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"A Lebanese suspect from the Hezbollah group has been taken into custody by Thai officials and police are investigating further," Chalerm Yoobamrung told Reuters. "Following concern raised by the Israeli embassy about a possible attack by a group of Lebanese terrorists in Bangkok, Thai police officials had been coordinating with Israeli officials since before the New Year."

Battle for control of Asia's seas goes underwater YOKOSUKA, Japan (AP) — It's getting a bit more crowded under the sea in Asia, where Andrew Peterson commands one of the world's mightiest weapons: a $2 billion nuclear submarine with unrivaled stealth and missiles that can devastate targets hundreds of miles (kilometers) away. Super high-tech submarines like Cmdr. Peterson's USS Oklahoma City have long been the envy of navies all over the globe — and a key component of U.S. military strategy. "We really have no peer," Peterson told The Associated Press during a recent port call in Japan. But America's...

IAI signs largest ever deal Israel Aerospace Industries' $1.6 billion contract with an Asian country includes the Green Pine radar - part of the Arrow anti-ballistic missile system. 12 January 12 21:31, Yuval Azoulai Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI) (TASE: ARSP.B1) has signed the second stage of a huge deal with an Asian country, which makes the deal the largest in the company's history - $1.6 billion. IAI notified the TASE on Sunday about the first stage of the deal for the supply of a range of arms system for $1.1 billion to an Asian country. It did not disclose...

The Navy’s top officer detailed Tuesday the strategy for making sure the South China Sea and Western Pacific remain open to international shipping, saying an emerging China might try to “limit access in the region.” The remarks by Adm. Jonathan Greenert, chief of naval operations, represented a frank assessment of China’s potential power grabs as it continues a military buildup that includes more ships and anti-ship weapons.

BEIJING: China on Monday slammed the United States' new Asian-focused defense strategy, saying its accusations of a lack of openness in Beijing's military policy were "groundless and untrustworthy.'' The strategy unveiled Thursday shifts the U.S. military focus away from Iraq and Afghanistan and makes a renewed commitment to assert America's position in the Asia-Pacific region. The document says the growth of China's military power must be accompanied by greater clarity in its strategic intentions to avoid causing friction in the region. In response, China said it was committed to peaceful development and a "defensive'' policy. "China's strategic intent is clear,...

2012/01/06 05:31 KST (2nd LD) U.S. unveils defense plan focusing on Asia, budget cuts By Lee Chi-dong WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 (Yonhap) -- Announcing a new defense strategy, the United States said Thursday that it will slim down its armed forces in general but they will play a bigger role in Asia in the rebalancing of firepower abroad. The Pentagon assured that it would be able to handle possible simultaneous conflicts with North Korea and Iran. "Our military will be leaner, but the world must know the United States is going to maintain our military superiority with armed forces that are...

Foreign individuals, pension funds and trusts will be able to subscribe to public offers of an Indian company. "Qualified foreign investors will be able to invest in initial public offers or follow-on public offers as well," a finance ministry official said. The issue of voting rights for QFIs is also under discussion with market regulator Sebi, which is expected to issue a detailed notification by January 15, the official said. India had on Sunday announced its decision to allow QFIs to directly invest in the Indian equity market. A QFI is an individual, group or association resident in a foreign...

The Pacific island nation of Samoa and its even tinier neighbor Tokelau are skipping Friday this week, jumping westward in time across the international date line and into the shifting economic balance of the 21st century. The time change, officially decided in June, is meant to align Samoa with its Asian trading partners; it moves the islands’ work days further from the United States, which dominated its economy in the past. ..the island’s 186,000 citizens, and the 1,500 who live in Tokelau, will go to sleep on Thursday and wake up on Saturday ..The prime minister of Samoa, Tuila’epa Sailele...

Energy Policy: Canada's prime minister restates that if there's no Keystone XL pipeline in the works, not to worry. Our northern ally will still be our friend as it sends its tar sands oil to Asian markets. 'I am very serious about selling our oil off this continent, selling our energy products off to Asia. I think we have to do that," Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a Monday interview with Canada's CTV National News. It was the latest warning from our impatient northern neighbor that has used its energy resources to advance job creation and growth and...

Greece examining ‘free’ US tank offer ATHENS — Cash-strapped Greece is considering a free offer of hundreds of redundant M1A1 Abrams tanks extended by the US government, the Greek army said on Wednesday. “This is a free offer,” army spokesman Yiannis Sifakis told AFP. “A delegation of officers has travelled to the United States to examine tanks in storage; we are departing on the premise of picking 400 of them,” he said. “The only cost will be that of transport, which is estimated in the region of eight million euros ($11 million),” the spokesman added. Ta Nea daily reported that...

Here's a thought experiment: if the United States and China maintain their present fertility rate and educational systems through the end of the century, which country will have the stronger economy? This is not a forecast, to be sure, just a point of perspective at a distant horizon. The United States will have about one-third more university students than China if everything holds constant, that is, if 21% of Chinese and 38% of Americans of college age actually matriculate. The quality of Chinese university graduates, moreover, is questionable; according to a 2005 McKinsey study, only one in 10 of China's...

A president's most solemn duty is to protect America and her people -- a responsibility that, in a time of evolving security threats and unsustainable debt, will only grow harder for the next administration. In the aftermath of the failure of the super committee, we are facing cuts in defense. Yet there has still been little discussion about overall defense spending priorities and how we must transform our defense infrastructure for the 21st century. Some of my opponents suggest maintaining the status quo, thus avoiding the tough decisions. Others advocate retrenchment and isolationism through draconian across-the-board cuts, which brings greater

Researchers at KTH say they have found further proof that the wolf ancestors of today’s domesticated dogs can be traced to southern East Asia — findings that run counter to theories placing the cradle of the canine line in the Middle East.Dr Peter Savolainen, KTH researcher in evolutionary genetics, says a new study released Nov. 23 confirms that an Asian region south of the Yangtze River was the principal and probably sole region where wolves were domesticated by humans. Data on genetics, morphology and behaviour show clearly that dogs are descended from wolves, but there’s never been scientific consensus on...

The cascade of statements, deployments, agreements and announcements from the United States and its regional associates in the last week has to be one of the most unpleasant shocks for China’s leadership — ever. The US is moving forces to Australia, Australia is selling uranium to India, Japan is stepping up military actions and coordinating more closely with the Philippines and Vietnam in the South China Sea, Myanmar is slipping out of China’s column and seeking to reintegrate itself into the region, Indonesia and the Philippines are deepening military ties with the the US: and all that in just one...

The Mother Of All Dreads, Global Economy On The Brink Interest-Rates / Global Debt Crisis Nov 18, 2011 - 11:22 AM By: Ramy Saadeh Ramy Saadeh writes: The World is on the brink of a cataclysmic spiral that could make the Greek crisis look like a walk in the park. Interestingly, markets still seem very hushed about the emerging risks ahead; the final bell hasn’t rung yet, can this be it?The trigger of the dreadful events could come as soon as the 23rd of November 2011, as the “Super Committee”, who is expected to set forth a long awaited plan...

LISTEN TO "MY" SPIRIT ROAR FOR YOU \o/\o/\o/ ! ! ! Listen to "MY" spirit roar for you my children to do and to walk in MY fullness and not your own for it is in MY righteousness you are saved and walk even now . So go in MY all for you and Listen to the whisper of "MY" spirit for soon it shall become a roar as it did for Daniel in the lions den and I shall quench all the firery darts of the enemy for you as well , for you are MY CHOSEN called and...

Tension between the United States and China spilled over into meetings of Asia-Pacific leaders on Friday as the two countries jostled over how to handle competing claims to the South China Sea. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said "outside forces" had no excuse to get involved in the complex maritime dispute, a veiled warning to the United States and other countries to keep out of the sensitive issue. "It ought to be resolved through friendly consultations and discussions by countries directly involved. Outside forces should not, under any pretext, get involved," Wen told a meeting with Southeast Asian leaders, several of...

How many ways are there to say you’re back? In 2010, Hillary Clinton grabbed Beijing’s lapels when she declared the South China Sea, claimed in its entirety by China, was also a vital American interest. A few weeks ago, the secretary of state published a lengthy piece in Foreign Policy magazine in which she laid out the terms of what she called America’s Pacific Century. And this week, at the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum in Honolulu, Barack Obama talked about hardly anything else. “The US is a Pacific power and we’re here to stay,” he said. The message is clear....

During his press conference in Hawaii, President Obama referenced being "here in Asia." As Americans know, Hawaii is the 50th state, admitted to the Union on Aug. 21, 1959. Mr. Obama also lists Hawaii as his birthplace, which makes his reference even more curious. So, is Hawaii part of Asia?

TORONTO — Canada's prime minister says he made it clear in a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama that Canada will step up its efforts to sell oil to Asia since the Obama administration delayed a decision on an oil pipeline. Prime Minister Stephen Harper says Canada will continue to push the U.S. to approve the $7-billion Keystone XL project. Last week the U.S. State Department ordered that the pipeline be rerouted and subject to further environmental review, delaying a decision until 2013.

In this interview Rickards discusses his extraordinary new book Currency Wars: The Making of the Next Global Crisis. He also lets King World News listeners know what to expect regarding gold manipulation, the ongoing currency wars and much more. The KWN audio interview with Jim Rickards is available now...

DAVID ROSENBERG: We Are In Year 4 Of A 7-10 Year Depression Cullen Roche, Pragmatic Capitalism Nov. 13, 2011, 6:56 AM David Rosenberg of Gluskin Sheff joined Consuelo Mack on Wealth Track this weekend to discuss his outlook for the economy. Rosenberg isn’t just bearish. He say the US economy is in a modern day depression similar to what Japan has suffered from for the last 20 years. He bases this view on the idea that de-leveraging tends to coincide during a prolonged period of economic weakness that is not merely consistent with recession. Rosenberg says we’re just 4 years...

Amid commemorations marking 70 years since the 1941 deportation of the Russian Germans to Central Asia, there is a palpable sense that the community is disappearing. In Bishkek, roughly 30 people gather each Sunday to pray at the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Empty seats are abundant in a room that once was routinely filled to overflowing. Although the pastor is from Germany, services for the past 10 years have been held in Russian. Congregants say perhaps one-third of the worshippers have any German heritage, and only a handful can speak the language. According to the German Language Center in Bishkek, a...

U.S. seeking to boost its clout in Asia through trade Politics Nov. 07, 2011 - 06:20PM JST ( 11 ) U.S. seeking to boost its clout in Asia through trade Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is under pressure to bring Japan into talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership. AFP WASHINGTON — The United States will try to prove its mettle as an Asian power as it welcomes Pacific leaders this week to Hawaii, hoping a sweeping trade pact will bind together the fast-growing region. President Barack Obama will show his native state to leaders of 20 other members of the Asia-Pacific Economic...

The new Chinese aircraft carrier, which conducted its first sea trials in August, has emerged from dry dock and is apparently at sea once again for more trials. While in dry dock her hull was scraped and painted, her deck received a new non-skid coat, and she may have had arresting wires installed, though that last is not confirmed. The former Russian carrier, Varyag, purchased from Ukraine and towed to China in 2003, has spent over 7 years being refit and refurbished and is now undergoing sea trials. THE NEW CHINESE CARRIER OUT OF DRY DOCK AND DEPARTING THE TRANSFORMATION...

"The last of the nation's most powerful nuclear bombs — a weapon hundreds of times stronger than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima — is being disassembled nearly half a century after it was put into service at the height of the Cold War. The final components of the B53 bomb will be broken down Tuesday at the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, the nation's only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility. The completion of the dismantling program is a year ahead of schedule, according to the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration, and aligns with President Barack Obama's goal...

Asian Markets See Red And Gold Sees Green Sam Ro Oct. 25, 2011, 10:16 PM Asian markets are extending the global market selloff as investors prepare to be disappointed by EU leaders on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei is down 0.8%. Korea's Kospi is down 0.7%. Australia's S&P/ASX is down 0.1%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng is down 1.0%. Meanwhile, gold continues its rally. Check out the chart: Gold Image: FinViz

WSJ Economists On Recessions And GDP: The Great Disconnect By Doug Short October 24, 2011 Yesterday I posted a preview (see below) of the Q3 GDP Advance Estimate, due out on Thursday, with a review of the consensus forecast at briefing.com and close look at the forecasts of the 50 economists who responded to the October Wall Street Journal survey. What I didn't mention was their response to this WSJ survey question: Please estimate on a scale of 0 to 100 the probability of a recession in the U.S. in the next 12 months. Before I reveal the collective response,...

FINALLY, Asia Rallies, Korea Explodes Higher Joe Weisenthal Oct. 5, 2011, 9:36 PM After missing out on the recent rally, finally Asia is participating. While US futures are down modestly, Japan is up 2%, and Korea's KOSPI (after getting drubbed two straight days) is up huge.(snip)

LONDON — World stocks hit a fresh 15-month low on Tuesday and the dollar rose to a nine-month peak as fears over a major banking crisis in Europe mounted along with expectations Greece could soon default, accelerating a global economic slowdown. Sovereign debt insurance costs for the region’s economic powerhouse Germany hit a record high after eurozone finance ministers said they were reviewing the scale of private sector involvement in a second bailout package for Greece, a move that threatens to hasten a default.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said he wants to bring ex-Soviet states into a "Eurasian Union" in an article which outlined his first foreign policy initiative as he prepares to return to the Kremlin as the country's next president. Putin said the new union would build on an existing Customs Union with Belarus and Kazakhstan which from next year will remove all barriers to trade, capital and labor movement between the three countries. "We are not going to stop there and are setting an ambitious goal -- to achieve an even higher integration level in the Eurasian...

Solyndra Tied to Asian SuppliersLou Kilzer Sept. 23, 2011 **SNIP** Chief Financial Officer W.G. Stover in court documents blamed Solyndra's demise on attractive funding subsidies and extended payment terms provided to its foreign competitors by their governments. But Solyndra, which began shipping solar panels in July 2008, has tapped more than 60 foreign manufacturers to provide it with panels and related assembly goods, the Trib found through an analysis of shipping records maintained by ImportGenius, an international company that tracks imports into the United States. During the past 12 months, Solyndra received 154 shipments of goods, primarily from companies in...

India is being pulled into a complex and increasingly tense territorial dispute in the South China Sea, with China repeatedly warning ONGC, the Indian state oil company, that its joint exploration plans with Vietnam amount to a violation of Chinese sovereignty. The Indian government responded to the latest Chinese warnings Thursday by repeating its pledge to continue exploring for energy in the South China Sea, where China is embroiled in territorial disputes with Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei .."We plan to restart drilling there," said ONGC Chairman A.K. Hazarika. "The [Indian] Ministry of External Affairs has informed us...

"Sourcing goods in China purely because of ultra-low costs is a thing of the past,” said KPMG's Nick Debnam. In a new report title Product Sourcing In Asia Pacific, KPMG notes China's disadvantages include rising labor costs and an aging workforce. Of the 11 countries discussed, China has the oldest population with a median age of 34. More companies are turning to Indonesia and Vietnam for footwear manufacturing. India's specializations in hand stitched fabrics and metalware have made it a major alternative to China. Cambodia and Bangladesh are experiencing a booming export industry thanks to favorable trade agreements with the...

SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — Asian stocks fell on Monday, as concerns about a Greek default came back to the fore amid indications that Europe is losing patience with the country’s efforts to cut its debt pile...

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian markets opened lower Tuesday after fears of a worsening global economy sparked a session of free-falling losses in Europe. Oil prices fell to below $84 a barrel in Asia as investor fears of a recession in developed countries sent equities and commodities lower. The dollar was higher against the euro but lower against the yen. Japan's Nikkei 225 index dropped 1.2 percent to 8,676.12. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was 1 percent down at 19,420.47. Australia's S&P ASX 200 lost 1.1 percent to 4,095.50. South Korea's Kospi index was 0.6 percent down at 1,774.73. The slump...

U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, speaking at West Point, said last week that “Any future defense secretary who advises the president to again send a big American land army into Asia or into the Middle East or Africa should have his head examined.” In saying this, Gates was repeating a dictum laid down by Douglas MacArthur after the Korean War, who urged the United States to avoid land wars in Asia. Given that the United States has fought four major land wars in Asia since World War II — Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq — none of which had...

A retired Chinese general recently revealed that his country might be planning a surprise missile attack on the United States. The public comment of Xu Guangyu came in response to WikiLeaks revelations that last year Washington had warned its allies beforehand of China’s test of a missile interceptor.

CNN -- While China has been able to use its considerable economic clout to forge strong ties with Africa, experts say India is hoping that a mix of soft power and business expertise can win it friends and customers on the continent. Over the last few years, Beijing has struck deal after deal with African countries, often building extensive infrastructure projects and providing loans in exchange for access to natural resources, trade opportunities and expansion into new markets. Lacking China's deep pockets, analysts say India has often struggled to compete directly with Beijing, especially for natural resources such as oil...

Asian markets slammed in global selloff By Yoshikazu Tsuno | AFP – 1 hour 17 minutes ago. Asian stock markets early Friday caught a global selling fever after new warnings of world recession coupled with fears that rapid-fire growth in China is set to slow down. Investors in Tokyo, Seoul and Sydney picked up on the mounting anxiety evident in the United States and Europe, where fresh carnage ripped across the markets on Thursday. "The bears returned aggressively overnight as very disappointing US economic data and fears over the stability of European banks had traders reaching for the sell button,"...

U.S. Budget Cuts Will Reshape Power Balance in Northeast Asia The U.S. defense budget amounts to approximately US$700 billion a year, 10 times higher than China's. But the U.S. has decided on drastic cuts to its defense spending, which account for around 20 percent of the national budget. The Obama administration intends to cut defense spending by $400 billion over the next decade, and U.S. media forecast between $550 billion to $900 billion in cuts over the next 10 years. China, on the other hand, has the biggest foreign currency reserves in the world and has been boosting its annual...

Asia shares nosedive as gold scales another peak (Reuters) - Asian stock markets nosedived on Tuesday and the Swiss franc held near a record high, as investors dumped riskier assets in a global rout triggered by fears that political leaders are failing to tackle debt crises in Europe and the United States. Major indexes across the region fell between 2 and 5 percent, following drop of more than 6 percent on Wall Street in the first trading session since the historic downgrade of the United States' AAA credit rating by Standard & Poor's. The panicked flight-to-safety pushed gold to the...

Asia stocks plunge to join in global rout By Sarah Turner, MarketWatch SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — Asian shares nose-dived on Friday, joining in a global rout fueled by heightened debt and economic-growth fears, with energy and financial stocks among the worst performers. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index (HSI:HK:HSI) fell 4.9%, while the Shanghai Composite index (SHA:CN:000001) dropped 1.7%. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average (TYO:JP:NIK) closed the day down 3.7%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX:AU:XJO) ended with a 4% loss. South Korea’s Kospi (KRX:KR:0100) dropped 3.6%. “A complete crisis of confidence has emerged in the market,” said Toby Lawson, head...

Mumbai: Australia would like Indian scientists to join it in building the "world's biggest" telescope, its minister for innovation, industry, science and research, senator Kim Carr said on Monday. "We want Indian scientists to participate in the prestigious project of world's largest telescope - Square Kilometre Array (SKA)," Carr told media. Australian astronomers are regular visitors to the India's Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) facility located near Pune. Minister Carr will broach Indian participation in the project in his talks with India's department of science and technology today. The SKA is a new generation radio telescope with a discovery potential...

BEIJING: China has taken careful note of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's speech pitching for a larger global role for India in East Asia, with an official Chinese think tank saying Washington's "overtly pro-India stance" will hurt its larger goal of fighting militancy in Pakistan. "Not surprisingly, counter-terrorism is one of the top issues on Clinton's agenda during her (recent) visit to India," says an article titled "US-South Asia policy", published in the state-run China Daily. Both the US and India are doing the "opposite of what they should have done to help Pakistan fight terrorists", said the article...

I’d blame this on the Presidential Temper Tantrum, but the proximate cause of the US dollar’s overnight decline was actually Cheerful Ben Bernanke. After the Fed chair told Congress that a third round of quantitative easing might be in the offing if deflationary pressure began building, the market in Asia called his bluff and began dumping the greenback. One JPMorgan analyst called that news “unambiguously bad for the dollar� (via Instapundit): The U.S. dollar was on the run in Asia on Thursday after a ratings warning from Moody’s and a hint of further policy easing from the Federal Reserve unleashed...

Mercedes-Benz has reported its best half-year sales on record, thanks in large part to growing demand in emerging economies, particularly China. The German luxury carmaker said it had sold 610,531 passenger cars over the first six months of the year, a rise of almost 10% on a year earlier. Sales in China rose by more than 50% while sales in Russia were up by more than 70%. Mercedes added that June and the second quarter also saw record sales. "The first half of the year went very well for Mercedes-Benz," said Dr Joachim Schmidt, executive vice president of sales and...

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Stronger orders for airplanes translated into a better-than-expected 1.9% increase in durable-goods orders in May, the Commerce Department estimated Friday. In a separate report, the government reported that U.S. real gross domestic product for the first quarter was revised to an increase of 1.9% on an annualized basis from the earlier estimate of a 1.8% increase. It marks the final revision to the measure of total output of goods and services in the largest global economy for the first three months of 2011.

[Still looking for that scary youtube video of State Dept. official warning illegal aliens from south of the border seeking "work", that they could be banned from the U.S. for life if caught working here illegally.] [So far, not having any luck finding that video. Mabye they just made one for the benefit of young Israelis thinking about coming here to work illegally.] From INN: "The U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv released a video warning young Israelis not to be tempted by illegal offers of work in the United States. The YouTube video features testimony by young Israelis who were...

The World Turned Upside Down — AgainWill the strains in the Middle East, Asia, and Europe resolve themselves — or are we on the brink of epochal change? Every once in a while, the world is turned upside down in just a few years, whether by ideological ferment or force of arms. We may be entering such a phase now — unsure whether the unrest in the Middle East, the rise of China, and the crisis in the EU will sputter and dissipate like the upheavals of 1848 or make the world unrecognizable in the way that Alexander the Great’s...