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‘Crisis Status’ in South Korea After North Shells Island

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 09:18:01 -0700

New York Times - By Mark McDonald - Aug. 08 (News Report) - The South Korean military went to “crisis status” on Tuesday and threatened military strikes after the North fired dozens of shells at a South Korean island, killing two of the South’s soldiers and setting off an exchange of fire in one of the most serious clashes between the two sides in decades.

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Chinese manufacturers: The end of cheap goods?

Sun, 12 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Economist - Jun. 12 (News Analysis) - “It is the end of cheap goods,” says Bruce Rockowitz. He is the chief executive of Li & Fung, a company that sources more clothes and common household products from Asia than perhaps any other. In the low-tech areas in which Li & Fung specialises, the firm handles an estimated 4% of China’s exports to America and a sizeable chunk of its exports to Europe, too. It has operations in several East Asian countries, where it diligently searches for cheap, reliable suppliers of everything from handbags to bar stools. So when Mr Rockowitz says the era of low-cost Asian production is drawing to a close, people listen. He argues that Asian manufacturing has gone through a number of phases, each lasting about 30 years. When China was isolated under Mao Zedong, companies in Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea grew expert at making things. When China reopened in the late 1970s, after Mao’s death, these experienced Asian operators converged on southern China. With almost free access to land and labour, plus an efficient port and logistics hub in nearby Hong Kong, they started to make things ever more cheaply and sell them to the whole world. For the next 30 years manufacturers in China helped to keep global inflation in check. But that era is now over, says Mr Rockowitz. Chinese wages are rising fast. A wave of new demand, especially from China itself, is feeding a surge in commodity prices. Manufacturers can find some relief by moving production to new areas, such as western China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Malaysia, India and Indonesia. But none of these new places will curb inflation the way southern China once did, he predicts. All rely on the same increasingly expensive pool of commodities. Many have rising wages or poor logistics. None can provide the scale and efficiency that was created when manufacturers converged on southern China.

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Nearly 600 Arrested in Asian Swindling Ring

Sat, 11 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Michael Wines - Jun. 11 (Breaking News) - The sweep was reported to have shut down 161 boiler-room operations in Taiwan, China, Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand, each employing sophisticated frauds.

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Afghan pilot kills nine US trainers in 'personal' row

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Independent - By Julius Cavendish - Apr. 28 (News Report) - Eight American soldiers and a civilian contractor were shot and killed by an Afghan pilot in Kabul yesterday after an argument erupted during a meeting at the city's military airport.

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US troops killed in Kabul airport attack

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Associated Press - Apr. 27 (News Report) - Eight American troops and a US contractor died after an Afghan military pilot opened fire during a meeting at Kabul airport — the deadliest episode to date of an Afghan turning against his coalition partners, officials said.

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US Forces Pull Back After Radiation Detected

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Associated Press - By Unknown - Mar. 15 (News Report) - SOMA, Japan -- The second hydrogen explosion in three days rocked Japan's stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant Monday, sending a massive column of smoke into the air and wounding 11 workers. Hours later, the U.S. said it had shifted its offshore forces away from the plant after detecting low-level radioactive contamination.

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Second nuclear meltdown likely under way in Japan, official says

Sun, 13 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0800

NBC News - Mar. 13 (Special Report) - Japanese officials were trying frantically to thwart partial meltdowns presumed under way Sunday at two earthquake-stricken nuclear reactors in Japan.

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VIDEO: New footage of tsunami hitting Japan

Sun, 13 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0800

BBC News - Mar. 13 (News Report) - Newly emerged footage shows the force at which the tsunami struck Japan's coast. In the fishing port of Miyako, in Iwate prefecture, boats were overturned, while video from Kamaishi city shows cars being dragged down city streets by the water.

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Japan crisis 'worst since WWII'

Sun, 13 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0800

BBC News - Mar. 13 (News Report) - Prime Minister Naoto Kan has said Japan is experiencing its greatest hardships since World War II as it tackles the aftermath of an earthquake, tsunami and a growing nuclear crisis. He said the situation at the quake-hit Fukushima nuclear plant remained grave, a day after an explosion at a reactor. Japanese broadcaster NHK says the total number of confirmed deaths caused by the disaster now stands at 1,596. But police warn that the death toll in Miyagi region alone could top 10,000. Millions of survivors remain without electricity and authorities are stepping up relief efforts as the scale of the tragedy becomes clearer. About 310,000 people have been evacuated to emergency shelters, NHK says.

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Warships, doctors, and dogs on extensive Japan assistance mission

Sun, 13 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0800

CNN - Mar. 13 (News) - Numerous U.S. rescue and assistance teams arrived Sunday in Japan and are helping lead a broad international effort to bring relief to areas ravaged by Friday's earthquake and tsunami. The United States, the United Kingdom, China, and South Korea are among 69 governments that have offered to help, Kyodo News Agency reported, citing the Japanese foreign ministry. Aid groups such as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have sent teams to some of the worst-hit areas, including Sendai, Narita, Asahi and Tokyo. Mercy Corps International teamed with Peace Winds Japan to rush aid to affected regions. Stephen McDonald of Save the Children told CNN Sunday his group had multiple teams in the country, reaching out to families left homeless. There are water shortages at evacuation centers, creating hygiene challenges, he said.

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US ups pressure on Sri Lanka over slain civilians

Sat, 05 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Associated Press - Mar. 05 (News Report) - The United States is increasing pressure on Sri Lanka to investigate the deaths of thousands of civilians at the end of its civil war. Human rights groups contend a Sri Lankan government commission has demonstrated no intent of doing it. The Senate passed a resolution this past week urging an international investigation of war crimes allegations. The State Department has yet to go that far, but said Friday that pressure to do so would grow if Sri Lanka should fail to investigate the abuses properly.

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Carnivorous Plants Eat Poop From Tiny Bats

Sun, 30 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Wired - By Mark Brown - Jan. 30 (News) - In a bizarre example of a symbiotic relationship, tiny bats in Borneo have been found using a carnivorous plant as a toilet, feeding the pitcher plant with their droppings, while they safely roost in the plant’s traps. Ulmar Grafe, an associate professor at the Universiti Brunei Darussalam, was researching the pitcher plant — a giant, carnivorous vine with deep, pitfall cups that are used to trap prey — for a study published in Biology Letters. Grafe wanted to find out how the pitcher managed to find the nitrogen needed to survive in the nutrient-poor peat swamps of Borneo in southeast Asia.

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Real Estate Rage Erupts in Hangzhou

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Wall Street Journal - By Jonathan Shieber - Jan. 11 (News Report) - A week after a story by China’s state broadcaster on affordable housing in Beijing set off a round of riotous complaints, a real riot over real estate erupted in the southern city of Hangzhou.

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U.N. council holds emergency meeting on Korea crisis

Sun, 19 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Reuters - Dec. 19 (News) - The U.N. Security Council began an emergency meeting on Sunday in hopes of preventing the escalating crisis on the Korean peninsula from spiraling out of control.

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In North Korea, New Mexico governor says situation is a 'tinderbox'

Sat, 18 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0800

CNN - By CNN Wire Staff - Dec. 18 (News) - New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said Saturday he is concerned about escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula, where he is urging "maximum" restraint ahead of scheduled military exercises.

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China calls for emergency talks amid Korea crisis

Sun, 28 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

BBC News - Nov. 28 (News Report) - China calls for emergency talks over North Korea's deadly shelling of a Southern island, as the South and US forces hold joint military exercises.

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North Korea says on 'brink of war' as US, South Korea prepare for military exercises

Fri, 26 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Christian Science Monitor - By Tom A. Peter - Nov. 26 (News Report) - Officials in North Korea have warned that they are on the brink of war with the South, as the United States and South Korea prepare to conduct a joint training exercise in the Yellow Sea.

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‘Crisis Status’ in South Korea After North Shells Island

Tue, 23 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By MARK McDONALD - Nov. 23 (Special Report) - The South Korean military went to “crisis status” on Tuesday and threatened military strikes after the North fired dozens of shells at a South Korean island, killing two of the South’s soldiers and setting off an exchange of fire in one of the most serious clashes between the two sides in decades. President Lee Myung-bak met with security-related ministers and senior aides in the underground situation room at the Blue House, the presidential office and residence, and ordered strikes on North Korea’s missile base if the North made any “indication of further provocation,” The Korea Herald quoted a presidential spokesman, Hong Sang-pyo, as saying.

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North Korean artillery hits South Korean island‎

Tue, 23 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

BBC News - Nov. 23 (News Report) - North Korea reportedly fires several artillery shells across its western maritime border, prompting return fire from South Korea.

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Britain's top soldier says al-Qaeda cannot be beaten

Sun, 14 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Daily Telegraph - By Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent - Nov. 14 (News Report) - The new head of Britain's armed forces, Gen Sir David Richards, has warned that the West cannot defeat al-Qaeda and militant Islam.

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Burma releases pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi

Sat, 13 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

BBC News - Nov. 13 (News) - The Burmese military authorities have released the pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, from house arrest. Appearing outside her home in Rangoon, Ms Suu Kyi told thousands of jubilant supporters they had to "work in unison" to achieve their goals. The Nobel Peace Prize winner has been detained for 15 of the past 21 years. It is not yet clear if any conditions have been placed on her release. US President Barack Obama welcomed her release as "long overdue". UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Ms Suu Kyi was an "inspiration", and called on Burma to free all its remaining political prisoners. Ms Suu Kyi, 65, was freed after her latest period of house arrest expired and was not renewed by the military government. Her release comes six days after the political party supported by the military won the country's first election in 20 years. The ballot was widely condemned as a sham.

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Burma democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi released

Sat, 13 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Associated Press - Nov. 13 (News) - Pro-democracy hero Aung San Suu Kyi walked free Saturday after more than seven years under house arrest, welcomed by thousands of cheering supporters outside the decaying lakefront villa that has been her prison. Her guards effectively announced the end of her detention, pulling back the barbed-wire barriers that sealed off her potholed street and suddenly allowing thousands of expectant supporters to surge toward the house. Many chanted her name as they ran. Some wept.

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West cannot defeat al-Qaeda, says UK forces chief

Sat, 13 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

BBC News - Nov. 13 (News Report) - General Sir David Richards, a former Nato commander in Afghanistan, said Islamist militancy would pose a threat to the UK for at least 30 years. But he told the Sunday Telegraph newspaper a clear-cut victory over militants was not achievable. The BBC's Frank Gardner said the comments reflect a "new realism" in UK and US counter-terrorism circles. Our security correspondent said such an admission five years ago might have been considered outrageous and defeatist.

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Burma generals 'sign Aung San Suu Kyi release order'

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

BBC News - Nov. 12 (News) - Reports are coming out of Burma saying the military authorities have signed an order authorising the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

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Challenges Await U.S. at Group of 20 Meeting

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By David E. Sanger - Nov. 10 (News Report) - With China leading the critics of American economic policy, officials acknowledge that President Obama is going to have a difficult time winning any kind of consensus strategy.

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