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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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West Asia
Series of attacks in Iraq kill 51 people
A blistering string of apparently coordinated bombings and a shooting across Iraq killed at least 51 and wounded dozens Sunday, spreading fear throughout the country in a wave of violence that is raising the prospect of a return to widespread sectarian killing a decade after a U.S.-led invasion. Violence has…
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West Asia
Naurauz : Theatre for all Seasons
It had been a week of happiness for those who fall in love with theatre. The city is Kazan, the location is G. Kamal Tatar National Academic Theatre, and the event is the 11th edition of the International Theatre Festival of Turkic Peoples; Naurauz, with performances from 3 – 7…
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West Asia
Moderate candidate Rowhani elected as Iranian President
Iran’s newly elected reformist-backed president said Sunday that the country’s dire economic problems cannot be solved “overnight,” as he took his first steps in consulting with members of the clerically dominated establishment on his new policies. Hasan Rowhani’s surprise victory in Friday’s elections puts him in charge of an executive…
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