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West Asia
President renames excellence award; VP says march towards Vision 2021 will continue
The President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has ordered that the Emirates Government Service Excellence Award be renamed the Mohammed bin Rashid Government Excellence Award as a tribute to the outstanding role played by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of…
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West Asia
Yemen’s dire need for WOMENOMICS
In his speech at the 68th session of the U.N. General Assembly, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe talked about many key issues that matter to the world, but what was more interesting for me personally was the interest he showed in empowering women in the economic sector―let’s call it, “womenomics.”…
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West Asia
Saudi Arabia’s desire to hold talks with Iran
Saudi Foreign Affairs Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal made an important announcement Tuesday when he said that he invited his Iranian counterpart and that he is ready to negotiate with him. This announcement signaled a change in Saudi Arabia’s policy toward Iran and came during US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel’s…
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East Asia
Kimono-clad woman at Yushima Tenjin shrine
A kimono-clad woman strolls along a wall enclosure to Yushima Tenjin shrine in Tokyo, Thursday, May 15, 2014. The shrine is devoted to the “god of learning” so many students visit for prayers during the country’s high school and college entrance examinations every February.
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tobechecked
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East Asia
[Asia Round-up] It pays to be cautious about digital cash
The collapse of the bitcoin exchange MtGox tells a lot about both entrepreneurs and cyber buyers. Some US$450 million is said to have been lost from the debacle. The vision of inflation-less currency that can move easily and without cost between sender and receiver is an attractive one. But, one…
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East Asia
China’s powerful “threats” felt in South China Sea (2)
The statement issued by the ASEAN leaders said that “The Asian bloc is set to lend its full support to a peaceful resolution through dialogue and in full respect of democratic principles and rule of law.” This mentions only broadly the principles in resolving regional issues. This might be interpreted…
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South Asia
Indian man near a railway station
An Indian man stands at the doorway of a train at a railway station in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, May 14, 2014. Indian railway network is one of the world’s largest, with some 14 million passengers daily and some 64,000 kilometers (40,000 miles) of railway track cut through some of…
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South East Asia
[Asia Round-up] Keep the corpse-preserver out of our food
Most consumers were shocked by the news that fresh food and meat sold at markets were laced with formalin. According to the Department of Health’s tests, in some cases 59 per cent of collected samples were found to contain the chemical. The contaminated foods included fish, meat, fruit and vegetables.…
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East Asia
Tensions in South China Sea mounting over Chinese oil rigs (1)
Vietnam and Philippines directly involved, ASEAN countries cautious Amid physical clashes, calls for peaceful resolution rising An “inescapable” maritime dispute between China vis-a-vis Vietnam and the Philippines flared up in the South China Sea over China’s recent setting up of oil rigs, leading to China’s firing of water cannons and…
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