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For the first time in its 36 years, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival will be dedicated to a single subject: an exploration of the ancient Silk Road, the trade route that linked Asia and Europe, and its influence of its cultures on American life today.From June 26 to 30 and July 3 to 7, visitors to the National Mall can tour a range of exhibits focused on the cultures that flourished along the road from the time of Alexander the Great until the 14th century A.D.

The Aga Khan yesterday concluded a three-day official visit to Syria during which he had meetings with President Bashar al-Assad and a series of discussions with Ministers on key development priorities for the country.The Aga Khan's discussions with President Al-Assad touched on a range of issues but focused on specific areas in which institutions of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) could expand its activities.'Our very fruitful discussions, ' said the Aga Khan, 'will now enable us to concentrate resources where the AKDN's experience can address priority needs identified in co-operation

In the Muslim world, the Aga Khan is also larger than life. As a direct descendant of the prophet Muhammad, the 67-year-old holds the hereditary title of 49th spiritual leader to an estimated 20 million Shiite Ismaili Muslims in 25 countries. In that role, he oversees a complex of Geneva-based trusts dedicated to education and development.

Forum 18 News Service has found during a visit to Tajikistan's remote and mountainous eastern region that the parts which were governed by compulsory Shariah law during the mid-1990's civil war have now returned to secular Tajik law. Muslims now follow Shariah law only if they choose to do so and the days when local people were forced by armed Tajik opposition groups to pray in mosques are over. Until the year 2000 fighters of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan lived in parts of the region, but they then under pressure crossed into Afghanistan.

President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Saturday launched three major projects for Karachi which will be completed within two years at a cost of over Rs443 million.

The Swiss Fela company has recently delivered satellite equipment for a monitoring system and for early warnings at Lake Sarez [over 3,000 m up in the Pamirs in eastern Tajikistan] to Tajikistan, Rustam Bobojonov, coordinator of a World Bank project on reducing the risk of Lake Sarez overflow, told Avesta on 4 August.He said the total cost of the equipment is 1.5m dollars.

President Gen Pervez Musharraf said on Friday it was not time for crisis management but conflict resolution for a lasting peace in South Asia.'The time for conflict management is over because another conflict is unthinkable. It is time for conflict resolution,' he told a distinguished gathering here on Friday.
He was speaking as guest of honour at 50th annual dinner hosted in his honour by the Pakistan Society at the Great Hall of Lincoln Inn here on Thursday.

Tajikistan's national airline on Thursday began passenger service to Afghanistan and officials announced plans to build five bridges connecting the countries.
Both moves apparently reflect increased confidence in Afghanistan's stability following the fall of the Taliban and growing recognition of Tajikistan's importance as a conduit for aid and materiel badly needed by Afghanistan.
The Tajikistan Airlines decision to open service between Dushanbe and Kabul, the Afghan capital, was largely in response to demand by businessmen, airline officials said. The flights are expected to go once a week.

The French interview of The Aga Khan, as well as comments of the speaker have been transcribed and translated in English by the Heritage Staff for the members of www.ismaili.net. - English translation is on http://www.ismaili.net/heritage/node/26079

Special equipment for monitoring the situation around Lake Sarez in eastern Tajikistan is now being installed by a World Bank project working on risk mitigation in the area, a step to ensure early warning for the vulnerable population in the region.'This equipment is for monitoring the situation around Lake Sarez, the dam and the Bartang valley, including seismic activity, landslides, water, wind speed and so on,' Rustam Bobojonov, a coordinator for the World Bank's Lake Sarez risk mitigation project, told IRIN from the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, on Thursday.

The Petronas Towers and a project to revitalise Old Jerusalem were among seven architectural achievements named as winners of the 2004 Aga Khan award for architecture.The prizes were presented by the Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the world's 15 million Shia Ismaili Muslims, yesterday.

I was distressed to learn that the Taleban rulers of Afghanistan had ordered the destruction of all statues, including the unique giant fifth century Buddhas located in Bamiyan.

UN employees who have Aids will benefit from a comprehensive medical and health care programme at the Aga Khan Hospital. In a deal between Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi Klaus Topfer and Mr Stephen Batts, the Aga Khan Health Service in East Africa chief executive, the employees will be advised on the use of anti-retroviral drugs and nutrition.They and their families will also will benefit from counselling services.

The trip through East and North Africa and India took 15 Texas educators just about everywhere, from schools that looked like average American institutions to urban and rural settings where students did math on the floor using charcoal and six or more children read from one textbook.The month-long journey to study Islamic history and culture had two locals onboard: Jeffrey Lash, assistant professor of geography at the University of Houston-Clear Lake and Friendswood Councilwoman Laura Ewing, who has taught world history, politics and economics.

http://www.lemonde.fr/rech_art/0,5987,239159,00.html

Un imam des chiites ismaéliens appelle à empêcher la famine en Afghanistan

LE MONDE | 31.10.01 | 13h59

Selon Karim Agha Khan, imam des chiites ismaéliens, "il faut d'abord empêcher que des gens meurent de faim en Afghanistan, puis reconstruire une société civile".

"quel est votre plan pour l'avenir de l'afghanistan ?

Two experts from the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) are in [Tajikistan's] Mountainous Badakhshon Autonomous Region to see for themselves the condition of the Pamir-1 hydroelectric power station, particularly its tunnel, Asia-Plus learnt from an official from the organization, Matthew Scanlon. He said that AKFED intends to provide Pamir-1 with financial assistance as its first investment. The funds will be used to buy spare parts for turbines, a transformer and other components, and also to prepare for the autumn and winter seasons.

Le parc public d'Al-Azhar a fait revenir les oiseaux au coeur historique de la gigantesque et étouffante capitale. Offert à la ville par l'Agha Khan, il fait aussi le pari d'insuffler une nouvelle vie économique aux quartiers voisins.LAURENCE D'HONDT DE RETOUR DU CAIRE

President Kibaki walks with the visiting spiritual leader of the Ismailia community, His Highness the Aga Khan, to his office at State House, Nairobi, where they held talks yesterday. The President is expected to officiate at the State Opening of the Ninth Parliament today. Pic by PPS

Le parc Al-Azhar a fait revenir les oiseaux au coeur historique de la capitale égyptienne. Offert par l?Aga Khan, il fait aussi le pari d?insuffler une nouvelle vie économique aux quartiers voisins.