• East Asia

    Energy myths

    Which of the following statements is true? The United States now has a 100-year supply of natural gas, thanks to the miracle of shale gas. By 2017 it will once again be the world’s biggest oil producer. By 2035 it will be entirely “energy-independent,” and free in particular from its…

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  • West Asia

    “Kharabeesh,” a maker of sarcastic cartoons, becomes conspicuous with Arab Spring

    After the internet became the source for any scoop and websites like Facebook and Twitter became more into journalism than into socializing. It was only ordinary when cartoons turn into one of the ways to express your opinion, maybe it’s the strongest way. “Kharabeesh” or more accurately “Kharabeesh Toon” became…

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  • East Asia

    Actress Bae Doona proud of her roles in ‘Cloud Atlas’

    South Korean actress Bae Doona’s filmography is full of names of celebrated directors — Park Chan-wook, Bong Joon-ho, Nobuhiro Yamashita, Hirokazu Koreeda, the Wachowski siblings and Tom Tykwer. Unlike other fashion model-turned actresses, she wasn’t bothered by playing an insensitive apartment management worker in a yellow-hooded T-shirt with almost no…

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  • East Asia

    Yang Hae-gue unravels Diaspora at Haus der Kunst in Munich

    The year 2012 was a splendorous year for Seoul- and Berlin-based Yang Hae-gue. She participated in dOCUMENTA (13) in Kassel, Germany and Urdaibai Art Biennale in Spain and presented “Dress Vehicles” at the newly opened Tanks at Tate Modern in London. In November, Yang unveiled a new piece “Accommodating the…

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  • IT-Science

    Electronics show in transition

    Smartphones rule 2013 Las Vegas show LAS VEGAS ― Despite its uncertain future, the 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show (ICES), which will kick off today in Las Vegas and run through Friday, is attracting huge attention from technology industries with leading tech firms displaying their specification-focused gadgets. Although the annual…

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  • Culture

    Russia Orthodox Believers Attend Mass For Christmas Which Falls On Jan. 7

    Russian Orthodox believers attend the Christmas Mass at the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow, Russia, early Monday, Jan. 7, 2013. Christmas falls on Jan. 7 for Orthodox Christians in the Holy Land, Russia and other Orthodox churches that use the old Julian calendar instead of the 16th-century Gregorian calendar…

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  • East Asia

    Brazil, Korea seek synergy over next five years

    “May the best man win”- so the old saying goes. But coming from Brazil, presently governed by a lady president, and living in Korea, whose citizens have recently chosen a woman for the highest office, I never doubted that to be successful in the globalized world of today is not…

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  • East Asia

    ‘Madam is more appropriate’

    How should President-elect Park Geun-hye be addressed in English? An official from Park’s transition team said the nation’s first female president could be addressed as either Madam or Ms. The Foreign Ministry also confirmed there was no preference but pointed out that Ms. was used more frequently than madam in…

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  • Not Backing Down: China Responds to the US Rebalance to Asia

    *Author, Wu Xinbo is Professor and Deputy Director, the Center for American Studies, Fudan University, Shanghai. Predictably, the last US presidential election campaign featured the usual competition between candidates over who would be “tougher” on China, a ritual political exercise that is almost always followed by even greater American engagement…

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  • Culture

    Was Dec. 21 the Doomsday?

    “For the Maya a new era is starting now. May enlightenment continue to enrich your lives.” This is what I received from a Mexican friend, an avid feng shui practitioner with a keen passion for Oriental philosophy. I also have a personal affection for the Mayan Civilization and have visited…

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