Neymar mistakenly approved for $120 virus welfare payment: report

Neymar, the world's most expensive footballer, was approved to receive a $120 welfare payment meant for low-paid Brazilian workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic, in an apparent case of identity theft, a report said Thursday.

The Paris Saint-Germain star's name, date of birth and Brazilian ID number were used to register for the 600-real stimulus payment from the federal government, news site UOL reported.

The emergency payments are meant to help Brazilians employed in the informal sector -- such as cleaners or cooks -- whose jobs and incomes have evaporated with stay-at-home measures to contain the virus.

With a contract at PSG, estimated earnings of $95.5 million this year and the record for most expensive football transfer in history, at 222 million euros, Neymar does not qualify.

Yet according to UOL, the application in his name "was initially approved and scheduled for payment... before being frozen and placed 'under evaluation' due to indications it failed to meet the requirements."

The striker's communications staff did not immediately respond to a request for comment from AFP.

UOL reported his staff said Neymar "obviously never applied for this benefit, and does not know who would have done so."

Brazil is one of the countries hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic. It has the third-highest death toll globally, at more than 34,000, behind only the US and Britain.

Neymar, 28, is riding out the pandemic at his luxury villa in Mangaratiba, a resort town outside Rio de Janeiro.

Agence France-Presse

Daiana Menezes sizzles onstage during FHM show, clams up backstage

After the much talked about episodes involving alleged domestic abuse and a subsequent failed suicide attempt by husband Benjamin “Benjo” Benaldo, Daiana Menezes took to the ramp Wednesday night for FHM’s 100 Sexiest victory party at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.

Wearing a very skimpy pink outfit, the leggy Brazilian actress-model-host owned the show, receiving more hoots and applause than any other female celebrity during the event.

“I can’t say anything,” Daiana informed the press when asked regarding the latest developments in her personal life. “Work lang po talaga, work lang po talaga,” she kept saying to everyone’s dismay.

Daiana’s husband, former Cagayan de Oro Rep. Benaldo, was found with a gunshot wound on his chest inside his office at the Batasang Pambansa last month days after the sexy star started flooding her Instagram account with controversial posts and pictures hinting at domestic abuse.

Daiana later clarified in a statement read to the media by a Benaldo aide that the reason behind the alleged suicide attempt are the advocacies Benaldo strongly believes in rather than a rift between the couple.







“I can’t talk about it yet,” Daiana replied when asked to comment on her husband’s condition.

Asked when they are planning to come out and face the public, Daiana begged for patience.

“Soon, soon. Magsalita naman po kami, don’t worry,” she said.

She then made an appeal to the public to allow them some privacy during this trying time.

“Please respect my privacy. I love the Philippines, we’re just working,” she said.

Before she got whisked away by security, however, Daiana managed to thank everyone and hoped that they enjoyed the show.

“Life goes on,” she said.

source: interaksyon.com

Caller ID inventor struggles to collect royalties

BRASILIA — Fifteen years after he patented caller ID technology, Brazilian inventor Nelio Jose Nicolai is no millionaire.

Quite the opposite: out of work since 1984, the co-inventor of the ubiquitous tool is still fighting to collect royalties.

“This revolutionized cellular telephony,” Nicolai proudly told AFP of his BIMA technology, recalling the rapturous welcome it received in Canada and the United States.

In 1996, the inventor received an award from the World Intellectual Property Organization and a year later — after a five-year wait — he finally secured a patent in his homeland.

He then approached domestic mobile phone operators to claim his rights to royalties — and ran into a wall.

“One of the companies told me: ‘Go to court, maybe your great-grandchildren will collect something,’” the 72-year-old said. “So I decided to defend the rights of my great-grandchildren.”

Over the years, BIMA was modified and named caller ID.

But, despite repeated efforts, Nicolai was unable to secure the rights to the new name, causing him to lose out on millions of dollars.

“The financial prejudice caused is shameful. It’s a crime against the state, because it affects the equity of not only an individual but of a country,” he fumed.

Home to 194 million people, Brazil has more than 250 million mobile phone lines in use and each operator charges a monthly average of $5 for caller ID service, according to Nicolai’s lawyer Luis Felipe Belmonte.

Nicolai has filed lawsuits against leading cellular operators Claro, owned by Mexican telecom magnate Carlos Slim, as well as Vivo, owned by the Spanish group Telefonica.

Due to financial woes that almost left him homeless, he was forced to accept a settlement with Claro, which agreed to pay him only 0.25 percent of his request.

Details of the deal are being kept under wraps but the proceeds enabled Nicolai to buy a upscale house in Brasilia, as well as a new Mercedes sedan. Now he hopes to collect more from other lawsuits.

“To be Bill Gates or Steve Jobs in the United States, that’s easy,” Nicolai said in reference to the founders of Microsoft and Apple. “But I would like one of them to be an inventor in Brazil.”

In Brazil, registering a patent costs up to $1,500 and the procedure takes an average of five years and eight months, compared with four years in the United States and five in Europe.

“The main problem is the wait,” which makes it difficult to market ideas, conceded National Institute of Industrial Property president Jorge Avila, who each year receives around 35,000 patent applications.

source: interaksyon.com

Foreign Hires Showcase Brazilian League's Riches

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Two of Brazil's biggest football clubs presented newly hired foreign imports on Saturday, in the latest manifestation of the newfound spending power that has recently helped keep some of the country's own talent from moving abroad.

Clarence Seedorf and Diego Forlan debuted for Botafogo and Internacional, respectively, as the Dutch and Uruguayan veterans, long past their prime in the marquee leagues of Europe, keep their careers going in a Brazilian league that has been reinvigorated in recent years because of a recent economic boom in South America's biggest country.

Brazilian clubs often repatriate their own ageing stars when their careers in Europe are over. Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldinho Gaucho, Luis Fabiano, and others have come back to the country in recent years.

Growing wealth among Brazilian teams has also enabled them to keep young talents like Neymar, the ascendant Santos forward, from following their predecessors across the Atlantic, much less to developing leagues in China, the United States, or the Middle East.

A strong Brazilian currency, and lucrative sponsorship deals, mean many young Brazilian players can earn as much as they would by making the move to Europe.

With more than 30 million Brazilians having entered the middle classes over the past decade, advertisers are investing heavily in sponsorships. Television companies this year more than doubled the amount they pay clubs for broadcast rights.

Brazilian teams, however, have rarely signed marquee foreigners.

So the arrival of Forlan and Seedorf marks a new willingness by Brazilian clubs to invest in banner players. Forlan, 33, was named best player at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, while Seedorf, 36, won Champions League titles with Ajax Amsterdam, Real Madrid, and AC Milan.

Neither Botafogo nor Internacional disclosed how much they were paying their new recruits. Sports newspaper Lance, however, said Forlan would receive 415,000 reais ($204,000) per month, much of it from sponsors.

Forlan's three-year deal is with a club considered one of the best run in Brazil. Internacional has 100,000 dues-paying members - more than Spanish giants Real Madrid. When the player arrived in the southern city of Porto Alegre on Saturday, 3,000 of them were there to meet him.

"The reception has been incredible," Forlan said at a news conference. "I never thought I would arrive at an airport and see all this love. It's something new for me. It's spectacular."

When asked why foreign players might come to Brazil, he mentioned Brazil's increasing dominance in regional tournaments, with three different Brazilian teams winning the last three Copa Libertadores. Brazil's hosting of the 2013 Confederations Cup and the 2014 World Cup would mean even more attention for the sport in the country, he added.

"Players want to play here," Forlan said.

Botafogo, meanwhile, turned Seedorf's arrival into a banner occasion before the club's league game against Bahia on Saturday evening. The midfielder was flown to Rio de Janeiro's Engenhão stadium in a helicopter before being presented with his No. 10 shirt.

A crowd of 17,000 people turned up, almost three times the number present at Botafogo's last home game against Ponte Preta.

The former AC Milan player reportedly turned down offers from clubs in the U.S. and Middle East to sign the two-year deal.

Both players also have personal reasons for coming to Brazil. Forlan's new club is based in Porto Alegre, just a 90-minute flight from his home city of Montevideo. And Seedorf, who is married to a Brazilian, already owns property in Rio.

The newfound wealth of Brazilian clubs has limits, which has kept most of them from paying the exorbitant transfer fees required when some players break their contracts. Both Forlan and Seedorf were free agents, though.

Brazilian teams, meanwhile, are likely to keep selling their young prospects if the price is right. Forlan's arrival has prompted speculation that Internacional could sell Leandro Damiao or Oscar to teams abroad.

source: nytimes.com