FEATURED STORIES
The Woody Island fracas is not about Chinese missiles
Japan’s ‘global education’: Learning English is not a magic wand
The US double game to contain China
TOP NEWS
Amid violence, US, Russia reach provisional deal on Syria truce
(From AP)
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday he and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov had reached a provisional agreement on terms of a cessation of hostilities in Syria and the sides were closer to a ceasefire than ever before. But he indicated there were still issues to be resolved and he did not expect any immediate change on ...
ASIA UNHEDGED
China officially sacks stocks regulator head
(From Reuters)
China has removed the head of its securities regulator following a turbulent period in the country's stock markets, appointing a top state banking executive as his replacement, as leaders move to restore confidence in the economy.
Xiao's firing was first ...
Key US investment panel probed China merger, investment deals
(From Reuters)
China led the countries whose planned U.S. acquisitions and investments for 2014 were probed for U.S. security implications, making it the most scrutinized country by U.S. regulators, according to a government report released on Friday.
The Committee on Foreign Investment ...
Firming US inflation keeps Fed rate hike on the table
(From Reuters)
Rising rents and healthcare costs lifted underlying U.S. inflation in January by the most in nearly 4-1/2 years, signs of a pick-up in price pressures that could allow the Federal Reserve to gradually raise interest rates this year.
The Labor ...
Sign-up glitches have Apple Pay off to sour start in China
Smartphone users report problems linking their phones to bankcards, a problem the U.S. company says is due to a large number of people registering
(From Caixin Online)
By staff reporters Han Yi, Zhang Yuzhe and Wang Xiaoqing
Smartphone users trying to sign up ...
ASIA TIMES NEWS & FEATURES
News anchors in Japan fired amid curbs on Press freedom
(From Agencies)
Japan has fallen from 11th to 61st ranking in World Press Freedom Index of Reporters Without Borders since 2010.
The international watchdog cites Tokyo’s controversial ...
Philippine candidates grilled on poverty and crime in rare debate
(From AP)
One Philippine presidential candidate warned of a bloody presidency, promising to take down criminals and the corrupt in six months. Others pledged to lift ...
Suspected militants ‘behead’ Hindu priest in Bangladesh
(From Reuters)
Suspected Islamist militants stabbed and killed a Hindu priest at a temple in Bangladesh on Sunday, and shot and injured a devotee who tried ...
Protests over job quota cut water to Indian capital
From Reuters)
India deployed thousands of troops in a northern state on Sunday to quell protests that have severely hit water supplies to Delhi, a city ...
Radioactive water leak suspends Takahama reactor restart
(From AFP)
A radioactive water leak has halted plans to re-start a reactor at a nuclear power plant in western Japan, which would have been the ...
China’s Paracels build-up may be replicated on Spratlys: security experts
(From Reuters)
From listening posts to jet fighter deployments and now surface-to-air missiles, China's expanding facilities in the Paracel Islands are a signal of long-term plans ...
Asia Times Top Writers
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A Millennial conundrum: Communism and youth
on in
“If you’re not a liberal when you’re 25, you have no heart. If you’re not conservative by the time you’re 35, you have no brain” … a popular quote usually misattributed to Winston Churchill Something is breaking across Western and… Read More ›
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Today’s Middle East — hopeless but not Syri-ous: Spengler
on in
Welcome to Permanent War, as Russian Prime Minister Dimitri Medvedev dubbed today’s Middle East. It isn’t as bad as it sounds, provided, of course, that you’re not in it. The bonfire built on tribal enmity and national disillusionment will have to burn… Read More ›
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Mideast chess board: Saudi Arabia marks distance from Russia
on in
With the crunch time approaching in the Syrian conflict, it’s only Iran that Russia can count on as an ally. This is despite the complexities of the Russo-Iranian relationship historically, and the strong undercurrents of Iran’s integration with the western… Read More ›
Fashion, Lifestyle, Sports, Travel
(From Kstylick)
Korean K-Pop style and fashion blog Kstylick writes:
"This Dropped Shoulder Button-Down Denim Shirt has all the classic elements of a utilitarian work jacket. Styled with classic pointed collars, long sleeves with buttoned cuffs, patch pockets on the bust, a ... Read More
(From Reuters)
About 3,000 couples from 62 countries tied the knot in South Korea on Saturday, in a mass wedding ceremony conducted by the Unification Church founded by the late Reverend Sun Myung Moon.
A further 12,000 couples worldwide participated in the ... Read More
(From Reuters)
Brendon McCullum struck the fastest ever test century in a blistering counter-attack that dragged his side back into the second test against Australia, with New Zealand 273 for six at tea on the first day on Saturday.
The New Zealand ... Read More
(From the Nation)
The U Thong National Museum in Suphan Buri takes the visitor back through the millennia to an ancient Mon Kingdom
Suphan Buri province, 130 kilometres northwest of Bangkok, never lack ideas to attract visitors. The province continuously promotes various ... Read More