Liu and Yassky Headed for Runoff for New York City Comptroller Posted 09-16-2009
After a tight, expensive race for city comptroller between candidates with little name recognition, City Councilmen John C. Liu of Queens and David Yassky of Brooklyn appeared to be headed for a runoff election on Tuesday night.
"Mona Lisa" comes to life in high-tech art exhibit Posted 08-28-2009
BEIJING (Reuters Life!) - For centuries, Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" and her enigmatic smile have inspired as much speculation as admiration. Now she's ready to answer questions -- in Mandarin.
Where Life Revolves Around Your Cellphone, the Factory Floor, and Forged Diplomas: A Q&A With the Au Posted 12-24-2008
Chinese cities today have more than 130 million migrant workers, most of whom have relocated from more rural parts of China, writes Leslie Chang in her recent book Factory Girls: “Together they represent the largest migration in human history - three times the number of people who emigrated to America from Europe over a century.”
Time to Reboot America Posted 12-24-2008
Landing at Kennedy Airport from Hong Kong was, as I’ve argued before, like going from the Jetsons to the Flintstones. The ugly, low-ceilinged arrival hall was cramped, and using a luggage cart cost $3.
The Big Question: Why is the panda so revered, and is it China's most powerful secret weapon? Posted 12-23-2008
China has wheeled out its black and white furry secret weapon, the Giant Panda, in an attempt to cement relations with Taiwan, the island which Beijing considers an inalienable part of its territory.
China’s Goodwill Giant Pandas Arrive in Taiwan Posted 12-23-2008
A pair of giant pandas from China's fog-shrouded mountains reached an excited but wary Taiwan on Tuesday, a symbol of improved relations between the longtime political rivals who once stood at the brink of war.
'Strong-Willed Pig' named China's animal of the year Posted 12-22-2008
A pig that became a nationwide celebrity after surviving for 36 days buried beneath rubble after this year's Sichuan earthquake has been named China's most inspirational animal of 2008.
36 Hours in Ho Chi Minh City Posted 12-22-2008
HO CHI MINH CITY, or Saigon, as most locals still call it, is a relative newcomer. With only three centuries of history, compared with Hanoi’s thousand years, the city has a youthful spirit and is quick to embrace change.
Saudi court tells girl aged EIGHT she cannot divorce husband who is 50 years her senior Posted 12-22-2008
A Saudi court has rejected a plea to divorce an eight-year-old girl married off by her father to a man who is 58, saying the case should wait until the girl reaches puberty.
Rescuing Cultures of India, From A to Z Posted 12-22-2008
In an academy deep in the agrarian countryside of western India, five students were writing briskly in ruled notebooks. When they are finished, the world will have five more documented languages.
From a Hinterland, Hmong Forge a Home Posted 12-22-2008
“Sometimes I imagine that I am seeing the mountains of Laos in those green hills,” said Mr. Ly, 50, a farmer and baker who was born into the Hmong, the mountain tribe that waged a C.I.A.-backed guerrilla war against the Communist Pathet Lao in Laos in the 1960s and 1970s.
In Booming Gulf, Some Arab Women Find Freedom in the Skies Posted 12-22-2008
It was graduation day at Etihad Training Academy, where the national airline of the United Arab Emirates holds a seven-week training course for new flight attendants.
Toyota Expects Its First Loss in 70 Years Posted 12-22-2008
Toyota Motor, the Japanese auto giant, said Monday that it expected its first operating loss in 70 years, underscoring how the economic crisis was spreading across the global auto industry.
China to the Rescue? Not! Posted 12-22-2008
I had no idea that many of those oil paintings that hang in hotel rooms and starter homes across America are actually produced by just one Chinese village, Dafen, north of Hong Kong. And I had no idea that Dafen’s artist colony had been devastated by the bursting of the U.S. housing bubble.
Hell No, Kitty! Posted 12-21-2008
Taiwan is home to an unusual maternity hospital; one entirely decked out in Hello Kitty accoutrements.
Chinese Protesters: Stop Nabbing, Eating Our Cats Posted 12-19-2008
Several dozen protesters in Beijing today urged an end to the "shameful" and "cruel slaughter" of cats for food as they unfurled banners in a tearful demonstration.
Pakistan May Not Be Ready for Its Beauty Queen Posted 12-19-2008
Every once in a while, you can catch Miss Pakistan, Natasha Paracha, 24, hopping out of a cab in her rhinestone tiara, fresh from an appearance.
Kraft's Chinese Oreo Cookie Makeover Posted 12-17-2008
Video report
Man dies after retirement party hijinks Posted 12-16-2008
A 60-year-old man who was thrown into the air in celebration at his retirement party died after his colleagues failed to catch him and he fell to the floor, a Japanese newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Eliot Spitzer shows his face in Chinatown Posted 12-16-2008
If Eliot Spitzer had had to choose a venue at which to make his re-entry into society, he would presumably not have selected a former massage parlour in Chinatown on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
What Saudi women can and cannot do Posted 12-16-2008
I was recently asked if I could make a list of what Saudi women can and cannot do due to the culture, social, law and religious traditions of the Kingdom.
Captive doctor to return to UK Posted 12-14-2008
An NHS doctor who was freed following claims that she was being held captive in Bangladesh by her parents is due to fly into the UK later.
Vietnam prostitutes kept in dog cages Posted 12-10-2008
Some 130 women were held prisoner, some in dog cages, at a Ho Chi Minh City brothel, forced to work as prostitutes 18 hours per day, local media reports say.
Inventor builds She-3PO robot Posted 12-10-2008
SHE is the perfect wife, with the body of a Page 3 pin-up and housekeeping skills that put TV’s Kim and Aggie to shame. Her name is Aiko, she can even read a map, and will never, ever, nag.
Math Gains Reported for U.S. Students Posted 12-09-2008
American fourth- and eighth-grade students made solid achievement gains in math in recent years and in two states showed spectacular progress, an international survey of student achievement released on Tuesday found. Science performance was flat.
Home Business & Finance News U.S. Politics International Technology Entertainment Sports Lifestyle O Posted 12-09-2008
A young woman in southern China has partially lost her hearing after her boyfriend ruptured her eardrum during an excessively passionate kiss, local media reported Monday.
Wie finally proves she belongs on LPGA Tour Posted 12-09-2008
Having played 90 holes over five days in pursuit of LPGA Tour membership, the final act for Michelle Wie was to sign her scorecard. Walking to the tent, one fan held up a sign that played off the marathon political season. "Yes Wie Can."
Brits Try To Free Doctor Held Captive In Bangladesh Posted 12-09-2008
A British lawyer is trying to help a U.K. resident allegedly being held by relatives in Bangladesh by using a new law that allows British courts to prevent someone from being forced into marriage.
The Indian mother who had an IVF baby at the age of 70 Posted 12-08-2008
This is the Indian woman who has become the second in the country to give birth to a child by IVF at the age of 70. Mrs Rajo Devi, old enough to be a great-grandmother, brought her daughter into the world after IVF treatment at an Indian medical centre. Both are said to be doing well.
Hello baby! Hello Kitty welcomes Taiwan newborns Posted 12-05-2008
Mommy, daddy -- and Hello Kitty -- welcome newborns at a cat-themed Taiwan maternity hospital that hopes the Japanese cartoon icon will ease the stress of childbirth as well as boost business.
|
 |
Current Headlines from Asia Times
|
 |
 |
AN ASIA TIMES ONLINE EXCLUSIVE : Taliban eat into Afghanistan's core
Even as several tracks of peace talks with the Taliban open up, Asia Times Online has learned that senior members of the Western-trained and financed Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police plan to defect with vast numbers of their colleagues to the militants once foreign forces start to leave the country. - Hamza Ameer and Ihsanullah Tipu Mehsud (Feb 3, '12)
Rants and raves for new US pullout plan
The surprise decision to phrase out a combat role for US troops in Afghanistan by mid-2013 has drawn mixed reaction in Washington, with critics of the 11-year international occupation cheering and neo-cons and other hawks assessing that the strategy will open the door to Kabul for the Taliban. The announcement comes as a critical juncture on a number of fronts. - Jim Lobe (Feb 3, '12)
THE ROVING EYE : Exposed: The Arab agenda in Syria
Washington, London and Paris are falling over themselves to assure the real international community that the "Arab-led drive to secure a peaceful end to the 10-month crackdown" in Syria at the United Nations is not seeking another mandate for bombing a la Libya. But BRICS members Russia and China see it for what it is: no less than a crude drive for regime change. - Pepe Escobar (Feb 3, '12)
Question time for North Korea
North Korea reportedly is producing middle-range missiles for export for Iran's defense in the event of a Middle East war that would make the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan look like brush fires. Closer to home, Pyongyang has fired off a series of questions to South Korea that are not necessarily expected to be answered. - Donald Kirk (Feb 3, '12)
From sex to shame, a guru's legacy
Squabbling among followers of late spiritual guru Acharya Rajneesh over a US$7.1 million land deal has escalated in the Indian courts, while visitors to the "sex to super-consciousness" guru's ashram are falling due to exorbitant pricing. The materialism on display seems far removed from the days of "free love" and transcendental meditation. - Sudha Ramachandran (Feb 3, '12)
Hidden hand, clean hand in Russian politics
Over seven decades after Joseph Stalin's Great Purge, his star is rising, particularly among younger Russians for whom the dictator is a symbol of strong and clean hands. Most Russians suspect the hands of everyone contending for political power to be hidden, weak and corrupt. Russians think they can grasp what Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's hands can do - and are loathe to trust the devils they don't know. - John Helmer (Feb 3, '12)
Nightmare at Narita
The deportation and arrest of foreign journalists in Japan has raised suspicions Tokyo is punishing foreigners critical of its response to the Fukushima nuclear crisis, with the apparently harsh interrogation, detention and deportation procedures at Narita Airport adding to the controversy. First-hand experience suggest the airport's immigration agency is acting as a law unto itself. - Christopher Johnson (Feb 3, '12)
BOOK REVIEW : LeT: Terror incorporated
The Caliphate's Soldiers: The Lashkar-e-Tayyeba's Long War by Wilson John With thousands of recruitment and training centers across Pakistan, funds pouring in from the Gulf and links from Nepal to Sri Lanka, Lashkar-e-Toiba has flourished since the Mumbai attacks of November 2008. Detailing LeT's growth into "the world's most powerful and resourceful terror consultancy firm" - including a Department of Martyrs - this book offers an excellent primer on LeT's global ambitions. - Surinder Kumar Sharma
SPEAKING FREELY : Lest we forget in Myanmar
Optimistic reports of positive change flow freely from Myanmar, as the president portrays himself as a leader who sincerely wants to improve citizens' livelihoods, alleviate poverty and include the oppressed opposition in the political process. But the West blindly supports the shallow democratic transition, and increasingly runs the rising risk of being on the wrong side of history. - Nancy Hudson-Rodd (Feb 3, '12)
$1 bn shale-gas deal sweetens Beijing trip by Canada's Harper
PetroChina's estimated US$1 billion purchase of a stake in a Canadian shale-gas project sets the tone for Prime Minister Stephen Harper's visit to Beijing next week. China's urgent desire to exploit its own vast unconventional gas reserves dovetails nicely with Canada's technological know-how and willingness to do business. - Robert M Cutler
Factory owners mourn Mazar-e-Sharif clean-up
Mazar-e-Sharif residents are increasingly able to breathe fresh air and walk clean, tree-lined streets in the northern Afghan city as authorities force factories out of the center and ban old, high-emission vehicles - to the consternation of taxi drivers, factory owners and their workers. - Ahmad Ramin Delasa
IT WORLD : Facebook heads for IPO
Social networking giant Facebook has at last moved towards selling its shares to the public, seeking to raise a possible US$5 billion. The sale would propel 27-year-old co-founder Mark Zuckerberg to the top ranks of rich folk, with a $28 billion stake. Martin J Young surveys the week's developments in computing, science, gaming and gizmos.
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
