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SKorea holds massive new drills after North attack

SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea vowed Wednesday to “completely punish” North Korea if it attacks again, and mobilized hundreds of troops, tanks and helicopters for a massive military exercise prompted by high tensions on the peninsula.
The firing drills planned for Thursday near the Koreas’ heavily armed land border signaled that South Korea is willing [...]

Read More » No commentDecember 23, 2010

Robot waiters in China never lose patience

JINAN, China – Service with a smile also comes with an electronic voice at the Dalu Robot restaurant, where the hotpot meals are not as famous yet as the staff who never lose their patience and never take tips.
The restaurant, which opened this month in Jinan in northern Shandong province, is touted as China’s first [...]

Read More » No commentDecember 23, 2010

Filipino gunmen free 2 Malaysians after 10 months

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino gunmen with ties to al-Qaida-linked militants, under pressure from pursuing police commandos, have freed two Malaysian laborers from 10 months of jungle captivity, police said Wednesday.
The hostages were seized Feb. 8 from a seaweed farm in Malaysia’s Sabah state and whisked away in a speedboat to nearby Philippine waters in a [...]

Read More » No commentDecember 23, 2010

SKorea begins routine naval drills amid tension

SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea has begun annual naval exercises off its east coast as tensions with North Korea remain high.
The drills beginning Wednesday and ending Saturday are on the opposite coast from the disputed sea border where North Korea shelled a front-line island a month ago.
But South Korea’s military is on high alert [...]

Read More » No commentDecember 23, 2010

ASEAN Markets to Hit New Highs‏

ASEAN is Set to Rally after Financial companies led Wall Street higher on Tuesday after another big banking deal raised hopes that more acquisitions could be on the way.
Toronto-Dominion Bank is buying Chrysler Financial, the automaker’s old lending arm, from Cerberus Capital Management LP for $US6.3 billion ($A6.35 billion).
It was the latest example of a [...]

Read More » No commentDecember 23, 2010

World Bank agrees 1.5-bln-dollar loan for Indian roads

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The World Bank on Tuesday said it had agreed a 1.5-billion-dollar loan to help India improve its rural roads, the latest effort to beef up the country’s infrastructure.
“Improving the access and quality of rural roads is critical to increasing growth and promoting development in lagging regions,” said the bank’s India director Roberto [...]

Read More » No commentDecember 22, 2010

Japan 7.4 seabed quake sparks tsunami scare, evacuations

TOKYO (AFP) – Scores of villagers on a remote Japanese island chain in the Pacific scrambled for higher ground after a major 7.4-magnitude offshore quake early Wednesday sparked a tsunami alert.
The seabed tremor struck at 2:19 am local time (1719 GMT Tuesday), jolting people out of bed as loudspeakers blared across the islands and authorities [...]

Read More » No commentDecember 22, 2010

Asian life expectancy rising but food shortages remain: OECD

PARIS (AFP) – Life expectancy is rising fast in the Asia-Pacific region as economic growth leads to improved living standards, but half a billion people remain undernourished, the OECD said on Tuesday.
Life expectancy at birth in 22 Asian countries, not including OECD members Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea, was 71.6 years in 2008, [...]

Read More » No commentDecember 22, 2010

China urges North Korea to accept nuclear inspectors

BEIJING/SEOUL (Reuters) – China on Tuesday urged North Korea to follow through on its offer to allow U.N. nuclear monitors into the country as a way to alleviate international tensions during a standoff with South Korea.
China, North Korea’s only major ally, has continually urged dialogue to resolve the crisis and has been reluctant to blame [...]

Read More » No commentDecember 22, 2010

India, Russia sign deals on fighter jets, nuclear energy

NEW DELHI (AFP) – Russia and India on Tuesday signed a pact worth up to 30 billion dollars on the development of a fifth-generation fighter aircraft and agreed to pursue a deal to build two Russian nuclear reactors.
The agreements surrounded talks in New Delhi between visiting Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Indian Premier Manmohan Singh, [...]

Read More » No commentDecember 22, 2010