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South Asia
Pushpa Basnet named CNN Hero of the Year
Pushpa Basnet, a Nepalese woman who supports children so they don’t have to live behind bars with their incarcerated parents, was named the 2012 CNN Hero of the Year on Sunday night. Nepal is one of the poorest countries, and space is very limited in the few group homes affiliated…
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East Asia
Afghanistan calls for deeper ties with Korea
A senior Afghanistan official urged Seoul to facilitate engagement from Korea this week, saying economic projects will be vital for stability in 2014 when NATO scales down its forces in the war-torn nation. During a visit to Seoul Monday, Afghani Deputy Foreign Minister Jawed Ludin underscored the country’s vast natural…
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East Asia
Singaporean ambassador wins grand prize at Korea CQ awards
Singaporean Ambassador Peter Tan won the grand prize at the Korea CQ award ceremony organized by the Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI) at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas Hotel in southern Seoul, Tuesday. The institute has held the Korea CQ Forum twice yearly since 2006 to promote Korean culture to…
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East Asia
Why is discipline so strong in restaurant kitchens?
Edward Kwon, famous as former head chef at the luxurious Burj al Arab Hotel in Dubai, was no nice guy in a number of TV programs including “Yes Chef,” which aired on a local cable TV network. He hurled invectives at seemingly innocent contestants to the extent he was compared…
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East Asia
Eliminating discrimination key to multiculturalism
As Korea is becoming more multicultural and multiracial, the government is seeking to introduce an anti-discrimination law, arguing that racism should not be tolerated. Minister of Gender Equality and Family Kim Kum-lae pointed out that the country doesn’t have a law banning racial discrimination although it is seeing a growing…
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East Asia
‘I’ll be a singer more famous than Michael Jackson’
GWANGJU ― Everybody recognized him. On his way back home from school on Nov. 12, eight-year-old Hwang Min-woo, the boy who appeared in Psy’s “Gangnam Style” music video, was surrounded by other students who kept following him, calling him “the Gangnam Style boy” and even asking for his autograph. He…
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East Asia
From killing fields to healing fields
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia ― Kim Gi-dae, a missionary and principal of a vocational school in Cambodia, takes a lengthy pause when he is asked in which years his three children are at school. Koreans tend to ask ages indirectly. The person who asked the question teases him, “You are their…
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West Asia
Mouaz Al-Khatib, Syrian Muslim Cleric, Elected President Of Newly Formed Syrian Opposition Coalition In Doha
In this Sunday, Nov. 11, 2012 file photo, Muslim cleric Mouaz al-Khatib, poses for a photo after he was elected president of the newly formed Syrian National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces, in Doha, Qatar. While lacking in political experience, Al-Khatib, the 52-year-old preacher-turned-activist is described by Syrians as a…
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East Asia
[Korea Report] Matviyenko gives speech for Korean and Russian students
Valentina Ivanovna Matviyenko, Russian highest-ranking politician, delivered a speech for the students of Korea University, Seoul. Matviyenko is currently Chairman of The Federation Council of the Russian Federation and formerly served as Governor of St. Petersburg. Matviyenko came accompanied by her Russian contingent and staff members of the Russian Embassy in Seoul. The speech…
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East Asia
‘Hallyu is firmly established trend’
Some dub the widespread Korean wave, or “hallyu,” as a short-term frenzy but a renowned distributor of various hallyu products in Japan claims it is already a firmly established trend. Hallyu Department Store CEO Kim Deug-hong is optimistic about Korean pop culture’s continuous popularity in Japan despite its recent struggle…
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