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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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East Asia
‘I committed a capital offense’
Choi Soon-sil, the central figure in the biggest influence-peddling scandal of the Park Geun-hye administration, appeared before the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office, Monday. Covered up in a black hat, scarf and sunglasses, the 60-year-old arrived at the prosecution’s office a few minutes before 3 p.m. The prosecution and her…
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East Asia
Azerbaijan Celebrated the Independence Day in Seoul
Azerbaijan celebrates the 25th anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union. The Embassy of Azerbaijan in South Korea organized a ceremony in Millenium Seoul Hotel on October 31st. Azerbaijani Ambassador Ramzi Teymurov made the opening speech by underlining the historical facts on the way to gaining independence. He said: “Azerbaijan…
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East Asia
“Multiculturalism is a state policy for Azerbaijan”
Azerbaijan celebrates the 25th anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union. Mr. Ramzi Teymurov, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to South Korea has answered our questions regarding the independence anniversary of Azerbaijan. He pointed out historical facts and contemporary state policy of Azerbaijan exclusively for The AsiaN readers. Mr. Ambassador, would you…
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East Asia
Second Forum of “Gokturk and Goguryeo Relations” in Seoul
Turkish History Foundation and Northeast Asian History Foundation organized “Gok Turk and Goguryeo: Second Turkish-Korean Historical Relations Forum” between 25-28 October in Seoul. The distinguished historians discussed the ancient relations between the two nations and historical documents in Chinese, Korean and Turkish sources. The opening remarks were made by Prof.…
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Central Asia
Kazakhstan to process up to 2 tons of Iran’s gold
A refinery in Kazakhstan will process up to 2 tons of Iranian gold in 2017, the Kazakh Deputy Investment and Development Minister Albert Rau said. He noted that a Kazakh company is engaged in the development of gold deposit in Iran. He said that as much as 125 kilograms of…
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