Forty-one years ago, Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan in the bloody nine-month Liberation war. Now, with the help of its media, the country honors this day. On March 26, 1971, the Bangladeshi government informed the public via radio that the Liberation War had reached its conclusion. On Monday, March 26,…
In what is being called the largest diplomatic gathering in history, the nuclear security summit held in Seoul this past Monday and Tuesday, with leaders of nearly 60 nations and international organizations in attendance, has led to the release of a sweeping agreement known as the “Seoul Communique.” Initially the…
Wang Shanshan, a senior student at Nanjing Technology College hanged herself in her dorm on March 17. A frequent blogger on China’s popular Sina Weibo site, Shanshan left a suicide note on her blog that automatically uploaded 12 hours after her death. It stated: “I have depression, so I want to…
Sri Lanka is used to being accused of abusing Tamils, but usually those under attack are their own, not India’s. Sri Lanka appears to be caught up in a publicity scandal in which its Navy has been accused of attacking a ship of 16 Tamil fisherman from India on March…
On Tuesday, US President Barack Obama and Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani met on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit in South Korea to discuss relations between their respective countries. How Pakistani citizens view such a meeting however, has been entirely dependent on its presentation in the media.…
Opinionated Chinese Netizens have long blogged and slogged Chinese leaders for being corrupt. But last week’s sacking of Bo Xilai, a top Chinese Leader, ignited an explosion of blogging activity about official corruption that topped anything anyone has ever seen. At first, perhaps surprisingly, the Chinese government allowed the eruption…
“The so-called freedom of speech, freedom of the press [in China]- it is a joke.” This was the widely shared sentiment of one microblogger regarding mainland China’s persistent censorship of the bitter back and forth over the noisy and messy campaign for the position of Chief Executive of Hong Kong.…
Fernan Angeles, reporter for the Daily Tribune, was seriously injured after being shot six times on March 11 near his home in Pasig, located in Manila. According to his wife, Gemma Angeles, the reporter was dragged into an alley by three men, beaten, and then shot with a 45-calibre handgun. The…
It would appear that a war of words is brewing in Bangladesh. On Sunday March 18, The Daily Star reported that the Bangladesh Daily, Prothom Alo, filed a plaintiff’s case with the Press Council against another Bangladesh daily, The Daily Sun. Matiur Rahman, the editor and publisher of the Bangla daily, Prothom Alo, initiated the action against The Daily…
How far would you walk for your favorite french fry? Five hundred loyal McDonald’s customers in Singapore can now answer that question with certainty. The residents received national media attention when they showed up at 8am on Sunday to make the 1.5 km (.93 miles) trek from a former McDonald’s to…
In another major McDonald story: Chinese media outlets have pounced on a major McDonald’s slip-up. On March 16, a Chinese television station revealed that a branch of McDonald’s restaurants had been selling expired food products. The nation’s State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) “invited” executives of McDonald’s China to a “discussion”…
In a meeting with South Korean reporters, Japanese journalist, Yoji Gomi, a staff writer for Japan daily newspaper Tokyo Shimbun, claims that the late North Korean leader, Kim Jong-Il, did not have full control of his military. He further speculates that the military is probably behind the recent rocket launch plans…
A powerful mayor and a powerful media mogul are at each other’s throats. On March 18th, Toru Hashimoto, mayor of Osaka, labeled Tsuneo Watanabe, chairman of the giant Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper group, a “despot.” This remark came in response to the influential chairman’s description of Hashimoto’s mayoral term in the…
