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South East Asia
Thai crisis deepens as protest leader urges PM to resign after violent clashes
The United Nations closed its main office in Bangkok, dozens of schools closed and many civil servants stayed away from work Monday as the Thai capital braced for more violence in a spiraling political crisis. After a weekend of chaos in pockets of Bangkok, protesters vowed to push ahead with…
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East Asia
Mastery of silence and subtle violence
A review of Stoker directed by Park Chan-wook If we take a look at the world cinema, each country’s has a different trait that defines the industry. It is a whole different set of aesthetics which appeal to the local audience, and often times, to a global audience as well.…
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East Asia
[Books] Meet Malala
I Am Malala The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban By Malala Yousafzai with Christina Lamb | Little, Brown and Company | 2013 Malala Yousafzai, the brave Pakistani girl who stood up for education and was shot in the head by the Taliban, writes…
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West Asia
UN inspectors to visit Arak heavy water plant in Iran, IAEA confirms
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will accept an offer from Iran to visit Iran’s Arak heavy-water production plant early next month, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano told a press conference here on Thursday. Amano announced Iran’s invitation to visit the heavy-water plant in the central city of Arak on…
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West Asia
Celebrations across UAE as Dubai wins right to host World Expo 2020
Fireworks erupted in Dubai after the tiny Gulf emirate won the right to host the 2020 World Expo, becoming the first Middle Eastern city to organize the event in its more than 150-year history. Dubai bested competing bids from Izmir, Turkey; Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Yekaterinburg, Russia, after three…
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South Asia
Bangladesh’s forex reserves go up
While the per capita income of people in Bangladesh has increased substantially, the country’s foreign exchange reserve crossed the US $17 billion mark on October 22 for the first time in the country’s history. The officials of the country’s central bank Bangladesh Bank and Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) consider…
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South East Asia
Musings for Miss World 2013
Miss World 2013, Miss Philippines! The announcement echoed like a giant wave towards me, while I gazed transfixed in front of the TV. It was the Miss World Pageant beamed live from Bali, Indonesia last September 28, 2013. Screaming my heart out, I felt like I was the one sashaying…
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East Asia
Our culture, our global citizenship
There is a strong belief that culture is becoming an overwhelming global citizenship. Some of us are connected with others under the sky of religions, or gathered in the tent of languages, or collected below the tree of races, or even corresponded with the shadow of political loyalties. Only culture…
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South East Asia
Thai anti-government protesters rally calling for nationwide uprising
Anti-government protesters in Thailand vowed Tuesday to take control of state offices nationwide in their bid to oust Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, escalating the biggest challenge she has faced since taking office. Opposition-led protesters camped out overnight at the Finance and Foreign Ministries after storming their gates during a chaotic…
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East Asia
Is North Korea a ‘communist state’ or a ‘market economy’?
North Korea is often described as a ‘communist country’ by outsiders, and also officially describes itself as a ‘socialist country.’ But, what exactly is a ‘communist state,’ or (to use a less ideologically charged term) a ‘country of state socialism’? It is usually a country where all or most of…
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