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President Barack Obama will leave the country for a four-nation tour of Asia starting Wednesday despite a host of domestic concerns, including the massacre at Fort Hood, a sharply rising jobless rate, his health care legislation stalled in the Senate and his Afghanistan troop decision still pending. He planned his Nov. 11-19 trip around the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Singapore, but added stops in Japan, China and South Korea. The itinerary reflects the growing importance of East Asia — especially China — to everything from financing U.S. debt and powering the global economic recovery to climate change, disease...

<p>Taiwan said Wednesday that its giant neighbour China has started building its first aircraft carrier, a move analysts have said could raise military tensions in the region. The head of Taiwan's National Security Bureau told parliament construction of the carrier had begun, Lin Yu-fang, a legislator of the ruling Kuomintang party, told AFP.</p>

Home prices are on the rise across Asia Fears about the battered real estate market give way to bubble concerns By Kevin Brown Friday, November 6, 2009 SINGAPORE -- Residential property prices are rising across much of Asia, prompting fears of a real estate bubble. Apartments are selling for staggering prices, and central banks and finance ministries have begun to rein in property-related stimulus measures. It seems like only yesterday that prices were falling. Now fears are rising once again that property investors could be in for a hard landing, destroying personal wealth and delaying the economic recovery. In Hong...

A well-regarded website devoted to “open source military analysis” believes that the picture [below] is of a Chinese anti-satellite laser weapon...In 2006, China fired lasers at U.S. satellites, possibly blinding the spacecraft...and just this week, the head of China’s air force pledged to militarize space “in order to protect peace"...In a post today, IMINT & Analysis stated that these rectangular buildings in the Tian Shan mountain range of Xinjiang province could be hiding the next phase of the Chinese arsenal.

Asian And European Stocks Tank Joe WeisenthalNov. 3, 2009, 5:43 AM Yesterday's crazy trading ended surprisingly higher, but markets overseas couldn't follow through. Asian markets generally ended lower, with Hong Kong down 1.8%, Europe is sharply lower as well, with all major indices down over 1.3%. In the US, futures are following suit, pointing straight down.[snip]

SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine, Oct 26 (Reuters) - SNIPPET: "Yuri Lutsenko said the men, Ukrainian citizens from the southern Crimean peninsula, were suspected of belonging to al-Takfir wal-Hijra, which originated in Egypt and is linked with activities in North Africa. Lutsenko said explosive materials, detonators, a Kalashnikov rifle and cartridges, firearms instruction manuals, and propaganda material propagating extreme Islam were found in seven places. Pamphlets also linked the men to Hizb-ut-Tahrir, a group that has said it wants to establish a global Islamic caliphate by peaceful means and is well known in Central Asia. "A network of the extreme Islamic movement al-Takfir...

Hong Kong - a beacon of hope to the American worker? (photo: Randal Rayborn) The pundits told us the great transition from the Industrial Age to Information Age would be easy. Nothing like the wrenching social dislocations of the 1800’s, when people left behind the grinding poverty of rural agrarian life to earn better wages laboring in urban factories. This time, the transition would require nothing more difficult than a bit of retraining. Add a few computer skills to your resume, those pundits assured us, and all the golden rewards of the new Age would rain down upon you....

Asia Shares Dip, Weak Oil Hits Resource Firms On 12:23 am EDT, Tuesday October 27, 2009 By Susan Fenton HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asian shares followed Wall Street lower on Tuesday with resources stocks under pressure as the price of oil stayed below $79 and with investors growing increasingly worried about the recovery of the world economy. Japan's Nikkei index (Osaka:^N225 - News) was down 1.3 percent with shares in Mitsubishi (Tokyo:8058.T - News) skidding 4.3 percent as trading houses were hurt by lower oil and commodity prices in the past day. Oil was at $78.78, below $79 a barrel...

HUA HIN, Thailand — Asian leaders will pledge to overcome their differences and push towards the formation of an EU-style community as they wrap up an annual summit in Thailand on Sunday. Human rights issues, border disputes and signs of apathy over a meeting that was twice delayed by protests have at times marred the gathering of leaders from a region that contains more than half the world's population. But plans to increase the region's global clout by building closer ties eventually dominated the three-day meeting of Southeast Asian nations along with China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New...

Oct 22, 2009 — “We have kept the creationist barbarians from the gate,” announced a professor at Hong Kong University triumphantly. A news article in Science this week described tensions in the city over the teaching of evolution. The Darwinists won a vote over a change in wording in the science curriculum that would have “opened the door to teaching creationism and intelligent design in secondary schools.” The door must be shut tight, apparently. Even the possibility of this happening created a furore. Reporter Richard Stone said, “As a year of honoring Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution draws...

Note: The following text is a quote: THE BRIEFING ROOM THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary ___________________________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release October 23, 2009 White House Announces Global Technology and Innovation Fund During his speech in Cairo on June 4, the President announced that the United States would "launch a new fund to support technological development in Muslim-majority countries." As the latest step in delivering on this commitment, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation announced this week a call for proposals for a Global Technology and Innovation Fund. This fund will help catalyze and facilitate private sector investments that promote...

Former US president Jimmy Carter will head to Asia next month to lead thousands of volunteers building homes for the poor in five nations along the Mekong River, a humanitarian group said on Tuesday. The volunteers for Habitat for Humanity will build or repair 166 homes in Cambodia, China, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam on the November 15-20 tour, the Atlanta-based Christian group said. "In an area of the world where many people live in deplorable conditions, we have a chance to help families improve their housing," the 85-year-old former president said in a statement. The project will start in Thailand's...

A Great Chinese Thriller…Pass!Posted By Michael Mandaville On October 18, 2009 @ 5:48 pm In Politics | 11 Comments I thought about writing a script about China – thriller, action, intrigue.  The last film that dealt with China would be “Red Corner” which a Wikipedia review said, “…more the movie’s subtext swallows its story, until all that is left is Gere’s superior virtue, intermixed with his superior virility — both of which are greatly appreciated by the evidently under-serviced Chinese female population…”  The film was banned in China.  But it’s fertile ground for material.  Imagine the conversation with a Studio...

A scheme named “Developing of Traffic and Communication Network in NCR and Mega Cities and Model System of Traffic Management” has been included for implementation in 11th Five Years Plan with a provision of Rs. 200 crore. The scheme has two components viz., (i)Introduction of Intelligent traffic system (ITS) and (ii) Setting up of an Integrated Date communication Network (Cyber Highway). The scheme comprises a wide range of novel tools for managing transport networks, as well as services for travelers. The project broadly includes the state-of-art command and control centre, a city video surveillance system covering the maximum number of...

Australian stocks are set to open higher on Monday following a rebound on Wall Street, with oil prices gaining on firmer global oil demand, though miners may struggle after declines in base metals prices and gold.

For over 50 years, one party ruled Japan virtually uninterrupted. During that time, Japan remained a loyal ally and supporter of U.S. policy. This month, a historic event took place. Japan has new leadership. In a landslide victory, a new party has done the seemingly impossible. A new freshman class of leaders now governs the Land of the Rising Sun. The effects are already rippling across the Pacific toward America. Yukio Hatoyama is Japan’s new leader. He officially took office last Wednesday, and he is already threatening to split with the United States. Hatoyama blames America for the global economic...

CNN) -- Downpours subsided temporarily in the Philippines on Sunday, a day after Tropical Storm Ketsana pummeled the capital Manila with its heaviest rainfall in more than 40 years.

Sept 24, 2009 — The evolutionary story of human origins is often told like a cultural myth that is intuitively obvious. Humans emerged in Africa after their ancestors came down from the trees and walked upright. They began to hunt with stone tools and used fire. They migrated north out of Africa and populated Europe, overtaking the Neanderthals who lacked the brain power and culture of their more evolved cousins. How much of this story is based on actual evidence? How much is interpolation of what “must” have happened based on an evolutionary view of natural history? As part of...

Quite a contrast with the rogues gallery on display at the United Nations!While liars, terrorists and Jew hating psychopaths (you figure out who was who) spoke from the platform of the United Nations on Wednesday, Sarah Palin was in Hong Kong delivering a long awaited speech to Asian investors. She surprised even her critics, including the New York Times, which reported: A number of people who heard the speech in a packed hotel ballroom, which was closed to the media, said Mrs. Palin spoke from notes for 90 minutes and that she was articulate, well-prepared and even compelling. Though the...

The biggest and most secretive gathering of ships in maritime history lies at anchor east of Singapore. Never before photographed, it is bigger than the U.S. and British navies combined but has no crew, no cargo and no destination - and is why your Christmas stocking may be on the light side this year The tropical waters that lap the jungle shores of southern Malaysia could not be described as a paradisical shimmering turquoise. They are more of a dark, soupy green. They also carry a suspicious smell. Not that this is of any concern to the lone Indian face...

<p>HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Sarah Palin, former U.S. Republican vice-presidential nominee, addressed a packed ballroom of mostly high-flying fund managers at a five-star hotel in Hong Kong Wednesday -- on issues ranging from the Alaskan fishing industry to the financial crisis to Sino-U.S. relations.</p>

Former US vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin said the US government was wasting taxpayers' money and could aggravate poverty, said delegates at her first speech outside North America on Wednesday. Palin, the former governor of Alaska, gave hundreds of financial big-hitters at the CLSA Investors' Forum in Hong Kong a wide-ranging speech that covered Alaska, international terrorism, US economic policy and trade with China. Her performance, which was closed to the media, divided opinion. Some of those who attended praised her forthright views on government social and economic intervention and others walked out early in disgust. "She was brilliant," said a...

What makes an economy tick? What makes it grow? In 1890, Japan's average income was only somewhat higher than Mexico's and lower than Argentina's. Yet a century later -- despite the devastation left by World War II -- Japan's average income was nearly three times as great as Mexico's, more than twice as great as Argentina's and only modestly lower than that of the United States. From the late 19th century to the end of the 20th, Japan's economy managed to grow twice as fast as Britain's. How does a nation do that? Japan is not alone. In the early...

Yes, I know, I am a tad late, but, as is policy, we don’t talk about Sarah Palin’s schedule unless Sarah or her spokeswoman, Meg Stapleton, has verified that Sarah is indeed going somewhere. There are just too many flaky promoters using Sarah’s name to sell tickets, without a verification from Sarah, who then try to blame her when she doesn’t show at an event she had never committed to in the first place. So we are not going to help them with that scam. As we reported earlier, Sarah has almost 1100 invitations to speak at events, both paid...

HONG KONG — Former U.S. vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, once questioned about her lack of foreign policy experience, will make her first trip to Asia in September. The former Alaska governor will visit Hong Kong to address the CLSA Investors Forum, a well-known annual conference of global investment managers, the host announced Monday. Bill Clinton, Al Gore and Alan Greenspan have spoken at the event, hosted by brokerage and investment group CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets. "Our keynote speakers are notable luminaries who often address topics that go beyond traditional finance such as geopolitics," company spokeswoman Simone Wheeler said in a...

There are queues at expensive oyster restaurants and the housewives are once again trading foreign exchange — signs that Japan’s return to economic growth has restored its confidence. The world’s second-largest economy is expected to grow 1% next year after contracting 3%. The recession has led to Japanese firms shedding 100,000 jobs since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, pushing unemployment up to 5.4%. ...Now the apocryphal “Mrs Watanabe” and her fellow traders have ventured back to the Tokyo Financial Exchange, according to brokers who report that transactions are up by more than half on a year ago.

China is on its way to surpassing the U.S. as the world's largest manufacturer far sooner than expected. The question is, does that matter? In terms of actual size, the answer is, no. But if size is a proxy for relative health of each nation's sector, the answer is yes. In 2007, the latest year for which data are available, the U.S. accounted for 20% of global manufacturing; China was 12%. The gap, though, is closing rapidly. According to IHS/Global Insight, an economic-forecasting firm in Lexington, Mass., China will produce more in terms of real value-added by 2015. Using...

Durability of global recovery in doubt 'Stock markets across the globe are nervous,' one analyst says WASHINGTON - Turnabouts in European and Asian economies, along with recent gains in the U.S., are raising hopes that the worldwide recession is drawing to a close. That's not to say the coast is clear. The brightening outlook in Europe and Asia and the improvement in U.S. credit markets and indicators reflect heavy government stimulus spending. Many analysts question whether the top economies can sustain recoveries after stimulus measures and easy-credit policies have run their course — and in the absence of significant new...

<p>U.S. stock futures were pointing to a weaker start for Wall Street on Monday, amid a backdrop of economic worries and skidding overseas markets, with weak figures from Lowe's adding to the bearish sentiment.</p> <p>S&P 500 index futures were down 21.8 points, or 2.2%, to 984, while Nasdaq 100 futures were off 30.5 points, or 1.9%, to 1,584.50. Dow Jones Industrial futures fell 191 points, or 2.1%, to 9,130.</p>

Stock futures signal sharp drop after Asia selloff On Monday August 17, 2009, 4:28 am EDT PARIS/LONDON (Reuters) - Stock index futures extended their losses early on Monday, mirroring a selloff in Asian and European stocks on mounting worries the equities' recent surge had run ahead of the global economic recovery. At 4:18 a.m. EDT, futures for the S&P 500 were down 1.92 percent, Dow Jones futures were down 2.11 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures were down 2.11 percent. Chinese stocks (^SSEC - News) sank 5.8 percent to their lowest close in two months on Monday on worries about added...

Don't believe the hype about the decline of America and the dawn of a new Asian age. It will be many decades before China, India, and the rest of the region take over the world, if they ever do. "Power Is Shifting from West to East." Not really. Dine on a steady diet of books like The New Asian Hemisphere: The Irresistible Shift of Global Power to the East or When China Rules the World, and it's easy to think that the future belongs to Asia. As one prominent herald of the region's rise put it, "We are entering a...

As the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) marked its 82nd birthday on August 1, the Hu Jintao leadership has taken several major initiatives to raise the quality of its senior personnel. President and Commander-in-chief Hu has also given a big boost to military modernization by pledging unprecedented civilian support for the PLA’s ambitious goals “in the new century and under new historical circumstances.” Yet China’s defense establishment still suffers from enduring problems ranging from an aging leadership to factionalism. Further, Hu’s re-hoisting of the Maoist standard of junmin jiehe, or “the synthesis of the army and the people,” could exacerbate the...

The gap between growth in emerging Asia and the G7 has never been wider EARLY this year Asia’s economies were falling shockingly fast; now they are rebounding even more strongly than expected. Year-on-year growth rates conceal this bounce; to spot the turning-point, look at quarterly changes. Comparing the second quarter with the first at an annualised rate, South Korea’s GDP grew by almost 10% (though it is still down 2.5% on a year earlier); Singapore’s soared by 20% (3.7% down on the year). China does not publish quarterly figures, but economists think its GDP jumped by an annualised 15-17%. Other...

MANILA, Philippines – Former President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino has passed away. She was 76. Her son Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III confirmed that she died of cardio-respiratory arrest at exactly 3:18 a.m. Saturday at the Makati Medical Center. Mrs. Aquino has been diagnosed with colon cancer early in 2008 and has been confined at the Makati Medical Center for more than a month. Mrs. Aquino, widow of Senator Benigno Aquino Jr., will be remembered as an icon of democracy, having led a military-backed popular revolt in 1986 that ousted a dictator who ruled the country for 20 years. At about...

Former Philippines President Corazon Aquino has died at the age of 76, her family has said. She had been suffering from colon cancer for more than a year and recently announced she was refusing further treatment. Her family had said she was leaving her fate to God, prompting church services offering prayers for her health. Mrs Aquino became president when the 1986 "people power" uprising deposed former dictator Ferdinand Marcos. "Our mother peacefully passed away at 0318 [1918 GMT Friday] of cardio-respiratory arrest," Mrs Aquino's son, Senator Benigno Aquino Jr, told the media. "She would have wanted us to thank...

<p>EOUL, South Korea — This is a developing story. Please refresh for the latest update.</p> <p>North Korea seized a South Korean fishing boat early Thursday after it accidentally crossed the countries' sea border, a news report said.</p> <p>Yonhap news agency quoted a Defense Ministry official as saying that the incident took place at about 6:30 a.m. in the East Sea and that four people were on board the South Korean boat.</p>

The Thai military on Thursday destroyed a suspicious motorcycle left unattended near the venue of a high-level Asia security meeting after security personnel suspected that explosives were loaded in the vehicle. After destroying the motorbike with high-pressured water cannon, security officials found no explosives in the motorbike, Thai Army Lt. Gen. Khanit Saphithak said. Khanit said the motorbike was left unattended for an hour in the prohibited area near the compound of Laguna Holiday Club, where delegates from North Korea and Laos are staying, and 300 meters away from the main entrance of the Sheraton Grande Laguna, where foreign ministers...

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived at a key security conference Wednesday carrying a no-nonsense message that the United States is ready to re-engage with Asia after years of neglect. Clinton moved right into talks with Asian counterparts gathered for two days of international meetings to discuss North Korea, Myanmar and a range of other regional issues. She said she will sign the seminal Treaty of Amity and Cooperation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, a commitment to peacefully resolve regional disputes that already has been signed by more than a dozen countries outside the...

NEW DELHI: Stung by China's aggressive posturing, including its deployment of missiles in Delingha near Tibet, and other increasingly hostile activities in India's neighbourhood, the Cabinet Committee on Security is considering a proposal to set up separate centres for nuclear or missile intelligence and maritime security. In fact, with strong backing by National Security Advisor M K Narayanan, the CCS, which is still smarting under the Chinese `aggression', is all set to give the go-ahead to the proposal. The inability of central intelligence agencies like RAW, DIA and IB in keeping a tab on recent deployment of intermediate range missiles...

Just a heads up to Freepers and fellow Americans. Major Japanese political monthly, now on the newsstands here in Tokyo, called "VOICE", published only in Japanese by PHP Publishing House, has a significant article breaking the news of the TRUTH of Barack Obama to the Japanese People, after months of uncritical adoration by nearly 100% of the Japanese Mass Media outlets.I hereby synopsize translate some points/subtitles of article, and provide a URL link to the Japanese site. If time permits a synop-translation may be provided on FRs. In the meantime, it is interesting to finally see these critical articles emerge...

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean authorities issued a cyber security warning on Wednesday after the Web sites of several major government agencies and financial institutions were disabled by apparent hacker attacks. The Web sites of the presidential office, Defense Ministry, and the National Assembly were saturated with access requests generated by malicious software on Tuesday, crippling server response to legitimate traffic, South Korea's Communications Commission said in a statement. "The attacks consisted of massive harmful traffic to specific sites causing access slowdown or disablement, and some national institutions, banks and media sites have been targeted," it said. Some government Web...

SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea fired seven ballistic missiles off its eastern coast Saturday, South Korea said, a violation of U.N. resolutions and an apparent message of defiance to the United States on its Independence Day. The launches, which came two days after North Korea fired what were believed to be four short-range cruise missiles, will likely further escalate tensions in the region as the U.S. tries to muster support for tough enforcement of the latest U.N. Security Council resolution imposed on the communist regime for its May nuclear test. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said three missiles...

TOKYO, July 4 -- Defying the United States on Independence Day, North Korea fired seven missiles on Saturday into the sea off its east coast.

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea fired four missiles off its eastern coast Saturday, South Korea said, in what was likely to be seen as a message of defiance to the United States on its Independence Day holiday. The launches, which came two days after North Korea fired four short-range missiles, could further escalate tensions in the region as the U.S. tries to muster support for tough enforcement of the U.N. resolution imposed on the communist regime for its May nuclear test. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said three missiles were fired early Saturday and the fourth at about...

SEOUL, July 2 (Yonhap) -- North Korea test-fired a pair of what appears to be short-range missiles off its east coast on Thursday, a South Korean official said. "One was fired at 5:20 p.m. and the other at 6:00 p.m. from Sinsang-ni" near the eastern coastal city of Wonsan, South Korean defense ministry spokesman Won Tae-jae said.

North Korea is "highly likely" to fire short-range missiles off its east coast after issuing a fresh warning to shipping to stay clear of some areas, according to a South Korean newspaper. "It is highly likely that the North will launch missiles" from bases in the eastern provinces of Kangwon and South Hamkyong, the JoongAng Ilbo quoted an intelligence source as saying. The communist state has responded defiantly to UN condemnation of its long-range rocket launch in April and of its May nuclear test, vowing to bolster its defences.

Scientists spur debate by linking Myanmar fossil to humans, apes, monkeysA new Myanmar fossil primate, Ganlea megacanina, suggests the common ancestor of humans, monkeys and apes evolved from large-toothed primates in Asia and not Africa, according to new research published in the latest Proceedings of the Royal Society B. If Myanmar, formerly called Burma, is confirmed as being the ancestral homeland of higher primates, or close to it, the discovery points to a circuitous migration route for some early primates, which must have gone to Africa and then come back to Asia. Christopher Beard, lead author of the study, told...

North Korea’s most crucial ally is exploring shifts in its policy toward the authoritarian regime, experts on East Asian relations said last week. China hasn’t taken any major actions against North Korea beyond signing the U.N. resolution condemning Pyongyang’s May 25 nuclear test and calling for unforced inspections of suspected weapons cargo. But criticism in China’s government-authorized media of North Korea has grown to levels that were never tolerated until now, said Jonathan Pollack, professor of Asian-Pacific studies at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I. Pollack has written more than 25 books and research reports, including books on U.S.-Chinese...

Contrary to the popular assumption that the new swine flu pandemic arose on factory farms in Mexico, federal agriculture officials now believe that it most likely emerged in pigs in Asia, but then traveled to North America in a human. But they emphasized that there was no way to prove their theory and only sketchy data underpinning it. There is no evidence that this new virus, which combines Eurasian and North American genes, has ever circulated in North American pigs, while there is tantalizing evidence that a closely related “sister virus” has circulated in Asia. American breeding pigs, possibly carrying...

A draft of Japan's new mid-term defense policy guidelines is calling for the reinforcement of military personnel and equipment in the face of growing regional tensions, Kyodo news agency said. The draft, obtained by Kyodo, says Japan needs to reverse its policy of reducing its defense budgets in light of North Korea's missile launches and nuclear tests, as well as China's rise to a major military power, the news agency said.