In this edition: Afghan hip-hop artists promoting voter turnout; the UK's controversial ban on sending books to prisoners; and a base jump off New York City's tallest skyscraper.

AFGHAN HIP-HOP ARTISTS URGE VOTER TURNOUT
 
"It's your duty to vote, a responsibility, a way of moving Afghanistan forward". This rap track available on YouTube was written and performed by Yaaghi to help encourage young Afghans to participate in the upcoming presidential election, with the first round scheduled for April 5th.
It was produced for the Sola.af competition aimed at maximizing voter turnout. Contestants were asked to write their own lyrics, sing them over pre-made tracks downloaded from the competition website and send in their recordings. The lyrics had to be written in one of Afghanistan’s two official languages, Pashto and Dari, and there could be no mention of any candidate or political party.
The jury chose two winners from the dozens of entries, and they will both receive 1,000 dollars. The men's category winners were duo, Sami and Shahed, here they are reaching out to young voters.
And Sonita won the women's category with this video which will be aired on Afghanistan's leading television channel and event partner, in the hope it will prompt more Afghans to cast their vote. Just one in three voters participated in the previous presidential election back in 2009.

UK: BAN ON SENDING BOOKS TO PRISONERS
A new UK Ministry of Justice regulation is banning prisoners being sent books. The move is part of the government's incentives and earned privileges scheme and also aims to counter the trafficking of illegal goods, but it has been met with widespread criticism.
Frances Crook, the chief executive of NGO the Ho... Go on reading on our web site.

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