Eleven years ago, thousands of children and adults were left stranded by the Ulindi river as troops, hellbent on avenging the Rwandan genocide, closed in. The rape and slaughter have, until now, not been written about
By Ruaridh Nicoll
There is a long, narrow bridge in the eastern Congo that women cross before climbing down to wash on the pale rocks below. Beneath its slatted deck, the sweep of the Ulindi, a tributary of the Congo itself, starts a slide into rapids. Here, not so long ago, hundreds, perhaps thousands, were murdered.

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Veteran explorer Alan Hsu has built a junk to commemorate admiral Zheng He's Ming era expeditions. He and his crew will sail for two years, visiting places that still bear the memory of the Chinese adventure
By Ho Yi
At Patoutzu (八斗子) fishing port, Keelung City, a wooden junk bops up and down besides rusting fishing vessels and looks out of place. The occasional curious passerby and coast guards on security patrol, give the vessel an air of importance beyond its diminutive size.

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Two- and three-day poker camps across the US offer a chance for up to 200 amateur players to improve their games with advice from the pros
By MATT VILLANO
After a whole afternoon playing No-Limit Texas Hold 'Em poker, this was the moment that Donny Campbell had been waiting for.

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Chu Tien-hsin, one of the country's preeminent writers, has made a major contribution to Taiwanese literature in English with 'Old Capital: A Novel of Taipei'
By BRADLEY WINTERTON
Chu Tien-hsin (朱天心) is one of Taiwan's most celebrated prose stylists. The Old Capital: A Novel of Taipei was published in Chinese in 1997, and now appears in an outstanding English translation by Howard Goldblatt as the 14th book in Columbia's Modern Chinese Literature from Taiwan series. [ FULL STORY ]

Ann Packer's new book meanders through suburban analogies and rhetorical questions, but never really goes anywhere. Tedium is the order of the day
By JANET MASLIN
The two close female friends in Ann Packer's ladylike, man-proof new novel spend 300-odd pages exploring the nuances of their lifelong bond. If this sounds like an interesting story, bear in mind that any synopsis will make this book appear better than its full, sprawling version turns out to be. Synopses emphasize plots, themes and dramatic tensions. They do not dawdle through descriptions of how cheese rolls can be "such a reliable pleasure," how raisin-bran cookies have a "branny, raisiny" nature or how the essence of soccer is "the blunt, running, back and forth of the game."

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FICTION [ FULL STORY ]