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Russian Military To Practice Repelling Invasion From East by Staff Writers Moscow (AFP) Aug 15, 2006 Russia's military will practice repelling a foreign invasion during exercises this month in the country's far east, the newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta said Tuesday. The exercises will take place on the Kamchatka peninsula some time in the second half of August and will be presided over by President Vladimir Putin, the newspaper said, citing unnamed sources on the military's general staff. The aim is to improve cooperation between different arms of the military in "defending the coast from possible armed invasion," the newspaper said. "The...

TOKYO, March 27 (UPI) -- China's insatiable appetite for energy and natural resources, and its desire to secure the sea lanes through which such resources are transported, are propelling the country's outreach to even the smallest of the Pacific Islands, leaders from the island nations heard last week at a convention in Tokyo. China's determination to undermine Taiwan's influence in the South Pacific is prompting generous assistance in infrastructure projects, such as building sports complexes in Fiji and Kiribati, and providing cargo ships to Vanuatu. Representatives from 22 island nations gathered in Tokyo at the Asia-Pacific Island Nations Summit from...

A University of Pittsburgh reproductive biologist relied on the now-discredited stem-cell findings of a disgraced Korean scientist to win a $16.1 million federal grant last fall, according to federal documents and letters obtained by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Pitt's Gerald Schatten will use the money for an ambitious stem-cell research program that will occupy four of seven floors of Magee-Womens Research Institute's building, now under construction in Oakland, the documents show. The five-year grant, awarded to Schatten in September by the National Institutes of Health, is based in part on cloning experiments deliberately falsified by Hwang Woo-Suk, the documents show.

President Bush and first lady Laura Bush conclude their far eastern tour by visiting Mongolia being the first serving President to visit that country. After visiting Mongolia they flew back the USA. The Vice President gave a speech on the War on Terror at the American Enterprise Insitute in Washington. Last Friday Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld concluded his Australian visit and on his return to the US did the rounds of Sunday talk shows. Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island

President Bush and first lady Laura Bush continue their far eastern visit today they are in Korea. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is also in Korea. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld is in Australia. Vice President Dick Cheney to spoke yesterday at the Third Annual Ronald Reagan Award which honored Sen. Malcolm Wallop (retf) Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island

THE US no longer expects Australia to automatically support it in a conflict with China over the flashpoint of Taiwan, Bush administration officials have told Australian MPs. The message was delivered by US military, Pentagon and State Department officials to a delegation of visiting MPs, before John Howard delivered one of his strongest speeches in New York last week distinguishing Australia's approach to China from that of the US. Under the ANZUS treaty there has been an expectation that Australia would support the US in a conflict over Taiwan. But Foreign Minister Alexander Downer shocked the region with a speech...

President George W Bush delivered a speech on the war on terrorism at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia Later both President Bush and the Vice President Cheney met U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad in the Oval Office First Lady Laura Bush and her daughters are on a visit to Africa. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is on a four nation visit to the far east so far she has visited the Peoples Republic of China and Thailand and arrived late tonight in Japan. Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island

The rise to prominency on the world stage of China and India has implications for the US hegemony in the Far East. Over the past six months, moves and counter moves have been being made by the major players in the region that all were motivated by one factor; the scramble for energy resources. There's no international etiquette apart from the legislation that prevents war, but US foreign policy which is clearly centered around 'serving the US interests' is being duplicated by the rapidly developing countries in the East. Manishankar Aiyer, petroleum and natural gas minister of India spoke for...

WASHINGTON: American experts are warning that China is rapidly building up its military so that it will have the capability to attack Taiwan, a separately governed island that Beijing considers part of Chinese territory. Tensions across the Taiwan Strait are hotter than usual, as Beijing increasingly sees Taipei's democratically elected government as moving the island toward independence. China says it does not want to attack Taiwan to keep the island from declaring independence, but at the same time, Beijing has refused to renounce the use of force. And, earlier this year, China's parliament passed legislation giving the country's military a...

A panel chartered by Congress to advise on redeployments of U.S. forces abroad is questioning the wisdom of reducing the number of troops on Japan's Okinawa island at a time of strategic uncertainties in the region. In a report released Monday, the Overseas Basing Commission recommended that U.S. Marines at one Okinawan base, the Futenma Marine Corps Air Station, should be moved -- either to another U.S. base on the island, or to one located on Honshu, Japan's main island. Apart from Futenma, however, all other Marine Corps assets on Okinawa should remain there. "Okinawa is the strategic linchpin to...

Last Updated: Thursday, 28 April, 2005, 17:34 GMT 18:34 UK In pictures: Shaman initiation   1 of 9For the first time a public initiation has been held for a shaman (spiritual chief) in Russia's Far East. Vasily Dunkai is one of about 1,000 Udege people living in the Primorye region. 2 of 9A highlight of the ritual was Vasily Dunkai's dousing in water from three different springs. 3 of 9The water was heated over stones brought from five hills. First the stones were placed in a fire. 4 of 9During the initiation, the villagers left food at their place...

East Asia countries have continued to criticized Japan for the ignorance of the war crimes during World War II. The tensions have rised between China and Japan for the escalation of violent protests in China against Japan. Meanwhile, Japanese government officials still visit the Yasukuni Shrine every year to pray for the dead soldiers, which the shrine also includes the top officials engaged in war crime during the war, Japan has continued to apologized in public about the war crimes by the Japanese government in the past, which the victims of other countries in Asia has not recognized. The people...

Ancient knife proves longer astronomical history www.chinaview.cn 2005-03-12 09:51:05 XINING, March 12 (Xinhuanet) -- Archaeologists in northwest China's Qinghai province claimed that a 5,000-year-old stone knife with designs of constellations will extend China's history of astronomical observation by 1,000 years. The finely-polished stone knife, six centimeters long and threecentimeters wide, was unearthed at the Laomao Ruins, a New Stone Age site nine kilometers west of Lamao Village in Qinghai. Archaeologists also unearthed many other relics from the site including pottery pieces, stone and bone tools. Liu Baoshan, head of the Qinghai Provincial Cultural Relics andArchaeology Research Institute, said seven holes...

Thirty elementary school children died of food poisoning yesterday after eating a native delicacy made from cassava flour at the San Jose Elementary School in Mabini town, Bohol. San Jose Vice Mayor Ester Tabigi said authorities had not yet determined exactly how many children had fallen ill, but at least 50 were still in critical condition last night in various hospitals in the nearby towns of Ubay and Talibon. Some children were brought as far as the provincial capital of Tagbilaran City, some 100 kilometers from Mabini. Reports said the children, mostly second and third-grade pupils, started complaining of stomach...

The Republic of the Philippines is an archipeligo of over 7,100 islands located north of Malaysia, Australia and Indonesia in the Pacific Ocean and south of Taiwan. The Philippine Islands became a Spanish colony during the 16th century; they were ceded to the US in 1898 following the Spanish- American War. In 1935 the Philippines became a self-governing commonwealth. Manuel QUEZON was elected President and was tasked with preparing the country for independence after a 10-year transition. In 1942 the islands fell under Japanese occupation during WWII, and US forces and Filipinos fought together during 1944-45 to regain control. On...

PARIS (AFP) - Human activities, notably the building of coastal resorts and the destruction of natural protection, contributed to the enormous loss of life from killer tidal waves that hit the shores of the Indian Ocean after an earthquake, an environmental expert said. Jeff McNeely, chief scientist of the Swiss-based World Conservation Union (IUCN), who lived for several years in Indonesia and Thailand, two of the countries hit by Sunday's disaster, said it was "nothing new for nature" in a geologically active region. "What has made this a disaster is that people have started to occupy part of the landscape...

The guests crowded the beautifully set tables in Rabbi Chaim Shmulevitz's tiny Jerusalem apartment. After celebratory l'chaims and impassioned singing, the world renown sage, the dean of the Holy City's Mirrer yeshiva, stood up to speak. The festive atmosphere immediately turned solemn. There was silence. "My dear Reb Avraham," the rabbi began warmly, "may you merit to grow in Torah and yiras Shamayim, in line with the aspirations of your pure heart. May you become a true son of Avraham Avinu [Abraham our forefather], after whom you are now named."

The avian influenza virus that has spread widely among poultry and other birds in Southeast Asia and infected some people there has also crossed another species barrier to infect cats, and can be spread among them as well, Dutch scientists have found. The finding is "extraordinary because domestic cats are generally considered to be resistant to disease from influenza A virus infection," like that of the avian strain, the researchers are reporting in today's issue of the journal Science. In the Dutch study, some cats with the infection died of it, while others survived. A few did not even show...

I have created a public register of "bump lists" here on Free Republic. I define a bump list as a name listed in the "To" field used to index articles. Free Republic Bump List Register

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal probe of Coca-Cola Co. has intensified as a federal grand jury was scheduled and regulators subpoenaed employees, The Wall Street Journal said on Monday. The grand jury will begin to hear testimony in the case around May 25, the Journal said, citing people familiar with the probe. The U.S. attorney's office and the Securities and Exchange Commission are examining whether Coca-Cola overshipped drink concentrate to distributors in some markets including Japan -- called "channel-stuffing" -- thereby possibly inflating financial results. Three former finance officials of the world's largest soft drink maker have told federal...