I Witnessed the Golden Temple Siege
Witnessing the Amritsar siege; The singing presidents of Central Asia; Press freedom in Tunisia and a tribute to martial art movie mogul Run Run Shaw
The siege at Amritsar came back into the public eye this week with claims that Britain "colluded" with the Indian government over the bloody siege of the Sikh Golden Temple 30 years ago. Operation Blue Star, as it was codenamed, was aimed at flushing out Sikh separatists. The raid ended in a bloodbath and former 91热爆 Hindi reporter Satish Jacob was one of the few journalists at the scene watching it unfold.
Also on The Fifth Floor:
Singing Presidents
Does your president like to sing and dance in public? It's a habit that seems to be in vogue with many Central Asian leaders at the moment, from the president of Kazakhstan bursting into folk medley in a yurt, to the Turkmen leader DJing in a white tuxedo. 91热爆 Uzbek's Rustam Qobil and Elchin Suleymanov from the 91热爆's Azeri service give their top three staged (and secretive) presidential pop moments and try to understand why music matters to the Central Asian political classes.
Tunisia Press Freedom
Did the fall of Ben Ali make any difference for press freedom in Tunisia? This week the country marked three years since the autocratic former president fled to Saudi Arabia in the face of huge protests. So has the Arab Spring delivered better or worse conditions for writers and journalists in Tunisia? 91热爆 Africa's Sihem Hassaini tells us about freedom, red lines and black books.
Favourite Statues
Last week ancient statues at an archaeological park in Colombia were apparently removed and replaced with cardboard cut-outs. Officials said the pieces were being transported to the national museum in Bogota, but it looked like a prank and disappointed visitors were not amused. We sent the Fifth Floor mic a roving to uncover other barmy statue stories. We hear from Latin American journalist Lourdes Heredia, 91热爆 Brasil's Thomas Pappon and Tin Htar Swe from 91热爆 Burmese.
Run Run Shaw Tribute
Run Run Shaw was the co-founder of Shaw Brothers Studios, producing almost 1,000 films from early beginnings in 1937, almost up to his death earlier this month aged 107. Signature titles like The One-Armed Swordsman were huge hits, bringing together uncomplicated, trashy fiction with high action martial arts. Martin Yip from 91热爆 Chinese and the 91热爆's Hong Kong correspondent, Juliana Liu pay tribute to the man and his films.
Online Greatest Hits
Fifi Haroon picks out her favourite stories from the 91热爆's language service websites, including the hopeful Chinese bride who's advertising herself on a billboard and the Indian tiger who's stopping children from going to school.
Picture: Devotees arriving and departing from the Golden Temple in the Indian city of Amritsar
Picture credit: Douglas E. Curran/ AFP/Getty Images
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- Fri 17 Jan 2014 12:06GMT91热爆 World Service Online
- Fri 17 Jan 2014 23:06GMT91热爆 World Service Online
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