Russia, Mongolia celebrate 1939 defeat of Japan

Posted by Cyrus Farivar, Thursday, August 27th, 2009 – 15:20 CEST

http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldeconomicforum/374718127/

Before leaving Mongolia yesterday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (pictured) and Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj memorialized fallen soldiers who defeated the Japanese imperial forces at Khalkhyn Gol in 1939. This was the final battle between Soviet and Mongolian forces and Japan along their border in 1938 and 1939. This week marked the 70th anniversary of that battle.

“The Soviet and Mongolian soldiers fought for the right cause,” the Agence France Presse quoted Medvedev as saying.

The news agency also interviewed 100-year-old Mongolian veteran Damdinzhav Tsagaan, who said: “I believe that our two countries will be united forever.”

The two presidents met earlier this week to discuss development of minerals and other resources in Mongolia.

Posted in Heritage, Japan, Mongolia, Russia, Ulan Bator

Ulan Bator forges ahead with Russian investment

Posted by Cyrus Farivar, Tuesday, August 25th, 2009 – 10:37 CEST

Today, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met with new Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj to discuss his country’s uranium fields and the possibility of upgrading the country’s rail networks.

Russia, which has had longstanding ties to Mongolia, had been concerned the the election…

Roman edifice found in Jerusalem

Posted by Cyrus Farivar, Wednesday, August 19th, 2009 – 10:31 CEST

Earlier this week, Israeli authorities announced the discovery of an ancient Roman mansion dating back to the year 300 CE. It was found in the City of David, south of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Other artifacts that scientists uncovered were…

Austrian, Mongolian partner to unearth buried Buddhist artifacts

Posted by Cyrus Farivar, Friday, August 7th, 2009 – 08:37 CEST

Last weekend, Austrian online media producer and amateur archeologist Michael Eisenriegler (above) and his Mongolian colleague, Zundoi Altangerel, uncovered two crates worth of irreplaceable artifacts, including manuscripts, Buddhist statues and clothing.

It was shown live and online last weekend at the Hauptplatz in…

Gaelic translations outsourced to India. Sort of.

Posted by Cyrus Farivar, Thursday, August 6th, 2009 – 11:34 CEST

So back in 2005, the Scottish Parliament passed the Gaelic Language Act, promoting the use of Scottish Gaelic throughout the Highlands. Presumably that means that all kinds of public documents have to be translated from English into Gaelic, including the…

Tsonjin Boldog boasts huge Genghis Khan statue

Posted by Cyrus Farivar, Monday, August 3rd, 2009 – 19:11 CEST

The New York Times has a new feature on the new statue of Mongolia’s most well-known historical figure, Genghis Khan. The 13th century emperor and conqueror of much of Asia and the Middle East has become a contemporary icon — Mongolians have…

Mongolian Neo-Nazis rise against China

Posted by Cyrus Farivar, Tuesday, July 28th, 2009 – 10:44 CEST

Time magazine reports on the disturbing rise of nationalistic neo-Nazi groups in Mongolia, many of whom are vehemently anti-Chinese.

Mongolia, which just played host to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, may need to do something about this problem as it wants…

Israeli Foreign Minister wants 1941 Hitler photo circulated to counter world pressure

Posted by Cyrus Farivar, Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009 – 18:14 CEST

Jews and Palestinians in Israel have been at each others’ throats basically since the British showed up and screwed everything up. It’s been an intractable struggle that’s been going on for the better part of a century.

The latest episode…

President Elbegdorj could open Mongolia’s mines

Posted by Cyrus Farivar, Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009 – 23:27 CEST

New Mongolian president Tsakhia Elbegdorj was elected last month largely to help improve Mongolia’s economic problems.

One way that he might go about doing that, a recent UPI report suggests, is by opening up the countries vast mining reserves.

Mongolia has many…

New Orleans is attracting new entrepreneurs

Posted by Cyrus Farivar, Monday, June 22nd, 2009 – 10:02 CEST

According to the local newspaper the Times-Picayune, New Orleans is attracting young entrepreneurs who are eager to help the city get back on its feet. In fact, the article notes that the American business magazine Forbes listed NOLA as eighth (of ten)…

Israeli newspaper uses poets, novelists to cover news

Posted by Cyrus Farivar, Wednesday, June 17th, 2009 – 15:15 CEST

Journalists are notorious for seeing the world through concise, tight, punchy language. This is part of a centuries-old tradition of how people can process information more quickly. However, one of the problems with this tradition — however well-intentioned — is…

China planning to raze oldest part of Kashgar

Posted by Cyrus Farivar, Thursday, May 28th, 2009 – 12:52 CEST

I’ve always had a strange fascination with Xinjiang, the westernmost province of China. It seems an entire world away from the bustle of the east with its megapolises of Beijing and Shanghai, not to mention all the other industrial monstrosities.…

Mongolia elects Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj as its new president

Posted by Cyrus Farivar, Wednesday, May 27th, 2009 – 10:17 CEST

Earlier this week, voters from all over Mongolia turned out to elected their new president. The winner was the US-educated Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, who is poised to become the country’s first president who has never been a member of the Mongolian People’s…

Direct Action and the Legacy of the Bhopal Disaster

Posted by Florica Vlad, Tuesday, May 12th, 2009 – 15:59 CEST

Activist organizations Students for Bhopal and Bhopal Survivors were in Brooklyn yesterday at the Change You Want to See gallery to speak about their cause.

The groups showed excerpts of the new film by the Yes Men in which the activists pulled a hoax on…

BakerTweet alerts bakery customers to fresh bread

Posted by Cyrus Farivar, Thursday, April 30th, 2009 – 07:23 CEST

In what just might be the most clever use of Twitter that I’ve ever seen, a London outfit has just come up with a small little hardware device that can combine one of the oldest of traditions — bread-making —…

Japan Pays Its Foreign Labor to Leave

Posted by Cyrus Farivar, Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009 – 21:26 CEST

Back in 2003, The New York Times reported that Japan needs more immigrants, as its society was rapidly aging and not producing enough children. The newspaper reported that demographers say that by 2050, the population of Japan will be cut by…

Making Our Literary and Historical Heritage Available Online

Posted by Cyrus Farivar, Tuesday, April 21st, 2009 – 20:39 CEST

One item that caught my eye in the news today was that UNESCO has just opened the World Digital Library, the first online, international, book depository.

The project, which launched today in Paris, “draws material from more than 30 national libraries and…

Ulan Bator Through the Eyes of Its Bloggers

Posted by David Sasaki, Monday, April 20th, 2009 – 15:34 CEST

With just over one million residents Ulan Bator is the largest city of the most sparsely populated country in the world, Mongolia. The city was founded in 1639 as a Buddhist monastic center, but turned into an important trading and manufacturing hub…