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East Asia
New Zealand signs Free Trade Agreement with Taiwan in low-key ceremony
New Zealand on Wednesday signed a free trade agreement with Taiwan in a deliberately low-key ceremony designed to demonstrate the South Pacific nation’s fealty to its formal relations with mainland China. The location of the signing ceremony at a university and the absence of senior officials from either side underscored…
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East Asia
S. Korean airplane crashs while landing at San Francisco Int’l Airport, 2 dead
A federal safety official said Sunday the cockpit voice recorder from Asiana Flight 214 showed the jetliner received a warning that it could stall because it was flying too slowly and tried to increase its speed before it crashed. National Transportation Safety Board chief Deborah Hersman said at a news…
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South East Asia
Filippinos denounce gov’t plan to grant US military more access to Philippines
A protester holds a placard calling for the junking of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) in front of policemen during a rally in observance of the Filipino-American Friendship Day in Manila, the Philippines, July 4, 2013. The protesters denounce the plans of the Philippine government to grant the US military…
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East Asia
N. Korea urges US to accept its offer for dialogue to ease tensions
North Korea’s top diplomat said Tuesday that the U.S. must accept its offer for dialogue without preconditions if it wants to ease tensions on the divided Korean Peninsula. He drew a quick rebuttal from his South Korean counterpart, who said the international community has made clear that Pyongyang must give…
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East Asia
US Secretary of State Kerry presses N. Korea to give up nuclear program
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry stepped up pressure Monday on North Korea to give up its atomic weapons program, saying key regional powers, including North Korean ally China, are all “absolutely united” in demanding nuclear disarmament. Kerry made the comments on the eve of Asia’s largest annual security conference,…
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East Asia
ASEAN nations push for building of ASEAN economic community by 2015
The foreign ministers of the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) said on Sunday that they saw the need to maintain the positive momentum in the interaction between ASEAN countries and China over the disputes in the South China Sea. The statement of encouraging China-ASEAN engagement…
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East Asia
Kaesong with other 19 historic sites inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage
The 37th Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee came to an end successfully on Thursday after 11 days in action. Addressing the closing ceremony held in the tourism city of Siem Reap province on Thursday night, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An, chairman of the session, expressed the country’s…
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Politics
South Africans participate rally to pray for Nelson Mandela’s recovery
People hold a photo of South Africa’s anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela during a rally in Pretoria, South Africa, on June 27, 2013. Former South African President Nelson Mandela’s health has improved but he remains in a critical condition, the Presidency said on Thursday. <Xinhua/NEWSis/Li Qihua> Ruling party supporters, sing as…
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Culture
A seven-week-old Snow Leopard cub plays at Tulsa Zoo, USA
Nico, the seven week old Snow Leopard cub, plays in a room at the Tulsa Zoo on Wednesday, June 26, 2013. <AP Photo/NEWSis/Tulsa World, John Clanton> Nico, the seven week old Snow Leopard cub, looks up at news photographers in a room at the Tulsa Zoo on Wednesday, June 26,…
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Politics
Kevin Rudd re-elected as Australia’s PM after being ousted 3 years ago
Kevin Rudd was sworn in as Australian prime minister on Thursday three years and three days after he was ousted from the same job in an internal government showdown. His office could not immediately confirm whether Rudd would replace his predecessor Julia Gillard in a visit to Indonesia that had…
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