Brazil appears to be the most popular BRICS nation even as other members seem to be facing an image deficit globally and among themselves. Positive views of China and India have fallen sharply around the world over the last year, while views of Russia and South Africa have deteriorated further from earlier years, a poll showed.

Polling stations have closed on the first day of voting in Southern Sudan's week-long referendum on secession. The atmosphere was festive in the southern capital Juba on Sunday, with voters queuing for hours outside polling stations. "The turnout was emotional," Chan Reec Madut, who heads the South Sudan Referendum Bureau, said. A total of 3.9 million southerners have registered for the self-determination vote that may lead to the partition of Africa's largest country.

The bull has a special place in southern Sudan, especially among the Dinka, the main tribe of the region. Their culture is centred on cattle. It is the medium of exchange whether in marriage, payment of debts and blood price, or for sacrifices to the spirits and on major occasions and rites. They keep cattle for their beauty and the prestige large herds bestow on their owners.