Today at 6 AM, Tuvan throat-singer Kongar-ool Ondar's son was born. The famous khoomeizhi received the  joyful news in Moscow, where he was on a business trip. He had already made a decision to name his third son in honor of his father Saiyn-ool. Remember that yesterday Kongar-ool Ondar  participated in a conference of  Dmitry Medvedev with arts activists, where he successfully  brought the fate of an astonishing phenomenon - Tuvan throat-singing - to the President's attention.  Khoomei is super-popular in the West, therefore after the news about the President's meeting, and performance of throat-singing there hit the media, the throat-singer was swamped with numerous phone-calls not just from  Russian journalists, but from foreign ones as well.  "Even the head of the American association "Friends of Tuva in America" , Ralf Leighton, called to say great, now such pearls as throat-singing are beginning to be appreciated even in Russia, not just abroad!" - said Kongar-ool Ondar on the phone.

At Tuvan State University, a final meeting of Tuvan scholars  with representatives of South Korean educational canal EBC ltd. Production Purme took place. At this meeting, the guests shared their impressions of Tuva after a two-week stay in the republic. Remember that the guests arrived to the republic at the end of February to film a fifty-minute documentary film about Tuvan culture, shamanism and way of life.

The Supreme Lama (Kamby-lama) of Tuva, Tenzin Tsultim  called on Tuvan Buddhists to "pray for those who died" in the earthquake and tsunami in Japan", and to "wish them a good reincarnation, and speedy recovery to the country".

"Our hearts are filled with pain and compassion, and we are thinking about distant Japan every second",   the spiritual leader's statement, posted on the official site of Buddhists of Tuva,  reads.

"At this tragic time, the entire Tuvan nation will constantly pray for the brotherly nation of Japan", - emphasizes the Kamby-Lama.

The condition of the snow leopard population in the south part of Shapshal ridge and on the Tsagaan-Shibetu ridge in Tuva is favorable, but the main menace to the irbis still comes from poachers.

That is the conclusion reached by the experts of the expedition which took place with the support of the Altai-Sayan section of WWF after calculation of the numbers of snow leopard and mountain goat. The participants in the project, which ended on March 6, were workers of the "Ubsunur depression" preserve and inspectors from State Committee of Republic Tuva  for Hunting and Fishing.

Today is the birthday of the star of world ethnic music -  one of the most internationally famous Tuvan women - talented, inimitable Sainkhoo Namchylak. Lyudmila Okan-oolovna Namchylak - that is the singer's real name - started her life in a small Tuvan village in a family of schoolteachers in 1957. Her parents loved music very much, and played musical instruments when they were young. Her father had a pleasant baritone, and he often performed with musicians - amateurs in concerts in Tuva. Later the family moved to Kyzyl,, because the head of the family received a new position, and became apolitical supervisor of TASS in Tuvan television. On Sundays, he liked to teach his daughter to sing and dance. Her father also often read poems and verse to his wife and daughters. On one of such evenings, on the holiday of March 8, he dedicated a poem to his wife and to Sainkhoo, with many words which were incomprehensible to the little girl. She looked out the window, where a bridge was lit by yellow beads of street lamps, and thought: "When I grow up like Papa, I will leave over this bridge and go far away, and I will also read my poems."

The Head of Tuva and Speaker of the Parliament presented greetings to women for the holiday of  March 8 (International Women's Day).

"In the name of all men of the republic, I present greetings to all of you with the International Women's day!  On this spring holiday, we bring words of sincere recognition, love and respect to the better half of humanity - to our mothers, wives, sisters and daughters. Everything dearest to us is connected with the name of Woman, and Her eternal striving towards peace and goodness, - states the greeting.

The president of the foundation "Prussian Cultural heritage" Hermann Parzinger will give a lecture today at the National Museum of Georgia (Gruzia) about the archeological research in Siberia, as announced by "Novosti-Gruzia" and the press-service of the museum on Wednesday.

The theme of this public lecture is "The latest archeological research in Siberian steppes - royal burial Arzhaan" is the study of  the earliest known kurgan containing an "elite" burial of Early Scythian period.

The German professor led the archeological excavations in the Russian republic Tuva, in South Siberia, which were performed in the Valley of Czars, where  rich Scythian burials were discovered.

As a result of this year's spring lambing and calving season, Tuva  is expected to have 45 thousand heads of  calves, 490 thousand lambs and kids, more than 12 thousand heads of colts, 570 calves from (vazhenka?), and 12  baby camels. The mass birthing season is expected in the middle of March. But according to vice-minister Sergei Oyun, by this time in 9 districts of the republic, already 1358  calves and 20.5 thousand lambs and kids have already been born. That is 3% of this year's plan. The majority of these young are in private farms.

Today is the eve of Shagaa, the Lunar New Year, - buduu. As the scholar-ethnographer Mongush Borakhovich Kenin-Lopsan writes, children up to 13 years of age may sleep during the "buduu' night, but the adults did not sleep, and spent the night telling and listening to stories and playing games. Early in the morning, between 3 - 5 a.m. ,  is when the New Year comes.  In Tuvan this time is called  "Shagaa bazhy chalarady",  - "Shagaa is showing its head". "The first day of Shagaa is definitely the greatest day of the year. People's age is determined by Shagaa, people would say "I have met so-and-so many Shagaa." A newborn would be considered to be one year old, and a baby born on the eve of Shagaa would be two."

During this time, when the sun is rising, everybody would put on their best traditional clothes, would go outside, and carrying trays "despi", wooden platters with boiled mutton ribs and various delicacies, would ascend to a hill, where they would perform the "san salyr" ritual - lighting of the sacred fire.

The citizens' safety  was declared to be task number one during the days of  celebrations of eastern New Year - Shagaa. Today the head of the republic held a special meeting on the subject with participation of regional administrations and territorial organs of federal government, as well as municipalities. As announced at the meeting, according to a decision approved at all levels of administration,  there will be "dry law" in effect for the entire period of Shagaa celebrations from  February 3 to 6.