Translate

Search This Blog

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Singles, boring and bad reputation for being Asian

Alone and far from their countries tens of thousands of workers Asians suffer the hardships of being single in Qatar, where they are not welcome in the temples of entertainment, shopping centers, so now built a special one for them. Two thirds of the nearly two million residents of the emirate aresingles , mostly immigrants from India, Pakistan, Philippines, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal, which, even if spouse in their home, are legally considered celibate if they spend more six months Catar alone. After a hard week of work, these men, many of them construction workers, have nowhere to spend their only day off, on Friday , since in most places of entertainment that day is dedicated to families and, although the single entry is not prohibited, their presence is unwelcomeThis happens in the malls, where air conditioning is an added incentive to protect summer temperatures up to 50 degrees: a luxury available to Qataris and expatriates and other Western countries, but not of Asian workers. Do not have it easy in winter, when the weather allows to walk the five kilometers of waterfront of Doha, the Corniche, because here are also welcome single men, often spending the day in a group. So when Friday comes, Asian immigrants, who represent 74% of the population, forced to remain confined in the residential complexes where they live in the industrial area of the city. The only alternative for entertainment is spending the day in the streets around the souk , where they gather to talk, smoke and share their moments of leisure with friends. This is the case of Raj, a worker who works in construction paradoxically a mall, for whom Friday "very boring" if you can not join his teammates. "If I stay in my room I feel very sad , but we have no where to go, "he laments. To meet the needs of these workers are building an entertainment center in the industrial area of Doha, especially for single men , with sports, recreation, entertainment and shopping. The complex will house a cricket stadium, plus four movie theaters, restaurants and an outdoor theater, the venue of concerts, cultural events, meetings and other activities. "I can not wait to open the new shopping center, but I hope it's cheap , "says Raj, who charges about 320 euros per month. In the past four decades, the population of Qatar has been multiplied by 15 for the huge influx of foreign workers, needed to carry out the ambitious real estate projects in the emirate overlooking the world cup 2022. To obtain a residence permit in this country is imperative to have a sponsor, ie a company or individual to answer for the immigrant. This system ensures that foreigners living in Qatar (almost 90% of the population) are working and that the unemployment rate is only 0.6%. However, Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned that labor laws to protect these employees "rarely applied". In its report of 2013, claims that the kafala (sponsorship) links legal residency for immigrants to their employer or sponsor, so they can not change jobs or leave the country without the consent of the contractor. Joy is a Filipino taxi driver who takes a few weeks in Doha and arrived the next day and drove a taxi, without knowing the city and without the help of a GPS or map. "Driving in this city is very dangerous, I never thought I would. Afraid I have not find the way back home," admits Joy, who complains of housing provided to you by the company, because "it is in the area industrial ". "Many of my colleagues have been hospitalized with respiratory problems from pollution, "he laments. In the case of immigrant women , whose number is much lower, most are employed in domestic service, but are excluded from labor law and devoid of a limitation of working hours or a guarantee of a weekly rest day.

So is the new command of the PlayStation 4


Bitter taste left the event where  Sony  released some technical details of the PlayStation 4 . The absence of images of the console had its counterpart in the command, the  DualShock 4 , and the camera  PlayStation EyeThe new controller inherits the classic design of the previous command, but incorporates several innovations. DualShock 4  is equipped with a new six-axis sensor for more highly sensitive and touchpad located on top of the controller. The idea, according to Sony, is offering players a whole new way to play and interact with video games. The control of the  PlayStation 4  includes a light bar in the top three LED lights that light colored in various ways.

Samsung introduced the Galaxy Note 8.0 tablet


Samsung Electronics announced Sunday in Barcelona that the Galaxy Note 8.0 will screen eight inches (20.32 centimeters), so that very close in size to the tablet from Apple  that went on sale in November with a 7, 9 inches (20.07 centimeters). Not the first time that  Samsung  makes a tablet that is in the range of size Mini, as the first product launched to compete with the iPad had a 7 inch (17.78 centimeters), and still makes a version of that size, but without the stylus. Samsung  will start selling the new tablet from April to June , at a price not yet determined. The company made ​​the announcement days before the Mobile World Congress , an exhibition of the wireless communication industry, which starts Monday in Barcelona, Spain. The Note 8.0 fills a gap in the line of Samsung models  equipped with pen, between the Galaxy Note II multipurpose phone, with a display of 5.5 inches (13.97 centimeters), and 10.1 Galaxy Notea tablet of large dimensions.  Samsung has made ​​this pen one of the tools with which attacks the dominance of Apple in both tablet and smart phones, since the signing of the apple makes no such device with special pen for touch screenIn the line of Samsung Note, pencils can be used to write, highlight and draw. The screens are also sensitive to the mice, which provides the equivalent of a cursor on the computer .

Microsoft also was targeted by hackers


Microsoft said Friday that a small number of computers, including some of its software business unit Mac , were infected with malware. The world's biggest software intrusion said security was " like "to recently reported by Apple and FacebookMicrosoft said there was no evidence that customer data were affected and it continues its investigation. The incident, reported in one of the company's public blog, happened " recently "but the company decided not to make an announcement while gathering information about the attack. This type of cyberattack as no surprise to Microsoft and other companies have to deal with opponents determined and persistent , "said Matt Thomlinson, general manager of Trustworthy Computing Security at Microsoft . The fact is known after the administration of President  Barack Obama  announced on Wednesday a series of efforts to combat the theft of secrets growing business in  the United States, in response to  a global problem  that is quickly getting worse and that came to light this week after they met new evidence of  cyber thefts linked to  ChinaThe signature Apple said Tuesday that a small number of Macintosh computers  of employees was also violated. In the same vein, the company capiteanada by Tim Cook said that "there is no evidence that any data has come out "of the company and is working to identify the hackers. "The malware was used in an attack on Apple and other companies, and spread through a web site for software developers , "said the company. The malware exploited a vulnerability in the Java program, used as a  plug-in  in the web browser software.

ASIA | Korean demilitarized zone Hunting for North Korean moles


The inlet starts a descent of 70 meters before reaching the underground passage that leads to North Korea. It moves with his head down, between granite walls, up to the walls with the South Korean military blocks the enemy since he discovered the Third Tunnel of Aggression in 1978. We know there are at least a dozen tunnels completed or under construction , "says the soldier Dae Hyun, one of the guards. "I just do not know where they are". The test of a nuclear bomb last week joined the international community in condemning and recalled the destruction capacity in the hands of secretive and totalitarian regime in Pyongyang. But the South Korean side of the most militarized border in the world, where nearly two million soldiers defending their positions along the 38th parallel, the nuclear threat is a secondary concern. The real risk passes a conventional ground invasion . South Korean troops have so far discovered four tunnels built by North Korea to infiltrate its territory. Only one of these passages, which in some cases more than a kilometer delve into South Korean territory, enough to move 30,000 troops, with weapons, on this side of the border in less than an hour. U.S. and South Korean soldiers constantly track the ground for clues , collect data continuously drilled North Korean defectors and Korean Demilitarized Zone for new passages. It is a task almost always futile: the tunnels are too deep and have blocked the exit to not cause suspicion. The third tunnel was discovered thanks to the information provided by a defector. Its walls had been painted black to make it look like a coal mine.The South Korean government has become a symbol of the "North Korean aggression" and tourist destination. A shop at the entrance sellsmemories of the last Iron Curtain of the Cold War , including pieces of the barbed wire that divided the Korean peninsula since the end of World War II. "They are true," says the clerk pointed metal corrosion.

Preparations against invasion

The fun of the tourists visiting the North Korean moles passages contrasts with the situation faced by the inhabitants of the border. The approximately 200 residents of the village of South Korean Taesung-dong (People of Freedom) just have to lean out their windows to spot North Korean troops stationed across the river Seocheongang. Residents are evacuated twice a year in trials that aim to prepare a future invasion. Nobody can leave their houses after 11 at night and most of the town is building a bunker with supplies needed to support long stay underground. "They are in the firing line" , says one of the soldiers who patrol the area. And North Korea invaded the South in 1950, starting a war that caused nearly four million victims and ended three years later in an armistice that left the border as it was. The tunnels discovered reminder that Pyongyang has not given up the dream of unifying the Korean peninsula by force. The Third Tunnel is located just 40 miles from Seoul, the South Korean capital. For tourists, visitors and journalists who visit on occasion to reach only 150 meters from North Korea, underground. "It's a strange feeling , "said Mark J. Sanders, a former U.S. military veteran who has made ​​the trip with his wife. "Suffice it to open the gate and we could walk across."

Facebook and Google team up to extend life


Together with their wives Zuckerberg and Brin joined the Russian capitalist Yuri Milner toreward 11 scientists with $ 3 million each to launch the Breakthrough Award in Life Sciences Prize. "It is an honor for me to Priscilla and be part of this," said Zuckerberg. "We think the Prize in Life Sciences has the potential to provide a platform for other models of philanthropy  and for people around the world have a chance of a better future, "said one of the four founders of the most important social network the world. Art Levinson , who chairs the boards of Apple mobile devices and star of biotechnology Genentechwill be at the head of this foundation nonprofit created to support research in progress. Levinson said he believes the award will highlight the value of the brightest minds in medicine and hopes to help improve medical innovation. Zuckerberg , Milner, and Brin's wife, Anne Wojcicki, will form the board. In this sense, and arrived at an agreement that in the future be granted Breakthrough five annual prizes worth three million dollars"We are excited to support scientists who think big, taking risks and that had a significant impact on our lives," said Wojcicki, co-founder of the emerging company 23andMe, which provides personal DNA analysis. He added: "These scientists should be household names and heroes in our society." Meanwhile, Brin remarked that "cure a disease should be worth more than a touchdown, " in an apparent reference to the fortunes they charge athletes like football players. Breakthrough Award winners this year, most of whom worked on cancer, agreed to participate in a committee to select the winners coming. "Solving the enormous complexity of human disease requires a much greater effort compared to fundamental physics and, therefore, requires multiple sponsors to reward outstanding success," said Milner.

IPI condemns attacks on press freedom in Bangladesh


Dhaka the capital city like the cities of Chittagong  and Sylhet , yesterday was the scene of violent clashes between activists of Islamist forces and the police , who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets to vandalism that had unleashed. The protesters demanded punishment against bloggers  of  Shahbagh movement , who reproached his antireligious positions. They also protested against the ban on Islamic dress policy, issue described as a " conspiracy ". The incidents included attacks on offices of news  and left at least  18 journalists injured , who were among the hundreds of injured. It was also reported one death.Monjurul Ahsan Bulbul , vice president of the International Press Institute (IPI) , and CEO of the signal  Boishakhi TV  from Bangladesh, condemned the attacks and called for the "immediate arrest and punishment" of those responsible. Meanwhile, the executive director of the entity,  Alison Bethel McKenzie , urged the U.S. authorities to send a "strong message that attacks against the press will not be tolerated." "On our last visit to Bangladesh last year, the authorities assured the IPI that attacks against journalists do not go unpunished, "he said. "We urge that show a real commitment to end violence against the media," he added. 

Sevilla 1 Barcelona 2 l Messi and Villa, against anxiety


That Barcelona not at its best moment seems obvious. Which the Catalans were not very focused on the match against Sevilla is even more so. Until they fell short on the scoreboard, the club did not react. After the duel, Roura knows he can count on Villa and in the worst case, Leo Messi never erased.  It takes years to achieve excellence, but two games to make it serve as a vague memory in the past. The Milan game and the first 45 minutes of the match against Sevilla showed an unrecognizable Barça , unable to create danger and getting a goal in the only real chance they had the Hispalenses (already going 11 games without keeping a clean sheet). Curiously, the player who won over Pique was Botía . International youth ranks and Barca squad, the blaugrana Murcia saw his career cut short by the signing of Gerard Pique. Maybe that's why celebrated his goal in the Nou Camp, perhaps aware that the field should have been his. The goal came two minutes before the break. Previously, only created once Barcelona. It was for Messi , Fallon throughout the first half. Dropped a ball in the area, cut and pulled a forehand that Beto took a corner. Portuguese goalkeeper is one of the big stories of Seville in 2013. The other was to hire a real coach. Leo's desperation was palpable after missing his third free-kick on the edge of the area. The first one crashed into the barrier. The other two were above him. Messi covered his face with his shirt and frowned. The Argentine did not have his best day in Italy and is aware that his team needs him more than ever.

Villa and Messi leading the reaction

At half- Roura told Alexis and introduced in the field to Tello. In addition, the position focused Villa and Alves played almost as an end. Domain Sixteen minutes were enough to overcome the Barca game but not to convince skeptics that have started coming after the last meetings of the Catalans. Villa , center forward, took a good cross from Alves to tie. El Guaje never forgive, despite not having the binomial confidence Tito-Roura.A few minutes later, Taylor found that the Argentine Messi to take off the disappointment of the first half. Leo is not at its best but it is so great that already totals 38 goals in the league and continues to accumulate marking consecutive days. Already ahead, Barca showed that's not right . Months ago, the Blaugrana have finished making goals. However, they allowed the Seville danger came up and crease. The draw kept him Negredo on his left leg when shot high after a sensational pass Rakitic. Baba Emery opted to start and his team noticed. No level to play at the Camp Nou. Until the final whistle, the Andalusians could get something out of your visit to Barcelona. Among comings and goings, the party could end up with a bulkier marker. The Barcelona regains smile facing the cup game against Real Madrid and Sevilla moral takes to play against Atletico. They might meet in the final.

PREMIER | QPR 0 - United 2 Concerned about Van Persie


Robin van Persie suffered an unfortunate hip injury against Queens Park Rangers, which forced him to leave the game just before halftime. Dutch striker hit a photographer in the action that preceded the 0-1 and was replaced by Danny Welbeck. It was the worst news for Manchester United in the field of bottom club where he scored another victory that reinforces the lead. Ferguson was optimistic about the evolution of the top scorer in the Premier League with 19 goals. The coach believes that will come in time for the March 5 game at Old Trafford in the first knockout round of the Champions League against Real Madrid. Until then, the Red Devils only awaits a commitment to Old Trafford against Norwich."Van Persie's injury is in the hip. Was due to an accidental clash. But I'm optimistic. Do not think their presence is threatened against Real Madrid," said the Scot. The triumph in London served the United to increase their mattress on City to 15 points. One step closer to the title against an opponent who also head up under the guidance of Harry Redknapp. This time fell victim goal by Rafael and the rubric of Ryan Giggs, in the 82nd minute. The Welshman, 39, finished a cross from Nani with a precise left-footed cross. A great way to celebrate his 999 career game (931 with United, 64 with their selection and four with Britain in the London Olympics). By then he was on the pitch Wayne Rooney, over in the second of Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez. Who was not involved in the second act was Esteban Granero, replaced at halftime by Jermaine Jenas.

Cazorla doublet

Meanwhile, Arsenal found relief in the talent of Jack Wilshere and goals from Santi Cazorla and scored a victory suffered against Aston Villa (2-1). The Spaniard, who scored in the sixth minute, saved the day Arsene Wenger to set another goal with five to go, after a Nacho Monreal center. Before, the courage of the 'villains' encountered by Andreas Weimann Award, which took advantage of a mistake by Wojciech Szczesny. The aim of Cazorla left the three points at the Emirates, still smarting from the disappointment of Wednesday in the Champions League against Bayern. Thus, the Spanish international becomes the first player since Thierry Henry totaling at least 10 goals in his debut season with the Gunners.The victory leaves Arsenal a point behind Tottenham in the fight for fourth place.

LEAGUE | Deportivo 1 R.Madrid 2 Changes wise up to Madrid at Riazor


Grotesque grazed for nearly an hour and rectified in time the Madrid at Riazor. Led by Cristiano, Higuain and Kaka, before a stubborn Deportivo but scary, what is required to comply with the reigning champion, as uncomfortable as usual in a league that does not see as much as yours. In the final half hour, with the sudden urge to Cristiano triple, Khedira and Ozil, defined Mou's men. It was a feat, because the case was reserved for the Nou Camp and Old Trafford.In any case, a starting point. Goals from Higuain and Kaka, and in the final, which was fixed overnight for absurdity. The team, like Brazil, vulgarity became confused before emerging with some class and more pride.Symptoms that speaks well of the commitment of some fatal state and others. The goal and the final pass from Kaka contrasted with Marcelo suspended without remedy or Modric. At the same level of success were, once again, patents suffering from Madrid to a smaller rival that denied the transition spaces withering. As in Granada, is darkened in the fabric of the play, without foresight, without Özil and without Alonso. Modric and Essien did not measure up. Di Maria, again expelled almost at discount, repeated his inconsistencies. As Alley.

Pizzi and Riki

This favored Deportivo, who are bottom by chance, but by his bad defense. She had attitude and believed in its potential until it forces endured. She did her best to score and only Cristiano was dismasted. If used well until the end of the course, the miracle is possible. Amazing was that with this defense, the right patched in for the injured Bergantiños Silvio, capease the storm. What could be a loophole for Callejon and Kaka was not an anecdote. Because Madrid spent a good quarter of an hour without offering new danger. At that time it was encouraging Deportivo, with two shots withering of Pizzi and Abel Aguilar arrived in extremis aborted by Diego Lopez.Also arose bright spark of Valeron and after the half hour, again Pizzi served for defining zurdazo Riki. To the near post, halfway up, a ball more than defensible. Did not meet Diego, as none of his fellow expedition, lost in Riazor, unable to penetrate the worst defense in the championship. The only way was to try to uncheck balls Di Maria, Higuain and Callejon. In the positional attack on Madrid failed to minimum required. Not even approached.

Too long

Could be satisfied to reach the break with 1-0. Happy because Marcelo save what was in goal for goal by Pizzi. Or with excess cross shot Riki, inspired as ever. He looked deep into their careers with Pepe, usually on the left side, hung back, broke, Temple and sent. In his back leaned Deportivo, thinking the night he would only longer.Some fears confirmed around halftime when outsiders began to find spaces and with them opportunities. Even with the reserve unit, redoubling the effort with Mourinho triple change in the 56th minute. Cristiano, Özil and Khedira, instead of Marcelo, Essien and Modric, with makeshift left back alley. Situation roughly analogous to Deportivo, when Kaka's injury forced the rear patch with Jesus Vazquez. It was the bugle call of Madrid. Changes in the score, a matter of time.