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Central Asia
Kalilah wa-Dimnah: Ancient Asian Folk Tales with Modern Insight
I was almost 13 years when I read some of Kalilah wa-Dimnah’s fables for the first time. Touched by the animal characters in those folk tales, I used to find an equal personification of those animals in real life. For my surprise, I learnt many years later, that the author…
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Persian Epic Shahnama Transcends Time and Space
Issued by the Dar Suad Al-Sabah for Publishing and Distribution in Kuwait, is a new edition of one of the most important epics of world literature, Shahnama, the most famous work of art in Persian literature, written – basically – by Abu Qasim Firdawsi, more than 1000 years ago. Introduced…
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Drought and famine cause death of scores of children every year in Pakistan’s Thar Desert
The persistent drought spell, compounded by poverty, poor nutrition and lack of health facilities and awareness, continues to take its toll on the children of Tharparkar, the desert district of southern Sindh province of Pakistan bordering India. Around 140 children have reportedly expired and over 200 admitted to local hospitals…
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Central Asia
[Transnational] Witnesses of the Incheon Asian Games
Returning to the Forgotten values of sports Maria Mejia·Colombia·Graduate student of Global Sport Management at SNU The 17th edition of the Asian Games represented for Korea not only the third opportunity to host the games, but also set questions within the sport world towards the readiness of a city to…
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Thatta: the city of vibrant and fascinating faces
I felt like Hunter S. Thompson. No, more like Raoul Duke (or Rahul Duke, you might say). Only I was not high on acid. I found myself in the middle of a very small city known as Thatta in Sindh, Pakistan, which boasted of academic excellence in Sindh a couple…
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Polio cases surge in Pakistan
Pakistan is heading for one of its worst years for polio in recent times. According to figures from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), 166 cases of polio have been verified this year, compared to 28 at the same time last year, says a report released by United Nations Integrated…
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Rampant bribery in Philippine judicial system
The Supreme Court’s almost unanimous decision on Sandiganbayan Justice Gregory Ong is both laudable and frustrating. Ong was found guilty of accepting payoffs to favor alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles in another case in 2010. Laudable, because the high tribunal did not spare the rod on a spoiled…
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Democracy and social justice for peace
These days, peace is endangered in the world. Many good people, public institutions and international organizations are working to establish peace in the world, but the question we should ask is: what is “peace”? In other words, the question is: “Does peace mean no war?” The answer is “NO.” This…
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China Lays Claims to Leadership of the Buddhist World
With an impressive display of Chinese Buddhist culture and hospitality, China laid claims to giving leadership to the Buddhist world, by hosting over 600 international delegates for the 27th General Conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists (WFB) at the historic city of Baoji in northwestern China from October 16-18.…
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Psy, Return to Gangnam Style
Every day on our way to my two daughters’ school, I am asked by both of them to play a selection of songs in the car CD player; the Egyptian version of “Gangnam Style” is one of those songs. It is no surprise to have an Egyptian touch of the…
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