THU-HUONG HA OF THE JAPAN TIMES WRITES – Japanese social media loves to hate on kira-kira names. These unusual or unpronounceable names, so called for their flashiness, like 心人 (Haato, Heart), or 今鹿, (Naushika), as in the heroine of Ghibli film “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind,” are fun…
KIANA KARIMI WRITES – “Who lives, who dies, who tells your stories?” The refrain from the American Musical Hamilton encapsulates the fears of Afghans as the Taliban once again usurped power. A crescendo of terror stupefied all as the Taliban quickly bludgeoned their way to Kabul following the withdrawal of…
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – Last month, a “biological weapons expert” known only as Lee allegedly defected from his native North Korea to Finland. Yonhap News states that he “held a data storage device with 15 gigabytes of information on human experiments” which may prove the existence of North Korea’s alleged…
YVONNE EPPS WRITES- Stories about children exposed to domestic violence or other abuses are shocking to read about, but as journalists we don’t want to add insult to injury. Thanh Nien News has been prolific in exposing the Vietnamese media’s abuse of child rights, specifically, incidents where the media breaches their…
MICHELLE VARINATA WRITES – Picture a world of rainbows , puppy dogs and smiling children running through rose-scented gardens. Sure, it’s a dream. But for some, even imagining such a scene could prove impossible, so harsh is their reality. As one of the world’s most family-oriented societies, Indonesia prioritizes family…
LEXIE TUCKER WRITES – Through the wonders of social media, communicating with loved ones (and even not-so-loved ones) is now just a few clicks away. But with this power comes great responsibility. Through the ages, parents have warned children not to talk to strangers. But how effective is such advice…
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES- Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American tourist, is currently awaiting trial in Pyongyang for allegedly planning to remove the North Korean government from power. If Bae is found guilty, he may be executed. The government-owned media in North Korea has been fairly tight-lipped about the specifics of Bae’s…
Those with a guilty conscience often attempt to go unnoticed on judgment day. Unfortunately for Thailand however, the United Nations is not waiting that long and is pointing a reprimanding finger right now. Every year, the UN Secretary-General – currently Ban Ki-Moon — publishes a report with individual countries’ records…
