The 5th Arab Cultural Festival will be held at COEX in southern Seoul from Thursday through Sunday, the Korea-Arab Society said Monday.The festival’s programs include a performance by the Jordanian National Folkloric Group and a photo exhibition on Arab culture and tourism. Visitors will also have the opportunity to try on traditional Arab clothing and learn the Arabic alphabet.The Jordanian National Folkloric Group will perform at COEX from Thursday through Saturday and in Yeosu on Sunday, wher

NAJAF, Iraq (AFP) ― A stone’s throw from Iraq’s Shiite holy city of Najaf’s airport, the remains of the celebrated ancient Christian city of Hira lie neglected and mouldering, because funds for excavation have dried up.Three sites, discovered five years ago, are unexplored and unkempt, and officials fear the uncompleted excavation could lead to their eventual demise.The sites, which contain mud walls and jars that are exposed to the elements, lie fewer than 100 meters from an active runway, are

BUENOS AIRES (AFP) ― An abandoned power plant in Buenos Aires dating back to the early 20th century has been transformed into a cultural center, a key part of plans to revitalize the “poor” south of Argentina’s capital.The old brick factory topped with a giant tower, built by the Italian-Argentine electricity company from 1914 to 1916 by Italian architect Giovanni Chiogna, had been nearly forgotten along the highway to La Plata.Now, in the middle of the working class La Boca district, not far fr

As Korea and New Zealand celebrate a year of friendship this year, cultural events celebrating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties will be held in New Zealand next week. Three separate events will take place in Auckland on Sunday, Christchurch on Tuesday and Wellington on Friday featuring Korean music performances combined with New Zealand traditional performances, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Friday. “I hope the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between

The National Library of Korea has concluded a memorandum of understanding with the National Library of Indonesia on the promotion of exchange and cooperation, national library officials said Wednesday.Under the MOU signed at the Discovery Kartika Plaza Hotel in Bali, Indonesia on Monday, the two national libraries will share information and experiences in library affairs, expand personnel exchange, and strengthen cooperation in the digital information technology area.The MOU followed the opening

HONG KONG (AFP) ― It started with an inflatable pig.Jeffrey Shaw has always been fascinated by interactivity, having in the 1960s created art he hoped would narrow the gap between viewer and image.His pig starred on the cover of Pink Floyd’s 1977 concept album “Animals,” floating eerily above London’s Battersea Power Station, in what has become one of the most famous images in rock music history.“I was already very interested then in audience participation,” said the Melbourne native, who is cur

NASIRIYAH, Iraq (AFP) ― Teams of Iraqi archaeologists have discovered 40 ancient sites in the country’s south from the Sumerian, Akkadian and Babylonian periods, an Iraqi antiquities official said on Monday.“Teams, which have been working since 2010, were able to discover 40 archaeological sites belonging to the Sumerian, Akkadian and Babylonian periods,” Amer al-Zaidi, the head of the antiquities inspectorate in Dhi Qar province told AFP.The sites, which have not yet been fully explored, are lo

LIMA (AFP) ― The U.N.’s cultural arm UNESCO is calling for emergency measures to prevent the town that feeds tourists to Peru’s archeological marvel Machu Picchu from becoming overrun.The 15th century Incan city is perched on a mountain high above the town of Aguas Caliente, which has seen a boom in hotels and restaurants to accommodate an ever-growing number of visitors.“The authorities charged with protecting the archeological site of Machu Picchu, located in the Cusco region, must take rigoro