• President and foreign policy

    Korea needs leader with historical, diplomatic sense Contrary to popular expectations and previous instances, President Lee Myung-bak made only cursory remarks about Japan and other regional problems in his Liberation Day speech Wednesday. Instead, he mostly focused on the economy, especially on how Korea has joined the ranks of leading…

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  • Column

    Fate of Africa

    Good news from Africa: after two decades of bloody anarchy, Somalia is finally on the mend. There is something resembling a government coming into being in Mogadishu, with much help from African Union troops ― although the country’s most popular comedian, Abdi Jeylani Marshale, famous for his parodies of Islamic…

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  • Politics

    ‘Japan’s sex slavery is anti-humanity crime’

    President Lee Myung-bak said Wednesday colonial Japan’s conscription of sex slaves who were forced to serve soldiers amounted to a crime against humanity. “The issue involving mobilization of comfort women by the Japanese military goes beyond relations between Korea and Japan,” Lee said in a speech to mark the 67th…

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  • Politics

    Japan differs over Dokdo, Kuril Islands

    Japan’s reaction to President Lee Myung-bak’s trip to Dokdo last Friday was almost identical to that when former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visted Kuril Islands in 2010, except for one fact. Back then, Japan didn’t threaten to involve the International Court of Justice (ICJ). This time Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba…

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  • Significance of starting something new

    I started to learn Korean out of mere curiosity. Honestly, at that time – more than 10 years ago – I hardly knew anything about Korea except that it was located in Asia and divided in two, just like my home country Germany used to be. I learned the first…

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  • South East Asia

    Indonesians Head For Home To Celebrate End Of Ramadan

    A Muslim woman fans herself inside a train as other passengers are reflected on a window, at Senen train station in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012. The mass exodus out of the capital and other major cities in the world’s most populous Muslim country is underway as millions are…

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  • South East Asia

    Singapore Diamond Exchange Attracts Women’s Attention

    A model browses through diamond displays at the Singapore Diamond Exchange premises at the Singapore Freeport secured facility, Wednesday Aug. 15, 2012 in Singapore. The Singapore Diamond Exchange is currently organizing a private auction which ends Friday. <AP/NEWSis> news@theasian.asia

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  • East Asia

    Tibetan Cultural Festival Kicks Off In Zetang, China

    SHANNAN — Actors perform during the opening ceremony of 2012 Tibet Yarlung Cultrual Festival in Zetang County of Shannan Prefecture, southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, Aug. 15, 2012. The festival which kicked off on Wednesday, will last until Aug. 21. <Xinhua/Purbu Zhaxi> news@theasian.asia

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  • West Asia

    Top Leaders Of Islamic Nations Get Together In Mecca

    In this photo released by Saudi Press Agency, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, right, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, second right, and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, third right, greet delegations upon the opening of an extraordinary session of the Organization of Islamic Conference in Mecca, Saudi Arabia,…

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  • South Asia

    Traditional Sweets Made For End of Ramadan In Peshawar

    PESHAWAR — A man makes traditional sweets at a bakery in Peshawar, northwest Pakistan on August 15, 2012, for upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr festival which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. <Xinhua/Ahmad Sidique> news@theasian.asia

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