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Sex tape official stands trial in China
The trial of a former official embroiled in a sex tape scandal opened Wednesday in a court in southwest China's Chongqing city. The Chongqing No.1 Intermediate People's Court will hear the case of Lei Zhengfu, former secretary of Chongqing's Beibei district committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Lei, who also stands accused of accepting bribes, was dismissed from his post and placed ...
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Beckham travels to China
Retired soccer champ David Beckham is in China to build enthusiasm for the game in the world's most populous country, where fans are pretty discouraged at the moment over the poor performance of their national team. The former England international, who became a goodwill ambassador for Chinese soccer earlier this year, arrived in Beijing Monday, two days after China's national squad suffered a ...
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Analysts Assess Impact of Military Attack on Iran
The United States and the European Union believe Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons, but Tehran says its program is for peaceful, civilian purposes. The international community has been trying for years to persuade Iran to end its uranium-enrichment program, but to no avail. Low-enriched uranium can be used for civilian nuclear-power plants, but highly enriched uranium is an ...
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Li Na enters second round at Eastbourne
Second seed Li Na of China defeated French woman Alize Cornet 6-2, 6-4 to reach the second round of the Aegon International here. Li, French Open champion two years ago but beaten in the second round at Roland Garros earlier this month, will next take on former champion Marion Bartoli of France, reports Xinhua. Fifth seed Caroline Wozniacki, the former World No.1, led Tamira Paszek 6-2, 2-2 ...
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Star of Acclaimed TV Series The Sopranos Dies
U.S. film and television actor James Gandolfini, who portrayed an emotionally vulnerable crime boss on the groundbreaking television drama "The Sopranos," has died at the age of 51. Statements issued by the actor's managers and U.S. cable television network HBO, which aired the series from 1999 through 2007, said Gandolfini died while on vacation in Italy from a possible heart ...
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Public sector cuts intensify in Australia’s largest state
In its annual budget announced on Tuesday, the Liberal-National government in New South Wales deepened its already severe cuts to public sector jobs and services On top of the estimated 15,000 jobs eliminated since it took office in 2011, the government in Australia's most populous state unveiled further public sector "savings" worth $18 billion over six years. These will be ...
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China jails Uighurs for online extremism
Xinjiang have sentenced 19 ethnic Uighurs to up to six years in jail for promoting racial hatred and religious extremism online, in the latest crackdown on what China sees as violent separatists.All but one of those jailed were from the heavily Uighur southern part of Xinjiang, including eight from the old Silk Road city of Kashgar, the Justice Ministry's official newspaper Legal Daily ...
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Blasts rip through restaurant in North China
A fire fighter searches for survivors at the blast accident scene at a restaurant in Shuozhou City, north China's Shanxi Province, June 19, 2013. Blasts ripped through a restaurant in Shuozhou Wednesday night, killing two people and injuring over 150 others. The explosion of natural gas pipes was suspected to be the cause of the accident after an initial investigation. Photo: ...
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Taiwan negotiators head to mainland for cross-Straits talks
A Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) delegation headed by chairman Lin Join-sane left Taipei for east China's Shanghai Municipality on Thursday to attend the ninth round of cross-Strait talks.On Friday, Lin will hold talks with Chen Deming, president of the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS).During the talks, the two sides will review the ...
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Chinas manufacturing activity at 9-month low HSBC
China's manufacturing activities fell to a nine-month low this month, according to a preliminary survey from HSBC.The HSBC Flash Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for June fell to 48.3, the lowest level since October and down from 49.2 in May, according to figures released by HSBC on Thursday.An index reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below 50 means ...
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Fiji to deploy peacekeepers to Golan Heights
The Fijian government announced Thursday it has agreed to a request by the United Nations to deploy "blue helmet" service personnel to the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Syrian Golan Heights, saying the deployment comes at a time of heightened importance of UNDOF's mandate to bring stability to the Middle East region.According to the Ministry of ...
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Chinas first space class ends
China's first "space class" ended at about 10:51 am Thursday. The astronauts will continue to stay in the Tiangong-1 orbiter to conduct space science and technology ...
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China Lending Crisis Not For New Industries Says Premier
Suntech power was the first Chinese corporation to ever default on its debt; this one a $531 million loan. China's solar power industry is running on overcapacity...and running on empty. Industries like this will struggle to get capital and will either merge with others or go out of business. China's Premier Li Keqiang said the government has to be mindful of lending, and where it ...
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China astronaut No UFOs yet
BEIJING - In China's first "space class", the country's second female astronaut in space Thursday says she and her crewmates haven't seen any UFOs during the space trip. Female astronaut Wang Yaping, one of the three crew members of Shenzhou-10 spacecraft, greeted about 330 primary and middle school students at a Beijing high school, through a live video feed system, ...
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The China Dream a far cry from the American Dream - its Meng
The difference between what Western media thinks China dreams and what China actually says is of great significance for the future global language. China should compete for her names as she competes for everything ...
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Homesick causes Ramirez to quit Taiwan team
Taiwanese baseball club The Rhinos say former major league slugger Manny Ramirez is leaving the club after only 49 games because he misses his family in New York. The Rhinos said it unsuccessfully tried to keep Ramirez in Taiwan, including raising his monthly pay to almost US$60,000 from US$25,000, AP reports. Ramirez signed up to play the March to November season with the Rhinos in Kaohsiung, ...
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China factory output sinks to nine-month low
(50 mins ago) China's manufacturing activity shrank again in June, according to the readings of an index, which hit a nine-month low. The preliminary purchasing managers' index compiled by HSBC came in at 48.3, worse than May's final reading of 49.2 and its lowest since September. A reading below 50 indicates contraction, while anything above signals expansion. The index ...
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Outside the Box Japan becoming the land of the setting sun
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) -- The frenetic activity of the government of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has prompted optimism that Japan can reverse its economic ...
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Asia Markets Asia stocks take double hit from Fed China data
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Asian stocks fell Thursday as data showed Chinese manufacturing activity deteriorating further in June, adding to the selling pressure after the Federal Reserve signaled it may wind down its bond purchases if the U.S. economy continued to ...
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Japan Brazil to restart talks on nuclear deal stalled since Fukushima crisis
Edward Snowden, the fugitive former CIA employee and NSA contractor who leaked secrets about America’s spying operations, often hung out online with foreigners in Japan who shared his interests in anime, video games, martial arts, the stock market and the expat lifestyle. Snowden, who ...
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China jails 11 for inciting extremism related crimes in Muslim region before riot anniversary
BEIJING, China - Chinese courts have sentenced 11 people for inciting religious extremism and related crimes in the northwestern Muslim region of Xinjiang, just weeks ahead of the anniversary of bloody ethnic rioting that spread through the region four years ago. The Justice Ministry's official newspaper Legal Daily said Thursday that Aihetaimu Heli was given the harshest sentence of six ...
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Speed up nod for infra projects Japan tells India
Foreign observers and investors continue to see India as a positive growth story, even as domestic players cower in the shadow of their own ...
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North Korea on brink of producing plutonium think tank
North Korea may be just one or two months away from restarting a reactor to produce plutonium, potentially allowing the regime to ramp up its nuclear weapons program, a think tank said Monday. New commercial satellite imagery shows North Korea is making "important progress" in activating the five-megawatt gas-graphite reactor, which had been mothballed since 2007 under a deal with ...
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Four elephants killed by speeding train in India
Villagers gather near the dead body of an elephant after it was hit by a train near the forests of Marghat in India's West Bengal state on Thursday. The speeding passenger train killed a total of four elephants after the driver failed to see them in time, a government minister said. Dozens of elephants have died in recent years in such accidents as trains run through national parks and ...
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Chinas money rates hit record PBOC squares off with market players
* PBOC refuses to use reverse repos to inject money * No easing despite signs of economic slowdown * C.bank aims to force institutions to de-leverage - traders * Panic prevails among some small institutions - traders * But conditions expected to improve from mid-July By Lu Jianxin and Gabriel Wildau SHANGHAI, June 20 (Reuters) - China's interbank funding costs surged again on Thursday, with ...
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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