Free Republic

HONG KONG (AP) -- Most Asian stock markets extended their losses Wednesday as the global rally continued to lose steam amid concerns about the pace of any economic recovery. More signs of economic weakness in the U.S. inspired caution among investors, and softer prices for crude oil and metals in recent days pulled commodity stocks lower. With some indexes up more than 50 percent since March on expectations of an economic turnaround this year, markets have begun to falter amid worries stock prices have gotten too far ahead of economic fundamentals.

Son of North Korea's Kim visits China as heir: media TOKYO (Reuters) – The youngest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il secretly visited ally China around last week as a special envoy of his father and met with Chinese President Hu Jintao, Japan's Asahi newspaper reported on Tuesday. The report, which cites unidentified sources close to North Korea, comes days after the U.N. Security Council approved a resolution banning all weapons exports from the hermit state, which raised regional tension by conducting a nuclear test in May. Analysts have said the North's belligerence may be aimed largely at a...

The trend is buried deep in United States census data: seemingly minute deviations in the proportion of boys and girls born to Americans of Chinese, Indian and Korean descent. In those families, if the first child was a girl, it was more likely that a second child would be a boy, according to recent studies of census data. If the first two children were girls, it was even more likely that a third child would be male. Demographers say the statistical deviation among Asian-American families is significant, and they believe it reflects not only a preference for male children, but...

Japan's Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone said Friday that his country would make the "necessary response" if North Korea conducted a third nuclear test after the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution imposing additional sanction on Pyongyang, reports say. He was responding to U.S. media reports Thursday that the far eastern pariah state was preparing to conduct yet another nuclear test, following last month's. "If, by chance, such a thing happens (nuclear test by North Korea), I think we have to make the necessary response and especially be in close contact with the concerned countries," Nakasone said. Also, Japan's Chief...

SKorea braces for 3rd nuclear test by North Korea By KWANG-TAE KIM, Associated Press Writer Fri Jun 12, 3:52 am ET SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea was bracing for a possible third nuclear test by the North, which a U.S. official said was likely despite looming U.N. sanctions on the communist state for its previous test in May. Given the North's track record of provocative behavior and defiance of the United Nations, "common sense" would dictate that it is preparing for another nuclear test, South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Won Tae-jae told reporters Friday. He said the test was...

Want to live to a ripe old age? By far the most important factor in life expectancy is wealth; richer people tend to eat healthfully and smoke and drink less. They also have access to the best health care. Affluent countries also tend to have low rates of violent crime and civil unrest. The following countries have the highest average life expectancies in the world. In case you're wondering, the United States, with an average life expectancy of 77.85, ranks 48th. Get started now and see the list of countries with the highest life expectancy. 1. Andorra: 83.51 Years Located...

South Korea has detected increased levels of troubling North Korean military activities, government sources said yesterday. North Korea has ordered its forces on the west coast to increase their ammunition reserves to twice their peacetime levels, according to a government source. Also, the South has detected increased vehicle movements at a North Korean naval base and other coastal units. Another source said North Korea has designated central and northern parts of the Yellow Sea as prohibited areas for vessels. While North Korea often restricts ships from navigating in parts of the western sea for military training purposes, the latest ban,...

It was obvious that something was up when the Chinese scarpered. One day there were scores of their fishing boats hoovering up the valuable crabs from the richest of the fishing grounds in the Yellow Sea. Overnight all but a handful were gone. Anywhere else the locals would have been glad to have the crabs to themselves but this is no ordinary fishing ground. A few yards from here is the maritime boundary between South and North Korea. “The Chinese fish here because the North Koreans allow them,” a coastguard official said. “If they’ve gone it’s because they’ve had some...

May 28, 2009 A good product must be perfectly adapted to its market - and the Spira looks like an excellent fit for the chaotic conditions of South-East Asian roads. This odd little three-wheel two-seater weighs only 300-odd pounds (130kg) - that's because it uses a super-lightweight reinforced foam for 90 percent of the bodywork. It gets well over 100mpg from its 110cc engine, it's light enough to lift by hand, and the foam shell has huge safety benefits, both for the occupants and for the legions of pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists that swarm the roads of Thailand. Oh, and...

SEOUL, May 30 (Yonhap) -- North Korea appears to be preparing for a long-range missile test, an informed source said Saturday, defying the U.N. Security Council whose members are negotiating a resolution to punish it for its recent nuclear test. The source, asking not to be identified, said an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was recently spotted on a cargo train near Pyongyang, the North Korean capital. The missile has since been moved to an undisclosed location, according to the source. "It usually takes about two months to set up a launch pad, but the process could be done in as...

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea is preparing to move an intercontinental ballistic missile from a factory near Pyongyang to a launch site on the east coast, a South Korean newspaper quoted a source in Washington as saying on Saturday. The factory north of Pyongyang is the same place where the North manufactured the long-range rocket it fired on April 5 before moving it to the east-coast Musudan-ri missile range for assembly and launch, the Dong-a Ilbo newspaper said. Regional powers are waiting to see what the North might do next after it conducted a nuclear test on Monday. South Korea...

2009/05/29 19:23 KST (URGENT) N. Korea fires short-range missile off east coast: source

The United States could fight an old-fashioned war against North Korea if necessary, even while newer forms of conflict against terrorists and extremists continue, the Army's top officer said Thursday. Asked whether the United States would be prepared to fight if war broke out between South Korea and North Korea, Gen. George Casey replied, "The short answer is yes," then added that "it would probably take us a little bit longer to shift gears" away from the type of counterinsurgency fighting that now occupies the Army. Casey said his usual rubric for how long it would take the Army to...

China, which is regarded as one of the very few countries close to North Korea, said on Monday it is “resolutely opposed” to the nuclear test carried out by that country. Beijing has been a key player in the six-party talks trying to achieve denuclearization of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, as North Korea is officially called. "The DPRK ignored universal opposition of the international community and once more conducted the nuclear test. The Chinese government is resolutely opposed to it," the foreign ministry said after the official Korean Central News Agency announced that DPRK has successfully conducted an...

Begin my translation: From a dispatch in Seoul per Japanese JIJI wire services, North Korea's Central News Agency [KCNA] on Wednesday, May 27th said that with South Korea's threatened "total" participation in the PSI Initiative (which allows North Korean ships to be stopped and checked by various nations for nuclear weapons being exported) that it amounts to a "declaration of war against North Korea". The statement was released by the North Korean military representative in Panmunjom military armistace area. He iterated that from now on, South Korean and American vessels traveling in the Yellow Sea (West Sea, just off...

Pyongyang said that South Korea's decision to start intercepting ships that are suspected of carrying weapons of mass destruction was tantamount to "a declaration of war against us". The statement follows a number of missile tests and an underground nuclear test by the North in the last two days. The statement, through North Korea's state newswire, warned Seoul that North Korea "will no longer be bound by the armistice accord" and that the "Korean peninsula will go back to a state of war". Pyongyang had previously warned Seoul that joining the US-led Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) would have fearful consequences....

Food for thought this evening as the NorKs fire yet another missile into the sea. Why would Japan want its own arsenal when it already enjoys the deterrent effect of being under America’s nuclear umbrella? Simple: A Japanese arsenal wouldn’t really be aimed at deterrence. It would be aimed at scaring the hell out of China, where memories of Japanese aggression are long. The thinking, I guess, is that China would be sufficiently cowed by Japanese nukes that they’d have no choice but to try much harder to calm Kim down lest they end up being drawn into a three-way...

SEOUL, May 27 (Reuters) - North Korea fired another short-range missile off its east coast late on Tuesday, Yonhap News reported on Wednesday citing a unnamed South Korean government source. It came after Pyongyang fired two short-range missiles earlier on Tuesday. (Reporting by Rhee So-eui; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)

SEOUL (AFP) – North Korea has fired off another missile, the latest in a series since its nuclear test two days ago, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said Wednesday. The North fired a short-range missile into the Sea of Japan (East Sea) overnight, it quoted a Seoul government source as saying. "Intelligence authorities are now closely monitoring the situation," the source said. The communist state fired three short-range ground-to-air missiles from locations near its east coast on Monday, the same day it conducted an underground nuclear test that shocked the world.

North Korea is preparing to launch a missile off its west coast within days, a South Korean official is reported to have said. The short-range rocket could be fired as early as today or tomorrow, Yonhap news agency quoted the South Korean official as saying. "North Korea declared a ban for ships in the sea off its South Pyongan province between the 25th to 27th (of May). "It looks like it will fire a short-range missile between today and tomorrow," the agency quoted the unnamed official as saying. More follows...

SEOUL, May 26 (Yonhap) -- North Korea appears to be preparing to fire short-range missiles on its west coast, a day after it tested a nuclear device and missiles in the east, a South Korean source said Tuesday. The country has banned ships from the waters off its west coast and could launch what appears to be "KN-01" anti-ship cruise missiles either Tuesday or Wednesday, the source said. "The ban on sailing is in effect from May 25 to 27," the source said. "It's likely that North Korea will fire short-range missiles either today or tomorrow." On Monday, North Korea...

Researchers from the Vietnam Archaeology Institute and the Hanoi University of Culture have discovered a megalith of nearly 2,000 years old in Tao Dao district, Vinh Phuc province. The megalith of over three metres long, over one metre wide, and nearly 0.5 metres thick looks like a boat. It is propped up on four big rocks which are buried deep in the earth, which are also megaliths. Dr. Trinh Nang Chung, the leader of the archaeological team, said that this is a Dolmel relic, a kind of megalith culture. Such relics have been unveiled in some northern provinces of Ha...

The Swedish ambassador to North Korea met two detained US journalists on Friday, the first such contact in six weeks, a senior US official said. The development came a day after North Korea on Thursday set a June 4th trial date for the two journalists, Euna Lee, a Korean-American, and Laura Ling, a Chinese-American. Sweden represents US interests in North Korea and has been working to secure the release of the two US journalists since they were seized in a dawn raid in the outskirts of Pyongyang on March 17th. "The Swedish ambassador to North Korea, acting as the United...

IMF sees 'long, severe recession' for Asia by Bernice Han Wed May 6, 2:42 am ET SINGAPORE (AFP) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday sharply slashed its growth outlook for Asia, predicting a "long and severe recession" for the region's wealthier but export-reliant economies. The US-based institution said it now expected growth in Asia, including Japan, would slow to 1.3 percent this year after an initial forecast, made in the last quarter of 2008, of 2.7 percent growth. "The spillovers from the global crisis have impacted Asia with unexpected speed and force," the IMF said in its regional...

Swine Flu Fallout: Cheap Vacation Deals May 5, 2009 Health officials are seeing some evidence that the spread of swine flu may be starting to ebb. That’s obviously good news from a public health perspective — but it also means that travel bargain hunters may want to take a closer look at booking deals to destinations hit hardest by the hype...

China's blocking of India's application for a loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has raised hackles in Delhi, marking the first time Beijing has dragged a bilateral territorial dispute with India into a multilateral financial institution. China asked for a postponement of an ADB board meeting on March 26-27, which was set to discuss the 2009-12 strategy for India. On the table was an Indian request for a US$2.9 billion loan approval. What appears to have got China's goat was the inclusion of a $60 million flood management, water supply and sanitation project in Arunachal Pradesh. Although China gave...

_Asia has two confirmed cases of swine flu in Hong Kong and South Korea. Hong Kong's leader confirmed the case of a Mexican citizen who developed a fever after arriving in Hong Kong via Shanghai on Thursday. South Korea confirmed the disease in a 51-year-old woman who recently returned from a trip to Mexico. The country has one other suspected case. Other Asian countries also have suspected cases.

Swine flu crosses new frontiers in Mideast, Asia Cuba imposes travel ban to and from Mexico; virus spreading overseas Cuba suspended flights to and from Mexico on Tuesday, becoming the first country to impose a travel ban, as the fast-moving swine flu strain extended its reach overseas and in the United States. World health officials in Geneva said they believed the virus appears to be establishing itself in communities and be able to produce larger outbreaks outside Mexico. In the U.S., there were new reports of hospitalizations among those affected, and officials are watching for a potential flu pandemic. "It's...

Driven by India and China, the emerging Asian economies no longer witness slump, which will lead the global recovery, British financial services major Barclays said on Monday. "The slump in activity in emerging Asia is over. We believe the region returned to positive growth of the aggregate level in the first quarter of 2009 -- driven by China and India -- and the recovery is broadening to the more open industrial economies in 2009," Barclays Capital, an investment banking arm of Barclays, said. Barclays capital included 10 Asian economies -- India, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea,...

Remarks made by United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about a review of US policy towards Myanmar have stirred new debate about the effectiveness of Washington's long-held sanctions regime and what course possible engagement with the hardline military junta should follow. Some analysts have even interpreted Clinton's comments as a tacit admission that past policies towards Myanmar have largely failed. But Clinton may not have had a full-blown policy review in mind after her comments at a February 17 "town hall" meeting at Tokyo University in response to a question from a Myanmar student about policy alternatives to economic...

Coming to Asia's Defense A weaker U.S. military will undermine stability in the region. By DAN BLUMENTHAL From today's Wall Street Journal Asia Former President George W. Bush's critics liked to say that during his term America was "getting its derriere kicked" by China. By this the critics presumably meant that the war in Iraq was a big distraction and that the United States was not attending enough Asian multilateral conferences and showing off its "soft power." While the case was never overwhelming, it contained a kernel of truth. Beijing did gain regional influence at Washington's expense under former President...

Millions of people in Central Asia were plunged into darkness on Wednesday night as a malfunction in the regional electricity grid caused a massive blackout in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz officials said. The southern part of Kazakhstan, including the commercial hub Almaty, and northern Kyrgyzstan have been affected, Kyrgyz Energy Minister Ilyas Davydov told Reuters, adding the cause of the blackout remained unknown. "We are looking into it," Davydov said. A spokeswoman for the Kyrgyz electricity distribution firm Severelektro said the malfunction occurred on a high-voltage line connected to Kyrgyzstan's main hydroelectric plant. In Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city with a...

Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2009/s09040025.htm Friday, April 3, 2009 Extremists Try to Murder Missionary; Attack Well-Drilling Team Gospel for Asia For Immediate Release ASIA (ANS) -- A mob of anti-Christian extremists tried to murder a Gospel for Asia-supported missionary working at a Jesus Well drilling site on Tuesday. The pastor escaped unharmed, but they badly beat a ministry intern and one of the men drilling the well. Jesus Wells are tangible evidence of God's love for the people of Asia. The incident occurred Tuesday when the well-drilling team arrived in the village where missionary Bala Nunwate serves....

BEIJING – China, North Korea's chief ally, offered a muted response to its launch of a long-range rocket on Sunday, calling on all sides to maintain calm and exercise restraint. The low-key reaction indicated that Beijing, a veto-wielding member of the UN Security Council, will likely oppose anything but a mild rebuke of Pyongyang during an emergency council session scheduled later Sunday in New York. Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi had telephone conversations Sunday with his counterparts in the United States, Japan, South Korea and Russia, participants in stalled six-nation talks on halting North Korea's nuclear programs. Yang exchanged views...

TOKYO -- North Korea's rocket sailed harmlessly over Japan on Sunday morning, but a significant fallout from Pyongyang's display of technological prowess is how it may affect this pacifist nation's military stance. Clearly shaken by the launch of the rocket, which North Korea called a satellite but many outside suspect was a missile, Tokyo swiftly called it a "serious act of provocation" and made an urgent call for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council. Within Japan, the threat posed by North Korea's technology is likely to spark fresh debate about whether Japan should increase its military capabilities, revise...

Roman police find sewer children The children were found in sewers close to railway stations Italian police have found more than 100 immigrants, including 24 Afghan children, living in the sewer system beneath railway stations in Rome. The children range in age from 10 to 15 years and are now being looked after by the city's social services. They were found when the railway police followed up reports of children living near the city's stations. The police say they do not speak Italian and broke into the sewers by removing manhole covers. The charity Save the Children Italy says that...

North Korea appears to have launched a rocket, despite international appeals not to go ahead. Officials from Japan, South Korea and the US confirmed lift-off at 0230 GMT. The rocket appeared to have passed over Japan to the Pacific, Tokyo said. North Korea says it is sending a satellite into orbit, but its neighbours suspect the launch could be a cover for a long-range missile test. They say it violates UN resolutions and have warned of consequences.

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea defiantly carried out a provocative rocket launch Sunday that the U.S., Japan and other nations suspect was a cover for a test of its long-range missile technology. Liftoff took place at 11:30 a.m. (0230GMT) Sunday from the coastal Musudan-ri launch pad in northeastern North Korea, the South Korean government said. In Washington, the State Department also confirmed the launch. The rocket flew over Japan and landed in the Pacific Ocean, the Japanese broadcaster NHK said, citing its government. "Our primary concern is to confirm safety and gather information," Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso told...

"It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama" -- Joe "The Prophet" Biden said last year on the campaign trail. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told "Fox News Sunday" last week that the United States is not prepared to respond to a North Korean missile launch. He says we can do nothing to stop North Korea from breaking international law in the next 10 days by firing a missile that is unlikely to be shot down by the U.S. or its allies. Last weekend, Japan announced it was sending naval ships equipped with missile interceptors to its...

ALL 11 Asian markets that I monitor are currently down.

WASHINGTON: India's emergence as an economic, political and military power has left Chinese army worried, even as the two countries in the recent years have increased their economic and military cooperation, a report released by Pentagon said. "The PLA (People's Liberation Army) remains concerned with persistent disputes along China's shared border with India and the strategic ramifications of India's rising economic, political, and military power," the Pentagon said in its Congressional mandated annual report on China's army. The 78-page report devotes a small sub-section on India-China relations, along with those on Russia and Central Asian republics. "China has deepened its...

Obama's economic saviour savaged as Keating lets ripCannot be posted per FR policy. The article tells of the criticism of how Timothy Geithner handled the 1998 Asian economic crisis for the IMF.

Tim Geithner played the key role in his position at the IMF during the Asian crisis of 1997-98. Paul Keating, then Australia's Prime Minister, recently said that Geithner's "solution" to the crisis was dead wrong and devastated many Asian economies, in particular Indonesia. "Tim Geithner was the Treasury line officer who wrote the IMF [International Monetary Fund] program for Indonesia in 1997-98, which was to apply current account solutions to a capital account crisis." In other words, Geithner fundamentally misdiagnosed the problem. And his misdiagnosis led to a dreadfully wrong prescription...

Taken together, these various underground organizations are responsible for producing the vast majority of mujahideen propaganda videos that have originated from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and western China over the past five years.

When 96 people from China arrived at Taoyuan International Airport near Taipei after paying hundreds of dollars to compete in a music contest offering big cash prizes, they soon discovered they'd been swindled. A con artist had faked invitations from the city of Taipei, pocketed the contest entry fees and abandoned the "contestants" at the airport when they arrived in mid-February. Some of the musicians were so angry that they refused to return home. Such scams are expected to increase in Asia, particularly greater China, as the economic downturn motivates swindlers to prey on the down-and-out looking for a change...

[...]The battle for Internet freedom is particularly pitched in Southeast Asia, where even nominally democratic governments are now cracking down on journalists, bloggers and ordinary Internet users. China has emerged as the region's Internet censorship role model, with its successful use of sophisticated filtering and surveillance technologies, widely known as Beijing's "Great Firewall". Those capabilities have been widened through a new government-run computer monitoring information system, known as the "Golden Shield Project". Of the 28 journalists now imprisoned in China, as tallied by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), 24 of them were charged and sentenced for articles...

Japan Warns It Will Intercept N.Korean ProjectileThe Japanese government could deploy two arsenal ships equipped with the latest Aegis radar system and interceptor Standard Missile in the East Sea if North Korea continues to prepare for a missile test, the Kyodo news agency reported Tuesday citing a senior official at the Japanese Ministry of Defense. But Kyodo added if a North Korean missile targets the United States, it will be difficult for Japan's SM-3 to intercept it. Tokyo warned North Korea it would intercept not only missiles but also a satellite launched by the communist country. The Sankei Shimbun quoted...

Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/foreign_policy/ THE AGENDA • FOREIGN POLICY THE AGENDA FOREIGN POLICY President Obama and Vice President Biden will renew America’s security and standing in the world through a new era of American leadership. The Obama-Biden foreign policy will end the war in Iraq responsibly, finish the fight against the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan, secure nuclear weapons and loose nuclear materials from terrorists, and renew American diplomacy to support strong alliances and to seek a lasting peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Afghanistan and Pakistan Afghanistan: Obama and Biden will refocus American resources on...

Asian stocks tumbled early Monday on the back of Wall Street's losing streak as gloom deepened over the global economy and the health of major banks. Tokyo was down 3.2 percent by lunch and Sydney lost 3.0 percent by midday. Hong Kong opened 2.3 percent lower and Chinese shares were down 1.0 percent. Asian shares started the week on the downbeat note amid worries about the health of large US banks and broader fears over the global economy. In New York last week, the Dow Jones slid 4.1 percent to end Friday at its lowest level since 1997, while the...

Japan's Nikkei stock index down 3.2 percent TOKYO (AFP) – Japan's Nikkei stock index fell 3.2 percent on Monday, after Wall Street sank to multi-year lows last week with dampened sentiment over grim economic data and troubled banking giant Citigroup. The benchmark Nikkei-225 index fell 246.23 points to 7,322.19 in mid-morning trade. The drop followed Friday's decline on Wall Street, where the Dow fell to its lowest level since 1997.