Asia

Indian jewellers join government’s gold bar and coin ban

"In a bid to support the Indian government’s efforts, jewellery retailers have decided to join in and curb investment into the precious metal. Several prominent retailers like Gitanjali Gems, TBZ and Tanishq, are to voluntarily stop sales. All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation, which has more than 40,000 members, has said that over 85% of its members have agreed to the ban. The rest are slated to join over the weekend. 'The jewellery community has come together in supporting the country in times of crisis. We are happy to help with this voluntary action,' said Haresh Soni, chairman of the Federation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndian jewellers join government’s gold bar and coin ban

Vietnamese boat people return as entrepreneurs [2003]

"Once the world knew them as boat people, some 2 million Vietnamese who fled the communist regime in their country, most of them in rickety vessels, paying for their perilous passages with hoarded family gold. Their traumatic odysseys at sea, where they were targeted by pirates and other bandits, made dramatic news for years. Most boat people found a home in the West; 1 million settled in the United States. Now, thousands of those who fled after the Vietnam War ended in 1975 have been drifting back to Vietnam as Viet-kieu (overseas Vietnamese), bringing entrepreneurial know-how, foreign passports and ambition." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVietnamese boat people return as entrepreneurs [2003]

South Korea using smartphone app to curb military leaks

"The ministry said that, from Monday, its 1,500 staff are no longer allowed to bring smartphones into their offices without installing the app, called 'Mobile Management Device'. Ministry spokesman Kim Min-Seok told reporters that the app, which restricts the use of cameras and audio recording, prevents leaks through smartphones and stops outsiders from hacking into the devices of defence ministry officials. About 70 percent of South Korea’s 50 million people have smartphones — the world’s highest penetration rate." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSouth Korea using smartphone app to curb military leaks

60,000 in Tokyo protest government plans to restart nuclear power

"The Japanese government has previously stated that it will most likely allow those reactors to return to power which have been approved by the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA), whose new safety guidelines are scheduled to be adopted in July. One of Japan’s largest-ever protests saw 170,000 people gather in a similar fashion in July 2012, around the same time that then-Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda decided on the first two reactor restarts since the March 2011 Fukushima disaster. As of now, the anti-nuclear protestors say they have collected over 8 million signatures of those opposed to reactor restarts." Continue reading →

Continue Reading60,000 in Tokyo protest government plans to restart nuclear power

Marc Faber: Even QE99 won’t help US; India best in Asia

"Despite quantitative easing (QE) not really bearing any fruit for the common man, the Federal Reserve is likely to continue with it and go 'up to QE99,' says investment guru Marc Faber. He strongly feels easy money has not boosted employment for the ordinary people; instead it has given a philip to asset prices owned by very small portion of the population. Property prices over the last 12 months are up 35 percent, but all this has not helped the man on the street, he says." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMarc Faber: Even QE99 won’t help US; India best in Asia

Germany stops Icelandic whale meat shipment to Japan in environmentalist victory

"Six containers of whale meat are on their way back to Iceland after German authorities removed the controversial cargo from a ship bound for Japan, Icelandic media reported on Friday. The batch was first stopped by German customs in Hamburg, where the containers were unloaded and then sent back via Rotterdam in the Netherlands. 'Transportation of products between Iceland and Japan is in accordance with international law,' Foreign Minister Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson told RUV. Iceland 'will now consider how to react to the transport of whale products being stopped and will stand firmly on Icelandic interests in this matter,' he added." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGermany stops Icelandic whale meat shipment to Japan in environmentalist victory

Threat from China Is Being Hyped

"China’s sea-denial forces [don't] make up any real threat to the all-in U.S. force of 11 large deck carriers. But of course this threat is to the American Empire, not the United States itself. The U.S. carrier-heavy force is deployed far forward in East Asia to contain China and protect allies, such as Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and Australia. Those wealthy allies should be doing more to provide their own security but will never do so as long as the United States provides the first line of defense. Japan already has a stronger navy than China and could do much more if it spent more of its large GDP on defense." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThreat from China Is Being Hyped

South Korean court orders Japanese steel company to pay for forced labor in WWII

"A South Korean court on Wednesday ordered a Japanese steel giant to pay compensation over forced wartime labour in what was described as the first ruling of its kind, a report said. The decision marked the latest chapter in a 16-year legal battle launched by four South Koreans, now aged in their eighties and nineties, who were drafted to work for the predecessor of Nippon Steel before World War II. The forced labour issue and wartime sexual slavery remain key points of contention between Seoul and Tokyo after Japan’s brutal colonisation of the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSouth Korean court orders Japanese steel company to pay for forced labor in WWII

Japan says it faces increasing threats from China, North Korea

"Japan faces increasingly serious threats to its security from an assertive China and an unpredictable North Korea, a defense ministry report said on Tuesday, as ruling politicians call for the military to beef up its ability to respond to such threats. The report, the first since hawkish Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office vowing to boost Japan's defenses, was likely to prompt a sharp response from Beijing, whose ties with Tokyo are strained by a territorial row. China is also upset by remarks from Abe suggesting he wants to cast Tokyo's wartime history in a less apologetic tone." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJapan says it faces increasing threats from China, North Korea

Japanese Troops Storm California Beach as Marine Power Eyed

"A thousand Japanese troops have been learning how to recapture territory in the face of enemy fire. While the shoreline may be California, the skills they are building could one day be used closer to home. The two-week 'Dawn Blitz' joint drills in June saw a Japanese Self-Defense Force ship launching a hovercraft designed to carry troops and heavy weaponry that roared onto the beach. The operations reflect the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s interest in developing a Marine corps to counter what Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government says are Chinese attempts to change the status quo in maritime disputes." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJapanese Troops Storm California Beach as Marine Power Eyed