KASUNGU, Malawi (AFP) ― American pop queen Madonna on Tuesday visited villages in Malawi where her charity has built several schools, but where many other pupils still learn under trees.Accompanied by adopted children David Banda and Mercy James as well as her two biological children, a smiling Madonna could be seen chatting with the mostly barefoot pupils.Madonna has built 10 schools in the impoverished African country, the native home of her two adopted children, her manager said earlier Tuesd

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― “Ready for Hillary” ― the name says it all.Supporters of the former secretary of state are laying the groundwork for a possible 2016 White House bid, officially launching a website Tuesday that features photos of the would-be candidate and plenty of praise.The site ― www.readyforhillary.com ― belongs to the Ready for Hillary super PAC (political action committee) which aims to raise funds and rally enthusiasm for the former first lady should she decide to run in 2016.“America

An ancient site that was depicted in Greek and Roman mythology as the “Gates of Hell” has been found, an Italian archeologist claimed. Francesco D’Andria, a professor of classic archaeology at the University of Salento, said recently that his team successfully identified a site in the city of Pamukkale, West Turkey, as the Plutonium, or sanctuary of Pluto. Pluto is the Roman god of death.D’Andria claimed the site matched many characteristics of the ancient Greek and Roman description of the lege

The House of Sharing, a home for women who were forced to work as sex slaves during World War II, will open for an English-language tour on April 14. The tour will visit the House of Sharing museum, which documents the history of Japan’s WWII sex slavery with testimonies, artifacts, photographs and videos. It also shows original paintings by the survivors. After the museum visit there will be a question-and-answer session, followed by a chance to meet the surviving women who live at the shelter,

Gwangju International Center will visit Naju for its GIC Culture Tour on April 20.The tour will stop at the city’s historic East Gate and peruse the nearby market, where braver participants can try the area’s most notorious and pungent delicacy ― fermented skate.Participants will then move on to Naju Mok Culture Center to learn about the history of the city during the Joseon era.After a lunch of gomtang ― a soup made with beef bones ― there will be a visit to a Confucian academy where participan

A group of volunteers will visit a home for disabled people near Seoul on Saturday.They will visit Angel House near Yeonsinnae Station, home to 50 disabled residents, from 1:30-7 p.m. to help clean the facilities, do laundry, cook and help residents with basic personal hygiene. There will also be time to have fun with the residents.Volunteers are asked to donate 10,000 won, to pay for food cooked on the day and other Angel House expenses.The group volunteers once or twice a month on Thursdays. T

From a wife’s affair, poverty and hunger to embezzlement by a government official, it seems that everyday life today is not so different compared with the Joseon period.Ancient documents that offer a glimpse into people’s lives during the Joseon era are on display at Chonbuk National University Museum.Since reopening in 2011, the museum has selected “interesting” old papers to exhibit, the museum’s curator Lee Jong-cheol said. Various documents from the Joseon period, including divorce papers an

The Cultural Heritage Administration said Monday that it was leasing three halls of Joseon-period palaces in Seoul for private gatherings through Oct. 31.The three venues are Hamhwadang and Jipgyeongdang, where the king received foreign envoys, in Gyeongbokgung Palace and Gajeongdang, a building the king and his queen used for rest and leisure.“The openings will widen the public’s access to the palaces, our cultural heritage. Since Hamhwadang and Jipgyeongdang and Gajeongdang were used for vario