I often come across news items that make me smile, either because of the way they are written or because of the subject, so I thought that I'd start a thread where people could share their findings. There were a couple in today's Guardian -
"North Korean media unveils leader's wife"
A young woman has been pictured with Kim at a concert, mausoleum and kindergarten in recent weeks – sparking extensive speculation as to whether she was his girlfriend, wife, sister or a married singer he was rumoured to have romanced. ... It is not clear when the pair married and there have been previous claims that Kim had a wife and children.
Kim is thought to be in his late twenties and his wife appears to be the same age.
A singer with the same name has starred in several concerts in the past – in one case, performing a song with the apt title Do Not Ask My Name. But she is not the singer previously rumoured to have been Kim's companion, Hyun Song-wol, known for her hit Excellent Horse-like Lady
and
"Mosques invest in better speakers after complaints"
Indonesia's mosques are trying to sound their best for the Ramadan fasting month, splashing out on high-quality loudspeakers to avoid upsetting people.
"One complaint includes when there are two or three [mosques] in a neighbourhood and they get involved in a loudspeaker war, trying to be louder than the others,"
Actually, I don't think that's a new phenomenon. The New Mosque in Istanbul (actuall built in the early 17th century) has three balconies on each of its two minarets, allowing for six muezzin, who presumably were able to drown out the calls from two nearby, much smaller, mosques, which just have one balcony on their minaret.
"North Korean media unveils leader's wife"
A young woman has been pictured with Kim at a concert, mausoleum and kindergarten in recent weeks – sparking extensive speculation as to whether she was his girlfriend, wife, sister or a married singer he was rumoured to have romanced. ... It is not clear when the pair married and there have been previous claims that Kim had a wife and children.
Kim is thought to be in his late twenties and his wife appears to be the same age.
A singer with the same name has starred in several concerts in the past – in one case, performing a song with the apt title Do Not Ask My Name. But she is not the singer previously rumoured to have been Kim's companion, Hyun Song-wol, known for her hit Excellent Horse-like Lady
and
"Mosques invest in better speakers after complaints"
Indonesia's mosques are trying to sound their best for the Ramadan fasting month, splashing out on high-quality loudspeakers to avoid upsetting people.
"One complaint includes when there are two or three [mosques] in a neighbourhood and they get involved in a loudspeaker war, trying to be louder than the others,"
Actually, I don't think that's a new phenomenon. The New Mosque in Istanbul (actuall built in the early 17th century) has three balconies on each of its two minarets, allowing for six muezzin, who presumably were able to drown out the calls from two nearby, much smaller, mosques, which just have one balcony on their minaret.
It's a bit of a scoop this one!
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