NEW YORK (AP) ― The phone calls went out from Saigon’s Xa-Loi Buddhist pagoda to chosen members of the foreign news corps. The message: Be at a certain location tomorrow for a “very important” happening. The next morning, June 11, 1963, an elderly monk named Thich Quang Duc, clad in a brown robe and sandals, assumed the lotus position on a cushion in a blocked-off street intersection. Aides drenched him with aviation fuel, and the monk calmly lit a match and set himself ablaze. Of the foreign jo

Fans of the acclaimed fashion photographer Helmut Newton now get the chance to see a book of his most famous works. The Helmut Newton photo book, the largest and the most expensive book to be published in the 20th century, and nine other rare books are on display at AK Plaza in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province, through Sept. 6 as part of the “AK Book Festival.”Newton, a German-Australian photographer who died in 2004, is one of the most prominent figures in fashion photography known for his compelling

 A simple blood test can reveal the state of a person's body clock and whether they are a night owl or a morning person, Japanese researchers say.Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers said two blood samples taken 12 hours apart showing the concentration of hormones and amino acids can reveal an individual's personal body time, the Los Angeles Times reported Mo

The Gwangju International Center has set up Feel@Home, a homestay program for guests in Gwangju to stay with local families. The program offers an affordable way to stay in Gwangju, with the chance to see how ordinary Koreans live.The families were selected by the GIC, which has also given them a short training program.Guests will be expected to make their own arrangements during regular business hours, as the home will not be available for use, unless otherwise agreed. Guests should arrive by 9

The Seoul Survivors won the penultimate tournament of the touch rugby season in Seoul over the weekend, as ten teams played in swampy field conditions along the Han River in good spirits.It was the Survivors’ first appearance this summer, with rugby commitments preventing the club taking part in the first three events, which were dominated by Island Stylez. But a new victor emerged when the Survivors beat the Korean Kingkas 2-0 in a close-fought final at the Jamwon rugby pitch.Island Stylez were

The Cordo de Ouro Capoeira Group in Seoul (“CDO Seoul”) will hold its annual Suingue Mandingado event from Sept. 7-9, but this time with one of the martial art’s leading figures.Capoeira master Ubirajara Almeida (Mestre Acordeon) of Berkeley, California, will join them, alongside other teachers including Mauro Pinto (Mestre Chicote) from Paris, and Nathanael Moraes (Professor Tico) from Moscow, “I’m super nervous, man,” said Munair Simpson (Instrutor Zumbi). “I spent the whole day today trying t

BERLIN (AFP) - Berlin‘s Egyptian Museum said Monday it will celebrate the centenary of the discovery of the 3,400-year-old fabled bust of Egypt’s Queen Nefertiti amid an ongoing feud with Cairo over its ownership.The museum said it would open an exhibition on December 6 honouring the famous sculpture and other jewels of the Amarna period in its collection on the German capital‘s Museum Island.On the same day in 1912, the bust was unearthed by German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt.“The exhibition

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) ― Renowned classical pianist Van Cliburn has been diagnosed with advanced bone cancer.His longtime friend and publicist, Mary Lou Falcone, announced the news Monday.She says the 78-year-old Cliburn is resting comfortably at his home in Fort Worth, Texas. She says his spirits are high and he’s under excellent care.Cliburn skyrocketed to fame in 1958 when he won the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow at age 23. He returned to a New York ticker tape parade,