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The Hangover News

This weekend, the government failed to deport a hunger-striking Nigerian asylum seeker.

Failed Deportations
THE UK GOVERNMENT DIDN'T MANAGE TO DEPORT ISA MUAZA
The plane transporting the hunger-striking asylum seeker was turned away by Nigeria

Isa Muaza

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A government-chartered jet transporting asylum seeker Isa Muaza out of the UK was forced to return after being prevented from entering Nigerian airspace.

The 47-year-old Nigerian has been on hunger strike for almost 100 days in protest against his deportation, and told us he'd "rather die than go back" when we visited him in an immigration detention centre next to Heathrow airport last week.

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After being rejected by Nigeria, the plane carrying Muaza was forced to divert its path to Malta, where a dispute broke out with authorities over the right to use its airstrip.

After a 20-hour flight, which is estimated to have cost the Home Office between £95,000 to £110,000, the plane eventually arrived back in Britain on Saturday.

That evening, lawyers and supporters of the asylum seeker were trying to stop a second deportation, with one saying, "It's an unbelievable fiasco and we are very worried about his health. He is very weak."

Lord Roberts, a Liberal Democrat peer, said, "[The home secretary] Theresa May must consider her role immediately. She has caused immense harm to one individual and spent an extraordinary amount of taxpayers' money. I hope there will be no question of sending this poor man away again."

Violent Demonstrations
CLASHES BROKE OUT BETWEEN RIVAL PROTESTERS IN BANGKOK
Troops had to be called in after one person was shot and at least three injured

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Clashes broke out in Bangkok after a week of protests aiming to oust Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

On Saturday, after what had been seven days of mostly peaceful protests, two people were killed and dozens more injured when anti-government and pro-government protesters began fighting. Shots were fired, but, as yet, it is unclear by whom.

The government were reluctant to deploy the army considering they ousted Shinawatra's brother in a coup seven years ago, but were forced to on Sunday to help riot police cope with the 30,000 protesters trying to breach barricades outside government buildings.

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The anti-government protesters – who believe the government is still controlled by Shinawatra's exiled brother – want to replace the leadership with a "people's council".

A BBC correspondent says that anti-government activists are trying to negotiate control of several TV stations and that the situation feels increasingly like a coup.

Narcotic News
TURNS OUT THE WORLD DOESN'T AGREE ABOUT THE WAR ON DRUGS
A leaked document revealed that Latin America are opposed to the UN's prohibition stance

(Photo by Chris Bethell)

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A leaked draft of a UN document has revealed huge international divisions over the global "war on drugs".

Opposed to the US-led policy promoting prohibition as the one solution to the problem, a number of countries want to begin treating drug consumption as a public health matter rather than a criminal justice issue.

The draft reveals that opposition comes mostly from Latin America, with countries such as Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico claiming that the prohibition stance aids cartels and paramilitary groups; Ecuador stating that the world needs to look beyond prohibition; and Venezuela arguing that the current policy fails to recognise the "dynamics of the drug criminal market".

But it's not only Central and South American countries ravaged by the international drug trade that want to reassess the global strategy against drugs; Norway and Switzerland also spoke out against current policies.

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The EU is also pushing for the draft to emphasise the need to treat drug-dependent offenders rather than incarcerate them.

More Bigotry
CROATIANS PROTESTED AGAINST A SAME SEX MARRIAGE REFERENDUM
Shockingly, the Catholic church are urging everyone to vote against gay marriage

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Croatia have opened the polls for a referendum on same sex marriage.

The referendum, drawn up by a Catholic group, will pose the question: "Do you agree that marriage is matrimony between a man and a woman?"

If there is a "yes" vote, the country's constitution will be changed to ban gay marriages.

A recent opinion poll suggests that 59 percent of the majority Catholic country would vote against gay marriage, with the Roman Catholic church urging citizens to vote "yes" and 104 members of Croatia's 151-seat parliament supporting the referendum.

On Saturday, gay rights protesters marched through the capital city Zagreb, with one activist telling press: "We urge voters to protect minority rights so that no one in Croatia becomes a second-class citizen."

A Visionary Lack of Foresight
A FRENCH GUY SMASHED UP HIS FLAT BECAUSE HE WANTED HIS DEPOSIT BACK
Which is not the recommended way to get your deposit back

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A Frenchman, livid that his landlord wouldn't return his £1,530 security deposit, has filmed himself smashing up his flat with a sledgehammer.

He then uploaded the video – "vengeance d'un locatiare", or "revenge of a tenant" – to YouTube, where it's had nearly 750,000 views.

The angry man's face suggests that all that smashing is very cathartic.

Unfortunately, however, he doesn't seem to have realised that destroying a shower, a mirror, a toilet, a radiator, a cabinet and multiple walls, before posting evidence of it online, isn't the easiest way to get your deposit back.

Then again, there's no better revenge for late deposit repayments than making your landlord charge you thousands of pounds in additional, self-inflicted damages.