Number of visitors to Lumbini in 2012 increased, but failed to reach target number
KATHMANDU – Nearly 760,000 visitors, including foreign and domestic, visited Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha, in western Nepal, during Lumbini Visit Year 2012. The government had targeted to bring one million visitors during the period. Records at the Lumbini Development Trust (LDT) show that the visitors to Lumbini increased by 29.9 percent this year […]
Prevention of suicide
National efforts needed to take off shameful label Korea is a land of suicides. As of 2010, 33.5 Koreans out of 100,000 took their own lives, the most among 34 OECD member nations for eight straight years and 2.6 times the average suicide rate of that organization. On average, 42.6 people killed themselves every day. […]
Clash of anxieties
On the eve of the Dec. 19 presidential election, I was on my way home by subway. I was sitting on one of the seats reserved for the elderly as it was not crowded. Minutes later a man in his 30s sat in front of me and two elderly men sat beside him at the […]
Another Psy analysis
So many articles try to explain the reasons behind the rise of Psy and the implications of his windfall success as an individual and the significance of his craft on the global scene. Even the New York Times sees something more than a person here (“The Goal in Gangnam: Go Beyond the Song,” IHT, NYT, […]
Energy myths
Which of the following statements is true? The United States now has a 100-year supply of natural gas, thanks to the miracle of shale gas. By 2017 it will once again be the world’s biggest oil producer. By 2035 it will be entirely “energy-independent,” and free in particular from its reliance on Middle Eastern oil. […]
Korean as second language (KSL)
I have decided to write a couple of columns regarding what I think should be the priority list for President-elect Park Geun-hye. Topping my list is the introduction of a Korean-language learning program a la ESL (English as a second language) or JSL (Japanese as a second language). I promised anonymity to a foreign diplomat […]
“Kharabeesh,” a maker of sarcastic cartoons, becomes conspicuous with Arab Spring
After the internet became the source for any scoop and websites like Facebook and Twitter became more into journalism than into socializing. It was only ordinary when cartoons turn into one of the ways to express your opinion, maybe it’s the strongest way. “Kharabeesh” or more accurately “Kharabeesh Toon” became a trademark in the world […]
Korea vs. aging
Last year, I and several colleagues from the foreign correspondents’ community interviewed President Lee Myung-bak. A color photograph of the tableau ― the serious-looking president surrounded by several busily scribbling overseas reporters ― duly appeared in a vernacular daily. A friend pointed out something curious about this picture. Although he was a good 20–30 years […]
Nepali Gov’t officials divided over how to deal with killer elephant
killing Dhurbe, the elephant KATHMANDU – Three weeks after the local administration mobilized security personnel to kill a wild elephant named Dhurbe of the Chitwan National Park after it killed an old couple entering their home in a village on 14 December, the whereabouts of the elephant has not been ascertained for almost two weeks. The park […]
Radical Islamist destroys a Buddha statue at Japanese Garden in Cairo
(Photo : Japanes Garden, Cairo, Old and New) In a dangerous precedent, under circumstances of semi-deliberated absence of the internal security forces, a person, who belongs to the Salafist (Radical Islamist Group), attacked one of the magnificent adorned Buddha statues that stood on the banks of the majestic holy Japanese garden, Cairo, and the result […]
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