People enjoy cherry blossom at Ueno Park in Tokyo, blooming a week earlier than expected
Visitors enjoy the blooming sakura at Ueno Park in Tokyo, Japan, March 20, 2013. Sakura in Tokyo bloom a week earlier than expected owing to the rising temperature. Visitors row on a lake in Ueno Park in Tokyo, Japan, March 20, 2013. <Xinhua/Ma Ping>
A soldiers patrols strike-stricken street in Srinagar, capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir
A Kashmiri woman walks past an Indian paramilitary trooper at a closed market during a strike in Srinagar, summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, March 20, 2013. A strike call by separatist alliance on Wednesday hit normal life in Muslim majority areas of Indian-controlled Kashmir including the summer capital Srinagar. <Xinhua/Javed Dar>
Performers celebrate Mango Festival in Zambales, the Philippines, to promote the tropical fruit
Dancers perform on a street during the Mango Festival in Zambales Province, the Philippines, March 20, 2013. The Mango Festival is held in Zambales annually to promote mango as the local signiture with colorful floats and street dances. A performer in a mango-like costume waves to people on a street during the Mango Festival in […]
A child dives to Yamuna river in New Delhi polluted by industrial waste from nearby factories
Children living on the banks the river Yamuna play in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, March 20, 2013. Officials say factories are ignoring regulations and dumping untreated sewage and industrial pollution, turning toxic the river that gives the capital much of its drinking water. A man jumps in to the river Yamuna in New Delhi, India, […]
Malaysian soldiers launch all-out attack to end territorial dispute in Sabah, Borneo
Malaysian security forces attend the all-out attack in Sabah of North Borneo in Malaysia, March 19, 2013. Senior Malaysian security officials on Monday expressed confidence to end the deadly standoff in Sabah. Some 200 of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III’s followers landed in Sabah last month to stake a territorial claim on the land. Ten security […]
People salvage articles near a shed collapsed by tornado that swept central China
Locals salvage articles near a collapsed shed in Daoxian County, central China’s Hunan Province, March 20, 2013. Three people were killed and 52 others were injured by a tornado that struck the county before dawn on Wednesday. The local meteorological observatory said the wind speed of the tornado reached 30.7 meters per second, a record […]
Vietnamese President talks with Myanmar Veep making his first ever trip to Hanoi
Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang (R) meets with visiting Myanmar Vice President U Nyan Tun in Hanoi, capital of Vietnam, March 20, 2013. U Nyan Tun is on his first ever trip to Vietnam at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart Madam Nguyen Thi Doan and the visit comes a year after President U Thein […]
Tutu calls for the eradication of nuclear weapons
*Editor’s note: Desmond Tutu, South African social rights activist, Archbishop Emeritus and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate once said “eliminating nuclear weapons is the democratic wish of the world’s people.” He reiterated the statement again at the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons recently held in Oslo. He stressed that no nation should own nuclear arms […]
Obama welcomed by Israeli President upon his arrival in Jerusalem
U.S. President Barack Obama (L) attends a welcome ceremony held by Israeli President Shimon Peres at the president’s residence in Jerusalem on Mar. 20 2013. Obama arrived in Israel on Wednesday, starting his first visit as U.S. president to the country. <Xinhua/POOL/Abir Sultan>
Indonesian President opens 3rd Int’l Defense Dialogue in Jakarta
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (1st R) beats the gong for the opening of the third Jakarta International Defense Dialogue in Jakarta, Indonesia, March 20, 2013. The Jakarta International Defense Dialogue 2013, an international forum attended by military and political elite from 38 nations, opened in Jakarta on Wednesday. <Xinhua/Jiang Fan>
![[Novel] The Road to Shamawes ⑯](http://www.theasian.asia/wp-content/themes/city-desk/timthumb.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theasian.asia%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2013%2F08%2FAshraf-2novel-news_9601.jpg&q=90&w=300&h=0&zc=1 "[Novel] The Road to Shamawes ⑯")
