PARIS (AFP) ― The mausolea of Timbuktu, known as the “city of 333 saints,” are shrines in the Sufi brand of Islam dominant in Mali but a heresy to the fighters who follow the radical Wahhabi tradition, experts say.Fighters from the Ansar Dine (Defenders of Faith) group which controls large swathes of northern Mali on Tuesday started hacking away at two tombs that are part of the ancient Djingareyber mud mosque, the city’s largest.Equipped with pickaxes and shovels, the fundamentalist group start

The National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea has won one of the world’s largest and most distinguished design competitions with its recent Korean monochrome painting exhibition, becoming the country’s first national art museum to receive the award. NMOCA’s “Dansaekhwa: Korean Monochrome Painting” was chosen for the Red Dot design award in the category of communication design among a total of 6,823 design works from 43 countries that were considered, according to NMOCA officials. “The award mea

The following is the last in a series of articles in which leading architects discuss their representative work. ― Ed.Baeksangwon is the first of a number of facilities to be built on a site measuring over 35 million square meters for the Lotte Buyeo Resort. Considering the fact that Buyeo was the capital city of the Baekje Kingdom, it was necessary to take elements of traditional architecture into consideration in designing the Baeksangwon complex. We also aimed to introduce a new style of con

NEW YORK (AP) -- French fashion house Louis Vuitton is again putting a bit of Japanese culture on the arms of its customers.The brand, best known for leather goods, was to formally unveil Tuesday a new collection created in collaboration between Yayoi Kusama and Louis Vuitton creative director Marc Jacobs. The theme is bold, graphic polka dots -- a signature of the artist -- offered in a frenzied series of sizes and colors.Jacobs and Kusama started with inspiration of "obsession and seriality,"

Authentic flavors, chic packaging put U.S.-based artisanal kimchi on the mapWant to know how Korean cuisine is going global in America? From a microcosmic point of view, people like Lauryn Chun, founder of MILKimchi, play an important role in spreading the word, and the grub. After losing a marketing gig during the financial crisis of 2008, Chun parlayed her experience in wine and French cuisine into an artisanal kimchi business. Her mother, who has been running a seolleongtang (oxtail and brisk

Irish scholar shares his view on the leading philosopher of late Joseon Love your people, and serve their interest -- not yours.The message of Dasan (1762-1836), one of the greatest thinkers in the late Joseon period, transcends time and cultural boundaries. It certainly was the case for Irish scholar Kevin N. Cawley when he read one of Dasan’s texts a number of years ago. Cawley, who grew up Catholic, saw striking similarities between teachings of Catholicism and the Joseon scholar’s writing.“W

Doctors in Mumbai removed a 13-cm live worm from a patient’s right eye.The 75 year-old patient, PK Krishnamurthy, was suffering from an irritated and itchy eye for a long period of time before finally deciding to visit his local doctor’s office.After an examination, ophthalmologists at Fortis hospital found the worm -- a  threadlike parasite -- swimming around in the eye and extracted it. Dr V Seetharaman who conducted the minor surgery said the case was “extremely unusual” and Krishnamurthy was

Ross Kang didn’t see a future as an industrial parts buyer at LG. What he really enjoyed doing was learning English with native speakers, but couldn’t find comfortable places to conduct the meetings. So Kang left his stable job to create a business based on that experience. The first Culture Complex language and culture exchange cafe opened in 2005 and the CEO hasn’t looked back.“Foreigners, especially ones who just got to Korea, know little about Korea and they need help,” says the 35-year-old.