president Joseph Blatter and several top players came out in support Monday of Barcelona right-back Dani Alves, who ate half of a banana that was thrown at him in a racist gesture a day earlier during his side's 3-2 win at Villarreal.

• Monday, April 28th 2014 - 23:40 UTC

  FIFA's Valcke downplays 'favelas' violence: “finally we will be talking about football”

  

  FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke downplayed recent violence in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro as a threat to the upcoming World Cup. The city was the scene of violent outbursts last week when a dancer was found dead with his friends and family blaming the killing on the police.

• Monday, April 21st 2014 - 06:51 UTC

  Paul McCartney conquers Montevideo for a second time: “I'm my favorite player!”

  

  With a blend of nostalgia for the Beatles and the pleasure of enjoying his presence in Montevideo, Paul McCartney captivated for a second time the Uruguayan audience with a three hour show in which he confirmed that he is one of the greatest.

• Monday, April 21st 2014 - 06:35 UTC

  Uruguay, team and country are unified behind coach

  

  The following piece was published by the NYT 18 April edition and is dedicated to Uruguay's football tradition and history. Uruguay's population is only 3.4 million but has an incredible record in world and regional cups victories, both with its national team and in clubs' competitions.

• Thursday, April 17th 2014 - 08:09 UTC

  Argentina court prevents supplying Brazil with football hooligans intelligence

  

  Notorious Argentine “barras bravas” football hooligans can travel to the World Cup without intelligence being passed on beforehand to hosts Brazil, a court has ruled. The court in Buenos Aires said that the Argentine government is not allowed to tell another country personal information about its citizens, a lawyer for the United Argentine Fans (HUA) supporters' group said on Wednesday.

• Thursday, April 17th 2014 - 07:59 UTC

  Brazil sends army to World Cup host city following police strike and widespread looting

  

  Brazil's government ordered 5,000 army troops to one of the host cities for the coming World Cup to provide law and order after a police strike led to civil unrest and looting.On Wednesday, the troops entered Salvador, the capital of Bahia state in northeastern Brazil, the state where police began striking on Tuesday night followed by the ransacking of shops and supermarkets, according to local reports.

• Wednesday, April 16th 2014 - 04:39 UTC

  Vice-president Biden will visit Brazil and attend a US national team game

  

  United States Vice President Joe Biden is planning to be among the crowds at this summer's World Cup soccer tournament. The White House announced Monday that Biden would travel to Brazil for the event in June. He also plans to attend a U.S. national team game.

• Saturday, April 12th 2014 - 08:12 UTC

  Police and squatters clash in Rio do Janeiro next to the Maracana stadium

  

  A dozen people were hurt and 27 arrested Friday in clashes between police and some of the roughly 5,000 squatters occupying a vacant industrial property in Rio do Janeiro, Brazil's second-largest city. Militants among the squatters set fire to several vehicles including a police patrol as they sought to remain on the site in the impoverished Engenho Novo neighborhood just steps away from the iconic Maracana stadium.

• Friday, April 11th 2014 - 22:01 UTC

  Olympic Committee top official sent to Rio to tackle delays in the 2016 Games

  

  The International Olympic Committee is sending its executive director Gilbert Felli to Brazil next week as part of a series of emergency measures to tackle the delays threatening the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. The announcement was made by IOC president Thomas Bach.

• Tuesday, April 8th 2014 - 18:17 UTC

  Airport chaos anticipated for Brazil's World Cup as terminals remain unfinished

  

  As if problems with the delayed stadiums was not enough, and with less than 10 weeks until the start of the World Cup, work on crucial new airport terminals has fallen behind in most of the dozen Brazilian host cities, heightening the risk of overcrowding and confusion during the tournament.