-
East Asia
Park’s approval rating crashes to record-low 5%
President Park Geun-hye saw her approval rating crash to 5 percent, the lowest for sitting South Korean presidents, as an influence-peddling scandal involving her longtime friend rattled her presidency, data showed Friday, According to a Gallup Korea survey conducted this week, Park’s approval rating plunged 12 percentage points from a…
Read More » -
West Asia
Turkey threatens to cancel EU migration deal
Turkey will cancel a migration deal with the European Union if the bloc doesn’t grant visa-free travel to Turkish citizens by the end of the year, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Thursday, a day after a top EU official suggested any visa deal was a long way off, Deutsche Welle…
Read More » -
East Asia
N. Korea sounding out labor export to Mongolia
North Korea is seeking ways to export its workers to Mongolia as the central Asian country is recruiting foreign laborers to work at its mines, a U.S. broadcaster, monitored here, said Wednesday. “(As far as I know), the North Korean authorities recently set up ways to make use of its…
Read More » -
East Asia
Moms and Dads Sports Day marked in China
Children take part in a race during the Moms and Dads Sports Day at a kindergarten in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province, Nov. 2, 2016. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) (wx)
Read More » -
West Asia
Iranian Turks’ new parliamentary faction breaking more taboos
Umid Niayesh – Trend.az For the first time in the Islamic Republic’s history, Iranian Turkic-speaking MPs, including Azerbaijanis formed a parliamentary faction calling it “Faction of Turkic Regions.” The faction held its first meeting on Oct. 30 and elected Masoud Pezeshkian and Nader Qazipour, Tabriz and Urmia representatives, as its…
Read More » -
Central Asia
Kyrgyzstan to hold referendum on constitution on December 11
Kyrgyzstan’s parliament approved plans for a national referendum to be held on December 11 on proposed constitutional reforms, parliament’s press office said. The reforms would strengthen the powers of the prime minister. The amendments also include provisions granting more powers to the cabinet and to leaders of parliamentary factions, Reuters…
Read More » -
West Asia
The Banipal Visiting Writer Fellowship
St Aidan’s College of the University of Durham and Banipal magazine of modern Arab literature, with the support of the British Council, are establishing an annual writing fellowship for a published author writing in Arabic, based each year at St Aidan’s College. The Banipal Visiting Writer Fellowship will be a…
Read More » -
Central Asia
Tajik President Officially Launches Construction of Rogun Dam
Tajikistan has officially started the construction of the Rogun Dam, a massive project that, if completed, would be the world’s tallest and should give the Central Asian nation a stable energy supply, RFERL/RL reports. Italian construction conglomerate Salini Impregilo won a $3.9 billion contract to build the structure, whose opening…
Read More » -
West Asia
Cohabitation Before Marriage in the South Caucasus
While dating amongst young people in the South Caucasus is, as a rule, more or less accepted, the development of a relationship often leads to the decision of either getting married, or simply living together. The second option has long been noticeable in the South Caucasus, however it can often…
Read More » -
East Asia
Sharing intelligence with Japan
Korea and Japan announced last week that they will reopen talks on a military information-sharing pact, known as a General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), with an aim to conclude the pact by end of the year. An intelligence-sharing accord will allow the countries to exchange sensitive information on…
Read More »