2013

Stories from 2013

An Open Letter to Arvind Kejriwal

  28 December 2013

Satire blog AmreekanDesi writes an open letter to the newly elected chief minister of Delhi, anti-corruption crusader Arvind Kejriwal: Now that you’ve given us this hope, please don’t let us down. Please don’t become another party that goes giddy with the prospect of power. Please don’t become a party that...

South Korea: Reason Behind Movie ‘The Attorney's Box Office Smash

  28 December 2013

South Korean movie ‘The Attorney’ which depicts the early life of ex-President Roh who started as a civil rights lawyer resisting against dictatorial regimes, has drawn over 4 million admissions in just ten days of screening. Movie critics even comment [ko] that its popularity in Korea is more explosive than that...

What It's Like Growing Up In The Maldives?

  28 December 2013

Journalist and blogger Hilath Rasheed shares a Maldivian's thoughts in Facebook on “How is it like growing up in Male'/Maldives”: From Ibrahim Lirar: The most honest answer I can give now is that “it is scary and constricting”. Information was so tightly control until recently. Very few among us grew...

Colombia: 60 Unfading Phrases of 2013

  28 December 2013

The blog Unfading phrases of Colombians [es] features the 60 unfading phrases of 2013 [es]. This an annual compilation, or from nationalwide events, such as football soccer [es]. The ongoing peace negotiation process held in Havana, Cuba, was among the topics of the selected phrases, as the one by Colombian...

The Islamic Caliphate Car Number Plates Come to Syria

  28 December 2013

Zaid Benjamin shares on Twitter a photograph of the first car in Syria with the Islamic Caliphate state registration plates: The first car in #Syria registered under Caliphate State #ISIS pic.twitter.com/HdUsrxtacy — Zaid Benjamin (@zaidbenjamin) December 28, 2013 The number plates are operated by the Islamic State of Syria and...

Celebrating Christmas (Bara Din) in Bangladesh

  27 December 2013

Karim at Amader Kotha writes about how Christmas is celebrated in Bangladesh, a Muslim majority country: The Christian community in Bangladesh may be a minority when compared to the number of people following other religious pathways in the country, nevertheless Christmas in Bangladesh, which is a public holiday, is celebrated...

South Korean Election Scandal Brings Three Religions Together

  27 December 2013

Opposition against the current administration's election manipulation scandal grows stronger every day, even enough to inspire conservative Protestant Christian groups to join the protest movement [ko] following the trails of Catholic leaders and Buddhist monks. On Christmas, this rare scene took place: in front of a Christmas tree which stood in...

IMF Silent on Corruption in Cambodia?

  27 December 2013

Jessica Evans of the Human Rights Watch criticized International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde for being silent about Cambodian's corruption problem when the IMF leader visited the country early this month: Lagarde missed a major opportunity in Cambodia to highlight governance problems, but she can right this by speaking out...