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North Korea blows off the cobwebs
07 09 2010 This month's party conference in North Korea is an anachronistic showcase for the Leninist hierarchy, if not quite the lavish display of a full-blown congress. Still, as men in badly tailored suits clap only when instructed, the meeting could be one of the last reminders of a bygone era - and it could deliver big news - just as happened in 1980. - Andrei Lankov (Sep 7, '10)
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Inspectors miss the flight to Kyrgyzstan
03 09 2010 The US's standing in Central Asia has taken a big hit after Kyrgyzstan's interim President Roza Otunbayeva, under pressure from nationalists, shut the door on its idea for a European-led security mission to keep peace between Uzbek and Kyrgyz communities. Talks this week underscore that US policy can be salvaged only with sincere Russian help. But Moscow is brooding. - M K Bhadrakumar (Sep 3, '10)
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Taiwan in a rice wine stew
03 09 2010 Taiwan's plans to halve the price of local rice wine have angered fellow World Trade Organization members, who say this creates unfair competition to imported whisky and cognac. Insisting the spirit is used only for cooking and therefore exempt from high taxes, Taipei hopes that feeding Western dignitaries dishes like sesame chicken will convince them to drop their complaints. - Jens Kastner (Sep 3, '10)
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IT WORLD : Delhi targets Google, Skype
03 09 2010 The stay of execution granted Research in Motion before it has to give the Indian government access to BlackBerry encrypted data services does not mean a retreat by New Delhi, which now has Google and Skype in its sights. Martin J Young surveys the week's developments in computing, science, gaming and gizmos.
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THE MOGAMBO GURU : Bernanke blows his cover
03 09 2010 That cheaper goods and services are bad for us is the only conclusion we can draw from US Federal Reserve boss Ben Bernanke's concern that price inflation isn't running fast enough - in utter violation of the Fed's purpose in life: expressly to prevent inflation in prices.
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MARKET RAP : Confused - but forward
03 09 2010 Asia's stock markets put on a positive showing over the past week, with Australia and its near 4% gain leading the way and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index staging a recovery. But muddle and outside forces, rather than confidence, were the driving forces. R M Cutler runs his eye over the ups and downs in the week's markets.
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IMF stumps up Pakistan aid
03 09 2010 The International Monetary Fund is to give Pakistan US$450 million in immediate emergency funding while the World Bank has topped up its aid to the flood-stricken country to $1 billion. Yet to be decided by the IMF is if and when it will release more than $1 billion in loans agreed to in 2008. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider
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Deripaska on US mission
03 09 2010 Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska is to seek the backing of institutional investors in the United States for his hostile takeover bid for Norilsk Nickel. Echoing in the background is Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's recent warning on how company profits should not be disbursed, and his approval of shareholders when they "are not greedy, not mean, not argumentative". - John Helmer
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BOOK REVIEW : Al-Qaeda and counter-terrorism
03 09 2010 Jihad in Saudi Arabia: Violence and Pan-Islamism since 1979 by Thomas Hegghammer An engaging study of the rise of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, this book traces the movements evolution from a Pan-Islamic volunteer force in the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to a fermentation period in Saudi Arabia and finally its emergence as a global jihadi network. It also shows how Saudi leaders have successfully used softer techniques to undermine al-Qaeda's mass appeal. - Brian M Downing (Sep 3, '10)
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New case for US reparations in Laos
03 09 2010 It is estimated it will take 3,000 years to clear Laos of all the explosive remnants left behind from United States bombers over 30 years ago. More than 20,000 people have died from unexploded ordnance since conflict ended. Now, new questions are being asked about whether the US government should pay much more for the damage it has caused. - Melody Kemp (Sep 3, '10)
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