North Korea teens get 12 years’ hard labour for watching K-pop – video shows
Seoul, South Korea Reuters Video footage released by an organisation that works with North Korean defectors shows North Korean authorities publicly sentencing two teenagers to 12 years’ hard labour for watching K-pop. The footage, which shows the two 16-year-olds in Pyongyang convicted of watching South Korean movies and music videos, was released by the South […]
Sand mining ‘mafias’ destroying environment, livelihoods: UN
Bangkok, ThailandThomson Reuters Foundation Sand mining is eroding the world’s river deltas and coastlines, damaging the environment and hurting livelihoods from Cambodia to Colombia, as government regulation fails to keep pace with rising demand, the United Nations warned this week. Global demand for sand and gravel, used extensively in construction, is about 50 billion tonnes or an […]
OF STARS – AND SAND
When I was a boy my dream was to play cricket for Australia. I made a pretty good go at it playing against names like Michael Slater and Adam Gilchrist at the state trials. Along the way I realised that despite my best efforts, I just wasn’t good enough. I was a good cricketer, […]