• South East Asia

    Freedom from fear

     Freedom from fear The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear. – Daw Aung San Suu Kyi (1945~ )

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  • East Asia

    [Books] An Afghan Odyssey from Within

    A Fort of Nine Towers: An Afghan Family Story By Qais Akbar Omar | Farrar, Straus and Giroux | 2013 Unlike many books on Afghanistan written by foreigners and Afghan expatriates, A Fort of Nine Towers is a memoir of native Afghan Qais Akbar Omar. Omar presents a rare first…

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  • South East Asia

    Satellite TV channels boom in Bangladesh

    While a satellite TV broadcasting policy is under consideration by the government, the private satellite television sector in Bangladesh has been flourishing day by day. These TV channels were established with the primary aim to transmit news and entertainment, and the network of channels has been expanding with a continuous…

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  • South East Asia

    [Asia Round-up] British military dog captured by Taliban

    TOPICS of the month British military dog captured by Taliban Taliban said on Feb. 7, 2014 that they have captured a military dog belonging to NATO forces in Afghanistan, releasing a video of a sad-looking dog chained by a group of Taliban fighters. “Allah gave victory to the Mujahideen!” one…

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  • East Asia

    [Asia Round-up] Samuragochi’s shameful deception

    Editor’s note: Followings are summaries of editorials from major Asian media on current issues. Samuragochi’s shameful deception The deception by the supposedly deaf composer Mamoru Samuragochi is twofold. Takashi Niigaki, a lecturer at Toho Gakuen School of Music, disclosed he had ghostwritten 20 music scores credited to Samuragochi for the…

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  • South East Asia

    [Asia Round-up] Keeping people and tigers safe

    Editor’s note: Followings are summaries of editorials from major Asian media on current issues. Keeping people and tigers safe As conservation of wild species becomes more successful, higher levels of human-wildlife conflict are being reported. The “man-eating tiger” incident in the Nilgiris district, which ended in the gunning down of…

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  • South East Asia

    Aung San Suu Kyi for President?

    Recent signs point to Aung San Suu Kyi being able to vie for president in the 2015 elections. First, the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has formally proposed amending a proviso in the constitution that bars her from being a candidate for the top leadership post. Clause 59(f)…

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  • South East Asia

    Significant messages for Filipinos

    As the year 2014 began, we celebrated the feast of the Three Kings also known as the Epiphany of Christ to commemorate the day when Christ manifested himself before the three wise men from the East. It may be worthwhile to cite a layman’s point of view of its message,…

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  • South East Asia

    Hasina wins election: political conflict persists

    The Bangladesh Awami League (AL) president Sheikh Hasina has become the prime minister of the government again for the third time, as her party has achieved massive victory in the just-concluded parliament elections. The AL secured 232 seats in the 300-seat unicameral Jatiya Sangsad (parliament). Sheikh Hasina, who was sworn…

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  • South East Asia

    Thai protesters vow to annul Feb. 2 national election, step up rallies

      Thai protesters vowed Monday to stage larger rallies in central Bangkok and push ahead their efforts to nullify the results of elections that were expected to prolong a national political crisis. Despite fears of violence, voting proceeded peacefully in 90 percent of polling stations. The protesters forced polling booths…

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