Archive of Selected News and Photo Galleries of Last Years

[harsi]

.
...1 / 2


...1 / 2

Claude Monet, Reflections of Clouds on the Water-Lily Pond • Wikipedia: Monet - Water Lilies - 1906

[harsi]

.
...• BBC: Hong Kong in pictures

...• BBC: London in pictures
Tower Bridge

[harsi]

.
...1 / 2

...• Photos from: Flickr.com / 2

[harsi]

.
....

Full Image 1 / 2 / 3 • Source: Flickr.com / 2 / 3 • More Photos on Meditation by H.Koppdelaney

[harsi]

»

Photo Gallery: Pumpkins and kids

...left / right

...left / right

[harsi]

.
.» The Atlantic

• The Hajj and Eid al-Adha 2011

The Hajj, the fifth pillar of Islam and one of the largest religious pilgrimages in the world, is currently taking place in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Starting last Friday (November 07) and continuing through Wednesday, some 3 million Muslims from around the globe are participating in several rituals, including the Tawaf -- the circumambulation of the Kaaba, the enormous cube-shaped building in the center of the Masjid al-Haram mosque. The pilgrims are also taking part in the Sa'i, traveling back and forth between the mountains of Al-Safa and Al-Marwah, and Ramy al-Jamarat, in which they throw pebbles at three walls in the city of Mina to show their defiance of the Devil. Directly after the Hajj, Muslims all over the world will observe Eid al-Adha, or the Festival of Sacrifice. The feast honors Abraham who, according to Muslim tradition, was prepared to sacrifice his son Ishmael before God sent a ram in his place. To commemorate this event, worshippers sacrifice sheep, cows, and camels, and share the meat among family, neighbors, and the needy. Collected here are scenes of this year's Hajj and Eid al-Adha, from Mecca and around the globe. (42 photos total)


.» Boston Globe Photos

- A man is silhouetted against the sun while selling livestock at a cattle market ahead of the Eid al-Adha festival on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, on October 29, 2011. Muslims around the world celebrate the Islamic festival Eid al-Adha by slaughtering sheep, goats, cows and camels to commemorate Prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his own son Ishmael on God's command. (As found written also in the Christian Bible) (Reuters/Faisal Mahmood)


...OnIslam: Hajj: A Universal Message for Peace

Related Links and Information:

...Wikipedia: Islamic Culture

Wikipedia entry: The Hajj (Arabic: حج‎ Ḥaǧǧ "pilgrimage")
Kumc.edu: Eid-al-Adha or Feast of Sacrifice > Abraham and the Child of Sacrifice - Ishmael
Wikipedia entry: Eid al-Adha (Arabic: عيد الأضحى‎ ‘Īd al-’Aḍḥá, IPA: [ʕiːd al ʔadˁˈħaː], "feast of sacrifice")

[harsi]

The Atlantic

21st-Century China
Oct. 21, 2011

China, the most populous country (1.3 billion people), with the second-largest economy in the world is a vast, dynamic nation that continues to grow and evolve in the 21st century. Recent events in China include a successful satellite launch that lays the groundwork for a space station, the completion of a massive skyscraper in a rather small village, the 26th Universiade games for student athletes, the celebration of National Day, the Mid-Autumn Festival, and much more. This collection is only a small view of the people and places in China over the past several weeks. [49 photos]




- The newly inaugurated skyscraper tower of Huaxi village is seen in Huaxi village, Jiangsu province, on October 7, 2011. Huaxi, also known as China's richest village, celebrated its 50th anniversary with the inauguration of a massive 328-meter (1,076 feet) high skyscraper that screams for attention from its lowly skyline. A solid gold bull weighing a ton also greets visitors at a viewing area on the 60th-floor of the tower, a testament to the wealth of the village. In Huaxi, those from the original 2,000 residents have at least a house, a car, and $250,000 in the bank and enjoy universal health care and free education. Officials from elsewhere in China tour Huaxi to find out how this once sleepy village, with just 576 residents in the 1950s, is now so rich and why non-local businessmen would donate million-dollar factories to buy the privilege of a local residence permit. (Reuters/Carlos Barria)

[harsi]

.» Boston Globe

Russia election
Dec. 5, 2011

Vladimir Putin was not running for office, but parliamentary elections held yesterday in Russia were widely seen as a test of his popularity amid his likely return to the presidency. Election observers and opposition parties pointed to rampant irregularities in the vote, which saw support for his United Russia party plummet. Results in the heavily disputed poll show United Russia still in control, albeit with a much slimmer mandate. Gathered here are images of protests, rallies, and the vote as Russians took to the ballot all over the country with charges of fraud and malfeasance clouding the vote. -- Lane Turner (32 photos total)




- Elizaveta Semenova is helped by her daughter to fill in a ballot at her home in the village of Oster, Russia on December 4, 2011. Russians cast their ballots with muted enthusiasm in national parliamentary elections, a vote that polls indicate could water down the strength of the party led by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, despite the government's relentless marginalization of opposition groups.

[harsi]

.
. » Boston Globe

China: Daily Life Sept. 2011
by Paula Nelson (50 photos total)


.(Full Image)

- An ethnic minority woman attends the large party for the 9th National Traditional Games of Ethnic Minorities of the Republic of China, 15.9.2011 in Guiyang, China.

[harsi]

.
.» Boston Globe

World Population: 7 Billion

On October 31, 2011, the United Nations is expected to announce a projected world population figure of 7 billion. This global milestone presents both an opportunity and a challenge for the planet. While more people are living longer and healthier lives, says the U.N., gaps between rich and poor are widening and more people than ever are vulnerable to food insecurity and water shortages. Because censuses are infrequent and incomplete, no one knows the precise date that we will hit the 7 billion mark - the Census Bureau puts it somewhere next March. In the last 50 years, humanity has more than doubled. What could the next decade mean for our numbers and the planet? In this post, we focus on births, but we'll be back with population-related content including it's affect on the environment and our food supply. -- Paula Nelson (47 photos total)


..The Atlantic: World Population Seven Billion • The N.Y.Times: U.N. Says 7 Billion Now Share The World

- Maria Pena, 19, carries her five day-old baby as Carmen Cartaya holds her 4 day-old nephew in a public maternity hospital in Gatire, Oct. 5, 2011. (Jorge Silva/Reuters)

- Feeling claustrophobic? You’re not alone. According to United Nations demographers, 6,999,999,999 other Earthlings potentially felt the same way on Monday when the world’s population topped seven billion. But if you’d rather go by the United States Census Bureau’s projections, you’ve got some breathing room. The bureau estimates that even with the world’s population increasing by 215,120 a day, it won’t reach seven billion for about four months. (more)

[harsi]

´The Atlantic´ Photo Galleries

.• Summer Solstice 2011

.• Summer Festivals 2011

.• Holi: The Festival of Colors

[harsi]

.
.» The Atlantic

A Trip to Bhutan
Nov 18, 2011

The Kingdom of Bhutan is a small Himalayan country east of Nepal, nestled between China and India, with an estimated population of 700,000. Last month, Bhutan celebrated the wedding of monarch Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, the fifth Druk Gyalpo ("Dragon King"), to 21-year-old commoner Jetsun Pema, now Druk Gyal-tsuen ("Dragon Queen") of Bhutan. The deeply traditional nation has been slow to adopt modern development; a country-wide ban on television and the Internet was only lifted in 1999, and only after the previous king abdicated power in 2006 did the nation have its first parliamentary elections. Bhutan, often rated as one of the happiest countries in the world, is the birthplace of the concept of "gross national happiness," an alternative to the more traditional measure of gross domestic product. The popular Oxford-educated king is now seeking to strengthen ties with other nations while preserving as much of Bhutan's independence and culture as possible. Collected here are recent images of people and places within the Kingdom of Bhutan. [38 photos total]


...

- The Paro Taktsang Palphug Buddhist monastery, also known as the Tiger's Nest, in the Paro district of Bhutan, viewed on October 16, 2011. The first temple was built on this cliffside location in 1692. (Reuters/Adrees Latif)

[harsi]

.
.(Full Image) ..Photo Gallery: Bhutan royal wedding

..Bhutan's capital Thimphu

Wedding festivities of King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck and future Queen Jetsun Pema, in Thimphu, Bhutan, Oct. 11, 2011.

Royal Wedding Photos: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12
More Photos from the Royal Wedding in Bhutan: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8

[harsi]

[url=hhttp://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,15 ... 27,00.html]>>[/url]

King and Queen
Bhutan's dream couple


...Full Image › Photo Gallery: Bhutan's dream couple

For such a long time the audience did not had to wait in the case of William and Kate: On the third day of the wedding ceremony in Bhutan, King Jigme Khesar kissed his "lotus flower" in public - at last! Thousands of spectators in the stadium in Bhutan's capital Thimphu cheered with pleasure ... (more)


.high res..Photo Gallery: Bhutan, the land of the thunder dragon.

Washington Post: Bhutan’s Royal Wedding: the Dragon King weds > Washington Post: Photo Gallery > Washington Post: Bhutan’s modern ‘Dragon King’ weds girlfriend

[harsi]

...(Full Image)

- King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck and Queen Jetsun Pema are given scarves by locals during a celebration. Right: They pose after they were married at the Punakha Dzong, in Punakha, Bhutan. Oct. 13. 2011


........Spiegel Photo Gallery › LAT: Photos › CBS: Royal wedding in Bhutan