Latest Asia Pacific News
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Japan fleets to visit Myanmar in October
A fleet of three training ships carrying young officers of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force will visit Myanmar in early October, Japan's Jiji press quoted informed sources as saying Monday. They will be the first MSDF ships to make a port visit in the Southeast Asian country, according to the sources. Myanmar is located in a strategically important area near a key sea lane leading ...
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Abe vows to seek talks with DPRK over abduction issue
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe(Photo:Agencies) Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed Sunday to seek talks with Pyongyang in a bid to settle the issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s abductions of Japanese. Abe made the comment after a surprise visit to DPRK by one of his advisers last week. "I want to pursue negotiations or dialogue" with DPRK, ...
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Taiwanese fishing boat seized by Japan
Japan on Tuesday seized a Taiwanese fishing boat inside its exclusive economic zone, the first incident since Tokyo and Taipei signed a fishing rights accord for disputed waters, Japanese Fisheries Agency said. The Taiwanese fishing boat was spotted in waters near Taketomi island, part of Okinawa chain, the agency said. One of the agency's patrol ships seized the boat and arrested the ...
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Abe warns of possible military response to intruder subs
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tuesday Tokyo could mount a military response if foreign submarines enter its territorial waters while underwater, as Japan and China continue to squabble over islands. Abe's comment came after Japan's Defense Ministry said a submerged vessel was spotted in waters near one of Japan's Okinawa islands, from late Sunday to early Monday. The ...
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3 Chinese ships seen in Diaoyu waters Japan
Three Chinese government ships entered the waters of disputed Diaoyu Islands on Monday, Japan's coast guard said. Maritime surveillance vessels were spotted in the 12-nautical-mile zone off the Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea shortly after 9 a.m., Japanese coast guard said. It is the latest episode in a fraught few months that has seen repeated stand-offs between official ships from ...
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Japanese PMs adviser visits DPRK
An adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrived in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Tuesday in a rare surprise visit to a country with which Japan has no diplomatic ties, but the purpose of the visit was not immediately known. The DPRK's state television showed the aide, Isao Iijima, arriving in Pyongyang. Japan's Kyodo news agency said he was met by ...
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Biden Phones Iraqi PM Concerned About Sectarian Violence
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden telephoned Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Friday to express concern over the recent rise in violence, including bombings. The White House says Biden pledged continued U.S. support for Iraq in its fight against terrorism. A statement says Biden and Maliki agreed on the importance of reaching out to all political leaders in Iraq and the need for a ...
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China sees wider role for private business
Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang reacts at the end of a press conference after the signing ceremony of several agreements between Switzerland and China, in Kehrsatz near Bern, Switzerland, Friday, May 24, 2013. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is in Switzerland to seal a free trade pact with the Alpine nation ? the first comprehensive agreement his country has reached with a major western economy. Li ...
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NKorean envoy delivers letter to China’s president
In this photo released by China’s Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, greets North Korean Vice Marshal Choe Ryong Hae in Beijing Friday, May 24, 2013. The top North Korean envoy delivered a letter from leader Kim Jong Un to Xi on Friday and told him Pyongyang would take steps to rejoin stalled six-nation nuclear disarmament talks, in an apparent victory for ...
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EP vice presidents accusations against Chinas human rights
Vice President of the European Parliament (EP) McMillan-Scott's recent accusations against China's human rights are irresponsible, said the spokesperson of the Chinese mission to the European Union (EU) on Friday."In his recent article released on-line by a British newspaper, Mr. McMillan-Scott, Vice President of the European Parliament made biased and irresponsible accusations ...
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9 dead 1 missing in E China colliery flood
Nine people were killed and one person remain missing after a coal mine was flooded Thursday in Zhangqiu in east China's Shandong Province, local authorities confirmed Saturday. According to reports from locals on Friday, a coal mine flood occurred around 9 a.m. Thursday at a mining site allegedly under illegal operation in the city of Zhangqiu, said the press office with the Jinan ...
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Uruguayan president arrives in China
Uruguayan President Jose Mujica arrived in Beijing Saturday morning, kicking off his visit of China.Mujica is visiting China from May 25 to 28 at the invitation of Chinese President Xi ...
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UN chief lauds Chinas efforts to promote denuclearization on Korean Peninsula
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon on Friday voiced his appreciation of China's efforts to promote the denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, saying that Chinese President Xi Jinping's meeting in the day in Beijing with a special envoy of the leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) generated "positive momentum" in this direction.The secretary-general ...
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Chinas satellite data network reaches South China Sea
A satellite data receiving station was launched on Friday enabling China to now obtain observation information about the South China Sea. The station, in Sanya in south China's island province of Hainan, was launched by the Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. China will now be able to obtain satellite remote sensing data of the ...
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Chinas bank card transactions exceed 100t yuan
BEIJING - China's bank card transactions in the first quarter totaled 100.27 trillion yuan ($16.21 trillion), up 19.34 percent from the same period last year, the country's central bank said on Friday. A total of 10.63 billion transactions were made during the January-March period and the value for the first time exceeded 100 trillion yuan in one quarter, the ...
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Shared goals Ties with China
Three points -- energy, Afghanistan and counter-terrorism -- stand out among the number of issues on which Pakistan and China reached understanding during Prime Minister Li Keqiang's two-day visit. Quite understandably, the incoming prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, laid stress on seeking Chinese help in resolving Pakistan's serious energy crisis when he met Li on Thursday. With parts of ...
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Radical preacher claims to know Woolwich attacker
LONDON: A radical Islamist preacher has now been identified who is believed to have brainwashed Britain's most hated man this moment--Michael Adebolajo. Photographs and videos have been found showing Adebolajo taking part in Islamic rallies by Anjem Choudary, former head of the banned Islamist organisation Al Muhajiroun. Adebolajo beheaded British ...
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Security services tried to recruit London killing suspect Friend
An alleged friend of London soldier murder suspect Michael Adebolajo was arrested at the BBC after telling the broadcaster that British security services had tried to recruit his ...
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Red-shirts mass rally held in capital of Thailand
Thousands of supporters of the United Front for Democracy against the Dictatorship (UDD), or the Red shirts, rally to commemorate the third anniversary of the military crackdown on the anti-government protesters in the main shopping district of Bangkok, capital of Thailand, May 19, 2013. (Xinhua/Gao ...
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Attack on Police Convoy in Pakistan Kills 6
A militant attack on a police convoy near the city of Peshawar in northwestern Pakistan has killed at least six policemen. Several others were wounded, including the district police officer, in the attack Friday on the Indus Highway. Local media say the militants armed with rockets ambushed the convoy, which was on its way from Peshawar to Kohat. A wounded driver was able to reach Kohat, ...
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North Korea sends China a letter
A top North Korean envoy has delivered a letter from leader Kim Jong Un to Chinese President Xi Jinping and told him Pyongyang would take steps to rejoin stalled nuclear disarmament talks, in an apparent victory for Beijing's efforts to coax its unruly ally into lowering tensions. North Korean Vice Marshal Choe Ryong Hae's three-day visit was seen as a fence-mending mission after Pyongyang ...
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Reports on Chinas rejection of urbanization plan untrue senior official
Media reports claiming that China's State Council has rejected a 40-trillion yuan (about $6.5 trillion) urbanization plan are untrue, the chief of China's top planning agency said Friday.Xu Shaoshi, head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), told reporters here that his agency has been finalizing the drafting work of the urbanization plan with other relevant ...
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China shuts down over 3700 firework plants
More than 3,700 firework plants have been shut down since local governments tightened safety regulations, according to China's top safety watchdog.The move means China now has 4,921 firework plants, scattered across 20 provinces and regions, said a State Administration of Work Safety statement.The administration will continue with its targeted crackdown to consolidate the industry, the ...
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China vows to further liberalize interest rates
China will steadily push forward market-oriented reform in its interest rates and exchange rates mechanisms this year, a central bank report said on Friday.The central bank, or the People's Bank of China, has pledged to further optimize the credit structure to allow the financial sector to better serve the real economy, according to the report on China's financial stability.It calls ...
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China Switzerland to announce conclusion of FTA talks Chinese premier
China and Switzerland will announce the conclusion of talks over a free trade agreement (FTA), visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said here Friday.In a speech delivered at a luncheon with business and financial leaders, Li said he will jointly make the announcement with Swiss President Ueli Maurer.The China-Switzerland FTA would have special significance, as it will be the first one to be ...
Fiji Feature
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Fiji needs to focus more on needs of the poor
Fiji is facing a major problem with informal housing or ‘squatter colonies’, especially on the outskirts of major cities such as Savu, which draw people in with the promise of jobs and prosperity. An ongoing effort by government to provide affordable housing for low-income earners is hampered by mismanagement, a lack of funds and the reluctance to evict non-payers from their homes.
Fiji is one of the more developed countries of the South Pacific island nations, but a large proportion of the population remain in poverty and exist through subsistence means rather than through formal integration with the national economy. Read more
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