FULL UPDATE: Brazil protests continue despite president’s plea

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Massive rallies continued into the night in Brazil’s Belo Horizonte, Salvador, Sao Paolo and dozens of other major cities following a hike in transport fares, media report.

Across Brazil police estimated about 60,000 demonstrators to have gathered in downtown Belo Horizonte, 30,000 shut down a main business avenue in Sao Paulo and another 30,000 rallied in the city in southern Brazil where a nightclub fire killed over 240 mostly university students.

Demonstrators took to the streets in the cities hosting Confederations Cup matches despite President Dilma Rousseff’s plea for peace as she vowed to introduce a package of reforms, including a draft plan to benefit public transport and allocate all oil royalties to education.

A crowd reportedly tried to break through a perimeter set by the police around Belo Horizonte’s Mineirao stadium, where Mexico and Japan faced off in the Confederations Cup. The trouble escalated after dark when car dealers had windows broken, some shops were looted and protesters set fire to a car and several other objects on the streets.

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Intrusions In Privacy Will Continue Despite PRISM Being Uncovered - Expert

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This weekend the leaker of classified documents from the NSA revealed himself to the public. It turned out the person behind the leak was Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old ex-technical assistant for the CIA. Paul Rozenzweig, a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation, and Patrice McDermott, an executive director of OpentheGovernment.org, gave their exclusive comment to the Voice of Russia regarding the Snowden case and the overall scope of surveillance in America.

Over the weekend Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting defended and clarified President Obama's stance on the program, known as PRISM.

“He expressed concern about some of the lack of oversight and safeguards associated with programs in the past – for instance, when you had warrantless wiretapping that did not have that full oversight of a judge. What he's done as President is say which programs are necessary, which capabilities are necessary to protect the American people and which aren't.”

Under President the government has been collecting vast amounts of data from Verizon phone records as well as web services.

Nigerian Travellers Still Groan Despite ₦1.414 Trillion Spent On Road

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igeria has about 35, 000km of federal roads in its network. However despite N1.414 trillion expended on their maintenance since 1999, the roads remain death traps.  From Shagamu-Ore to Benin, Onitsha to Owerri, Gombe to Potiskum, Abuja to Lokoja, Ibadan to Ilorin among others, travellers suffer untold hardships as greater portions of the road network are in deplorable condition. These roads are ridden with potholes and gullies. Watch the video below and share your thoughts by dropping a comment on how Nigeria can improve the state of its roads and other infrastructure.

‘We were treated as failures despite winning silver at Abidjan ’84’

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US-based ex-Green Eagles midfielder, Paul Okoku, won a silver medal at the 1984 AFCON. Okoku, who was in South Africa to cheer the Eagles to a third title, tells ’TANA AIYEJINA about his experiences at Africa’s top football showpiece 29 years ago

How did you make the team considering the array of superstars in the Eagles then?

I knew I had to do more substantially considering the extraordinary skill level and experience possessed by my midfield contenders. I also saw the need to raise my game and create a lasting impression on the coaches.  I did it quietly but proficiently.

“If Fashola Still Smokes Despite Warnings, Then Okada Riders Have A Right To Operate” – NLC

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The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) headquarters in Lagos on Monday, came short of a war front, as Motorcycle (Okada) riders encountered armed policemen, causing gridlock on the Yaba-Ojuelegba road
Apparently acting on orders, the policemen surrounded the NLC building, take-off point of the protest. This however did little to deter the organisers, Joint Action Front (JAF), as they remained adamant, saying they needed no permit to hold a peaceful rally.