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Longwood Gardens. February, 2013. Photo by joanneleon.
Longwood Gardens. February, 2013. Photo by joanneleon.
Longwood Gardens. February, 2013. Photo by joanneleon.
Longwood Gardens. February, 2013. Photo by joanneleon.
Longwood Gardens. February, 2013. Photo by joanneleon.
Longwood Gardens. February, 2013. Photo by joanneleon.
Longwood Gardens. February, 2013. Photo by joanneleon.
Longwood Gardens. February, 2013. Photo by joanneleon.
Longwood Gardens. January, 2013. Photo by joanneleon.
Mahler: Symphony No. 2 Resurrection: Mov. 3 - Part 1 of 2
Mahler: Symphony No. 2 Resurrection: Mov. 3 - Part 2 of 2
News and Opinion
When searching the news, it's really hard to find good stories about peace.
Karzai meets emir of Qatar for peace talks
Afghan president and Qatari emir discussed opening of office for Taliban in Doha which could help broker an end to war.
Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, has met with the emir of Qatar to discuss plans for the Taliban to open an office in the Gulf state.
He discussed "issues of mutual interest" with Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the state news agency QNA said, without elaborating on the substanec of their talks. The meeting was also attended by the Qatari prime minister, Hamad bin Jassem Al Thani.
Karzai arrived in Doha on Saturday and also met with Afghan and Arab officials and businessmen. The delegation traveling with the Afghan president includes Zalmai Rassoul, the foreign minister; Salahuddin Rabbani, the head of the High Peace Council; and Rangin Dadfar Spanta, a presidential advisor.
In Somalia, music festival aims to spread peace
Not long ago, such an event would have been unthinkable in the battle-scarred country. But worries about attacks by Islamist militants remain.
MOGADISHU, Somalia — Lihle Muhdin was 11 years old when he first picked up a Kalashnikov rifle, pushed into combat by an Islamist militia in Mogadishu.
That was 15 years ago. Now he wields a microphone in his fight for peace. Muhdin is a member of the Somali rap group Waayaha Cusub, or New Era, whose music calls on young Somalis to renounce violence.
"I want to tell the Somali youth, don't kill," he said. "We must stop this violence."
The 26-year-old rapper recently returned to Mogadishu after 14 years as a refugee in Kenya to be among the headliners at the Somali Reconciliation Festival, Mogadishu's first major music festival in two decades. For security reasons, the event, which opened this week, is being staged over six days in scattered venues and at different times.
U.S., South Korea Committed to Peace, Hagel Says
The long-standing relationship with South Korea is particularly important to the United States, especially in light of the recent actions by North Korea, says the defense secretary.
WASHINGTON -- The long-standing relationship with South Korea is particularly important to the United States, especially in light of the recent actions by North Korea, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday.
At a joint Pentagon press conference with Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Hagel stressed that the United States and its allies are prepared to address any threat to the Asia-Pacific.
“We -- the United States, South Koreans, all of the nations … in that region of the world -- are committed to a pathway to peace. And the North Koreans seem to be headed in a different direction here,” Hagel said.
Blog Posts and Tweets of Interest
Yo-Yo Ma & Friends - Songs of Joy and Peace - Here Comes the Sun (James Taylor)