Major Asian stock markets closed mostly lower Thursday. Tokyo’s Nikkei index lost nearly one and one-half percent to finish at 9,901. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained just over one-tenth of one percent to finish the day’s trading at 22,571. Share prices were higher in Bangkok, but lower in Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, […]
Winners of Asia’s Version of Nobel Prize Revealed
Posted July 28th, 2011 at 7:10 am (UTC-5)
Two Indian philanthropists and a Philippine non-profit development organization are among the winners of the Philippines prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Awards. The annual awards, named after a popular Philippine president who was killed in a plane crash in 1957, are widely seen as Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Prizes. Harish Hande, a U.S. trained engineer and […]
Asia Markets Close Mostly Lower
Posted July 28th, 2011 at 7:05 am (UTC-5)
Major Asian stock markets closed mostly higher Thursday. Tokyo’s Nikkei index lost nearly one and one-half percent to finish at 9,901. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained just over one-tenth of one percent to finish the day’s trading at 22,571. Share prices were higher in Bangkok, but lower in Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, […]
Vietnam Rebuts US Criticism Over Jailing of Priest
Posted July 28th, 2011 at 7:00 am (UTC-5)
Vietnam is rejecting U.S. charges that dissident priest Nguyen Van Ly was returned to prison for expressing his opinions. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga said Thursday that the ailing Catholic priest was returned to prison Monday on the orders of a provincial court. She noted that Ly had been released on humanitarian grounds to […]
Norway to Set Up Commission to Investigate Attacks
Posted July 28th, 2011 at 7:00 am (UTC-5)
Counter terrorism experts from the European Union and Norway will meet in Brussels on Thursday to discuss ways to prevent attacks similar to the one that killed 76 people last week in Oslo. Norwegian police said on Wednesday it is increasingly likely that the suspect in the attacks, Anders Behring Breivik, worked alone and that […]
Palestinian Police Raid Ex-Gaza Security Commander’s Home
Posted July 28th, 2011 at 6:40 am (UTC-5)
Palestinian police have raided the West Bank home of former Gaza security commander Mohammed Dahlan, arresting at least 12 of his security guards, and seizing weapons, computers and vehicles. The raid Thursday came shortly after Dahlan lost an appeal of his expulsion from Fatah’s central committee, which expelled Dahlan in June. President Mahmoud Abbas’ office […]
Group Links Vietnam Military to Illegal Logging in Laos
Posted July 28th, 2011 at 6:30 am (UTC-5)
A London-based environmental group accuses the Vietnamese military of playing a key role in the illicit lumber trade between Vietnam and Laos. The Environmental Investigation Agency says in a report Thursday that its agents posed as buyers of illegal timber during undercover operations in 2010 and 2011. It says the group discovered that one of […]
Afghan Officials: Suicide Bombers Attack Official Buildings in South
Posted July 28th, 2011 at 6:30 am (UTC-5)
Authorities in Afghanistan say suicide bombers have attacked official buildings in the volatile southern province of Uruzgan. News reports say at least three bombers detonated their explosives Thursday and that other attackers were fighting police. Officials said there were casualties from the blasts, but it is not yet clear how many. The attackers were reportedly […]
Bomb Blasts Kill 12 in Iraq
Posted July 28th, 2011 at 6:10 am (UTC-5)
Iraqi officials say a pair of bombs have exploded in the city of Tikrit, killing at least 12 people and wounding 28 others. Authorities said said the first explosion was a car bomb that went off outside a bank where policemen were picking up their monthly paychecks. As people gathered at the site, officials say […]
Cyprus Cabinet Resigns Amid Outcry over Economy, Munitions Blast
Posted July 28th, 2011 at 5:45 am (UTC-5)
A Cyprus government official says the country’s Cabinet has agreed to step down at the request of President Dimitris Christofias. A government spokesman says President Christofias asked his ministers to resign on Thursday as part of a broad reshuffle of the government. Stefanou says the 11 members of the Cabinet will remain in place until […]
