International Business Times

Philippines And Taiwan Agree On Probe Into Fishing Boat Shooting

Michelle FlorCruz — Tue, 21 May 2013 17:28:31 GMT

Taipei and Manila have arrived at an agreement, initiating an investigation that will look into the fatal shooting of Taiwanese fisherman Hung Shih-Cheng by the Philippine Coast Guard.

The May 9 attack on the Taiwanese fishing boat has triggered a wave of nationalism in Taiwan, and created increased tension between Taiwan and the Philippines. Taiwanese President Ma Ying-Jeou demanded an apology from Manila, saying the issue threatened economic relations. Ma also placed a hiring freeze on Filipino employees and told Taiwanese citizens to stop traveling to the tropical islands.

Beijing: 50,000 Electric Cars By 2015, 30,000 For Private Uses

s.song — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:57:59 GMT

Beijing plans to have 50,000 electric cars by 2015, 30,000 of which will be owned privately, the rest used as public transit, taxis and other public uses, Legal Evening News reports.

Hong Kong Expo Displays New Funeral Trends, Including Piano-Themed Casket [PHOTOS]

Michelle FlorCruz — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:10:42 GMT

More than 2,500 undertakers and funeral industry planners arrived in Hong Kong this past weekend to participate in the 2013 Asia Funeral and Cemetery Expo.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s India Visit: Indian Media Smitten By His Charm; Chinese Media Positive On Sino-Indian Ties

Gayathri — Tue, 21 May 2013 11:11:55 GMT

A mood of benign optimism, mostly devoid of nationalist sentiment, has taken over from the hostility and anxiety preceding Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s maiden visit to India.

The belligerence, which had built up over the weeks before the visit was triggered by mounting tensions between New Delhi and Beijing, after India accused Chinese troops of an incursion into Indian territory in Jammu and Kashmir on the night of April 15, has since died down.

Neo-Nazis Sprout in Malaysia; Yes, Malaysia

gooch7 — Tue, 21 May 2013 09:41:59 GMT

Nazism is typically associated with racialist, nationalistic movements in western and northern Europe. But Nazism (or its contemporary form, neo-Nazism) has been embraced by some far from Adolf Hitler’s Germany.

Consider the case of Malaysia, the multiracial state in Southeast Asia, where a neo-Nazi movement has sprung up to defend the rights and survival of what is called a "pure Malay” race.

North Korea Frees Chinese Fishing Boat And Crew

ericlinton — Tue, 21 May 2013 04:37:26 GMT

North Korea has freed a private Chinese fishing vessel it had seized, a Chinese consular official in Pyongyang told the Xinhua news agency Tuesday morning.

Yu Xuejun, owner of the "Liaoning Generic Fishing No. 25222" from Dalian in northeast China, told the Chinese Embassy that his fishermen were all safe and on their way home around 3 a.m.

"Yu told us that the fishermen are to continue fishing on the sea before heading back to China," the Chinese official said.

China And India Sign Eight-Part Agreement To Further Relations Despite Border Dispute

Michelle FlorCruz — Mon, 20 May 2013 19:24:49 GMT

China’s Premier Li Keqiang arrived in New Delhi on Sunday for the first leg of his first foreign trip since officially taking office in March.

While there, Li will meet with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, President Pranab Mukherjee and Vice President and Chairman of India’s Upper House of Parliament Hamid Ansari to discuss trade relations between the world’s two most populous nations.

A New Food Scandal In China: Rice Tainted With Cadmium In Guangzhou

s.song — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:09:25 GMT

In the newest food scandal in China, almost half of the rice tested in the major city of Guangzhou was found to have high levels of cadmium, a heavy metal that damages internal organs and causes cancer. According to data released by Guangzhou’s Food and Drug Administration, 44 percent of the rice tested in the city of roughly 12 million people showed high cadmium content.

How To Solve Pakistan’s Energy Crisis? Turn Off Air Conditioners, Wear No Socks

gooch7 — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:19:09 GMT

The new caretaker government of Pakistan has taken a novel approach to dealing with the country’s chronic electricity shortages and power outages: Officials have ordered all air conditioners in government offices turned off and instructed civil servants not to wear socks.

World's Tallest Building, 'Sky City', To Break Ground In China In June [VIDEO]

Michelle FlorCruz — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:33:05 GMT

A Chinese construction company is setting out to build the world’s tallest building, in Changsha, China. And it says it can finish it in one-tenth of the time it took to build the current record holder.

Chairman Mao's Granddaughter Among China's Richest: Social Media Fight Ensues Between Mao Fans And Anti-Mao Fans

s.song — Thu, 09 May 2013 19:54:07 GMT

Chairman Mao’s granddaughter Kong Dongmei made China's richest 500 people list published by New Fortune Magazine recently -- her joint worth with her husband is estimated to be around five billion yuan ($814 million), according to Shanghaiist. The irony, considering Mao’s Marxist belief, is not lost on Chinese netizens.

912 Now Dead In Bangladesh; 8 Others Killed In Fire In Different Factory

m.shwayder — Thu, 09 May 2013 15:12:54 GMT

A Bangladeshi official announced Thursday morning that the new estimated death toll from the April 24 garment factory collapse in Rana Plaza near Dhaka, Bangladesh, has reached 912 people. Also on Thursday, a fire in another garment factory in Dhaka killed eight people, Reuters reported.

Chinese Woman Yuan Liya's Death Brings Chinese To Beijing Streets In Protest

s.song — Thu, 09 May 2013 14:25:42 GMT

A 22-year-old Chinese woman, Yuan Liya, was found dead on May 3 in Beijing. Sadly, this would not be ordinarily a huge story -- but it became one when people began suspecting that the police were not telling the truth about her, and mass protests ensued.

Japan Protests Chinese Communist Party Propaganda Organ Report Challenging Tokyo’s Claim On Okinawa

Gayathri — Thu, 09 May 2013 11:34:50 GMT

Japan registered a protest to China on Thursday over the Chinese Communist Party’s main propaganda organ, the People’s Daily newspaper, questioning Tokyo’s historical claim on Okinawa, Japan's southern-most prefecture, which is also considered a key strategic asset for the U.S. in the Asian region.

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s Son Ali Haider Gilani Abducted By Gunmen From An Election Rally

Gayathri — Thu, 09 May 2013 10:53:31 GMT

Ahead of crucial Pakistan general elections scheduled for May 11, gunmen on Thursday abducted the son of former Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, during an election rally.

The former PM told the BBC his son Ali Haider, a candidate for the secular Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP), was seized in the central city of Multan.

China's Elite Clubs Catering To High-Ranking Officials Serve Peacock And Other Exotic Delicacies

s.song — Thu, 09 May 2013 09:22:22 GMT

While some in China feast on rat and fox meat, elite clubs in Hefei, the capital city of the eastern Chinese province of Anhui, have been serving peacocks, swans and other protected birds exclusively to high-ranking government officials, according to New Anhui News, a regional newspaper.

Pakistani Prisoner Sanaullah Haq Dies In Indian Hospital After Jail Attack, A Week After Indian Prisoner Sarabjit Singh’s Death In Pakistan

Gayathri — Thu, 09 May 2013 07:59:02 GMT

A Pakistani prisoner, who was critically injured after he was attacked by a fellow prisoner at a high-security prison in Indian-administered Kashmir, died in a hospital on Thursday.

Sanaullah Haq, aka Sanaullah Ranjay, who was in a coma, died of multi-organ failure at a hospital in India's Chandigarh city early on Thursday, news reports said citing doctors.

8 Dead In Bangladesh Garment Factory Fire

mvulta — Thu, 09 May 2013 04:37:54 GMT

Eight people are dead after a fire roared through a garment factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the BBC reported late Wednesday evening.

According to officials, the blaze occurred in the Mirpur industrial district at a factory owned by garment exporter Tung Hai Group. The fire broke out after many workers had left for the day, police said, according to Reuters.

Here's What 10,000 North Koreans With Colored Cards Can Do [PHOTOS]

s.song — Wed, 08 May 2013 19:14:23 GMT

It is incredible how much can be accomplished under a dictatorship, as these photos of 10,000 North Koreans composing mosaic images in a national celebration prove. Each participant would have been given a number of cardboards, which they hold up on cue to make these images depicting North Korean leaders, and other images.

The Worst Industrial Accidents In History [TIMELINE]

Lisa Mahapatra — Wed, 08 May 2013 17:54:06 GMT

Two recent high-profile tragedies -- the garment factory collapse in Bangladesh, which killed more than 800 people, and the fertilizer plant explosion in Texas, which resulted in 14 deaths -- have put workplace safety in the headlines.

But those are just the most dramatic and recent examples of workplace hazards and unsafe work conditions. More than 100 people in the United States die every day as a result of their work, according to the AFL-CIO. In 2011, about 4,693 workers were killed on the job, and 50,000 workers die every year from work-related diseases such as cancer.

David Cameron And China: Could The Dalai Lama Cost Britain Billions In Trade And Investments?

gooch7 — Tue, 07 May 2013 14:27:30 GMT

British Prime Minister David Cameron has found himself in an extremely difficult jam between two intransigent forces – the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama – and it could cost the U.K. billions of pounds in trade and investment.

Chinese officials have advised Cameron to stop meeting with the Tibetan spiritual leader lest Beijing pulls out huge infrastructure investments in London and elsewhere.

Cameron met with the Dalai Lama last year and also in 2008, angering the power-brokers in China every time -- Beijing regards the Dalai Lama as a troublesome separatist.

Taj Mahal In Miniature: Indian Postman Building Replica Of Iconic Tomb To Honor Deceased Wife

gooch7 — Tue, 07 May 2013 12:55:53 GMT

The Taj Mahal, the most famous symbol of India and the eternal expression of one man’s undying love for his wife, may soon have its own home-grown miniature version – which was also constructed for love.

According to reports in British media, a retired postman in India named Faizul Hasan Kadari, 77, is building a mini-Taj Mahal in the town of Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh in honor of his wife, Begum Tajmulli, who passed away in December 2011.

Kadari’s version also houses the tomb of his late wife – just like the more celebrated one does.

Prostitution Thriving In China: The Dark Underbelly of Economic Prosperity

gooch7 — Tue, 07 May 2013 09:12:33 GMT

Officially illegal since the 1949 Communist takeover, prostitution is nonetheless a widespread, mostly underground, industry in China.

Perhaps no other Chinese city is more closely associated with the world’s oldest profession than Dongguan in the Pearl River Delta, located at the vast country’s southeastern corner, near Hong Kong.

China Newest Soft-Power Diplomacy: A Fleet Of Luxury Sedans Gifted To Fiji [PHOTOS]

Michelle FlorCruz — Tue, 07 May 2013 09:10:15 GMT

China has used various forms of soft power as a form of diplomatic currency in the past. There was the ping pong diplomacy of the early 1970s, which paved the way for Richard Nixon’s 1972 groundbreaking trip to China. There was also panda diplomacy, which saw China give 23 pandas to nine different countries from 1958 to 1982 (two of them to Nixon after his visit.)

Now China is expanding its soft power diplomacy to luxury vehicles.

Pentagon Report Accuses Chinese Of Cyber Attacks

ericlinton — Tue, 07 May 2013 06:00:46 GMT

China is carrying out systematic cyber-espionage on the U.S. military and private businesses to acquire technology, the Pentagon charged Monday in its most blunt assessment yet.

In its annual report to Congress on the People’s Liberation Army of China, the Defense Department stresses the threat of cyber-espionage, which has led to top-level complaints to Beijing by Washington.