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Mr Sato steps inside the Embassy of Afghanistan in Tokyo【Photos】

A number of embassies in Japan are opening their doors to the public for a limited time. 

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Studio Ghibli inspires “The Glassworker”, a groundbreaking new anime film from Pakistan 【Video】

The beautiful love story between Vincent and Alliz reminds us that “life is beautiful but fragile, like glass itself“.

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Did the world’s happiest country also create the world’s spiciest food? We find out in Tokyo

We try Bhutan’s fiery national dish at an off-the-beaten-track restaurant in Tokyo.

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Asian muscle men featured in steamy photos with cultural flavor

These guys must be from Southeast Asia because they are hot and steamy!

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Obscure characters become snacks in Doraemon-crazy Vietnam

Japanese netizens are puzzled by Vietnamese convenience stores using increasingly minor characters from Doraemon for their popular steamed buns.

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Necklace thief in India swallows stolen goods, police feed him 40 bananas to make him poop it out

Talk about dirty money.

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Young limbo-skating prodigy has moves like Spider-Man, smashes world record【Video】

An insanely flexible young Indian athlete breaks the Guinness World record for limbo skating.

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Japan’s newest and greatest export will be a bullet train built for India

Amidst talks that strengthened the ties between the two countries comes news that you will soon be able to ride a Shinkansen in India.

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Toxic bubble froth in Bangalore catches fire, raises environmental flags for the second time

This is one bubble bath that you’ll never want to take a dip in.

Locals in Bangalore, India are calling for immediate action after foam which had accumulated on Bellandur Lake, the biggest lake in the city, was blown onto streets and even caught fire for the second time in only a few months. While experiencing a gigantic bubble bath outside of your bathtub may seem like a fun idea at first, the foam that is spewing out from Bellandur Lake is actually toxic in nature and supposedly has a terrible stench.

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If you haven’t seen this Indian film you should: A true story of a man whose love moved mountains

On August 21, a film was released based on the true story of Dashrath Manjhi. His heartbreaking yet inspiring tale begins when his wife was injured in an accident, and the only medical help available was in the next village over…on the other side of the mountain. By the time Manjhi had made the trek around the  mountains and back with the doctor, it was too late, and his beloved wife had died.

Most people would mourn their loss and curse their circumstances, but Manjhi literally took matters into his own hands, in the form of a chisel and a hammer, and set to work digging at the mountain which kept his beloved wife from the help that would have saved her.

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Not-so-pretty bird in India arrested on charges of verbal assault

A parrot answering to the name Hariyal was taken into police custody last week after a woman reported it for verbal abuse. The victim, one Janabai Sakharkar, claimed that every time the bird laid eyes on her it would begin to hurl obscenities.

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Video from India shows fast way to load construction equipment…or die, whichever comes first

If you were charged with the task of putting a mini excavator like to one pictured above onto a flatbed truck in under two minutes, what would you do? If you’re like most people you’d probably find a ramp of some sort.

Or, if you have just that right balance of gutsiness and lack of self-preservation instinct, you might do what these guys in India did. Luckily, they recorded it on video for our enjoyment and as evidence preventing any lawsuit against the makers of the excavator.

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36 more humorous glimpses of Asia 【Pics】

Need a little laugh to help ease yourself into the week?

In the past, we’ve featured some photo fun from Asia, 35 signs you might be in Asia, as well as 39 looks at the lighter side of Asia. This time, we’re bringing you 36 more bizarre, comical, and downright nonsensical scenes from around Asia!

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Are you too chicken to eat a chicken comb?

Chicken legs, drumsticks, wings, breasts, feet, and now the comb? What will they think of next?

Letting no part go to waste, the latest food trend that people are crowing about is the chicken’s comb (cockscomb) or crest (the red mohawk-like fleshy part of a chicken’s forehead). But are you too chicken to try it?

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Rescued dog becomes rescue dog as Hiroshima stray joins search for survivors in Nepal

In the wake of the massive earthquake that struck central Nepal last week, non-profit organisation Peace Winds Japan sent a small team of six rescuers and two specially trained dogs to help with the search for survivors.

Remarkably, one of the search dogs who was dispatched to Kathmandu is himself a former rescue: Yumenosuke, a stray dog saved from euthanasia in Hiroshima.

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Sega Games donating two million yen plus DLC revenues in four games to Nepal earthquake recovery

Some people don’t appreciate the way video game developers have so wholeheartedly embraced paid DLC, and it’s not hard to understand why. After already plunking down the money to buy the game itself, it’s kind of annoying to be constantly asked for nickels and dimes for tiny tidbits of content that some feel should have been included from the get-go.

But even if you’re irked by video game companies’ attempts to use DLC income to line their coffers, you’ll probably applaud the latest move by Sega Games, which is pledging to donate all the revenue from a collection of in-game purchases to recovery efforts stemming from the recent earthquake in Nepal.

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And now for some photo fun from Asia 【Pics】

The continent of Asia itself contains over half of the world’s population. Looking solely at the numbers, this means that there’s a much higher chance for something crazy to go down here than in other parts of the world.

So when you see pictures of people like the woman above, you might get the sense that a lot of Asians are a little bit out-there, but actually for the most part they’re just as plain as you, me or my buddy Kenji who dresses up like a panda at his local zoo and pretends to mate with another panda-dressed co-worker to encourage the real pandas to get it on.

So please keep people like Kenji in mind when viewing these 14 photos of strange occurrences around our lovely continent.

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Fake 7-Elevens across Asia: you can hide, but we’re on to you

Take a quick look at the picture above. Notice anything strange? Perceptive readers may have spotted something out-of-place right away. If you didn’t, well, no worries, but you’ll probably want to facepalm yourself when you take a second look.

Like this Chinese “7-Twelve,” there are a number of fake, localized versions of popular convenience store 7-Eleven scattered throughout the Asian continent. They may think they can slip through the cracks, but perhaps it’s only a matter of time before a lawyer comes knocking at their doors. We have to hand it to them, though–they score high on creativity for coming up with some amusing names.

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Disney princesses re-imagined as Indian brides! Which gorgeous gown is your favourite?

Okay, I have a confession to make here – that whole wedding fever that some women get, where they obsess over the minute details of “their” special day? I’ve never really gotten that. I mean, do you know how much weddings cost? It’s a lot of money, and it’s gone in a day. Call me a pragmatist, but I’d rather spend that money on a down payment for a house or on an awesome trip. I also can’t help thinking that it sometimes veers more towards celebrating the bride rather than the union of two people. (It’s no wonder women in Japan have started having solo weddings!) Still, a wedding is a centuries-old tradition, and lots of people love the spectacle and ceremony of it. And what better theme could there be for a glitzy wedding than “Indian Disney Princess”? Canadian formal attire company Wellgroomed Designs have come up with nine concept gowns focusing on specific Disney princesses, and they look amazing!

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‘Cows can marry’ and other fascinating bovine facts from India

You’ve heard about India’s sacred cow, the Mother of Civilization, a gift from God that has become a part of Indian iconography, religion and culture. The cow protection movement began in 1882, and ended the slaughter of the animals in what was then British India. The cow is revered because it is unique in that it offers five products to humans — milk, curds, ghee butter, urine and dung — all of which are useful to everyday life in India. In addition, the beast of burden has traditionally been used to help plow the fields and pull carts for transportation. If you’re one of those people who likes to dress up your dog, or cat, or buy them their own kotatsu, then we can only imagine what you’d do for a pet cow if you had one! You’ll have no problem understanding the high regard Indians place on the gentle bovines.

Because we at RocketNews24 love all animals, cows included (although some of us delight in their taste while others of us would rather give cow cuddles), we can totally understand the pampering, dressing up, and general all-round generosity the Indians heap upon their beloved cows. We just hope cats don’t catch on to any of this.

Just how far will Indians go to pamper their bovine friends? Glad you asked! Our bovine journalist is about to reveal some fascinating facts about cows in India.

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