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Albania was the only European country, of those occupied by the Axis powers of World War II, that emerged from World War II with a larger Jewish population than it had before the Holocaust. In 1999, Israel took in Kosovar Albanian refugees from the Kosovo War, providing them with medical care, food, and accommodations. In 2018, a monument dedicated to former Israeli President and Prime Minister Shimon Peres was erected in Tirana to honor his memory. Also in 2018, Albanian Ambassador to the UN Besiana Kadare of Muslim-majority Albania co-hosted an event at the United Nations with Jewish-majority Israel and Catholic-majority Italy, celebrating the translation of the Talmud into Italian for the first time.
In November 2019, after a deadly earthquake struck Albania, Israel sent Israel Defense Forces (IDF) military engineer troops to Albania to search through the rubble for survivors and rescue them, assess whether buildings were structurally sound, and provide Albanians who had been evacuated from their homes with waterproof tents to shelter them. In January 2020, Albanian President Ilir Meta met with Israel Defense Forces soldiers during an official visit in Israel, embraced them, thanked them for their assistance, and awarded them the Albanian Golden Medal of the Eagle.
Ejin Horo fell to the Communists at the end of 1949 and was controlled by their Northwest Bureau until the establishment of Suiyuan Province the next year.[10] The district's Communists set up rituals honouring Genghis Khan in the early 1950s, but abolished the traditional religious offices surrounding them like the Jinong and controlled the cult through local committees with loyal Party cadres.[10] Without the relics, they relied largely on singing and dancing groups.[10] In 1953, the PRC's central government approved the recently formed Inner Mongolian provincial government's request for 800,000 RMB to create the present permanent structures.[3] Early the next year,[15] the central government permitted the return of the objects at Kumbum to the site being constructed at Ejin Horo.[10] The region's chairman Ulanhu officiated at the first ritual after their return, decrying the Nationalists for having "stolen" them.[10] After this ritual, he immediately held a second ceremony to break ground on a permanent temple to house the objects and the khan's cult, again approved and paid for by China's central government.[10] By 1956, this new temple was completed, greatly expanding the purview of the original shrine.[14] Rather than having eight separate shrines throughout Ejin Horo for the Great Khan, his wives, and his children, all were placed together; a further 20 sacred and venerated objects from around the Ordos were also brought to the new site.[14] The government also mandated that the main ritual would be held in the summer rather than in the third lunar month, in order to make it more convenient for the headers to maintain their spring work schedules.[14] With the Darkhads no longer liable for personally paying for maintenance of the shrine, most accepted these changes.[14] An especially large celebration was held in 1962 to mark the 800th anniversary of Genghis Khan's birth.[15]
In 1968, the Cultural Revolution's Red Guards destroyed almost everything of value at the shrine.[14] For 10 years, the buildings themselves were turned into a salt depot as part of preparations for a potential war with the Soviet Union.[27]
Following Deng Xiaoping's Opening Up Policy, the site was restored by 1982[3] and sanctioned for "patriotic education"[14] as a AAAA-rated tourist attraction.[3] Replicas of the former relics were made, and a great marble statue of Genghis was completed in 1989.[28] Priests at the museum now claim that all of the Red Guards who desecrated the tomb have died in abnormal ways, suffering a kind of curse.[29]
Mongolians continued to complain about the poor state of the mausoleum.[30] A 2001 proposal for its refurbishment was finally approved in 2004.[30] Unrelated houses, stores, and hotels were removed from the area of the mausoleum to a separate area 3 km (1.9 mi) away and replaced with new structures in the same style as the mausoleum.[30] The 150-million-RMB (about $20 million)[31] improvement plan was carried out from 2005 to 2006, improving the site's infrastructure, expanding its courtyard, and decorating and repairing its existing buildings and walls.[32] The China National Tourism Administration named the site a AAAAA-rated tourist attraction in 2011.[33]
Taipei, Nov. 20 (CNA) Taiwan President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) hit back at China's reported suspension of Japanese seafood imports by posing with sushi in a social media post on Thursday.
Lai shared the photos on multiple platforms, writing in the caption that he enjoyed miso soup, and sushi made with seafood from Kagoshima and Hokkaido.
His gesture followed Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung's (林佳龍) call earlier Thursday for Taiwanese to show support for Japan by traveling there and buying more Japanese goods, after Tokyo faced a series of reprisals from Beijing for backing Taiwan.
NHK reported Wednesday that China had informed Tokyo it was halting imports of Japanese marine products to "assess the monitoring of treated and diluted water" from Japan's damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, citing Japanese government sources.
The move came after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Nov. 7 that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could qualify as "a situation threatening Japan's survival," potentially triggering a military response.
Lai's post appeared to have raised the ire of Beijing. A Chinese government spokesperson, cited by the state-run Global Times, said "no matter how the Lai authorities put on shows," they can never change the "irrefutable fact" that "Taiwan is China's Taiwan, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory."
(By Sophia Yeh and Hsiao Hsu-chen)
Enditem/ASG
The countries boycotting Durban IV were: Albania, Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Moldova, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, UK, US and Uruguay. The European Union also did not participate or speak at the commemoration.
In 2008, direct commercial flights began between the two countries.[19] The countries also agreed to eliminate the need for tourist visas between them.[20]
In 2020, Albania became the first Muslim-majority country to formally adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of anti-Semitism and promise to fight anti-Jewish prejudice.[4] The measure to adopt the definition was proposed by Socialist Party MP Taulant Balla, and accepted unanimously by the Parliament of Albania.[4][31]
This high-profile project is set to boost economic growth, enhance tourism in the Red River Delta and become a landmark symbol of the Việt Nam - US strategic partnership.
HƯNG YÊN — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính on Wednesday attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the Khoái Châu urban complex, eco-tourism and golf course project in Hưng Yên Province, or Trump International Hưng Yên project.
Eric Trump, vice president of Trump Organization and son of US President Donald Trump, also participated in the ceremony, alongside other Vietnamese and US senior officials, including US Ambassador Marc Knapper.
The Trump International Hưng Yên project spans nearly 1,000ha with a total investment of over US$1.5 billion. It will feature a 54-hole VIP golf course, luxury villas, a modern urban complex and international-standard amenities.
This is the first Trump-branded development in Việt Nam and a strategic partnership between Trump Organization and Hưng Yên Company, a member of the Kinh Bắc City Development Holding Corporation.
This high-profile project is set to boost economic growth, enhance tourism in the Red River Delta and become a landmark symbol of the strategic partnership between Việt Nam and the US.
In his remarks, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính expressed his joy at attending the ceremony, highlighting the project would strengthen Việt Nam-US relations and foster foreign investor confidence, especially from American companies like Intel, Nike and Apple, as well as the Trump Organization.
He emphasised that the presence of Eric Trump and his wife, at the groundbreaking ceremony added momentum and inspiration to the project.
The Government leader also urged local authorities to provide maximum support and facilitate the completion of the project within two years. The completion is anticipated to coincide with the APEC 2027 summit in Việt Nam, further boosting the province’s service sector and enhancing the strategic partnership between the two nations.
He noted that in Donald Trump's first term as the President of the US, he had visited Việt Nam twice, and Việt Nam is looking forward to future visits by the President, as the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Việt Nam and the US continue to grow positively, contributing to peaceful, cooperative environment in the region and the world.
Chairman of Kinh Bắc, Đặng Thành Tâm, shared the vision of making Hưng Yên a leading golf and lifestyle destination in Asia, bringing world-class golf experiences to the region.
More arctic alliance posters with subhuman phenotypes (note the architecture in the background of the first. These posters were made by Russia before the Sino-Soviet split. We are witnessing a revival of this strategy with Duginism:
Yang Xianrang (1930) is from Mouping, Shandong Province. After his graduation from the Drawing Department of the Central Art Academy, he was assigned to work as an artist and editor at the People's Fine Arts Publishing House. In 1958, he was transferred to the Research Office of the Ministry of Culture, and in 1961, he was transferred again, this time to a teaching position in the Blockprint Department of the Central Art Academy.
Yang specializes in blockprints, but is well-versed in oil painting and Chinese painting. He collaborated in poster design with Ma Changli and Yin Rongsheng.
Sources
Michael Sullivan, Modern Chinese Artists - A Biographical Dictionary (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006)
Zhongguo meishuguan (ed.), 中国美术年鉴 1949-1989 (Guilin: Guangxi meishu chubanshe, 1993)
The People's Liberation Army Honor Guard has prepared well to take part in the spectacular military parade that will mark the 80th anniversary celebrations of the victory of the Soviet Union's Great Patriotic War on Friday in Moscow, Russia, in a demonstration of China's commitment to maintaining world peace.
The 119 members of the PLA Honor Guard have already participated in three rehearsals — on April 29, Saturday and Wednesday — for the parade at Red Square in Moscow.
In a statement released on Monday, the Chinese Defense Ministry said the PLA Honor Guard was invited by the defense ministries of Russia and Belarus to participate in commemorative parades marking the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union's Great Patriotic War in Moscow and Minsk.
Meanwhile, videos of the members of the Honor Guard participating in the rehearsals in Moscow have sparked widespread discussions on Chinese social media.
In the videos, the guards can be seen singing popular Chinese military songs while marching, as Chinese students and local residents warmly cheer them on.
"When I guarded the Chinese flag down the streets of Moscow and saw countless Chinese expatriates waving the national flag, I felt that the flag is a symbol of faith, direction and the dreams and hopes of countless Chinese people," Cui Hangteng, a member of the Honor Guard squad, was quoted by China Media Group as saying after a rehearsal.
"This warmth is our strength in this mission," he added.
In another widely circulated video, the Honor Guard soldiers can be seen chanting slogans, such as "Remember history, commemorate the martyrs" and "Justice will prevail. Peace will prevail. The people will prevail", as they march down the streets. Crowds of onlookers can be seen responding enthusiastically, shouting, "Long live China!"
Another popular video shows the Honor Guard members singing Ode to the Motherland, one of China's best known patriotic songs, accompanied by a Chinese woman in the crowd playing a bamboo flute.
Liu Chao, another member of the Honor Guard, told China Media Group that to further demonstrate the friendship between China and Russia, they also learned to sing classic Russian songs.
During the rehearsals in Red Square, they chanted "Long live China-Russia friendship. Long live world peace" in Russian.
Upon arriving in Moscow, the Honor Guard squad had to adjust to the time difference and change in weather. They trained rigorously to ensure a high-standard performance.
Another team member, Zhang Dingxin, said that they drew from previous experience of international appearances, actively overcoming the adverse effects of time and temperature differences, as well as changes in environment. They especially made plans to cope with possible adverse weather conditions and unexpected situations to ensure a spectacular parade appearance.
In 2015, members of the PLA Honor Guard participated in a military parade in Moscow commemorating the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union's Great Patriotic War.
India’s army has launched “Operation Sindoor”, hitting nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Pakistan says India’s missile attacks on six locations killed at least eight people and wounded more than 35, promising a robust response to the “act of war” from its neighbour.
The Indian army said, “Justice is served” in a post on X after the missiles were fired.
Tensions have been escalating between the two nuclear-armed countries since a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22, which India blamed on Pakistan. Pakistan has denied any involvement.
China hopes and believes that the US and Colombia can handle their affairs properly, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a routine press conference on Monday. Mao was asked to comment on the news that US President Donald Trump on Sunday threatened to impose steep tariffs and visa restrictions on Colombia after the South American country rejected two US military flights carrying migrants deported from the US.
When asked to comment on this and if China plans to bring back illegal Chinese immigrants from the US, Mao said that for the first question, this is a matter between the US and Colombia, and that China hopes and believes "both parties can handle it properly."
"For the second question, as a matter of principle, the Chinese government firmly opposes any form of illegal immigration activities. We have also carried out pragmatic cooperation with the immigration law enforcement agencies of relevant countries, including the US, and achieved positive results. Regarding the repatriation, China's principle is to verify first and then repatriate. We will accept Chinese citizens who are verified to be from the Chinese mainland," Mao said.
The White House said late Sunday local time that Colombia's President Gustavo Petro had agreed to accept deportation flights from the US.
Thaksin's great-grandfather, Seng Saekhu (Khu Chun Seng 丘春盛), was an ethnic Chinese Hakka immigrant from Fengshun, Guangdong, China, who arrived in Siam in the 1860s and settled in Chiang Mai in 1908.
Syria's Bashar al Assad and his family have arrived in Russia and have been granted asylum by the Russian authorities, Russian news agencies reported on Sunday, citing a Kremlin source.
The Interfax news agency quoted the unnamed source as saying: "President Assad of Syria has arrived in Moscow. Russia has granted them (him and his family) asylum on humanitarian grounds."
The Syrian opposition leaders, meanwhile, have guaranteed the safety of Russian military bases and diplomatic missions inside Syria, Russian news agencies reported on Sunday, citing a Kremlin source.
The TASS state news agency said: "Russian officials are in contact with representatives of the armed Syrian opposition, whose leaders have guaranteed the safety of Russian military bases and diplomatic institutions on the territory of Syria."
Russia has also asked the United Nations Security Council to meet on Syria on Monday.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Sunday that the future of Syria is a matter for the Syrians to determine and that his special envoy Geir Pedersen "will be working with them towards that end".
"There is much work to be done to ensure an orderly political transition to renewed institutions. I reiterate my call for calm and avoiding violence at this sensitive time, while protecting the rights of all Syrians," Guterres said in a statement.
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