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East Asia
China and Taiwan agree to strengthen cross-Strait economic ties
Negotiators from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan on Thursday spoke highly of the prospects of a service trade agreement in strengthening cross-Strait economic ties and boosting the two sides’ respective competitiveness in the service industry. Both Zheng Lizhong, a senior negotiator from the Chinese mainland and his Taiwanese counterpart, Kao…
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East Asia
Chinese Premier visits Vietnam to ease disputes between two nations
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met with visiting Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang on Thursday, calling for dialogue to expand consensus and manage differences between the two countries. As neighbors and partners, China and Vietnam are important to each other and the two countries are mutually complementary economically with immense room…
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South Asia
Dissent follows Nepal’s election date announcement
Kathmandu – Almost three months after its formation, the election interim government of Nepal has decided to hold the Constituent Assembly (CA) election on November 19. The announcement of the poll date has ended the uncertainty about the second CA elections in this tiny Himalayan country. The key parties have already…
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East Asia
China-Vietnam agree to set up hotline to resolve South China Sea dispute
China and Vietnam agreed on Wednesday to set up a hotline to resolve fishing incidents in disputed South China Sea waters that have been a frequent source of tensions between the two ideological allies. The two countries’ agriculture ministers signed the agreement in Beijing. No details were immediately available. China…
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East Asia
N. Korean’s Vice FM visits China in attempt to repair strained relations
Negotiators from North Korea and China held strategic talks in Beijing on Wednesday as they work to repair strained relations, but offered little indication they will lead to a resumption of nuclear disarmament talks any time soon. Neither Pyongyang or Beijing offered details of the meeting between North Korean First…
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East Asia
UN Chief Ban and Chinese President Xi discuss Syria, N. Korea issues
President Xi Jinping on Wednesday met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Xi said people around the world have pinned their hopes on the UN on multiple occasions, as it has conducted a number of important missions. Profound and complicated global changes require all UN members to work together to address difficulties and challenges, Xi said.…
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South Asia
US-Taliban to hold talks on ending Afghan war
The Taliban and the U.S. said Tuesday they will hold talks on finding a political solution to ending nearly 12 years of war in Afghanistan, as the international coalition formally handed over control of the country’s security to the Afghan army and police. The Taliban met a key U.S. demand…
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East Asia
G8 leaders call for coalition government in Syria
President Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other G-8 leaders took a united stance Tuesday on seeking a negotiated Syrian peace settlement to forge a “united, inclusive and democratic” government – but couldn’t agree on whether this means President Bashar Assad must go. Their declaration at the end of…
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East Asia
N. Korea: player in the Gwangju Democratic Uprising?
Korean history as seen in South Korea is deeply contentious. It is not incidental that many school textbooks prefer to stop their narrative around 1960, quietly assuming that what happened after is too controversial for anything resembling an impartial judgment to emerge. Most of the prominent historical events and figures…
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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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