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Politics
APEC education ministers’ meeting opens
Top educators of 21 Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) members will discuss globalization, the convergence of education and technology and other topics at the fifth education ministerial meeting, which will kick off a three-day run in Gyeongju today. The APEC Education Ministerial Meeting will be the biggestever such event to…
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Politics
‘Kim’s remarks misinterpreted’
Human rights group claims detainees under duress in Chinese detention A human rights group said Sunday that it suspected the foreign ministry quoted Kim Young-hwan, a Korean activist detained in China, out of context during a meeting with a South Korean consular official. The group said the ministry erroneously concluded…
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Politics
Will Ahn declare presidential bid?
Amid mounting speculations about his presidential ambition, rumors abound that Ahn Cheol-soo, a software tycoon and university dean, is poised to break his silence, drawing public attention prior to an upcoming lecture in Busan. He is scheduled to speak to Pusan University students May 30, as part of his lecture…
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Politics
Revolutionary thinker held in Chinese custody
Kim Young-hwan, one of four South Korean human rights activists held in China for 51 days so far, is a revolutionary thinker whose career has taken many dramatic turns. During the 1980s he was part of a communist movement that attempted to overthrow a military dictatorship which seized power here…
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Politics
Greek Interim Cabinet Decline Salaries
At the first meeting of the newly-elected Interim Greek Cabinet of Ministers all of its 16 members promised to give up their salaries as the country grapples with a political and economic crisis that could have effects far beyond its borders, Greek state TV reported on Thursday. A caretaker administration…
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Politics
Turkish accession to EU to be speeded up
EU Minister and Turkey’s Chief EU Negotiator Egemen Bagis and the European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Stafan Fule met in Ankara and had a joint press conference regarding the new EU/Turkey “Positive Agenda” initiative. The “Positive Agenda” plan has been started by Turkish and EU authorities hoping…
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Politics
Parochial China
China often shows the opposite characteristics of Oskar Matzerath, an adult trapped in a child’s body in Gunter Grass’s novel, The Tin Drum. The Middle Kingdom has experienced explosive growth for the past three decades, enabling it to replace Japan as the world’s No. 2 economic powerhouse, second only to…
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Politics
Meltdown of Korean diplomacy
What does the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade do? Four activists were detained in China but the ministry appeared to be at a loss. Reports, although denied by its spokesman, are that China talked to North Korea while excluding Seoul in taking the four into custody. The foreign ministry…
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Politics
Medvedev proposes cabinet lineup
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday submit proposals on the structure and composition of a new government to President Vladimir Putin. Putin was sworn in as president for a third nonconsecutive term on May 7. His previous two terms had been in 2000-2008. Medvedev, who was Russia’s president in…
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Politics
Turkish leader defines Syrian crisis as humanitarian issue
ANKARAㅡ Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said the crisis in Syria is not an outcome of sectarian clashes between Alawites and Sunnis, but a result of the government’s response to the Syrian people’s humanitarian demands. Speaking at his Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) parliamentary group meeting on…
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