Latest Asia Pacific News
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Japan registers trade deficit
Japan registered 993.9 billion yen of goods trade deficit in May, the government said Wednesday. Exports increased 10.1 percent from a year earlier, while imports rose 10 percent, the finance ministry said in a preliminary report. The figures were calculated on a customs-cleared basis, reported ...
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Sex tape official stands trial in China
The trial of a former official embroiled in a sex tape scandal opened Wednesday in a court in southwest China's Chongqing city. The Chongqing No.1 Intermediate People's Court will hear the case of Lei Zhengfu, former secretary of Chongqing's Beibei district committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Lei, who also stands accused of accepting bribes, was dismissed from his post and placed ...
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Beckham travels to China
Retired soccer champ David Beckham is in China to build enthusiasm for the game in the world's most populous country, where fans are pretty discouraged at the moment over the poor performance of their national team. The former England international, who became a goodwill ambassador for Chinese soccer earlier this year, arrived in Beijing Monday, two days after China's national squad suffered a ...
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Analysts Assess Impact of Military Attack on Iran
The United States and the European Union believe Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons, but Tehran says its program is for peaceful, civilian purposes. The international community has been trying for years to persuade Iran to end its uranium-enrichment program, but to no avail. Low-enriched uranium can be used for civilian nuclear-power plants, but highly enriched uranium is an ...
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Li Na enters second round at Eastbourne
Second seed Li Na of China defeated French woman Alize Cornet 6-2, 6-4 to reach the second round of the Aegon International here. Li, French Open champion two years ago but beaten in the second round at Roland Garros earlier this month, will next take on former champion Marion Bartoli of France, reports Xinhua. Fifth seed Caroline Wozniacki, the former World No.1, led Tamira Paszek 6-2, 2-2 ...
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China Sentences Uighurs to Jail on Religious Extremism Charges
Chinese courts in the predominantly Muslim, northwest region of Xinjiang have sentenced 19 ethnic Uighurs to prison for inciting religious extremism and other related ...
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Australia royal prank call radio tries to halt probe
SYDNEY (AFP) - A radio station at the centre of a prank call targeting Prince William's pregnant wife Catherine that led to a nurse's suicide is trying to block an investigation, Australia's communications watchdog said on Thursday.The Sydney broadcaster, 2Day FM, has applied to the Federal Court for an order restraining the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) ...
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Confederations Cup Italy beat Japan to book semi-final spot
RECIFE, Brazil // One Italian rejoiced, another lamented as the Azzurri reached the semi-finals of the Confederations Cup on Wednesday after an exhilarating 4-3 win over battling Japan. For Cesare Prandelli, there was the feeling of a job done not necessarily well in defensive terms at least, but he was sufficiently moved to praise his team's battling qualities after they came back from ...
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China Manufacturing Contraction Deepens In June
China's manufacturing activity contracted at a faster pace in June, reducing the prospects of a promising economic recovery, preliminary results of a survey by Markit Economics and HSBC revealed Thursday. The flash manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell to 48.3 in June from 49.2 in May. The index is now at its lowest level in nine months. Readings below 50 suggest contraction of ...
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Bhagwan Marine Completes Deal to Buy Workboats Northern Australia
As part of a strategic plan to expand its presence into the Northern Territory and Queensland markets, leading marine services provider Bhagwan Marine (BM), have just completed a transaction to acquire Darwin based company, Workboats Northern Australia (WBNA). WBNA has a long track record as the premier marine service provider in these markets with a highly capable management team, highly ...
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Newbuild Bolette Dolphin Drillship Unveils in South Korea
Aberdeen-based Dolphin Drilling Ltd., an independent drilling contracting companies in the North Sea, announced that it attended a naming ceremony recently to unveil the identity of a brand new state-of-the-art drillship to be operated by the company. The ceremony for the 751 feet long ultra deepwater asset - known ...
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China astronaut teaches lesson from space
Crew members of Shenzhou-10 (back L-R) Wang Yaping, Nie Haisheng and Zhang Xiaoguang attend a press conference in Jiuquan, northwest China’s Gansu province on June 10, 2013. China is to send its second woman astronaut into orbit on its longest mission yet, space officials said on June 10, as the country works towards building a space station. AFP PHOTO BEIJING – A Chinese astronaut ...
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George North fit for Lions return in first Test against Australia
George North, right, has recovered from injury to be part of the Lions side to face Australia in the first Test. Photograph: David Rogers/Getty ...
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China astronaut No UFOs yet
In China's first "space class", the country's second female astronaut in space Thursday says she and her crewmates haven't seen any UFOs during the space trip.Female astronaut Wang Yaping, one of the three crew members of Shenzhou-10 spacecraft, greeted about 330 primary and middle school students at a Beijing high school, through a live video feed system, about 340 km ...
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New China directive ‘Look in mirror ... take a bath’
BEIJING - China’s new leader Xi Jinping is commanding wayward Communist Party cadres to purify themselves of corruption, and he’s summed it up in a pithy slogan as Mao Zedong might have done: Look in the mirror, take a bath. China’s leadership wants to show a cynical public that it’s modernizing and serious about graft, but it appears to be favoring a top-down ...
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China factory activity hits nine-month low policy action eyed
By Kevin Yao BEIJING (Reuters) - China's factory activity weakened to a nine-month low in June as demand faltered, a preliminary survey showed, heightening the risk of a sharper second quarter slowdown and increasing the heat on the central bank ...
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China astronauts give students lecture from space
China has held its first classroom lecture from its orbiting space station as part of efforts to popularize the successful manned space flight program among young people. Female astronaut Wang Yaping took questions live from among 330 elementary and middle school students at a Beijing high school during the 51-minute class from aboard the Tiangong 1 prototype space station on Thursday morning. ...
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ANZ should keep jobs in Australia union
The ANZ bank can afford to keep every job in Australia and should provide certainty for the 600 Melbourne call centre workers whose jobs may be sent offshore.A draft proposal to senior management outlines plans to sack 340 staff at ANZ's Mulgrave call centre and a further 250 in South Melbourne, but ANZ spokesman Stephen Ries says no decision has been made.The jobs would move to the ...
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China manufacturing at nine-month low in June
BEIJING (AFP) - China's manufacturing activity shrank again in June, HSBC said on Thursday, hitting a nine-month low and adding to concerns about the strength of the world's second biggest economy.The British banking giant said its preliminary purchasing managers' index (PMI) came in at 48.3, worse than May's final reading of 49.2 and its lowest since September.A reading ...
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GLOBAL MARKETS-Asia assets hammered on China fears Fed upset
Thu Jun 20, 2013 1:16am EDT * MSCI Asia ex-Japan slides 3.5 pct to 9-month low * U.S. Treasury yields hit 15-mth high, underpin dollar * China "flash" PMI hits 9-month lows * Asian credit market spreads widen 23 points By Chikako Mogi and Wayne Cole TOKYO/SYDNEY, June 20 (Reuters) - Asian markets buckled badly on Thursday after the Federal Reserve heralded an eventual end to free money ...
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US spying foiled attack in India during CWGThe Obama administration has claimed that more than 50 potential terrorist plots have been busted worldwide since 911 including in India thanks to US surveillance.
In Berlin, Obama revealed hat he came to office "with a healthy skepticism about how our various programs were structured," and maintained that he has been "able to do is examine and scrub how our intelligence services are ...
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Hackers access top secret N.Korean missile technology S Korea
International hackers' collective Anonymous claims it has managed to access top-secret North Korean missile technology and vows to reveal the information on the internet. The "hacktivists" previously attacked pro-North Korean sites and released the personal information of subscribers, South Korean media reports on Thursday. In a statement on Youtube on Tuesday, Anonymous claimed ...
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China Manufacturing Contracts to Lowest Level in 9 Months
HONG KONG ...
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Star of Acclaimed TV Series The Sopranos Dies
U.S. film and television actor James Gandolfini, who portrayed an emotionally vulnerable crime boss on the groundbreaking television drama "The Sopranos," has died at the age of 51. Statements issued by the actor's managers and U.S. cable television network HBO, which aired the series from 1999 through 2007, said Gandolfini died while on vacation in Italy from a possible heart ...
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Public sector cuts intensify in Australia’s largest state
In its annual budget announced on Tuesday, the Liberal-National government in New South Wales deepened its already severe cuts to public sector jobs and services On top of the estimated 15,000 jobs eliminated since it took office in 2011, the government in Australia's most populous state unveiled further public sector "savings" worth $18 billion over six years. These will be ...
Singapore Featured
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Singaporean expansion of MRT leads to disruption
Singapore’s Mass Rapid Transit System (MRT) is not very big in comparison to Shanghai, Beijing or Tokyo, but proportionate to the size of Singapore and the city-state’s population, it is an extremely successful and extensive public transport system and one that the Land Transport Authority (LTA) plans to grow even further.
Singapore has a population of around 5 million, which is important when placing the MRT in context, it has a daily ridership of 2 million, giving it a commuter penetration of at least 40%, which does not take into account the fact that not all 5 million Singaporeans commute on a daily basis or use public transport. Read more
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