Six In The Morning Sunday May 4

JOAN SMITH

Sunday 4 May 2014

The world's media have failed in their response to the kidnap of 200 Nigerian schoolgirls

Their abduction by terrorists has had little coverage compared with the missing Malaysian airliner

When members of the Islamist terror organisation Boko Haram abducted more than 200 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok in north-eastern Nigeria last month, they disguised themselves in military uniform. The girls, who knew that many schools in the state of Borno have been attacked by jihadists, initially believed that the unexpected visitors had come to take them to a safe place. But as they climbed reluctantly into trucks and on to motorcycles, the men began firing into the air and shouting "Allahu Akbar". Some of the girls decided to make a run for it, but the majority were coerced into travelling to a bush camp. There the terrorists forced them to cook for their captors.

To say that Boko Haram opposes gender equality is an understatement. The group's name is a Hausa phrase which translates as "Western education is sinful"; abducting teenage girls fulfils several of the group's aims, bringing the girls' education to an abrupt end and forcing them into traditional female roles.

A Dutch Guerillera: The Foreign Face of FARC's Civil War

By Jonathan Stock

Tanja Nijmeijer of Holland spent more than 10 years fighting with the rebel group FARC in the jungles of Colombia. More recently, she has been part of the guerillas' peace negotiating team in Cuba. What drives her?

Until recently, there had long been only two possible fates awaiting Tanja Nijmeijer: a grave in the Colombian jungle or a cell in an American maximum-security prison. Nijmeijer has never had any doubts as to which option she would prefer. "I will die in the jungle," she says.

Nijmeijer is wanted by Interpol for three cases of kidnapping, the use of a firearm during a violent crime and supporting a terrorist organization.

Japan split over revision to pacifist constitution

By MARI YAMAGUCHI

Japan marked the 67th anniversary of its postwar constitution Saturday with growing debate over whether to revise the war-renouncing charter in line with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's push for an expanded role for the military.

The ruling conservative party has long advocated revision but been unable to sway public opinion. Now Abe is proposing that the government reinterpret the constitution to give the military more prominence without having to win public approval for the revisions.

His push, backed by the U.S. which wants Japan to bear a greater burden of its own defense, has upset the liberals who see it as undermining the constitution and democratic processes.

Meet the 'nightlife mayor' of Paris (yes, that's a thing)

Clément Léon acts as a go-between for local residents and the city's evening businesses, which employ some 600,000 people.

By Colette Davidson, Contributor

PARIS

It’s not so often someone throws a bucket of water at you from a fifth-story walk-up, but that’s exactly what happened to me in Paris two years ago.

I was out with a group of Irish friends at 2 a.m., and we lingered in the street for a half hour – they singing Irish folk songs at the top of their lungs and I, the bemused American, looking on with glee. It wasn’t until the second bucket of water threatened to douse us that we knew the angry neighbor meant business: Shut up and go home.

In Paris, like in many big cities, there is a strict distinction between nightlife and sleeping hours. For the sanity of the neighborhood, bars and restaurants must close at 2 a.m. But Paris’s nightlife mayor, Clément Léon, says having a strict closing time for establishments is actually creating much of the discontent between residents and local businesses – chucking night owls into the streets all at once, where they tend to linger and get loud.

Iran Nuclear Talks Open Door to Business, But Only a Crack

BY CASSANDRA VINOGRAD AND ALI AROUZI

TEHRAN, Iran - Like many businessmen in Tehran, Reza Dellavari struggles to give his customers what they want.

Crippling sanctions imposed by the West over Iran’s nuclear program have hit this crystal glass importer’s business, with the 38-year-old sometimes taking a loss on his goods amid fluctuating prices.

The prospect of a nuclear deal to lift those sanctions could be grounds for relief. But few people – Dellavari included – are holding their breath or preparing for a quick influx of foreign investment and trade if negotiations for a nuclear deal succeed.

Mauritania: The Saharan nation of ocean fishermen

By Chris TerrillMauritania

Think of Mauritania and you are likely to imagine the burning sands of the Sahara, nomads swathed in wind-blown robes and camel trains moving through the heat haze. All correct... but don't forget the fishing fleet.

Travelling across the Sahara to Mauritania's Atlantic coast I arrive at a place called Nouadhibou. Here, where the desert meets the ocean, I see something that takes my breath away - hundreds of multi-coloured wooden boats crashing through the unrelenting surf towards the open sea.

Twenty to 30 men in each boat, hang on for dear life as their vessels are bucked skywards by waves Californian surfers might pray for.

These are les pecheurs du Mauritanie - the fishermen of Mauritania, and the country's best-kept secret.