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2,300-year-old artefacts may change Ashoka-Buddhist history (FOC) BHUBANESWAR: Orissa Institute of Maritime and South East Asian Studies (OIMSEAS) has unearthed some 2,300-year-old artefacts at Jajpur district in Orissa, which, it claimed, could change some historical narratives on the Ashokan period. The description of Chinese pilgrim Hieun-Tsang about Ashoka that he had constructed 10 stupas in Odra country where Buddha had preached may come true. Earlier, historians refused to accept the narrative. We have already analysed five stupas and found three more similar structures,” OIMSEAS Director Debaraj Pradhan told mediapersons here. He said a huge inscribed monolithic stupa along with other...

United Nations, December 9 : Stretching its previous attempts to predict the future, the United Nations said on Tuesday the world will be crowded with nine billion people when the year 2300 rolls around three centuries from now. In what it called a "groundbreaking" statistical achievement, the UN's population department said it was now able to make extended long-range predictions that easily beat earlier forecasts, which only went to 2150. The baby-makers of the future, however, will have to cooperate. According to the "medium fertility scenario," the rate of new births will be less than the death rate for around...