Latest news with #NationalMuseum
Irish Examiner
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Irish Examiner view: Reaching outward is in the Irish nature
In an era when the most powerful country on Earth seems hellbent on retreating inwardly, both politically and economically, where it is transforming into an isolationist nation courting and flirting with the dangers of extremism and fascism, it might behoove us to recall how our little island cast its net out into the wider world at a time when our island was typically considered the ends of the Earth. One of the great tragedies of politics is where leaders only concern themselves with the internal, rather than seeing their nation as part of a greater network. No nation exists in isolation. We are all connected by our humanity and the bonds of that humanity. Unfortunately, it would seem this has been forgotten, or possibly purposefully neglected. Our failure to condemn injustice is a stain on our humanity. It destructively erodes those bonds that make us human, bonds which are more obvious when we look at how culture, literature, and heritage can actually bring people together more than push them apart. When we no longer see the humanity in another face, child, or even those who shun others, we lose something of ourselves. Ireland, as an island, stands geographically at the periphery of Europe. We have often been modest in number, and often quite poor, yet for more than 1,500 years our heritage, culture, and customs stretch across the world in a far-reaching network. Our ways have been captured in our literature, our drive for self-improvement, and our resistance of injustices in the world. Heritage and what it means to belong are essential to us as people. After all, our sense of belonging has often been met with rejection in times where we cast that metaphorical net into the world, trying desperately to find a new home. We might now consider it 'soft power', though to be fair, our first soft power ambassadors, the early Christian monks, didn't see themselves as representing a state. Indeed, some of them were travelling abroad as a sort of pilgrimage, ending up halfway across the continent in what seems to us like the most random of places. We see this in the new exhibition at the National Museum, focusing on the connections between Ireland and the Swiss city of St Gall, which (perhaps bizarrely) was founded in the 600s by an Irish missionary. It sounds like the beginnings of the meme whereby, wherever you go on Earth, you'll find somebody in a GAA jersey. As well as artefacts, the exhibition will feature a range of manuscripts penned by Irish monks or monks under their tutelage, many of which are on loan from St Gall. As we noted in our report on the opening of the exhibition: 'The manuscripts trace the journeys of Irish monks who travelled across Europe in search of exile, refuge, and learning — bringing with them Ireland's unique artistic and scholarly traditions.' So while the drive by extremists to gaze within might be appealing in a dangerous and chaotic world, we should always remember that we as a species have always gained more by gazing without. Rip-off republic tag sad but true Ireland has been called a rip-off republic for more years than we would like to count, and yet the annual hotel price madness for 2026 has already kicked off, 12 months out. Fans of Metallica who were lucky enough to get tickets for their two concerts in the Aviva Stadium in June 2026 — and the tickets, which were for both shows, ranged from over €100 for standing to well over €3,000 to be in the middle of the stage — immediately found that hotel rooms for the dates in question were already reaching astronomical prices. James Hetfield of Metallica, who play at the Aviva next June. Picture: Ethan Miller/Getty We've been here before, with Taylor Swift, and indeed any major star or group to make it to these shores for a stadium event. Not that it's the musicians' or promoters' fault — as it is, Ireland is an expensive place for them to perform, and a band that might easily perform four huge concerts in Britain might only be able to do one here. None of which really offers much solace to the fans going to Dublin, or the tourists who would otherwise go there but find hotel prices to be hotter than the summer sun. We are going beyond simple supply and demand, and dancing through exploitation territory. And it's a dance we do on an annual basis without anybody in Government really doing anything of substance. What's your view on this issue? You can tell us here And while, yes, we live in a country filled with small businesses that are the backbone of the economy and, yes, all companies need to turn a profit in order to survive, the darker side is that we need to ask how many homeless families or refugees might be turned out of their accommodation just to turn a quick buck. Populist fires take time to extinguish While it has been positive to see a far-right path to power curbed in elections in France, Germany, and Romania, among others (and the far right barely made a dent in our own election), that doesn't mean anybody who believes in liberal democracy or a centrist society can take anything for granted. America, despite the string of court defeats for the Trump administration and its leader's chaotic approach to everything, is still staunchly extremist. Whether the midterm elections change anything remains to be seen, and there's a lot of chaos to come between now and then. Closer to home, Portugal's far-right party Chega scored so many gains in the recent elections that it is now the biggest opposition party. Founded only six years ago, it has touted stronger immigration controls and targeted the country's Roma population while also advocating chemical castration for paedophiles. While the centrist Democratic Alliance still took the most seats, Chega, like many populist parties, capitalised on younger voters as well as a general air of dissatisfaction. While it can be argued that populists are better at finding problems than solutions, we've seen in the US that, once in government, they can set everything ablaze. And fires like that take a long time to extinguish, if ever. Read More Irish Examiner view: Perfect is the enemy of good
Observer
a day ago
- Observer
'Sagarmatha Day' celebration calls for environment conservation
Muscat: The Embassy of Nepal in Muscat observed on May 29, 2025 the Sagarmatha Day, commemorating the historic first ascent of Sagarmatha (Mount Everest) by Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Sir Edmund Hillary on the same day in 1953. This year's event also coincided with Republic Day of Nepal, adding further significance to the celebration. Jamal bin Hassan al Mousawi, Secretary-General of the National Museum, was the guest of honour. In his address, the Ambassador of Nepal to the Sultanate of Oman, Dornath Aryal, said, "Sagarmatha Day is a reminder not only for human achievement but also for the majestic beauty of the Himalayas and the urgent need to address challenges being faced by climate change and other environmental issues". He explained that the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region covers eight countries, namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan. This region has a huge area of mountains and it has the largest source of ice and snow outside the polar region. He also pointed out that these mountains are vast sources of fresh water and lifelines of people, flora and fauna. "Our beautiful mountains are facing enormous challenges due to rising temperature and extreme weather conditions. Rising temperature has caused rapid melting of snow, rise of the sea level, drought, glacier lake outburst, floods, landslides, etc. The situation has been quite alarming in recent times", he said. Mountains are not just nature's crown jewels; they are the shared heritage of humanity to maintain ecological balance — from highlands to islands. Global cooperation, collective efforts and actions are required to protect them". In May 2025, Nepal had organised the first edition of Sagarmatha Sambaad (Everest Dialogue) in Kathmandu under the theme of 'Climate Change, Mountains and the Future of Humanity'. It concluded issuing a 25-point 'Sagarmatha Call for Action". Sagarmatha Sambaad, a flagship initiative of Nepal, aims to promote inclusive dialogue and encourage meaningful collaboration and cooperation to achieve tangible solutions. The ambassador pointed out that a total number of 350 delegates, including 175 international delegates/participants, took part in the dialogue. The second edition of the Sambaad is expected to be held in 2027. Nadhira al Harthy, the first Omani woman to climb the Sagarmatha (Mount Everest), took part in the conference as a panelist. She shared her experiences of her expedition to Sagarmatha and the recently held Sagarmatha Sambaad. So far, three mountaineers have climbed the Sagarmatha from Oman. The late Khalid bin Sulaiman al Siyabi was the first Omani national to climb Mount Everest in 2010. The third Omani national to climb the Sagarmatha is Suleiman Hamood al Naabi. The ambassador noted that beyond its natural splendour, Nepal is strategically positioned as a bridge between two neighbouring countries, India and China. "This unique geographical proximity provides tremendous opportunities for tourism, trade, investment and many more", he said. As part of the celebration, Ambassador Aryal honoured Nadhira al Harthy with a traditional shawl and felicitated Master Shiva Kochale, a 13-year-old teen who reached the Sagarmatha Base Camp in April 2025. Nadhira said, "We could hear the sound of avalanches every day, but I was ready to go to the top of the world. Every step had a risk, but every risk was a step forward. I wanted to be on the Mount Everest summit." She explained all her training to prepare herself for the climbing of Mount Everest was done on the Omani mountains in Al Rustaq, Al Jabal Al Akhdhar, Jabal Shams and so on and by participating in marathons. "Mountains can tell you everything", she said.
Indian Express
3 days ago
- General
- Indian Express
A photography exhibition puts the spotlight on the oldest Buddhist site in Jammu & Kashmir
Artefacts yielded from an excavation of Ambaran between 1999 and 2000, an archaeological site in Jammu's Akhnoor, form the subject of an ongoing photography exhibition at Delhi's National Museum. Titled 'Ambaran: The Historic Buddhist Citadel of J&K' the show by journalist and photographer Vijay Kranti features images of terracotta heads, pottery, coral jewellery and silver coins. Situated on the bank of Chenab, the site is located at the entry point of Akhnoor, about 30 km north of Jammu. Kranti notes that the Buddhist site, most probably a monastery, remained active for about 900 years between the 2nd century BC and 7th century AD, a period belonging to the Pre-Kushan, Kushan and Post-Kushan Gupta periods. One of the photographs show a circular stone and brick base which helped archaeologists conclude the existence of a spoked wheel stupa. 'It was the most distinguishing proof,' the exhibition notes, adding, 'This circular base of eight-metre diameter, presents eight spokes, distributed in typical geographic Buddhist style, is supported on the outside by a 1.20 metre thick wall of baked bricks.' A version of the exhibition was showcased in 2011, first in Delhi and then in Jammu, after Kranti was invited by the late Congress politician from the state, Madan Lal Sharma, to photograph the findings in order to put Akhnoor on the map. 'As a photographer, I have always been interested in the Buddhist way of life, as a result of which I had extensively photographed Tibet and its people. When I was invited to photograph Ambaran, I was more than happy to take it up,' says Kranti adding, 'When I reached there, I realised that the artefacts lay scattered across different locations in Jammu.' While some were displayed in the small one-room Site Museum at Ambaran, some were at the Dogra Art Museum in Raja Mandi and others at the local ASI office in Gandhinagar. 'In the end, I had a good collection of artefacts to be photographed,' says Kranti. While the pottery items – basins, bowls, spouts, lids, lamps, storage jars – point towards a noteworthy terracotta workmanship, figure moulds show the skills of the artisans in carving statues and reproducing them in large number. If gold caskets evidence the burying of precious things along with bodies, iron nails establish the knowledge of metallurgy during this period. Besides photographs, the exhibition also features images of scenic locations from present-day Akhnoor, including the Gurdwara Shri Tapo Asthan, Jia Pota Ghat and the Akhnoor Fort. 'I believe Jammu has been left out of the tourist circle. I wanted to show people that there are equally beautiful, if not better, places there as well,' says Kranti. The exhibition closes on May 31.
New Indian Express
3 days ago
- New Indian Express
Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati to lead team to bring Buddha's relics
BHUBANESWAR: Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati will lead a delegation accompanying the holy relics of Lord Buddha from Vietnam to India on June 2. The relics were taken to Vietnam from India for exposition on the gala celebrations of the United Nations Day of Vesak, which is observed annually on the full moon of May to commemorate the birth, enlightenment, and passing away of Lord Buddha. These relics were on display in Vietnam during the Vesak celebrations from May 6 to 8. The relics have been provided by the Mahabodhi Society of India and the National Museum, Ministry of Culture, with the support of the International Buddhist Confederation. The relics, which travelled from Sarnath - the sacred site where Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon - were flown to Vietnam in a special Indian Air Force aircraft. Speaking ahead of his departure to bring back the relics from Vietnam, the Governor said, 'It is a matter of great honour to accompany the sacred relics of Lord Buddha back to India. This spiritual journey reflects our shared civilisational heritage with Vietnam.'
SBS Australia
3 days ago
- General
- SBS Australia
SBS News in Filipino, Friday 30 May 2025
Australia continues to push for removal of US tariffs, following a court ruling. A new art exhibition, titled 65,000 Years: A Short History of Australian Art, has opened in Melbourne that confronts Australia's colonial history and celebrates the richness and resilience of Indigenous culture. The National Museum of the Philippines announces the formal turnover of the 17-piece Kevin Weldon Earthenware Pottery Collection to the museum, marking a significant milestone in cultural cooperation and the preservation of Philippine heritage. SBS Filipino 30/05/2025 08:10 📢 Where to Catch SBS Filipino 📲 Catch up episodes and stories – Visit or stream on Spotify , Apple Podcasts , Youtube Podcasts , and SBS Audio app.
