Monthly Archives: September 2016

Japan, South Korea to discuss coordinated response on North Korea

SEOUL, Sept. 16 (UPI) — Top diplomats of South Korea and Japan are to meet in New York on Sunday to discuss a coordinated response to North Korea‘s nuclear provocations. The talks are being held at a time when both countries are revisiting a canceled intelligence-sharing agreement known as the Japan-Korea GSOMIA, South Korean newspaper Herald Business reported.

Mongolia: Living from loan to loan

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Presiding over skinned sheep carcases in Ulan Bator’s largest wholesale meat market, stall owner Gantulkhuur has become one small part in the debt binge rippling through Mongolia. She whips out a small ledger. Names and numbers in neat Cyrillic script crowd tighter and tighter on the pages, as her accounts have been taken over by retailers buying on credit. The… Read more »

Partisanship, populism and protest in Hong Kong

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Anyone who cares about democracy – the system of government, the mode of selection of leaders, the set of universal values comprising liberty, social justice, and equality (and everything in between) – would do well to set their sights on the city of Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region in China. In the past two weeks, Hong Kong has borne witness to… Read more »

Timor praises Indon over sea border talks

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East Timor has reflected on the goodwill of its former invader as it seeks to settle sea borders with both Indonesia and Australia. A conciliation hearing in The Hague this week between Australia and East Timor has wrapped up. The United Nations commission is expected to announce whether it has the power to proceed with the process in a fortnight.

Muslim Lawmakers Propose Banning Alcohol in Indonesia

Lawmakers are proposing a ban on alcohol sales and consumption throughout Indonesia, which may negatively affect the island of Bali’s booming tourist economy. The ban would include production, sale, and consumption of alcohol across the entire country, but would have profound effects on the island of Bali. For anyone found violating this law, a prison sentence of as many as… Read more »

Zika Outbreak in Singapore Alarms Region

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The number of Zika cases in the country surged to 275 in just ten days from the start of the outbreak on August 27. Science and Development Network | September 13, 2016 | Health AsianScientist (Sep. 13, 2016) – Neena Bhandari – Seventeen new cases of locally transmitted Zika virus infection in Singapore were confirmed on September 6 by the… Read more »

Vietnam Delays TPP vote

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HANOI: Vietnam will not include ratification of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) on the agenda for its next parliament session, an official said on Friday, adding to uncertainty over the future of US President Barack Obama’s signature trade deal. As arguably the biggest beneficiary of the deal covering 40% of the global economy, Vietnam was expected to be among the first… Read more »

Thailand, Malaysia plan border wall to halt illegal flow of goods, people

Thailand, Malaysia plan border wall to halt illegal flow of goods, people Thailand and Malaysia will discuss plans to build a wall along their shared border, Thai officials said on Thursday, a day before Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is set to meet his counterpart in Bangkok. People-trafficking and the smuggling of drugs and weapons are among the transnational crimes that… Read more »

Central China province reports first Zika case

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ZHENGZHOU, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) — Central China’s Henan Province announced its first Zika case on Tuesday, with the patient described to be in stable condition, according to local health authorities. It is the 23rd Zika case reported on the Chinese mainland, said an official with the Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau of Henan.

China has 31.97 mln tonnes of oil reserves

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BEIJING, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) — China had 31.97 million tonnes of national oil reserves at the start of 2016, said a statement by National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Friday. The oil was at eight strategic storage bases, including those in Zhoushan, Zhenhai, Dalian, Huangdao, Dushanzi, Lanzhou, Tianjin, as well as some corporate facilities. Based on oil data released by CNPC… Read more »