Koronadal City, Philippines – May 9, 2017 – A total of 3,336 motorcycle riders converged along a stretch of the main highway and joined the world record attempts for the “most number of motorcycle engines started simultaneously and motorcycle horns sounded simultaneously. Photo: A total of 3,336 motorcycle riders converged along a stretch of the main highway here and joined …

Buddhism is a religion based on the divine teachings of Lord Buddha or King Siddhartha. His father was the ruler of Kapilavastu, so, he lived a life of comfort and luxury in the palace. At the age of 29, he, for the first time, saw the miseries that humankind faced. Deeply disturbed he gave up all his comforts. Abandoning his …

Located in the Tawang-Chu river valley, in Arunachal Pradesh, India, at an elevation of 3300 meters, the wonderful Tawang monastery is one of the most important and largest Buddhist shrines in the world. This holy shrine, located in the midst of majestic mountain ranges, is home to more than 700 monks and 450 Lamas, making it the biggest Buddhist Monastery …

Kushinagar, a district in Uttar Pradesh, India, is one of the major Buddhist pilgrimage centers because it is the place where Lord Buddha is believed to have entered Mahaparinirvana (death). It was near the Hiranyavati River that Buddha took his last breath and was cremated at the Ramabhar Stupa. Located at a distance of 55 kilometers away from Gorakhpur, Uttar …

During the third century B.C.E. the spread of Buddhism was furthered by Ashoka (270-232), the third of the Mauryan kings who created the first pan-Indian empire. Ashoka was converted to Buddhism by a Theravada monk and, after a bloody war of conquest against the neighboring state of Kalinga, he recognized that such aggression violated the principles of Buddhism. From this …

Buddhism is a philosophy of life expounded by Gautama Buddha (“Buddha” means “enlightened one”), who lived and taught in northern India in the 6th Century B.C. The Buddha was not a god and the philosophy of Buddhism does not entail any theistic world-view. The teachings of the Buddha are aimed solely to liberate sentient beings from suffering. The Basic Teachings …

Ever since the philosopher and naturalist, Charles Darwin, and his contemporaries including Wallace, suggested that man had evolved from apes, there has been a continuous, and almost frantic quest for evidence of our ancestors. Of course, where we come from has always been a fascinating question, but it is only comparatively recently that systematic searches have been made for traces …

Hong Kong, China – April 12, 2017 – The 59.60-carat pink diamond Pink Star diamond has become the world’s most expensive gemstone, selling at auction for $71.2 million (£57.3 million) including buyer’s premium. Photo: The Pink Star diamond sells for $71.2 million, becoming the world’s most expensive gemstone – and is renamed the CTF Pink Star. The Guinness World Records …

Dublin, Ireland – March 17, 2017 – Robert David “Robbie” Keane (born 8 July 1980), an Irish professional footballer, netted goals in 19 consecutive years at International level, from 1998 to 2016, thus setting the new world record for Most consecutive years scoring international soccer goals (International soccer goals scored in most consecutive years). Photo: By scoring a goal at …

Publisher: Kashi House Pages: 352 Price: Rs 2,400 In one of his exploits, Flashman encounters a scary-looking Pathan in Khalsa-ruled Lahore and believes him an adversary. He, however, turns out to be an ally — and an American to boot. But while our anti-hero narrator is fictional, the American was not, with a long, colourful career of intrigue in Afghanistan, …