Latest Asia Pacific News
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Japanese PM takes part in concert
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe showed his singing talent on Saturday night when he appeared on stage during a concert by singer Kosetsu Minami in Hibiya. Abe and Minami sang "Ano subarashii ai o mo ichido" (That wonderful love, once again), a folk song that was popular in Japan in the early 1970s. More than 3,000 fans attended the ...
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Kim Jong Un and wife watch soccer game
The leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un and his wife Ri Sol Ju enjoy a football match on April 29, 2013. ...
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Japans policy chief to keep visiting Yasukuni Shrine
The policy chief of Japan's ruling party vowed Sunday to keep paying homage at a controversial war shrine despite anger and diplomatic protests by China and South Korea. Nearly 170 Japanese lawmakers made a pilgrimage last month to the Yasukuni Shrine, a flashpoint in a bitter dispute between Japan and Asian neighbors which were victims of its 20th century militarism. Sanae Takaichi, who ...
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U.S. urged not to take sides over Diaoyu Islands
The United States has been urged not to take sides in the China-Japan territory dispute concerning the Diaoyu Islands, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on Tuesday. The remarks of Hua Chunying came in response to a Pentagon report questioning China's straight baseline claims around the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea. The annual Pentagon report, released on Monday, said in ...
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Top DPRK leader inspects construction projects
The photo provided by KCNA on May 7, 2013 shows top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un (1st R) inspecting construction projects built by Korean People's Army on May 6, 2013. ...
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S. Korean workers return home from Kaesong
South Korean workers at a jointly run industrial complex in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) returned home Saturday, Seoul officials said, a day after the government here decided to withdraw them following Pyongyang's rejection of an offer for dialogue. According to officials, 11 workers came home from the Kaesong industrial complex Saturday afternoon with 116 more ...
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Obama Burmese President to Discuss Reform Progress Challenges
WHITE HOUSE -- Obama, Burmese President to Discuss Reform Progress, Challenges Burma's President Thein Sein holds talks on Monday with President Obama at the White House. The discussions will focus on progress in reforms, barriers toward greater democratization and next steps in the changing U.S. - Burma relationship. November 2012. Barack Obama becomes the first serving U.S. president ...
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China Greece pledge closer parliamentary exchanges economic cooperation
China and Greece pledged to strengthen parliamentary exchanges and boost economic cooperation during a meeting between top Chinese legislator Zhang Dejiang and Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Friday.Samaras arrived in Beijing on Wednesday and is paying a five-day official visit to China.Zhang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), said during ...
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Japanese PM announces second set of economic growth strategies
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday announced his government's second set of economic growth strategies, including doubling Japan's crop exports to 1 trillion yen (about $9.76 billion) by 2020 which is seen as a pillar of the new policy package.Abe also said Japan will set the target of boosting the total amount of investment by 10 percent during the period to bring it up to ...
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Leftist rebel killed in S. Philippine clash
A member of the leftist rebel group New People's Army (NPA) was killed following a brief firefight with soldiers in southern Philippines on Friday afternoon, a military official said.Maj. Leo Bongosia, spokesman of the Philippine Army's 4th Infantry Division, said the soldiers were conducting pursuit operations when they encountered the NPAs at Cabugo village, Claver town in Surigao ...
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Home prices rise slower in China
BEIJING -- New home prices rose at a slower pace in Chinese cities in April as the government's recent tightening measures started to take effect, data from ...
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10000 people suffer due to manganese tainted tap water in S China town
At least 10,000 people suffered a shortage of drinking water in a South China town on Wednesday following the detection of excessive manganese in the tap water. "The city government of Lufeng in Guangdong Province said the manganese level in the tap water in Da'an town was 1.2 mg per liter since Monday, 12 times the maximum amount allowed in drinking water," reports Xinhua.he ...
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French President Francois Hollande to sign gay marriage bill into law today
gay marriage and adoption bill into law on Saturday after it was cleared by the Constitutional Council which turned down a challenge by the right-wing opposition. Hollande, who had made "marriage for all" a key election pledge, made the announcement saying it was "now time to respect the law and the Republic" after the top French institution cleared the bill on Friday. The ...
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China April home prices rise 4.9 pct yy-Reuters calculation
BEIJING | Fri May 17, 2013 9:45pm EDT BEIJING May 18 (Reuters) - Average new home prices in China's 70 major cities rose 4.9 percent in April from a year earlier, according to Reuters calculations based on official data published on Saturday, marking the fourth straight month of year-on-year increase. In month-on-month terms, prices rose 1 percent in April, easing from March's ...
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China to invest more in Greece
Containers are backlogged at the port of Piraeus, near Athens. China will expand its investment in the port, considered a vital gateway for shipping heading ...
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Worlds largest flower blooms for first time in seven years
Titan arum , the plant that grows at a rate of around 10cm a day during its flowering phase, reached a height of 187cm when it bloomed. It produces a variety of obnoxious odours ranging from rotting meat, dung and rancid cheese to a nauseating gaseous stench. The flower typically grows once every seven and 10 years after which it is in full splendor for only 48 hours before starting to die. Its ...
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One dead dozens wounded in sectarian clashes in Egypt
ALEXANDRIA (Reuters) - One person died and dozens were wounded during clashes between Muslims and Christians late Friday night outside a Coptic church in Egypt's second city, state newspaper al-Ahram reported, in the latest violent sectarian row in the Muslim-majority ...
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Opportunity For Bruneians To Pursue Studies In Japan
Bandar Seri Begawan - Bruneians who have interest in pursuing studies in Japan have the opportunity to do so through the Japanese Government Scholarship, which applications are now open until June 14. The Government of Japan has been offering a scholarship programme for Bruneians since its independence in 1984, and to date, the many Bruneians awarded with the scholarship are now contributing to ...
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Malabar civet may have become extinct
Zoological Society of London (ZSL) in the first study of the world's most unique, threatened mammals and amphibians released on Friday said the civet's population status was presently unknown. The species was thought to be nearly extinct by the late 1960s and declared possibly extinct a decade later. But it was rediscovered in 1987. "There were further reports of the species in ...
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DPRK account closed by Bank of China report
Bank of China has closed the account of the main foreign exchange bank of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), which was hit with US sanctions in March after Washington accused it of helping finance Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program. The state-run Foreign Trade Bank had been told of the closure and that its transactions had been halted, Bank of China, the country's ...
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UN human rights council appoints members of inquiry commission on DPRK
GENEVA, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Human Rights Council announced Tuesday the appointment of two more members of the commission of inquiry to investigate human rights violations in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Former Justice of the High Court of Australia Michael Donald Kirby will serve as chair of the three-person commission, and the other member appointed ...
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Midwest Tea Party Activists Not Surprised by IRS Scrutiny
PEORIA, ILLINOIS -- Tea Party-affiliated activists in the Midwestern United States say they are outraged, but not surprised, by revelations that the tax-collecting arm of the U.S. government has been unfairly scrutinizing applications by conservative groups for tax-exempt status. The scandal forced the acting head of the Internal Revenue Service [IRS] to step down this week, and is prompting ...
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Chinese Quit Communist Party Heralding a New China
Baiqiao Tang, chairman of China Peace, and a leading Chinese dissident, speaks at a rally calling for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong in China in front of the United Nations building in New York City on May 17, 2013. (Edward Dai/The Epoch ...
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China to invest more in Greece
Containers are backlogged at the port of Piraeus, near Athens. China will expand its investment in the port, considered a vital gateway for shipping heading to Europe. ...
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Filipinos in Taiwan keep low profile
/enpproperty--> The Philippines' special envoy to Taiwan on Friday advised thousands of Filipino workers there to eat at home and avoid the streets while emotions run high over the shooting death of a Taiwan fisherman by the Philippine coast guard. Amadeo Perez, chairman of Taiwan's Manila Economic and Cultural Office, said after returning to Manila from Taipei late on ...
China Digest
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Chinese shipping industry is not the only one causing environmental incidents
The recent highly publicized grounding of a Chinese bulk carrier on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia attracted the scrutiny of the world on the Chinese shipping industry with some commentators saying that the accident was indicative of a dysfunctional health and safety record throughout the industry in China.
China’s shipping industry is primarily made up of the state-owned and run COSCO (China Ocean Shipping Company), and it is this company to whom the Shen Neng 1 belongs. The Shen Neng 1 is not the only COSCO ship to be involved in a notable maritime accident. Read more
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