Six In The Morning

Ukrainians vote in presidential elections

25 May 2014 Last updated at 05:39

 BBC

Ukrainians are going to the polls to vote in a new president after months of unrest following the ousting of former President Viktor Yanukovych.

Eighteen candidates are competing in the contest, which is widely seen as a crucial moment to unite the country.

But pro-Russian separatists in the east who oppose the election have threatened to disrupt the voting process.

Some 20 people have been killed amid an upsurge of fighting between insurgents and government forces in recent days.

The violence in the east, particularly Donetsk and Luhansk, has seriously disrupted preparations for the polls.

Shortly after voting began, election officials told the BBC no polling stations had opened in the city of Donetsk

Ramallah father: I want to believe that the boy soldier who shot dead my son seeks forgiveness

 CCTV footage of Nadeem Suwara, shot dead by Israeli forces, spread around the world. Here his father talks of a teenager of the new Ramallah, a world of smartphones, western music and prosperity – but one in which life is still overshadowed by the threat of violence

Peter Beaumont

The Observer, Sunday 25 May 2014

Towards the end of our interview about his son Nadeem’s short life, Siam Nawara says something unexpected. Nadeem, 17, was one of the two boys shot by Israeli forces whose deaths were captured on CCTV. The shootings took place at a Nakba day demonstration outside Ofer prison on the West Bank on 15 May, while the boys were posing no apparent threat to Israeli soldiers. The shocking footage last week provoked international calls for an investigation.

 ‘Ghetto TV’ shows another side to residents of Rio’s largest favela

Angered by stereotypical portrayals, a group in the city’s biggest shanty town are launching their own channel

JANET TAPPIN COELHO  RIO DE JANEIRO  Sunday 25 May 2014

Residents of Rocinha, the largest favela in Rio de Janeiro, have been portrayed as domestic servants, thieves and uneducated nonentities for too long, they say.

Now, fed up with not seeing their real way of life represented on Brazilian television, a group of residents are pooling their talents to launch the first “ghetto TV” station. The initiative will challenge what shanty town dwellers say are “stereotypical depictions” of their lives – poorer neighbourhoods that are inaccessible, and violent no-go areas.

Malawi court rejects Banda’s call to annul elections

Malawi’s High Court has issued an injunction barring President Joyce Banda from interfering in the electoral process.

25 MAY 2014 07:40 MABVUTO BANDA AND FRANK PHIRI

Malawi’s High Court on Saturday issued an injunction stopping President Joyce Banda from interfering in the electoral process, making her earlier decision to annul national elections invalid and raising the risk of post-election violence in the Southern African country.

The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) suspended the country’s election announcement and ordered a re-count of votes, commissioner Chimkwita Phiri said at the national tally centre in Blantyre.

“There’s need for a physical check by opening the actual ballot boxes,” he said, adding that the number of ballots counted exceeded the number of voters registered.  

Opinion: China faces its own “war on terror”



 By Victor Gao, Special for CNN

For many decades, unlike their counterparts in many Western countries, Chinese police did not carry guns. Even the armed police in China, charged mainly with guarding foreign embassies, government buildings and important facilities, would normally only carry unloaded guns, keeping the bullets separate.

A police officer firing a gun was a rarity, because China was a safe country.

Recently, however, a major shift is occurring that is significantly changing the landscape, as China faces its own “war on terror.”

Colombia activists denounce rights violations

 Colombian activists say human rights violations are continuing despite President Santos’ pacifist image.

Eleanor O’Hagan

Last month, three Colombian activists visited the UK to talk about the human rights situation in Colombia with British and Irish politicians. Their visit came at a crucial time. The activists had just learned that paramilitaries had placed bounties on their heads.

“It becomes normal,” said one of the activists, 27-year-old David Florez, spokesperson for the Patriotic March, Colombia’s biggest grassroots movement. In February, a death threat was sent to members of the Patriotic March and opposition senators by the paramilitary cell, Urban Commandos-Black Eagles. These paramilitaries are known for following through on the threats they issue. A UN report in 2012 estimated that Colombian paramilitaries have “disappeared” nearly 20,000 people.