• East Asia

    Tibetans Celebrates ‘New Year’

    Young girls receive blessings from a senior family member as they celebrate the New Year of Tibetan Calendar in Damxung County of southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, March 2, 2012. Friday is the 9th day of Tibetan’s Water Dragon year. According to the traditions, a series of celebrations will be…

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  • Culture

    Japanese Celebrate ‘Hinamatsuri’

    People look at the dolls display on the day of the Hinamatsuri (Doll Festival) in Katsuura, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, on Mar. 3, 2012. The Hinamatsuri (Doll Festival), which is also called Girls’ Day, is celebrated in Japan on March 3 to pray for young girls. <Photo: Xinhua/Feng Wuyong> news@theasian.asia

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  • Politics

    Seoul urges China to stop repatriating NK defectors

    Top diplomats welcome nuke deal President Lee Myung-bak called for Beijing’s cooperation over the issue of North Korean refugees in China during talks with the Chinese foreign minister in Seoul, Friday. Presidential spokesman Park Jeong-ha said Lee expressed the hope that the issue could be solved “smoothly” during a meeting…

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  • Lifestyle

    Iceman may hold earliest evidence of Lyme disease

    New genetic analysis has revealed that the 5,300-year-old ice mummy dubbed Ötzi, discovered in the Eastern Alps about 20 years ago, appears to have had the oldest known case of Lyme disease, msnbc reported Tuesday. As part of work on the Iceman’s genome ― his complete genetic blueprint ― scientists…

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  • Society

    Gmarket takes out Dokdo ad in New York Times

    Seo Kyoung-duk _ a self-styled Dokdo advocate _ in association with Gmarket, the nation’s leading e-commerce company posted a full-page advertisement in the New York Times, Thursday, promoting the islets. The date also marked the anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement, when Koreans protested against Japan’s colonial rule in…

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  • East Asia

    Japanese Trick Art Exhibiton in Taipei

    Two children pose for a photo in front of a three-dimensional painting during a Japanese trick art exhibition in Taipei, southeast China’s Taiwan, Mar. 2, 2012. A total of 53 creative works were displayed at the exhibition that opened on Friday. <Photo: Xinhua/Wu Ching-teng> news@theasian.asia

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  • South Asia

    Pakistan Estimates Drug Abuser 4 mil.

    A Pakistani drug addict injects himself with heroin in a roadside corner in northwest Pakistan’s Peshawar on March 2, 2012. It is estimated that the total number of drug abusers in Pakistan is about four million. But a survey conducted by the United Nations in 2006 shows the total number…

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  • West Asia

    Iran Holds Parliamentary Election

    Iranian former president Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani arrives at a polling station to cast his ballot during the parliamentary election in Tehran, Iran, March 2, 2012. The Iranian parliamentary elections began on Friday morning with some 48 million eligible voters to choose members of the 290-seat parliament. <Photo: Xinhua/Amir Farhadi> news@theasian.asia

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  • West Asia

    Russia says not to provide Damascus with military help

    Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad (R) talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the presidential palace in Damascus, Syria, Feb. 7, 2012. <Photo DB: Xinhua> Russia would not provide military assistance to the Syrian government if Damascus is attacked, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday. Russia and Syria signed a…

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  • No need for Indonesia to import rice in 2012

    The Indonesian government does not need to import rice this year as the domestic supply is forecast to be sufficient to meet the country’s rice stockpile target to counter possible impact of global weather phenomenon, Agriculture Minister Suswono Arsyaf said here Friday. Suswono said that bumper rice harvests in the…

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