The Catholic community that Pope Francis will visit later this month has a complex history that goes back to the 13th century, when the Mongol Empire was founded by Genghis Khan.
Pope Francis’ upcoming visit to meet the tiny Catholic community of Mongolia is drawing considerable interest.
Filippo Monteforte/AFP via Getty Images
Beijing is eager for more control over the selection of Tibetan Buddhist leaders like the Dalai Lama.
During the Russian occupation of Luhansk Oblast, 15 kids were allegedly taken from this rehabilitation center and moved to Russia.
Wojciech Grzedzinski/The Washington Post via Getty Images
These wartime abductions aren’t specific to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Throughout history, they’ve inflicted trauma on society’s most vulnerable – making them a rich subject matter for the stage.
A group of Russians smile at the border crossing Verkhny Lars between Georgia and Russia on Sept. 23, 2022. Long lines of vehicles have formed at border crossings into Georgia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilization to bolster his troops in Ukraine.
(AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov)
Russians crossing land borders into Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Georgia to avoid being drafted into the Ukraine war are experiencing very different receptions.
Chinese engineers pose after welding the first seamless rails for the China-Laos railway in Vientiane, Laos, June 18, 2020.
Kaikeo Saiyasane/Xinhua via Getty Images
Through its Belt and Road Initiative, China has become the world’s largest country-to-country lender. A new study shows that more than half of its loans threaten sensitive lands or Indigenous people.
Archaeologist and paleoenvironmental researcher Isaac Hart of the University of Utah surveys a melting ice patch in western Mongolia.
Peter Bittner
From the high Yukon to the mountains of Central Asia, melting ice exposes fragile ancient artifacts that tell the story of the past – and provide hints about how to respond to a changing climate.
Despite Nepal struggling with high case numbers, many people defied lockdown to attend the Rato Machindranath Jatra chariot festival in mid-May.
Narendra Shrestha/EPA-EFE
Archaeologists have long argued over when and how people first domesticated horses. A decade ago, new techniques appeared to have provided answers – but further discoveries change the story again.
Rules put into place to protect endangered species have harmed people who depend on nature.
Nancy Langston
Mongolia’s important historical sites are under threat from climate change and looting - and one exacerbates the other.
A child walks past Mongolians holding up banners at a protest against offshore account holders in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, in March.
(AP Photo/Ganbat Namjilsangarav)