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West Asia
Syrian President Assad agrees to secure and destroy chemical weapons
Syrian President Bashar Assad publicly agreed Thursday to a Russian plan to secure and destroy his chemical weapons, but said the proposal would work only if the U.S. halts threats of military action. Assad also said his government will start submitting data on its chemical weapons stockpile a month after…
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South East Asia
Philippine gov’t warns rebels to peacefully end four-day standoff
The Philippine government on Thursday warned Muslim rebels who have been holding more than 100 people hostage in a southern port city to peacefully end the four-day standoff “at the soonest possible time,” saying its forces are ready to demonstrate the state’s resolve. It was the toughest talk by President…
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South Asia
The missing links of Asian history
Emeritus Professor Kim Byung-Mo of the Department of Cultural Anthropology at Hanyang University in South Korea has been looking for his roots. After a laborious forty years of research, he was perhaps not surprised to find that he shared a “genetic connection” with the royal family of Ayodhya, a non-descript…
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West Asia
Obama blends threat of attack, hope of diplomacy
President Barack Obama used a nationally televised address Tuesday night to make his case for military action against Syria, telling skeptical Americans that President Bashar Assad’s government posed a threat to U.S. security even as he recognized that diplomatic steps could render attacks unnecessary. While noting he had asked Congress…
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East Asia
South China explosion kills 2, injures 44
Two people were killed and 44 injured Monday in an explosion near a school in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. A man and a woman were killed in the blast, and 39 are hospitalized for treatment, police with Guilin City said. The injured mainly suffered burns and skin lacerations,…
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Central Asia
Kazakh director Zhanabek Zhetiru: Recreating myth in cinema
As Otilija Kerbelyte says, in cinema we find the myths and legends portrayed with fantastic genres, special effects, and mythological creatures such as elves and orcs in the The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Mythical creatures usually wear the clothes, which no human would wear (e.g. faun and fairies in…
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Central Asia
Strong showing for Navalny in Moscow mayoral race
Moscow’s incumbent mayor has been re-elected with 51 percent of the vote, just enough to avoid a run-off against opposition leader Alexei Navalny, election officials said Monday. The Moscow Election Commission said Monday morning that Sergei Sobyanin got just over half the vote while Navalny, who energized the race into…
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East Asia
Chinese, Uzbek presidents hold talks on boosting ties
Visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Uzbek counterpart Islam Karimov held talks here Monday on further development of bilateral relations and cooperation. Xi is in Tashkent for a state visit as a guest of Karimov, who went to the airport to receive the Chinese president on Sunday evening. “I…
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West Asia
White House tries to sway war-wear public on Syria
President Barack Obama is going public to try to convince war-weary Americans that limited strikes against Syria are needed for the United States’ long-term safety, while his national security team is attempting to reassure skeptical lawmakers that the United States is not heading toward another Iraq or Afghanistan. Obama on…
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East Asia
G20 leaders adopt St. Petersburg development strategy
The Group of Twenty (G20) leaders on Thursday approved here a strategy outlining development priorities for the group members over the medium term. The St. Petersburg Development Strategy, prepared by the development working panel of G20, detailed such priorities as reinforcing G20’s commitment to shared growth and improving the group’s…
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