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South East Asia
UN agencies step up relief efforts to typhoon-affected victims in Philippines
UN agencies are stepping up their relief efforts to those affected by Typhoon Haiyan, which buffeted the Philippines a week ago, flattening towns and cities and claiming thousands of lives, a UN spokesman said here Monday. “Nearly 13 million people across nine regions have been affected by Typhoon Haiyan, including…
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South East Asia
Six tourists killed as double-decker ferry capsized in Pattaya, Thailand
An overcrowded tourist ferry capsized and sank near a popular Thai seaside town, killing six tourists, including two Russians and a Chinese, police said. The rest of the roughly 200 people aboard were rescued. The double-decker ferry, carrying Thai and foreign tourists, left Lan island for the 30-minute trip to…
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West Asia
Women in revolution
Women had an effective role in rebellions even in earlier revolutions like the French Revolution, Russian Revolution, and even in Arab revolutions. Women’s participation in revolutions started much earlier than 1000 A.D.; Cleopatra II of Egypt led a rebellion against her brother Ptolemy VIII and drove him and Cleopatra III…
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South East Asia
Indonesian democracy challenged by local customs
Indonesia is a vast tropical country of sprawling archipelago with extremely diverse cultures and a demographic make-up of over 300 ethnic groups, and more than 700 living languages spoken. Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world and also has a significant Christian Protestant and Catholic population. Hindus mostly…
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Festivals bring smiles on faces of Nepalese
Sarala Subedi, 39, a senior school teacher in Kathmandu, has also been doing an online job in the evenings for the last two weeks to earn extra money to spend while shopping for Dashain, the greatest festival of all Hindu Nepalese, which begins from October 5 and ends on October…
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South East Asia
Clash of values over Bukit Brown, Singapore’s ‘Angkor’
In 1860, the jungles of Cambodia yielded a hidden secret when French naturalist Henri Mouhot stumbled upon the ruins of Angkor Thom. Intriguing wall figures and building architecture had led him to the long-lost Bagon at Kampong Thom in the deep forests of the Tonle Sap Lake, of whose grandeur…
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[Asia Round-up] Universities can boost China’s ‘soft power’
Universities can boost China’s soft power [China, China Daily, 25-09-2013] China’s leading educational institutions Peking University (Beida) and Tsinghua University have joined the Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)-created EdX online educational consortium by providing six courses online free of charge. China has now officially entered the movement known…
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South East Asia
Myanmar’s first beauty pageant in over 50 years held in Yangon, Oct. 3
An initial local beauty pageant Miss Myanmar Universe on Thursday was launched at National Theater in Yangon to select a contestant for the annual Miss Universe beauty contest to be held in Moscow of Russia. Miss Myanmar Universe, organized by Hello Madam Media Group in Myanmar, will be participated by…
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East Asia
Myths and facts about North Korea’s Great Famine in 1990s
When it comes to North Korea, one of the most common clichés is a reference to the 1996-99 famine which, as we are told, “killed two or three million people”. This figure has been repeated countless times, and few people are aware where it comes from. Even fewer people know…
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South East Asia
Security tightened in Bali ahead of APEC Summit on Oct.1~10
Security measures are being ramped up in Bali, including in Buleleng regency, ahead of next month’s Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) Summit, local media reported. A total of 13 vulnerable spots have been identified in Buleleng, including a handful of ports, resulting in a series of cargo ships being searched, The…
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