As Yemenis prepare to vote tomorrow, thousands of photos of Abdrabu Mansour Hadi, the vice-president, have suddenly blossomed all over Sanaa, the capital city. In many cases the images have replaced pictures of Ali Abdullah Saleh, the only president most Yemenis can remember.
The photos do not, unfortunately, signal any spontaneous outpouring of public enthusiasm. Yemenis will surely take some pleasure in Mr Saleh's departure from office, but Mr Hadi has worked with the ousted president since 1994 and is the only candidate on the ballot tomorrow. So he is not exactly a symbol of wholehearted change.
Yet this tainted transition appears to be all the change Yemenis can handle right now, and so should be welcomed as progress of some sort.
After decades of simmering poverty and unresponsive government, Yemen's people launched into widespread protest a year ago. Since then, bloody demonstrations and bloodier reprisals have led to a stalemate, creating fertile conditions for renewed regional and tribal strife, and for Al Qaeda seeking to make headway. Along with an imploding economy and the cascading breakdown of basic services, the long crisis has brought Yemen close to the brink of failed-state status.
In these conditions Mr Saleh, other regime figures, the armed forces and the protesters - not to mention the public at large - all desperately needed peace. The result is this one-man election based on a hard-won deal brokered by the Gulf Co-operation Council: Mr Hadi will have a two-year mandate, presiding over a national-unity cabinet and a "national conference" intended to open a new era of compromise and pave the way for open elections in 2014. Two years will give all factions time to begin learning democratic electoral politics.
Southern secessionists and insurgent groups including the potent Houthi are boycotting this week's vote; so are some protesters who want greater change. But observers say the voter turnout is expected to be substantial.
In many countries, a non-contest to ratify a deal among elites would be regarded as a travesty of democracy and a recipe for more trouble. But considering the depth and breadth of Yemen's troubles, this process seems to be a necessary if incomplete step - perhaps the only possible step - away from the precipice of the country becoming a failed state.
What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is the most popular virtual currency in the world. It was created in 2009 as a new way of paying for things that would not be subject to central banks that are capable of devaluing currency. A Bitcoin itself is essentially a line of computer code. It's signed digitally when it goes from one owner to another. There are sustainability concerns around the cryptocurrency, which stem from the process of "mining" that is central to its existence.
The "miners" use computers to make complex calculations that verify transactions in Bitcoin. This uses a tremendous amount of energy via computers and server farms all over the world, which has given rise to concerns about the amount of fossil fuel-dependent electricity used to power the computers.
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
POSSIBLE ENGLAND EURO 2020 SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope, Dean Henderson.
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kieran Trippier, Joe Gomez, John Stones, Harry Maguire, Tyrone Mings, Ben Chilwell, Fabian Delph.
Midfielders: Declan Rice, Harry Winks, Jordan Henderson, Ross Barkley, Mason Mount, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Forwards: Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Tammy Abraham, Callum Hudson-Odoi.
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