Other News

China’s Xi, Japan’s Abe hold landmark meeting after awkward handshake

(Reuters) – After an awkward handshake, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held formal talks on Monday for the first time since the two leaders took office, a breakthrough in efforts to improve ties between the Asian rivals. Television footage showed Abe waiting for Xi to greet him at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, a departure from usual protocol in which the Chinese leader is on hand waiting for a […]

49ers edge Saints in overtime, Cardinals lose quarterback

(Reuters) – The San Francisco 49ers prevailed in an overtime thriller with New Orleans after Saints quarterback Drew Brees fumbled and the league-leading Arizona Cardinals won again but suffered a costly blow in defeating the St. Louis Rams on Sunday. Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer went down with a knee injury after being sacked in the fourth quarter of their 31-14 win and was carried off the field. Backup Drew Stanton promptly came through with a […]

Pacquiao pace, skills will be too much for Algieri: Roach

(Reuters) – American challenger Chris Algieri represents a younger, hungrier generation of boxers hoping to take down Manny Pacquiao but the world champion’s coach Freddie Roach is confident the Filipino has both the speed and skills to retain his WBO title. Algieri earned his shot at Pacquiao, a winner of world titles in eight different divisions, by climbing off the canvas twice to earn a split decision victory over Russian Ruslan Provodnikov in June, a […]

Obama says momentum building on ‘historic’ trans-Pacific trade deal

(Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday he sees momentum building for a Washington-backed free trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific, after arriving in Beijing on the first leg of an eight-day Asia tour. U.S officials had ruled out a major announcement on the ambitious 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in Beijing, where Obama will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and meet Chinese President Xi Jinping. But business leaders attending the APEC forum have been […]

Court to give verdict in case of doomed South Korea ferry

(Reuters) – A South Korean court is set to rule on whether the captain of a ferry that capsized killing more than 300 people, most of them children on a school trip, should be put to death for culpable homicide in a case that triggered widespread grief and outrage. A three-judge panel in the southern city of Gwangju will hand down verdicts and sentencing on Tuesday in the trial of captain Lee Joon-seok, 68, as […]

ASEAN a perennial quiet achiever

Author: Rodolfo Severino, ISEAS (Courtesy East Asia Forum) — On 12 November 2014, ASEAN leaders will gather in Naypyidaw, Myanmar’s new capital, for their twice-yearly summit. High on the ASEAN agenda for this November’s summit is, of course, the South China Sea. Failure to achieve consensus on the subject in the 2012 ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (the annual formal and regular meeting of the association’s foreign ministers) under the Cambodian foreign minister’s chairmanship caused the non-issuance of […]

At least 35 killed in Nigerian school assembly blast

(Reuters) – At least 35 people, most of them students, were killed when a bomb ripped through a school assembly in Nigeria’s northeastern town of Potiskum on Monday, a hospital official said. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Yobe State, a territory that has been hit by Sunni Muslim Boko Haram rebels during a five-year insurgency seen as the main security threat to Africa’s leading oil producer. Mariam Ibrahim, a teacher at […]

Aquino pushes economic policy changes to “level the playing field” in preparation for ASEAN integration

  MANILA, Philippines  (Eagle News Serivice) — President Aquino stressed the importance of achieving competitiveness for the country, especially as Southeast Asian countries begin to integrate economically. He said this during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Chief Executive Officers’ Summit in Beijing, China Sunday. The President said achieving competitiveness means making changes in the country’s policies and guidelines, to  “level the playing field” for businesses, as well as to correct the interventions between the ways and means […]

Aquino pushes harmonious relations with China

President Aquino said having harmonious relations with China — this year’s host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference (APEC) — will serve the best interest of the Philippines.“It’s also in the Philippines’ interest to achieve harmony with all of its neighbors. There are so many practices that each country can benefit from as we face common challenges,” the President said when asked about the Philippine-China relations during the APEC CEO Summit here in Beijing.For instance, the […]