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Excavation likely to locate Kapilavastu, the ancient Shakya kingdom in Nepal
The ongoing excavation in Tilaurakot, the capital of ancient Shakya kingdom, is likely to prove with scientific evidences that the palace of king Suddhodhana was in Kapilvastu of Nepal. Lord Buddha was born to Shakya king Suddhodhana of Kapilvastu some 2600 years ago. At a time when a section of…
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South Asia
Taekwondo gains popularity in Bangladesh
Taekwondo, the Korean martial art, is now a very well known name in the sports arena of Bangladesh. Other martial arts such as Judo and Karate have existed in Bangladesh for more than 50 years. But, Taekwondo started its journey in this country little over 10 years ago and its…
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South East Asia
[Photo Break] Rise and shine!
The photo taken on Dec. 20, 2012 shows the Borobudur stupas during sunrise in Central Java, Indonesia. Borobudur is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist Temple. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991 and confirmed as the largest temple in the world by the Guiness World Records in…
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East Asia
[Books] Israel, living on the edge
[BOOKS] My Promised Land The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel By Ari Shavit | Spiegel & Grau | 2013 Winner of the Natan Book Award, My Promised Land, by esteemed Israeli journalist Ari Shavit presents an honest, balanced and comprehensive view of Israel. Shavit uses the past to shed…
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South East Asia
Lessons from ASEAN engagement with Myanmar
In the mass media, Korea is mentioned more often than not as a wholesome personality. It is when the headlines turn to “Tension in the Korean Peninsula” that its split personality becomes evident. Then we begin to see Korea described in diverse terms such as North and South as well…
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West Asia
Egyptian workshop on Korean poems
The very first question addressed to me was: “Why did you choose to translate the book of the Korean monk and poet Cho Oh-hyun?” I was sitting surrounded by an elite audience of Egyptian writers, poets, novelists, critics and journalists. It seemed like a testing start, but I was keen…
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East Asia
N. Korea tries to project unity on anniversary of Kim Jong Il’s death
North Korea vowed to unite behind leader Kim Jong Un during carefully staged events Tuesday to mark the second anniversary of his father’s death, in an attempt to show it has returned to business as usual after the purge and execution of his once-powerful uncle last week. Kim sat silently…
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East Asia
A Tibetan craftman paints a piece of traditional Buddhist Regong art
A Tibetan craftsman works on a piece of Thangka painting in Tongren County, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Huangnan, northwest China’s Qinghai Province, Dec. 17, 2013. Huangnan Prefecture is the hometown of Regong arts, which includes Thangka, murals, paintings and other Tibetan Buddhist art forms. The revenue of Regong arts industry…
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East Asia
N. Korea still changing after Chang’s fall
In what can be described as the most public purge in North Korean history, Chang Song Taek– until recently the second most powerful man in North Korea – has lost his position and life. His sudden downfall has produced much speculation. Indeed, but what is the likely impact of…
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South Asia
Makli: Withering necropolis of Sindh
Maintenance of world heritage sites is an international issue. A great part of history is in danger if we do not make effort to preserve it, even if not in its original form. This is especially true for Pakistan, where there are more important issues economically as well as socio-politically.…
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