Posted on 29 June 2009 by Pras Geng
Michael Jackson died at the age of 50 on Thursday 25th June 2009. Paramedics were called to his Beverly Hills home in the afternoon after he stopped breathing. The star was then pronounced dead a couple of hours later at the UCLA medical centre. The official line was that the singer died of a cardiac [...][...more]
Posted on 22 June 2009 by Pras Geng
Sri Lanka
Over 250,000 displaced Tamils are being held in camps, waiting to be resettled. The majority of these involuntary ‘inmates’ have homes or at the very least, places to stay, should they be allowed to leave by the government. The official government line regarding this prolonged incarceration is that Tamil Tiger rebels may have infiltrated [...][...more]
Posted on 28 May 2009 by Pras Geng
The 26 year old ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka ended when president, Mahinda Rajapakse, announced victory over the Tamil Tiger rebels earlier last week. The leader of the LTTE, Prabhakaran, was found dead and a majority of his senior commanders were killed in an epic battle between the rebels and the Sri Lankan Army. The [...][...more]
Posted on 14 May 2009 by Pras Geng
Monica Ali is best known for her debut novel Brick Lane (2003), which was a huge success and poured in numerous accolades and awards for the Bangladeshi born Bolton lass. To name a few, she is one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists of the decade, Newcomer of the Year at the 2004 British [...][...more]
Posted on 23 April 2009 by Pras Geng
While musical trends are ever-changing, it is undeniable that music of the past is almost always influencing the present. I find it astonishing how a song has the ability to freeze a particular time or mood in your life, a romantic moment, the lack of one, or simply a joyful time you will always cherish. [...][...more]
Posted on 01 April 2009 by Pras Geng
Last week I read a somewhat controversial column by Danny Harvey in thelondonpaper, one of many free late-afternoon newspapers for Londoners that you will inevitably find shoved in your face on your way home from work. The columnist argued that people who worked in England should all be able to speak English. After initially talking [...][...more]
Posted on 20 March 2009 by Pras Geng
She has won international praise as a campaigner for women’s rights, first by speaking out against the assault on herself and then later for highlighting an on-going problem with the treatment of women in some parts of the sub-continent. She has built two schools in her village with the compensation money she was awarded, founded [...][...more]
Posted on 04 March 2009 by Pras Geng
Pakistan
Pakistani police forces are hunting gunmen who opened fire on a bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team in the city of Lahore on Tuesday. The masked men opened fire, killing six policemen escorting the Sri Lankans and a driver. Seven players and an assistant coach were wounded.
The players were on their way to a [...][...more]
Posted on 23 February 2009 by Pras Geng
Votes for this year’s UK Asian Music Awards (AMA) are in, and its fans are eagerly anticipating the event ceremony. Organisers are doing their best to top 2008’s star studded show, with 2009’s AMA’s seeing some of the hottest and most talented artists and producers from the British Asian music industry.2008 has been a groundbreaking [...][...more]
Posted on 06 February 2009 by Pras Geng
The last functioning hospital in Sri Lanka’s rebel-held territory has been hit with cluster bombs, wounding 70 civilians, while killing 50. The casualties were both inside and outside a ‘safe zone’ - the government vowed not to attack. Although both sides of the conflict deny that the shelling came from them, only the Sri Lankan [...][...more]
Posted on 12 January 2009 by Pras Geng
Prince Harry has managed to cause controversy once again, when video footage of him calling a Pakistani member of his army platoon a ‘Paki’ emerged to the News of the World. In another clip, he is heard calling another cadet a ‘rag head’.
The footage was filmed three years ago, where Harry attended the Sandhurst military [...][...more]
Posted on 05 January 2009 by Pras Geng
Bangladesh
Against all odds, Bangladesh had its first general election in 7 years that did not turn into a farce. Under the watchful eyes of monitors from the Commonwealth nations, and a staggering turnout of 70%, the Awami League of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed rose to a landslide victory. However this newly formed democratic rule [...][...more]