With military bands and high security, China opened its annual National People's Congress in Beijing's Great Hall of the People last week, while across India many Hindus doused themselves in bright colors to celebrate the Holi, the festival of colors.
Elsewhere in Asia last week, Buddhist monks in Thailand gathered to pray at temples marking Makha Bucha Day, the anniversary of famous sermon given by Buddha more than 2,500 years ago.
South Koreans held candlelight rallies to wish U.S. Ambassador Mark Lippert a speedy recovery after he was slashed in the face and arm by an activist earlier in the week.
Police in Myanmar cracked down on students staging sit-in protests against a new education law that puts all decisions about education policy and curriculum in the hands of a group of mostly government ministers.
And in the first signs of spring in Japan, plum trees started blossoming, many of them standing in Shinto shrines where students gathered to pray for success in their upcoming university entrance examinations.
