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Cambodia reopens adoptions by Americans : PHNOM PENH, Cambodia , Oct. 30 (UPI) -- Cambodia has decided to lift its 3-year-old ban on adoptions of children by U.S. citizens, the country's foreign ministry has announced. Secretary of State Long Visalo made the announcement Monday after meeting ...

Lao tourism looks to tap potential : VIENTIANE – Lao and international travel experts zeroed in on the challenges and solutions for reaching the country's tourism sector's full potential at Lanith's 8th Quarterly Symposium held in Vientiane in cooperation with the German Development ... TravelDailyNews Asia-Pacific

Myanmar unrest threatens to destabilize democracy and region : The government reported 84 people dead and another 29 injured in the latest outbreak of violence, but human rights groups estimate that the death toll could be much higher, reports the Associated Press. More than 32,000 people were displaced by the ...

Green Mango cookbook offers taste of Cambodia Indianapolis-based food writers Sonja and Alex Overhiser met with the staff of the Green Mango Cafe & Bakery during a trip to Battambang, Cambodia . The cafe was created by the Greenwood-based Center for Global Impact, a nonprofit organization that ...

PH jobless rate among highest in Asia : Albert said among the classic examples are the cases of Vietnam and China, which have made large strides in poverty reduction. Poverty incidence in Vietnam was 63.7 percent in 1993 and went down to 16.9 percent in 2008. In China , poverty incidence was ...

North Korean leader's wife re-appears SEOUL — The wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has re-appeared after dropping out of the public eye for 50 days amid fevered rumours that she was either pregnant or had fallen out of favour. North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency ...

Most bizarre execution in North Korea reserved for disgraced minister : In North Korea , it is dangerous even to be a member of the ruling elite. Perhaps even more so - the closer to Caesar, the greater the fear. Hence, it is unsurprising when one of the country's top generals is executed by the regime. But it's not the ... Australia-Malaysia | 中国 | 日本 | 한국 | ราชอาณาจักรไทย | Tiếng Việt | Stigmabase | eGAYlity

North Korean family fears deportation to persecution : Print Email. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Broadcast: 30/10/2012. Reporter: John Stewart. Members of a family of North Korean asylum seekers living in Sydney fear the rogue regime will punish their relatives back home if they're deported. ABC Online

UN Chief Considering North Korea Visit : He also said he looks forward to the day when North Korea "heeds the international community's call" by giving up its nuclear weapons and improving the lives of its people. Ban was chosen for the Seoul Peace Prize because of what the selection ... Voice of America

North Korean bootmakers want to score with Messi : DANDONG, China (Reuters) - Top football-boot maker Adidas probably shouldn't be worrying just yet but a rare venture that marries South Korean money with North Korean labour in the Chinese city of Dandong aims to make its mark on the world football ...

Lanka bracing to face UN rights review : Under the process, a troika headed by India, with Benin and Spain as the other members, would formulate a report on Sri Lanka based on the country's responses to queries on human rights from UK, Australia, Canada, China , Netherlands, Sweden and ...

7 Tibetans self-immolate in China : 7 Tibetans self-immolate in China . BEIJING: A total of seven Tibetans have set fire to themselves in the past week in protest against what they claim is heavy-handed Chinese rule in the Himalayan region, a human rights group said in a statement issued ...

China constructing major energy lifeline through Myanmar : The activist group EarthRights International has documented human rights abuses connected to the construction of the pipeline. Whole villages had reportedly been razed and their occupants forced to toil on the very project depriving them of their homes.

Cambodia's Methadone Dilemma : It is what the program has come to do well since Cambodia's first—and, thus far, only—methadone clinic opened its doors at Phnom Penh's Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital in July 2010. Getting heroin addicts onto a daily dose of methadone and gradually ...

Australian Senate Pushes for Fair Elections in Cambodia : The Australian Senate yesterday urged the Cambodian government to run free and fair national elections next year without the “harassment or intimidation” of opposition leader Sam Rainsy, who remains in self-imposed exile avoiding an 11-year jail sentence.

Thailand battles drug-resistant malaria : Kanchanaburi, Thailand - Maeo, 6, bravely held out her forefinger for a quick jab at the Malaria Post in Tai Muang, 10kilometres from the Myanmar border, in Thailand's Kanchanaburi province. A month ago, Maeo, whose family is from Myanmar's Karen ... The Nation

Thai Bonds Rise as Weak Global Growth Spurs Inflows; Baht Steady : Thailand 's government bonds rose, pushing the five-year yield to a nine-month low, as foreign funds boosted holdings on concern global economic growth will remain sluggish. The baht was little changed. Overseas investors bought $1.4 billion more Thai ...

Has N. Korea shut down one of its gulags? : SEOUL — Human rights groups and defector organizations have spent weeks now investigating rumors about the closure of Camp 22, North Korea's largest political prison camp, and the only thing proven so far is the North's expertise at keeping secrets.

North Korean leader's wife reappears in public : The wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has made public appearances, state-run media report, after being absent from the public eye for 50 days. Ri Sol-ju attended a football match and a concert with her husband on Monday, KCNA news agency said. BBC News

South Korea activists send leaflets to North : Authorities prevented a similar launch last week after North Korea said it would respond with a "military strike". Residents in the area concerned that Pyongyang would carry out its threat gathered to protest against the release of the balloons. "Paju ... BBC News

North Korean official is executed by mortar shell : North Korean official is executed by mortar shell. By Richard Shears. View(s): A North Korean military officer has been executed with a mortar shell blast for disrespecting late 'Dear Leader' Kim Jong-il by drinking alcohol during the 100-day mourning ... Australia-Malaysia | 中国 | 日本 | 한국 | ราชอาณาจักรไทย | Tiếng Việt | Stigmabase | eGAYlity

Balloons spark Korean tensions : Once again this week the armies of North and South Korea were on a state of high alert, but not because of threats of missile strikes or terrorist infiltrations. The trigger for a possible war this time wa a bunch of balloons. A group of anti-Pyongyang ...

South Korea to Inspect Banks' FX Forwards : SEOUL —With its currency up 8.6% in the past four months, South Korea said it would investigate its banks to see what role they played in the surging won, which threatens to slow the growth of one of Asia's biggest exporters. The rally in the won, the ...

A royal treat in Seoul But, once you get there, you will find yourself charmed by a heritage that goes back thousands of years, with old palaces, temples, and even traditional arts and foods. In the meantime, one place in the heart of the South Korean capital is doing ...

Has N. Korea shut down one of its gulags? : SEOUL — Human rights groups and defector organizations have spent weeks now investigating rumors about the closure of Camp 22, North Korea's largest political prison camp, and the only thing proven so far is the North's expertise at keeping secrets. Australia-Malaysia | 中国 | 日本 | 한국 | ราชอาณาจักรไทย | Tiếng Việt | Stigmabase | eGAYlity

Black and White in Seoul : This 2,562-square-foot villa in Seoul's Daechi-dong district was purchased by the owner in 2011 for 3.2 billion Korean won (US$2.9 million), according to listing agent Gil Yun-hee of Ollae. The owner, who is married to a Korean-American business ... Wall Street Journal (blog)

South Korea moves up in Security Council balance-of-power competition : The new members replace Germany and Portugal whose two year tenure now ending, shall be remembered by diplomats as having a strong moral compass and unambiguous commitment to global human rights . As mentioned the African seat was ... World Tribune

China: Ongoing arbitrary detention of Ms. Mao Hengfeng : The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), requests your urgent intervention on the following situation in ...

China's New Leaders Inherit Country At A Crossroads : The unspoken contract was that the party would bring economic change to the people, and indeed, it has lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty . But the gap between rich and poor has widened into a chasm, and even China's Academy of Social Sciences ... NPR

Labor must align with the future, not the past : As Julia Gillard noted on the release of the Asian Century white paper, 30 years ago Australia was still a closed and isolated economy, while Asia was still largely “a continent of poverty ”. More than that, she pointed to the “moral paradox'' of Labor ...

China's long-term vision helps shake off bad image in Africa : The development saw Luanda earn close to $20 billion in oil revenues with China accounting for 20 percent of the total. Today, however, Angola has the highest poverty level globally with more than 70 percent of the population living below the poverty line. Global Times

Bad politics creates poverty But none of these is ever the real cause of poverty , because many countries facing those issues are still wealthy. Switzerland for example, is many miles from the sea. Low agricultural productivity was once the norm all over Europe and disease was a ...

'Force and intimidation' used in Tibet: rights group Seven Tibetans have set fire to themselves in the past week in protest against what they claim is heavy-handed Chinese rule in the Himalayan region, a human rights group said in a statement issued late on Saturday. Cousins Tsepo, 20, and Tenzin, 25 ...

Satellite Images Show Gulags Are Still Operational In North Korea : But the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) compared satellite images from May 2011 and October 2012 of the colony — 87 square miles of interconnected detention facilities surrounded by an electric fence and 1,000 guards armed with ... Business Insider

“A More Hopeful Future for North Korea”? : Also, the plight of the tens of thousands of North Korean refugees hiding in China is very little known. North Korea is the world's worst abuser of human rights , but by its policy of repatriation China is a facilitator. Many of the people China returns ... TIME

Coming to America: South Korea's top directors on hitting Hollywood with ... : There's a scene in South Korean director Park Chan-wook's 2003 revenge classic Oldboy, currently being remade by Spike Lee, in which the film's wild-haired, wild-eyed lead Min-sik Choi plops down at a restaurant and slurps on a huge fidgety live ...

S. Korea sets new window for rocket launch : A Science Ministry statement said the 140-tonne Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1) would blast off sometime during a November 9-24 window from the Naro Space Centre on the south coast. The launch had been slated for last Friday, but was ...

South Korean scholar calls for regional identity amid territorial row : Taipei, Oct. 29 (CNA) Controversial sovereignty issues in the East China Sea can be solved through the development of regional identity, a visiting scholar from South Korea said Monday. Chun Chae-sung, a professor of international relations at Seoul ...

True travel tales from North Korea : An inside look at North Korea : The first indication that we are about to fall off the map is when a plastic bag is circulated at the airport before we board the Air Koryo flight. We deposit our cellphones and books about our destination, which are not ... Australia-Malaysia | 中国 | 日本 | 한국 | ราชอาณาจักรไทย | Tiếng Việt | Stigmabase | eGAYlity

Panetta seems to confirm North Korean missile threat to the U.S. : “Well, look, we - we've been dealing with the threat from North Korea for a long time now, in terms of their developing intercontinental ballistic missiles that could reach our homeland and could obviously reach other countries in that region. That's a ... Examiner.com

This is a Warning: North Korea Issues War Alert : North Korea does this when it anticipates an attack by the Allies, either in response to a North Korean provocation or because it misreads Allied training as genuine war preparations. The North can sustain this level of readiness and inconvenience for ...

Family of soldier lost in Korea salutes our community : Between 1991 and 1994, North Korea gave the U.S. 208 boxes believed to contain the remains of 200 to 400 U.S. service members. Results from testing at Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory eventually confirmed Williams' identity. A month ago, his ...

Japan justice minister resigns amid gang ties scandal : Japan's justice minister has resigned weeks after taking office citing ill health, amid a scandal over alleged ties to an organised crime group. Keishu Tanaka, 74, only assumed the post on 1 October. He was hospitalised on Friday for chest pains. Calls ... BBC News

South Korean Activists Float Leaflets Into North : South Korean activists have sent tens of thousands of anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border by balloons into North Korea , one week after warnings from Seoul and threats of retaliation from Pyongyang. Around a dozen activists attached 50,000 ... Voice of America

Survivors criticize Myanmar gov't over clashes The latest violence between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims began Oct. 21 and has left at least 84 people dead and 129 injured, according to the government. Human rights groups believe the true toll could be far higher. "The authorities ...

Cambodia Forecasts 7.0 Per Cent Economic Growth : PHNOM PENH, Oct 29 (Bernama) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said the country's economic growth is forecast at 7 percent and inflation rate is expected to go down to 2.9 percent this year, Xinhua news agency reported. The growth comes from ...

Thai cabinet reshuffle sees return of Thaksin loyalists : BANGKOK (Reuters) - A cabinet reshuffle in Thailand has brought loyal allies of self-exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra into the government led by his sister, consolidating his grip on power as he bides his time before making a serious ...

Noy attending Asia-Europe meeting in Laos for first time : MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino has six bilateral meetings when he attends – for the first time since assuming office in 2010 office – the 9th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM9) in Vientiane, Laos on Nov. 5-6, a foreign affairs official said yesterday ...

Woman arrested in death of Cambodian model : PHNOM PENH, Cambodia , Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Cambodian authorities said they charged a 23-year-old woman with kidnapping and murder in the death of a woman who recently won a modeling contest. Sun Kimheng of Phnom Penh was jailed during the ...

China snubs SE Asia push for South China Sea deal : PATTAYA, Thailand Oct 29 (Reuters) - China is stonewalling attempts to start talks on a multilateral "code of conduct" governing the strategically located South China Sea and an agreement could still be years away, Southeast Asian officials said on Monday.

Rohingya Muslims who fled Burma decades ago did not escape persecution But Pakistan's own Rohingya, who are denied the basic rights of citizenship, face many of the same hardships as their relations in Myanmar , and are one of Karachi's poorest and most vulnerable communities. "This is part and parcel of what the Rohingya ...

Human Rights groups welcome new Chinese mental health law : Human rights groups around the world have welcomed the new law but they have also expressed concerns about it not going far enough. But most agree that having a law that protects significant part of the 100 million people in China is better than having ... eGov monitor

Abuses colour Cambodia's fight for land : Phnom Penh, Cambodia - Nearly three years ago, a few hundred small-scale cassava farmers migrated from a district on Cambodia's eastern border to Kratie, a neighbouring province, where they heard there was farmland available in a village called Broma.

British actor Simon Watkiss's young sons die in Hong Kong house fire Emergency services rushed to the home of Simon Watkiss, who has appeared in a handful of Hong Kong -made films, when fire broke out at 1am on Saturday. The two brothers, aged seven and eight, were carried unconscious from the family's house and ...

Labor activists pelt police with eggs : Close to 2,000 workers and labor rights advocates yesterday bombarded Ketaglan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office with eggs while tussling with police as they protested against low wages, unfair labor policies, rising prices and a growing ...

Court dismisses appeal to detain Lin Yi-shih again : The Taipei District Court yesterday turned down an appeal from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Special Investigation Division (SID) that former Executive Yuan secretary-general Lin Yi-shih (林益世), who was released on NT$50 million (US$1.7 million ...

China adopts mental health law to curb forced treatment : BEIJING (Reuters) - China adopted a law on Friday to protect for the first time the rights of the mentally ill after years of accusations that psychiatric hospitals are used to lock up people against their will and silence dissidents. Human rights ... Australia-Malaysia | 中国 | 日本 | 한국 | ราชอาณาจักรไทย | Tiếng Việt | Stigmabase | eGAYlity

China Passes First Mental Health Law : China adopted the nation's first mental health law to protect the rights of the mentally ill on Friday, a move that human rights activists say is a step forward for the country but may fall short of halting its use of psychiatric facilities to silence ... Wall Street Journal (blog)

Thai, Vietnamese govts pledge to boost bilateral trade - The Nation : Thai, Vietnamese govts pledge to boost bilateral trade. The second joint Cabinet meeting between Thailand and Vietnam in Hanoi yesterday agreed to achieve total bilateral trade worth US$18 billion (Bt540...

Burma attacks leave earth scorched : Human rights campaigners have called on Burma's authorities to protect civilians after satellite images showed the extent of the destruction caused by a wave of fresh ethnic violence that has swept the west of the country. More than 100 people have ... The Independent

Concerns for Rohingya Muslims after violent clashes in Burma : Alert icon. Sign in or sign up now! Alert icon. Loading... There is no Interactive Transcript. Published on Oct 27, 2012 by Channel4News. Human Rights Watch releases satellite images showing widespread destruction after violence in western Burma .

UN Says 22000 Displaced in Burma Fighting : Human Rights Watch said that in June it documented killings, rape and mass arrests by Burmese security forces against Rohingya Muslims after troops failed to protect both them and Arakan Buddhists during deadly sectarian violence. Some rights groups ...

Rights groups sound alarm for Muslims in Myanmar with images of razed villages A screenshot of satellite imagery obtained by Human Rights Watch showing razed villages in a predominantly Muslim area of Myanmar . ( Human Rights Watch/Screengrab). What do you think? Human Rights Watch (HRW) today raised concern over violence ...

Seabees embrace new roles while navigating budget cutbacks : SIHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia — The U.S. Navy Seabees were created during World War II to build and fight their way across Europe and the Pacific after civilian construction workers became frequent enemy targets. Today, they are America's on-the-ground ... Stars and Stripes

Vietnamese-Americans Try to Save Elders'... : With a few hundred dollars, he and his younger sister got a car ride to a Vietnamese village, then a boat to Cambodia and began the trek across barren land until they were caught by Cambodian soldiers. For nearly two weeks, they were held in a camp ...

Burma attacks leave earth scorched : Human rights campaigners have called on the authorities in Burma to step in and protect civilians after satellite imagery showed the extent of destruction as a wave of fresh ethnic violence has swept the west of the country. More than 100 people have ... The Independent

Burma's leader admits deadly attacks on Muslims : " Burma's government urgently needs to provide security for the Rohingya in Arakan state, who are under vicious attack," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Unless the authorities also start addressing the root causes of ... The Guardian

WTO: what's in it for Laos? : But Laos is poised to realise a 15-year effort to join the World Trade Organisation, amid robust economic growth of 8 to 9 per cent annually over the last few years and a surge in exports and imports. Growth forecasts for this year, notably an ...

Thailand arrests lorry driver transporting tiger cubs : Thai authorities have arrested a lorry driver after 16 tiger cubs were discovered in the back of his vehicle. The man was stopped near the border with Laos after avoiding a police checkpoint. The driver told police he had been paid 15,000 baht ($490 ... BBC News

Cambodian-Americans Mourn Death of King Sihanouk : Cambodian Americans are mourning the death of King Norodom Sihanouk, the country's effective ruler from 1953, at Cambodia's independence from France, to 1970, years of tumult. He survived the brutal Khmer Rouge takeover of the mid-1970s as well as ...

Burma destruction widespread after ethnic clashes : The senior Burma director at Human Rights Watch, Phil Robertson, has accused the Burmese government of being ineffective in dealing with rising ethnic tensions in the country. "They have failed to anticipate these issues. They have failed to intervene. CBC.ca

Satellite photos suggest North Korean gulags still open : Images collected by the Washington-based Committee for Human Rights in North Korea show labour camps continue to be operational, it said in a report. The group released a statement in light of the new photos: "The North Korean regime's hiding and ... DigitalJournal.com

Rights groups sound alarm for Muslims in Myanmar with images of razed villages Human Rights Watch (HRW) today raised concern over violence in Myanmar by releasing satellite photos showing razed Muslim villages following a week of ethnic clashes in the country's west. More from GlobalPost: Myanmar Decoded: journey toward ...

S.Korea to rename peaks at islands disputed with Japan SEOUL — South Korea said on Sunday it would rename peaks on islands disputed with Japan in an attempt to reassert its sovereignty over the territory after a decades-long dispute flared up again this summer. The two main peaks at the rocky outcrops ...

An Exclusive Look at the Stunning Concept Art Behind Cloud Atlas' Future Seoul : An Exclusive Look at the Stunning Concept Art Behind Cloud Atlas' Future Seoul The most dazzling aspect of Cloud Atlas is probably the vision of near-future Korea, the city of Neo- Seoul . Glittery and dystopian, Neo- Seoul sits next to the sunken ruins ...

South Korea's growth hits 3-year low : By YOUKYUNG LEE — AP Business Writer. SEOUL , South Korea — South Korea's economic growth slowed to a three-year low last quarter as private investment fell sharply, outweighing an increase in spending by the government and households. The Bank ...

Satellite images show gulags still operational in North Korea Imagery collected by the Washington-based Committee for Human Rights in North Korea as recently as October 11 indicates the camp continues to function, it said in a report. "Harvesting of crops continues, as does coal production, making it not yet ...

Visiting Japan not a crime : People in Kumamoto, Japan , warmly welcomed about 2,200 Chinese tourists and cruise ship crew members from Shanghai who reached the city recently to participate in the local firework festival, hoping it would ease the tension between China and Japan . Australia-Malaysia | 中国 | 日本 | 한국 | ราชอาณาจักรไทย | Tiếng Việt | Stigmabase | eGAYlity

The cosy relationship between the Japanese authorities and the Yakuza is ... The Japanese are quite used to parliamentarians being linked to organized crime gangs. As longtime Japanese crime reporter and author Jake Adelstein writes, the phenomenon was “not that unusual in the past.” For example, “the grandfather of ex-prime ...

NK defectors report abuse after arriving in South Korea : The Gyeonggi Province Family & Women Research Institute (GFWRI) released results on Oct. 25 from a survey on human rights violations administered to 400 North Korean defectors. 43.1% of respondents said they had felt scared or anxious because of the ...

Google drawn into South Korea-Japan island dispute : SEOUL: South Korea on Thursday lashed out at Google for changing the name of an isolated set of islands at the centre of a territorial dispute with Japan on its English-language web mapping service. The protest came as Seoul and Tokyo are locked in a ... Business Recorder (blog)

Burma poised to emerge from the global economic wilderness : Despite some progress on poverty reduction, primary education and gender equality, Burma remains one of the world's poorest countries, with a per-capita GDP of $857 (£536). It is ranked 149 out of 187 countries in the UN human development index.

Cambodian, US naval senior officials talk to boost ties : PHNOM PENH, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian and the United States naval senior officials met here on Friday afternoon to strengthen and broaden bilateral relations and cooperation between the two countries' navies. The meeting was made between ...

MEPs condemn human rights violations in Pakistan, Cambodia and ... : The European Parliament published three human rights resolutions today, condemning Taliban's harassment of girls in Pakistan and expressing their concerns about land evictions and politically motivated convictions in Cambodia and the ...

New Violence in Western Burma Claims 56 Lives : The unrest broke out days after the US held what it described as an encouraging human rights dialogue with Burma —the latest sign of diplomatic re-engagement with the former pariah state, which has also seen the easing of sanctions to reward it for ... The Irrawaddy News Magazine

Peace funds should be based on local needs : Without them, most people would never know about the serious human rights abuses that have taken place. These abuses are so serious that the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burma said they should be investigated as possible war crimes and ... Mizzima News

Myanmar delaying crucial decisions on Muslim tensions: UN expert : Tomas Ojea Quintana, the U.N. special rapporteur for human rights in Myanmar , which is also known as Burma , told reporters that the country's new government had made substantial progress with democratic reforms. "At the same time, we see that they are ...

Laos looks to Korea for growth model : “As a country that has moved to a market-oriented (approach), we still have to develop our capacity,” said Sengsomphone Viravouth, director general of planning at Laos ' Ministry of Education and Sports. “Capacity-building and institutional development ...

Bangkok Bank denies rumour about capital raising : BANGKOK Oct 26 (Reuters) - Bangkok Bank, Thailand's top lender by assets, on Friday denied market rumours that it was considering a plan to raise fresh capital, saying it had a strong capital base. "No, no way. We are strong and our capital is quite high.

Microsoft upbeat about Windows 8 : A woman holds a tablet computer equipped with the latest Windows 8 operating system during a Microsoft press conference in Taipei City yesterday to launch the new operating system.  Australia-Malaysia | 中国 | 日本 | 한국 | ราชอาณาจักรไทย | Tiếng Việt | Stigmabase | eGAYlity

China shows off prison – and rights record : China shows off prison – and rights record. BEIJING: China gave foreign journalists rare access to a prison on Thursday in an attempt to show its progress in improving human rights ahead of the country's leadership change. Rows of police officers ...

Hong Kong Imposes Property Tax on Non-Locals to Prevent Bubble : Hong Kong is imposing its third set of property curbs in two months after home prices almost doubled over three years to become the world's most expensive. The city's de-facto central bank was forced to defend the currency's peg to the U.S. dollar for ...

Widening income gap worries China : China Daily quoted analysts as warning that although the Chinese economy was now the world's second largest, the original goal of economic reforms, to achieve common prosperity, remained a distant dream. " Poverty and backwardness brew social turmoil.

Billions in Hidden Riches for Family of Chinese Leader But now 90, the prime minister's mother, Yang Zhiyun, not only left poverty behind — she became outright rich, at least on paper, according to corporate and regulatory records. Just one investment in her name, in a large Chinese financial services ...

Hidden riches for Chinese premier's family : ... left poverty behind -- she became outright rich, at least on paper, according to corporate and regulatory records. The details of how Yang, a widow, accumulated such wealth are not known. But it happened after her son was elevated to China's ruling ...

China: $4 Trillion in Dirty Money Should Worry Us All : Despite massive oil wealth and a vibrant, young population, 45% of the population lives below the poverty line. Per-capita GDP has barely risen since I first set foot there in the 1960s. I know far too many people living worse off today than they did ...

Korean Peninsula, Contrasting Picture Of Freedom-growth And Oppression ... He told the audience that American forces in South Korea have helped guarantee the security needed to produce one of the world's richest countries. The prosperity of South Korea is contrasted by North Korea -- "one of the world's poorest, most closed ...

Human rights lawyer missing in Equatorial Guinea : JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- Rights groups say a prominent human rights lawyer in Equatorial Guinea went missing two days ago during a visit to a prison, raising concerns he may be unlawfully detained. Human Rights Watch and EG Justice on Wednesday ... Australia-Malaysia | 中国 | 日本 | 한국 | ราชอาณาจักรไทย | Tiếng Việt | Stigmabase | eGAYlity

Survey shows growing concern on online human rights abuse : In the latest survey on human rights by the Justice Ministry's Human Rights Bureau, 36% of the respondents are concerned with online human rights abuses. The numbers are up 3.3% from the last survey done 5 years ago. 1,860 people across Japan , aged ...

Japan's Justice Minister Steps Down Amid Charges Of Organized Crime Links : Keishu Tanaka, 74, quit amid a report in Shukan Shincho, a weekly magazine, that he had ties to organized crime syndicates, the Yakuza group. According to a report by the BBC, after being admitted to the hospital on Friday for chest pains, Tanaka cited ... International Business Times

Vietnam, Laos Boost Archives Management Cooperation : VIENTIANE, Oct 25 (Bernama) -- The State Records Management and Archives Department of Vietnam and National Archives Department of Laos have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on a cooperation plan in 2013. The signing of the MoU on ...

Dishing up culture : Greater Mekong 2 sees Nguyen venture deep into the region to previously unexplored communities and food cultures in Laos , Cambodia and Vietnam's Mekong Delta. "We went to a completely different area, following the Mekong River, learning about new ...

PepsiCo builds new factory in Thailand to stay No. 1 after distribution ... BANGKOK — PepsiCo Inc. is investing $170 million in a new factory in Thailand to stay ahead in one of the few markets where it outsells Coca-Cola after ending a longstanding bottling agreement with a local company. The Thai arm of Pepsi-Cola said ...

Japan justice minister quits over yakuza links : Keishu Tanaka, who was appointed just three weeks ago in a cabinet reshuffle intended to boost support for Noda, stepped down on Tuesday after a weekly magazine exposed his previous contacts with members of the yakuza, Japan's influential crime ... The Guardian

Weaker Singapore, Thailand Output Flags Growth Risks : Industrial output weakened again in Singapore and Thailand in September, official data showed Thursday, suggesting the appetite for Southeast Asian-made goods has faltered even as other parts of Asia benefit from demand for consumer gadgets.