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East Asia
A banner supporting Snowden displayed in Hong Kong
People walk past a banner supporting Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee who leaked top-secret documents about sweeping U.S. surveillance programs, at Central, Hong Kong’s business district, Monday, June 17, 2013. Top officials from the Obama and Bush administrations say the government’s newly exposed secret surveillance programs have been essential…
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South Asia
Torrential rain and floods in India kill more than 50
Over 50 people have been killed and hundreds marooned by flooding as early monsoon struck northern India, including capital Delhi, since last weekend, said officials on Monday. Most of the deaths occurred in the states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, while another state Haryana saw widespread flooding which…
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Central Asia
G8 leadership remains divided on Syria conflict
Deep differences over Syria’s fierce civil war clouded a summit of world leaders Monday, with Russian President Vladimir Putin defiantly rejecting calls from the U.S., Britain and France to halt his political and military support for Syrian leader Bashar Assad’s regime. But there were also fissures among the three Western…
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West Asia
Iranian President urges greater nuclear transparency
Iran’s newly elected president showcased his reform-leaning image Monday by promising a “path of moderation” that includes greater openness on Tehran’s nuclear program and overtures to Washington. He also made clear where he draws the line: No halt to uranium enrichment and no direct U.S. dialogue without a pledge to…
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South East Asia
Indonesians protest against gov’t plans to raise fuel price
Policemen fire tear gas during clashes with anti-oil price hike demonstrators outside parliament in Jakarta, Indonesia, June 17, 2013. Lawmakers gathered to decide on budget amendments that will pave the way for the first fuel price hikes since 2008. <Xinhua/NEWSis/Zulkarnain> Indonesian protestors shout slogans outside the parliament during a demonstration…
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Central Asia
Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan establish bilateral ties
Uzbek President Islam Karimov (R) shakes hands with visiting Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev at a press conference in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, June 14, 2013. Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan established strategic partnership on Friday, pledging to boost bilateral cooperation. <Xinhua/NEWSis/Dong Longjiang>
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South Asia
University bus attack kills 24 people in Pakistan
Pakistani police say the death toll from attacks on a hospital and a women’s university bus in a southwestern provincial capital has increased to 24. Senior police officer Fayaz Sumbal said Sunday that a doctor and two nurses who were critically wounded in the suicide attack on the Bolan Medical…
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West Asia
Turkish riot police occupy Taksim Square
Riot police cordoned off streets, set up roadblocks and fired tear gas and water cannon to prevent anti-government protesters from converging on Istanbul’s central Taksim Square on Sunday, unbowed even as Turkey’s prime minister addressed hundreds of thousands of supporters a few kilometers away. The contrasting scenes pointed to an…
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East Asia
North Korea proposes senior-level talk with US
After months of threatening to wage a nuclear war, North Korea did an about-face Sunday and issued a surprise proposal to the United States, its No. 1 enemy: Let’s talk. But the invitation from North Korea’s National Defense Commission, the powerful governing body led by leader Kim Jong Un, comes…
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South East Asia
Thais wearing white masks participate in anti-gov’t protest
Anti-government movement featured by the white masks has recently developed into a nationwide campaign in Thailand, mounting pressure on the Yingluck Shinawatra administration which is accused of corruption and incompetence. The new campaign was launched in the capital Bangkok earlier this month when about 700 white-masked protesters took to the…
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