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Falungong activists march through Hong Kong

HONG KONG (AFP) – Several hundred Falungong activists marched through central Hong Kong on Sunday to protest a decision by city immigration officials to deny visas for several members of a Falungong-linked dance troupe.
The Falungong sect, which is banned in China, said that Beijing was behind the visa decision earlier this month which forced organisers [...]

Read More » No commentJanuary 31, 2010

India’s A.R. Rahman strikes Grammys gold

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Indian composer A.R. Rahman scored a double triumph at the Grammy Awards here Sunday, scooping two early honors for his music from Oscar-winning film “Slumdog Millionaire.”
Rahman won the first Grammy of the pre-show at the Staples Center in the best compilation soundtrack for a motion picture category before his “Jai [...]

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One killed as Kashmir demo turns violent

SRINAGAR, India (AFP) – A Muslim youth was killed and eight others injured when police fired tear gas and used batons to disperse scores of anti-India protesters in Kashmir on Sunday, police and witnesses said.
The violence broke out when protesters pelted police positions with stones and bricks in downtown Srinagar, the summer capital of [...]

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UN chief to send top aide to N.Korea

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) – UN chief Ban Ki-moon’s top political adviser Lynn Pascoe will visit North Korea in February as part of a four-nation tour that will also take him to China, Japan and South Korea, a UN statement said Sunday.
Ban’s press office said Pascoe, the UN under secretary general for political affairs, would [...]

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India to turn Rudyard Kipling house into museum but ignores author

The house where Rudyard Kipling was born in India is to be turned into a museum, but the author will be written out of history, failing to get a mention anywhere in the building because of “political sensitivities”.
The foundation restoring the Mumbai house has shelved plans to use it [...]

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US, China lock horns over Taiwan arms sale

BEIJING (AFP) – China and the United States were locked Sunday in an escalating row over US arms sales to Taiwan, with Washington rebuffing Chinese protests and insisting the deal promotes stability in the Taiwan Strait.
The Pentagon Friday sparked the latest challenge to China-US relations under President Barack Obama when it approved the 6.4-billion-dollar [...]

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Pakistan investigates report Taliban chief is dead

ISLAMABAD – The Pakistani government was investigating reports Sunday that Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud died from injuries sustained in a U.S. drone missile strike launched in mid-January after he helped orchestrate a deadly bombing against the CIA in Afghanistan.
Mehsud’s predecessor was killed in a missile strike less than six months ago, and inflicting another [...]

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Problems at Toyota, JAL taint Japan Inc.’s image

TOKYO – Toyota is the latest Japanese corporate icon making headlines for all the wrong reasons.
News of the automaker’s massive vehicle recalls over faulty gas pedals in the U.S. came just days after Japan Airlines, a once proud flag carrier, filed for bankruptcy, saddled with billions in debt.
Sony has lost its lead in consumer gadgets [...]

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Sri Lanka’s Tamils left to wonder what comes next

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Riding high on his battlefield victory against the Tamil Tiger rebels and his landslide re-election, Sri Lanka’s president appears under little pressure to tackle the deep ethnic tensions that fueled a generation of conflict here.
Any effort to empower the marginalized Tamil-speaking minority could only anger Sinhalese nationalists, and many observers fear [...]

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Pakistan investigating claims Taliban chief killed

ISLAMABAD (AFP) – Pakistan said on Sunday it was trying to confirm new reports on state television that Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud had been killed by a US drone strike, as the militia again denied his death.
Speculation about the warlord’s death first surfaced after a January 14 bombing by unmanned US planes in the [...]

Read More » No commentJanuary 31, 2010