Pics : Treasures of Indonesia

Mt. Rinjani and Anakan Lake, the beauty of Lombok, indonesia.

News : Thousands of Filipinos call for Arroyo ouster on 'people power' anniversary

MANILA, Philippines – Thousands of Filipinos took to the streets and flocked to churches Monday in a fresh wave of nationwide protests on the anniversary of a 1986 grass-roots revolt, calling for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to resign.

Left-wing protesters, Roman Catholic church-backed groups, students, teachers and others took part in anti-Arroyo rallies in 15 cities.

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News : S Korean leader vows pragmatism

South Korea's new president has pledged a "pragmatic" approach in dealing with his country's northern neighbour, shortly after being sworn into office.

Lee Myung-bak said on Monday he was willing to meet Kim Jong-il, the North's leader, to establish mutual respect and "make the lives of all 70 million Koreans happy" through unification.

"If it is to discuss these issues, then I believe the two leaders should meet whenever necessary and talk openly, with an open mind," he said at his inauguration."

We must move from the age of ideology into the age of pragmatism."

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News : Where are the happiest places on the planet?

In The Geography of Bliss, Eric Weiner set out to visit the happiest places on the planet. As a foreign correspondent for National Public Radio, he'd covered a multitude of catastrophes and maladies from more than 30 countries over the past two decades, and he decided it was time to investigate the other side of the story.

Using the ancient philosophers and the much more recent "science of happiness" as his guide, Mr. Weiner traveled the world in search of the happiest places.

He made his way from Iceland (one of the world's happiest countries) to Bhutan (where the king has made Gross National Happiness a national priority) to Moldova (not a happy place). He traveled to Switzerland, where he discovered the hidden virtues of boredom; to the tiny—and extremely wealthy—Persian Gulf nation of Qatar, where the relationship between money and happiness is laid bare; to India, where Westerners seek their bliss at the feet of gurus; to Thailand, where not thinking is a way of life; to a small town outside London where happiness experts attempt to "change the psychological climate."

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News : Intrigue and illness in Myanmar's junta

BANGKOK - This month's surprise announcement in Myanmar of a planned national referendum on a new constitution in May and multi-party democratic elections by 2010 are all part of Senior General Than Shwe's game plan to hold onto power and ensure his family's interests are secured. The question now is whether or not the junta leader's health will hold out that long.

Than Shwe sent a clear message to his subordinates, including for junta number two General Maung Aye, that he intends to maintain his hold on power as Myanmar makes the move from military to civilian government, and also to the United Nations and international community that his plans - rather than outside mediation efforts - will decide the country's political future.

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News : Thailand PM targets drug dealers

Mr Samak, elected in December polls, promised a decisive, and quite possibly bloody campaign against drug dealers.

He said he would use the same ruthless tactics as his political patron and predecessor, Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a military coup in 2006.

"I will not set a target for how many people should die," said Mr Samak.

"We will pursue a suppression campaign rigorously. There will be consequences."

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News : East Timor extends emergency rule

The emergency rule, which will be in place for another 30 days, includes a ban on rallies and a night-time curfew.

Since the attacks, which left President Jose Ramos-Horta critically wounded, security personnel have been hunting for the rebels behind the shootings.More than 1,000 police and soldiers paraded through the city's streets on Friday in an apparent show of strength.

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pics : strength of angkorwat

angkorwat

News : US extends army tour to 15 months in Iraq, Afghanistan

The Pentagon is extending the tours of soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan to 15 months, Robert Gates, defence secretary, said yesterday.

The new policy extends tours for soldiers in the Central Command arena, which includes Iraq and Afghanistan, from the current goal of 12 months. It also guarantees that soldiers spend one year out of the war zone before any redeployment.

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News : Warmth, and a warning, in Chinese leader's visit to Japan

TOKYO: In a rare address to the Japanese Parliament by a Chinese leader, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao of China pledged friendship with Japan on Thursday but also cautioned that Tokyo must match its past apologies for its wartime aggression with concrete actions.

Wen said that his three-day visit to Japan was meant to "melt the ice" in the relations between the two countries, which have locked horns in recent years over the development of natural resources, leadership in East Asia and the history of Japanese militarism in China.

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News : The India Fund, Inc. Announces Commencement Date of Semi-Annual Repurchase Offer

NEW YORK, Feb 22, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

The India Fund, Inc. (NYSE: IFN; the "Fund") announced today that the Fund's semi-annual repurchase offer will commence today and terminate on March 14, 2008. In April 2003, stockholders of the Fund voted to adopt an interval fund structure, pursuant to which the Fund conducts semi-annual repurchase offers for between 5% and 25% of the Fund's outstanding common stock. Accordingly, the Fund's Board of Directors (the "Board") authorized the Fund's repurchase offer for the semi-annual period of up to 5% of its outstanding common stock, the details of which are as follows:

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News : Malaysia scraps plan to export pesky monkeys

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has dropped a plan to round up nuisance monkeys from its cities and sell them abroad as exotic meat or for medical research, after discovering that most of the animals are too ill to be exported.

In August, the government said it would end a ban on the export of long-tailed macaques after complaints that they were too aggressive and had attacked residents. Animal-rights groups objected, saying the monkeys would be sold to laboratories. But the New Straits Times said yesterday the government had now reversed its decision after discovering that the monkeys were riddled with diseases and that no one would want to buy them.

“They were supposed to fulfil the demand for exotic meat in a few countries in Asia and in the West,” the daily quoted Natural Resources and Environment Minister Azmi Khalid as saying. A recent study found 80% of urban macaques carried diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria, hepatitis and AIDS, he said. “Only 20% were healthy and, of this, only half the number were suitable for export,” he added.

The report also quoted Azmi as saying the diseases could pose a threat to human health, but it gave no idea as to how the government now planned to tackle the problem. Veterinary experts have previously called for relocation programmes, reproduction controls and public education to stop residents from feeding or teasing the animals. – Reuters

- Gulf Times February 03, 2008 -

News : Vietnam new loan limit will avoid hot credit-cbank

HANOI, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Vietnam's central bank has raised the limit on bank loans to stock investors in a move that will boost lending for some banks but not encourage excessive credit growth in the country.

The directive, part of efforts to improve Vietnam's capital market, will mean different things to banks depending on their total loans and registered capital level.

Banks with bad debts of a maximum 5 percent of loans can now lend a maximum 20 percent of their registered capital to stock investors, replacing the current limit on 3 percent of total loans.

"With this regulation, lending for securities investment would not lift the overall credit too much, and many banks with a low level of loans against their registered capital can lend further," the central bank said in a statement on Saturday.

Banks which increased their registered capital significantly last year while their loans did not pick up can lend more in line with the new limit, while larger banks with high but stable capital may have to cut their loans, brokers said.

The central bank has said it aims to limit the country's credit growth at 30 percent this year after a jump of 37.8 percent last year.

Loans for securities investment totalled 11.4 trillion dong ($714 million) in December 2007, or 1.37 percent of total bank loans, central bank's figures show.

Market regulators say they want to raise Vietnam's stock market value to between 50 percent and 60 percent of gross domestic product this year from 43.4 percent in 2007. The economy grew 8.5 percent to $71 billion last year.

($1=15,965 Dong) (Reporting by Ho Binh Minh, editing by Jacqueline Wong)

- Reuters February 02, 2008 -