Six In The Morning Friday October 3

Hong Kong protests: Pro-democracy protesters accept talks with chief executive Leung

Protesters had threatened to occupy government buildings

Heather Saul  Friday 03 October 2014 

Crowds of pro-democracy protesters rallying in Hong Kong dwindled on Friday after accepting talks with the territory’s leader over their demands for electoral reform.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying agreed to the talks but rejected demands from protestors that he resign, who had threatened to surround or occupy government buildings.

An afternoon thunderstorm - and sheer exhaustion after the week-long protests - also appeared to keep people off the streets, according to the Associated Press.
The territory's top civil servant, Chief Secretary Carrie Lam, who was asked to arrange the talks, said she would seek to meet the leaders of the demonstrations as soon as possible.

Corruption still dominates political landscape as Bulgarians go to the polls

A downtrodden and cynical electorate expects little from Sunday’s election, writes John O’Brennan, in Sofia   

John O'Brennan

Voters in Bulgaria go to the polls on Sunday to elect a new parliament after a turbulent period that has seen three governments fall by the wayside since early 2013 when a wave of protest engulfed the country.

Bulgarians have lived in an almost permanent state of crisis since the demise of the socialist regime in 1989. Twenty-five years of “democracy” has been characterised by endemic corruption and rampant organised crime, eroding confidence in the economy, encouraging mass emigration and delaying Bulgaria’s participation in the EU’s Schengen Agreement, which allows passport-free travel between countries.

This is a world in which powerful oligarchic networks have succeeded in “capturing the state”. At one and the same time they dominate Bulgaria’s political parties and ruthlessly pursue their own interests, remaining hidden from any kind of public scrutiny, much less accountability or justice. 

Access all areas: why public WiFi networks are as insecure as they were 15 years ago

Wireless Internet just turned 15 years old. But surfing in public presents gaping security holes - as evidenced by a recent experiment. Why? And what can be done to enhance WiFi security? 

 An Internet security company has made public results of an experiment where users signed away their first-born child or favorite pet in return for free wireless Internet access.

The experiment was meant to highlight the dangers of surfing on public networks - for which the company just so happens to offer a security tool.

But clever marketing tricks aside, how safe is public WiFi, anyway?

DW has been asking experts why - after 15 years of use - public WiFi is still so insecure for users - and what's likely to happen in the future.

Indian public servants told to sign no-dowry pledge

October 3, 2014 - 1:51PM

Amrit Dhillon

Delhi: In a move to stop Indian men demanding dowry, unmarried men who work for the state government of Uttar Pradesh have been ordered to sign a pledge swearing they will not demand dowry on marrying – or lose their jobs.

A rule demanding that bachelors make this no-dowry pledge was introduced in the state, which is the size of France and the most populous in India, in 2004. But the director of the Women's Welfare Department, Virendra Nath Verma, said it was never enforced.

"The human resources department sent these certificates on Monday to all our male civil servants who are unmarried and expects them to be signed," Mr Verma said. "The 2004 rule became like everything else in India, just an intention that was never pushed through. But now we have decided to get tough on dowry." 

 On eve of Brazil presidential election, is the Amazon at stake?

Most Brazilian voters are focused on what incumbent President Rousseff and top competitor Silva have to say about the sluggish economy. Their prescriptions will have a major impact on environmental protection in the Amazon rainforest.

By Stephen Kurczy, Correspondent

 Manaus; and Rio Branco, Brazil — Environmentalists rolled their eyes when Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff boasted about her country's environmental success at last week's United Nations climate summit.

Her assertions – that Brazil reduced annual deforestation by 79 percent over the past decade and prevented 650 million tons of carbon pollution annually – were true. But just days ahead of the tight Oct. 5 presidential election, she left out crucial facts: that the measures were the brainchild of her rival, Marina Silva, a former environment minister, and that President Rousseff's administration has dialed back forest preservation laws and opened the Amazon to new farms, dams, and roads.

Most voters are focused on how the two candidates will kick the economy into gear after four years of sluggish growth. But those tactics will have a major impact on environmental protection – a concern not only in the Amazon, which covers more than one-third of Brazil and accounts for more than half the world’s tropical forests, but beyond Brazil’s borders as well.

The marooned baboon: Africa's loneliest monkey

By Chris Haslam Zimbabwe 

It has been three years since Robinson the baboon became stranded on an island in the Zambezi River. Despite rescue attempts by tourists and frequent calls from his family, Robinson doesn't seem to be going anywhere.

I was standing on the deck of the Ruckomechi safari camp, gazing across the Zambezi River to the grey hills of the escarpment in Zambia, when my guide pointed at a non-descript island mid-stream - a low blur of vetiveria grass.

"There's a baboon trapped over there," he said. "He's been there three years. We call him Robinson."
I had come to Zimbabwe's Mana Pools National Park - for my money the prettiest on the entire continent - to file a story about the country's bid to attract more tourists. I'd met tourism minister Walter Mzembi - a favourite of President Robert Mugabe's and a man tipped by some for his job some day.