Last Update: 2011:11:20

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New life begins for Nepal’s Maoist ex-rebels

Nepal’s Maoist fighters on Saturday began the process of leaving the camps they have called home since the end of their insurgency in 2006, to join the regular army or start new lives.

The historic transition follows a breakthrough peace deal signed on November 1 by the Maoists and the three other major political parties which paved the way for life beyond the cantonments for the battle-hardened ex-rebels.

“It’s a critical time in their lives. It’s also challenging and demanding for

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Central Bangkok ’safe’ from floods: Thai PM

Thailand’s premier declared central Bangkok safe from the kingdom’s devastating floods Saturday, as the death toll passed 600 and President Barack Obama vowed the US will give whatever help it can.

Thailand is suffering its worst flooding in half a century, and 5.4 million people are still affected around the kingdom, but Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said that inner areas of the capital were out of danger.

Yingluck met Obama on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit on the Indonesian island of

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Risk Of Hard Landing Rises As China Begins Monetary Easing

Chinese policymakers have begun to selectively ease macroeconomic policy to support growth, according to Barclays’ analysts. While full on easing won’t come until 2012, China will face a significant economic slowdown as the export sector feels the impact of a fragile global economy, and residential investment, which makes up 12% of GDP, falls drastically as the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) seeks to control a real estate bubble.

In their attempt to execute a “soft landing,” China’s leaders have engineered a slowdown by

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