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West Asia
5 million foreign tourists visited Iran in 2015
Head of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO) Masoud Soltanifar said more than five million foreign tourists visited the Islamic Republic in 2015, Tasnim reports. Speaking in a meeting with Bangladeshi Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation Rashed Khan Menon in the northwestern Iranian city of Tabriz on…
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Central Asia
Finding home in the ger district
Alexander McNab – The UB Post Ulaanbaatar is a city known as a cemetery of nomadism, a place where wandering people have gone to settle down inside four cement walls in towering apartment blocks, but for Froit van der Harst, the entrance into U.B. was only a continuation of over…
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South Asia
Sonnet Mondal to lead the Indian cultural delegation at Slovakia
Sonnet Mondal, one of the younger generation poets from India will be leading the Indian cultural delegation to one of the most celebrated poetry festivals of Europe- Ars Poetica in its 14th year. Ars Poetica Festival which hosts internationally acclaimed poets from all over the world has announced India as…
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Central Asia
Russian soldier sentenced to life for Armenian killings
An Armenian court has found a Russian soldier guilty of murder charges and sentenced him to life in prison for the 2015 massacre of seven members of an Armenian family, RFERL reports. The court in Armenia’s northwestern city of Gyumri issued the verdict and sentence aga inst Russian Army Private…
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Central Asia
The language of Azerbaijan: Turkish or Azerbaijani?
Written by: Altay Göyüşov – This article was originally published by the BBC Azerbaijani Service. The AsiaN cites from Meydan.tv. *** The language issue in Azerbaijan has long been more of a political question than a scientific one. In June of 1918, the government of the Azerbaijani Democratic Republic enacted a law…
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West Asia
The unborn girls of the South Caucasus
31-year-old Azerbaijani resident of Bilasuvar, Ramila – whose name has been changed for purposes of anonymity – is the mother of three children. Her third child is a seven-year old son. To “get” a son was not an easy task for Ramila. To obtain the proud status of “the mother…
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East Asia
A Korean woman’s prison letter in Mexico
Somebody please listen to my story. My name is Yang, Hyunjung, I am 38 years old, and I have spent the last 8 months in a Mexican prison. I am charged with human trafficking and procuring prostitution, a charge more serious than murder in Mexico, and awaiting trial. My actual…
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East Asia
China to ban poorly-behaved tourists from traveling
Chinese tourists blacklisted by the country’s tourism authority for behaving poorly while traveling are likely to be banned from traveling abroad as part of the country’s efforts to promote civilized tourism. In a draft industry standard issued by the China National Tourism Administration (NTA), the behavior of travel agencies and…
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East Asia
Chinese TV dramas in Mongolia: Can entertainment become political?
John Holland – The UB Post The first two of twenty-five Chinese television dramas have begun to be aired in Mongolia. Yet, behind the polite rhetoric by governmental officials on the virtues of cultural exchange, there is concern among ordinary Mongolians about the future influence that these shows could have…
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East Asia
Koreans’ knowledge of China
Lee Seong-hyon – The Korea Times A Chinese government official once told me why he likes Koreans more than the Japanese. “It’s because when I talk to Koreans, I can tell what they’re thinking inside. It’s written all over their faces. But when I talk to the Japanese, I don’t…
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