Sunday, May 11, 2014

SIx In The Morning

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Nigeria is mired in violence and inequality. It's the girls who suffer

Look one way and my country is booming. Look another and there's poverty and fear – exploited by Boko Haram

Lola Shoneyin
The Observer, Sunday 11 May 2014

I had not heard the phrase Boko Haram when I first moved to Abuja,Nigeria's capital, in 2009 to take up a job at an international secondary school. But just about everything felt new in Abuja, with its broad, tarred roads, the shiny experimental structures, modern hospitals and pastel-coloured housing developments.

It can feel soulless, as if the only thing that grows there is money and there was lots of it changing hands in large, chequered bags. The National House of Assembly was domiciled in Abuja, so politicians and those who benefited from the endemic corruption peppered the landscape with sprawling, grotesque homes.

Further north, there is little evidence of prosperity – the landscape is arid and unforgiving. Even after the oil boom, when northern leaders enthusiastically dipped into the national purse, they neglected to educate the people from this part of the country.

'Some want special soap, others want bananas...': Brazilian hoteliers surprised by World Cup teams' extravagant demands

If you thought footballers were overpaid and cossetted, here are some new absurdities

The Algerians want the Koran by their bedside, the Uruguayans have insisted on silent air-conditioning, to ensure their players have a "peaceful and quiet environment", and Ecuador want daily deliveries of their local banana varieties. Nothing is too much in the cossetted world of international football.

With just over a month to go before their 736 distinguished guests land in Brazil, the hotels in 27 cities across nine states are experiencing an intense flurry of activity as they apply the final touches to some costly preparations. While many stadiums have reportedly been poorly finished, the competitors are leaving nothing to chance, and all the teams have stepped up their security.

Rare rallies in Vietnam say 'hands off' to China over sea row

BY MINH NGUYEN

HANOI Sun May 11, 2014 3:49am EDT

(Reuters) - Hundreds rallied on Sunday in Vietnam's biggest cities to denounce China's setting up of a giant oil rig in the South China Sea, a rare protest likely to prolong a tense standoff between the two communist neighbors.

At least 300 people massed in front of China's embassy in Hanoi and a few hundred more at its consulate in Ho Chi Minh City, witnesses said, chanting "Down with China" in protests that expose the underlying cracks in relations between the two political and economic allies.

China's parking of the rig in contested waters a week ago was one of its most provocative moves in years and followed U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to allies such as Japan and the Philippines, which are among the countries locked in disputes at sea with an increasingly assertive Beijing.

'Fresh Meat': A Bulgarian Businessman Moves His Village to Germany

By Özlem Gezer and Milos Djuric (Photographs)

Two Bulgarians -- a former cow trader and a mini-bus driver -- are moving their village piece by piece to Hamburg. It is good business for them, but their customers don't always get what they bargained for.

Erhan Kurt is driving along an empty country road on a cool Sunday evening. It's foggy and visibility is poor, but he is determined to reach the village that was once his home. He wants to drink -- whiskey, two bottles and perhaps even three -- and he wants to smoke and talk, just as he does every evening during his visits to Bulgaria, the poorest country in the European Union. His country.

Kurt drives past an abandoned train station and run-down stockyards. The house where he was born, 32 years ago, stands right at the beginning of the village of Slivo Pole. It's abandoned now, and the bar next door, which he used to frequent, has gone out of business. He passes the grocery store where villagers buy their food on credit. The only reason the barbershop is still in business is that there is a Western Union counter in the storage room. "Hardly anything would work here anymore without the money from Wilhelmsburg," Kurt says as he drives past the buildings in his blue BMW. They would all starve to death."

11 May 2014 Last updated at 08:37

Ukraine rebels hold referendums in Donetsk and Luhansk

Pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine's two eastern regions are holding "self-rule" referendums - a move condemned by the Ukrainian government and the West.

BBC correspondents at polling stations report chaotic scenes, no voting booths in places and no electoral register.

Self-proclaimed leaders in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions are going ahead with the vote despite Russian President Vladimir Putin's call to postpone it.

Ukraine says the vote could result in the "self-destruction" of the regions.

Overnight, fighting was reported around the rebel-held city of Sloviansk, which remains sealed off by Ukrainian government troops conducting what they describe as an "anti-terror" operation.

Banned! 7 things you won't find in China

China is gradually relaxing controls in many areas of life but Beijing keeps a tight grip on technology and access to media. These seven items are still off limits.

Twitter

Change is afoot in China. Its leaders have promised a decisive role for markets in the huge economy, and recently lifted a 14-year ban on games consoles. But in many areas, there's still a long way to go.

Try using Twitter (TWTR), for example. Too bad!

The social media platform can't be accessed from within the so-called Great Firewall of China, a censorship project operated for decades by the Communist Party.

Thousands of websites cannot be viewed inside China either, but social media platforms draw special attention from censors.

Analysts say Beijing was particularly unnerved by the role social media played in the Arab Spring and the 2009 Green Revolution in Iran, leading to a blackout for the service.

Ignoring Asia