Oscar-winning film director Danny Boyle, the artistic director for the 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony in London, revealed Friday that the ceremony will be a Shakespeare-inspired celebration of British culture.
Britain plans to deploy 13,500 troops, two warships and ground-to-air missiles to provide security for the 2012 summer Olympics in London, Defence Minister Philip Hammond announced on Thursday.
Mangueira, Rocinha, Providencia, Cidade de deus, Jacarezinho… There are nearly 1000 in the town; favelas are part of the landscape. They all have their own football teams, residents’ associations, and also their drug trafficking gangs. There are three main factions fighting turf wars: the Vermelho Comando, Amigos dos Amigos (the Friends of Friends) and the 3rd Commando.
First, Tunisia prepares for landmark elections but there are fears of a low turnout. Next, Libyan Berbers are enjoying more freedom than ever in rebel held areas. Finally, we bring you the tragic life story of a great African athlete, "Marathon Man" Boughera El Ouafi, an Olympic gold medalist.
Exactly one year from today, the 2012 Olympic Games will open in London. British organisers know that it'll be a tall order to beat the quality of the Games put on by Beijing in 2008. But they're off to a good start, with all six major construction projects already completed 12 months in advance. That said, there's still a lot of work to be done.
FRENCH PAPERS, Wed. 27/07/11. Nicolas Sarkozy is pushing forward a proposal to write a deficit-balancing rule into the constitution. The measure is facing strong opposition from Socialists who say it's a publicity stunt in the lead-up to the 2012 presidential election. And a year after his controversial speech against the Roma community, Libération says the French President’s repressive campaign has been a major failure.
In today's French press - the papers backpedal after claiming yesterday that charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn were set to be dropped, the six Socialist candidates for the presidency can't agree on policy, and a French dating site is a huge success with people in their sixties.
After two unsuccessful bids in 2003 and 2007, Pyeonchang in South Korea has finally won the right to host the Winter Olympics in 2018. The other two contenders were Annecy in France and Munich in Germany.
France on Wednesday was awaiting the verdict on its bid to stage the 2018 Winter Olympics in Annecy. The South Korean city of Pyeongchang is the hot favourite to win with Munich in Germany also in the running.
In Wednesday's French papers, the DSK case rumbles on, with many speculating New York prosecutors could be set to drop charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn. In other news, French lawmakers may scrap the 35-hour working week, and Europe's intervention in Libya comes under fire.
