To Be or Not to Be...? Someone’s grief, and someone’s drinking party

Traditions of the Kyrgyz people were being formed with the help of economic, trade, domestic and other relations with kindred and other tribes that were closely related to the geography of their ha...

Iran of the 60s: unsuccessful attempt to reform

After the coup of 19 March 1953 in the socio-political history of Iran there were fundamental changes: the powers of parliament were limited and the absolute power of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi was...

Topic: Regional rivalry in the Middle East.

In the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran are two countries that claim to leadership in the region. With a powerful resources and political potential these countries are the...

Japan

Japan premier signals intent to resign at end of month
10.08.2011
Business & Economics|Japan|Far East

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Wednesday he would leave office as promised after two key bills are passed in parliament in late August, DPA reported.

"When they are enacted, we will quickly prepare for the Democratic Party of Japan's (DPJ) presidential election," Kan told a parliamentary session, Kyodo News reported.

"My Cabinet has done what it had to do and I have no regrets."

The premier is seeking parliamentary approval of the bill to allow the government to issue deficit-covering bonds in the current financial year and a bill to promote the use of renewable energy.

Former Japan defender Matsuda dies
04.08.2011
Culture & Living|Japan|Far East

Former Japan defender Naoki Matsuda died on Thursday in hospital after collapsing on the pitch during training two days earlier, his club Matsumoto Yamaga said dpa reported

The club said in a statement on their website that Matsuda died in the early afternoon.

Matsuda, 34, collapsed after a warm-up training run on Tuesday from a suspected heart attack. He did not respond to artificial respiration efforts on the training ground and cardiopulmonary resuscitation in hospital did also not save him.

UN leader to visit Japan, South Korea
02.08.2011
Public Policy & Politics|Japan|Far East

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will next week visit Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant, which was devastated by the earthquake and tsunami in March, the United Nations said Tuesday, dpa reported.

The UN leader will also visit his native South Korea following the stop in Tokyo at the beginning of next week.

"I wanted to come to Japan as soon as possible after the tragedy of March 11 to express the solidarity and deep sympathy that the whole world feels for the people of your great country," Ban said in an interview with Japanese media.

Highest radiation level monitored at stricken Japan nuclear plant
01.08.2011
Science & Technology|Japan|Far East

The operator of a crippled Japanese atomic power plant said Monday it had measured the highest radiation level since the start of the nuclear crisis, a news report said, dpa reported.

Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said more than 10 sieverts per hour of radiation was recorded on the surface of a pipe located outdoors between reactor 1 and reactor 2 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, Jiji Press reported.

The plant has spewed radioactive material into the environment since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Japan scrambles jet fighters to intercept Russian bombers
08.07.2011
Public Policy & Politics|Japan|Far East

The Japanese air force scrambled jet fighters to intercept a pair of Russian naval bombers patrolling over the northeast Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, Russian officials said Friday, DPA reported.

The two Tu-95 turboprop bombers remained in international air space for their entire 11-hour flight, according to Defence MInistry spokesman Vladimir Drik.

Japan sent two-fighter pairs of F-15 and F-2 aircraft to intercept and then escort the Russian bombers over portions of the flight, and there was no conflict between the two sides, Drik said, the Interfax news agency reported.

Japan mayor's U-turn on restarting local nuclear reactors
07.07.2011
Science & Technology|Japan|Far East

The mayor of a town on the Japanese southern island of Kyushu withdrew his earlier approval Thursday to resume two reactors, under pressure from locals' distrust of the government and the plant operator, DPA reported.

The move after the government announced Wednesday that Tokyo would conduct "stress tests" on nuclear power plants across the country in the wake of the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.

The plant has been leaking radioactive substances since it was crippled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Japan to stress-test nuclear plants in bid to reassure public
06.07.2011
Science & Technology|Japan|Far East

Japan plans to carry out stress tests on nuclear power plants across the country to reassure the public, especially those living near the installations, Industry Minister Banri Kaieda said Wednesday, DPA reported.

The move is part of the government's efforts to persuade citizens to accept the restarting of a number of reactors throughout the country that have been suspended for inspection since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

5.4 magnitude quake hits Wakayama, SW Japan
05.07.2011
Culture & Living|Japan|Far East

An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.4 hit Wakayama Prefecture in southwestern Japan on Tuesday. The quake was also felt in Osaka, Xinhua reported.

Japanese researchers find rare earth minerals in Pacific seabed
04.07.2011
Science & Technology|Japan|Far East

A team of Japanese researchers has discovered vast deposits of rare earth elements used for many high-tech products in the Pacific Ocean floor, a published report said Monday.

The team led by Yasuhiro Kato, an earth science professor at the University of Tokyo, reported in the online edition of Nature Geoscience that it had found the minerals in sea mud at 78 sites, at a depths of 3,500 to 6,000 meters, DPA reported.

11 injured after 5.4-magnitude quake jolts central Japan
30.06.2011
Culture & Living|Japan|Far East

A shallow earthquake with a magnitude of 5.4 on the Richter scale jolted Nagano Prefecture and its vicinity in central Japan on Thursday morning, injuring at least 11 people, the Japan Meteorological Agency and local media said.

The 8:16 a.m. quake was centered in central Nagano and injured 11 people in Matsumoto and Yamagata in the prefecture. Two of the injured suffered broken bones, according to Kyodo News.

No tsunami warning was issued after the quake, Xinhua reported.

The quake was followed by two aftershocks of magnitude 5.1 and magnitude 3.9.