A new law has been enacted by Dubai that will enable the launch of Real-time Automated Payments (RAPID) in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
 
The RAPID service is intended to provide transaction processing services from within DIFC to banks and their customers in DIFC, the ...

At the memorial ceremony to mark the 64th anniversary of nagasaki bombing, Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue read the Peace Declaration, calling for worldwide nuclear disarmament and increased measures for nuclear non-proliferation.
Tomihisa Taue praised the US President Barack Obama's statement on a ...

The fears of fast approaching Typhoon Morakot has forced more than 473,300 residents of Zhejiang to relocate. Around 35,440 ships have been called back from the sea, the provincial flood-control headquarters said Sunday.
According to the weather forecast by the provincial meteorological station, ...

To protest the proposed Tipaimukh dam project in India, a long march has been kicked off in Dhakal. The protest marchers are heading to Sylhet in Bangladesh and then on to the Indian border, a media report said Sunday.
The march was flagged off Saturday and should reach Sylhet by Tuesday. Sylhet ...

Japan that is observing the 64th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Thursday has appealed for a nuclear weapons-free world.
 
According to Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba, peace should prevail and has supported US President Barack Obama's call to free the world from atomic and nuclear ...

The examination of a bride-to-be's virginity even if it is requested by her fiancé has been banned by a judgement that was issued by a committee of Islamic scholars in Jordan.
 
"The examination of hymens is taboo because the genitals of both men and women should not be exposed ...

Kurmanbek Bakiyev has been sworn in as the Kyrgyzstan President for the second term on Sunday.
 
Bakiyev was re-elected in the country's presidential election July 23, winning 76.12% of the votes.
 
Almazbek Atambayev, who was the main opposition candidate, had earned only 8.41% ...

According to the $100-billion pact signed by the Russia and South Korea, the latter will now import gas from Russia.
 
The Economy Minister of South Korea, Lee Yoon-ho, will be visiting Russia this month to discuss the matter in detail.
 
The gas will be supplied by Russia through a ...

China's culture ministry has issued an order to all websites prohibiting them to run, publish or offer links to online games featuring mafia-like gangs, and threatened "severe punishment" for those who violate the ban.
 
“Such games violated regulations on Internet ...

S. M. Krishna, the Indian External Affairs Minister, held talks with his counterparts from 16 countries of the East Asia Summit (EAS) on Wednesday, setting the stage for India's seventh summit with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in October.
 
Terrorism, collective ways ...

The UN Development Programme said that the lack of human rights, political and social justice as well as a stable environment has prevented individuals in Arab countries from improving.
 
The UNDP said human security is a prerequisite for human development. But the widespread absence of ...

A high-level delegation from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) visited nine African countries to explore investment opportunities in the continent.
 
The government is looking to invest in the energy, agriculture, food and infrastructure sectors in Zambia, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi ...

The UAE government is ready for launching a railway company that would be involved in "owning, leasing, renting, purchasing and selling of trains" in the country.
UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan approved the federal law for setting up the Etihad Trains Company on ...

The authoritarian ruled North Korea has apparently spent over $700 million on rocket and nuclear tests since April, a South Korean newspaper estimated Monday.

Beginning this year, Kim Jong-Il, the defacto ruler of the northern Korean peninsula, has defied several international warnings as ...

An increasing number of Hong Kong teenagers are selling sex to earn money for designer clothes, in a trend called "compensated dating", a survey released Sunday indicated.
 

One in 10 students questioned said they believed schoolgirls were involved in the practice and 6.6 percent ...

Asians were the most numerous internet users worldwide as of 2001. Yet, access to the net and computing are still largely restricted to those with knowledge of the English language.
A Pakistani localisation expert, working on solutions here, has suggested that the market is overlooking the ...

The Intergovernmental agreement intended to connect rail network of India with 27 other countries in Asia and Europe comes into effect from Thursday.

China became the eighth country to confirm participation about 3 months ago. The other nations who are in agreement are India, Cambodia, Mongolia, ...

There have been signs of North Korea testing nuclear missile operations. US Spy satellites may have captured images of North Korea transporting another long-range missile to a test launch site, even as the US sent a strong message to North Korea about nuclear testing.

The US Defence secretary, ...

North Korea on Monday (May 25) successfully conducted a nuclear test, which will further isolate the impoverished communist state from the rest of the world. While announcing the news, North Korean official news agency said that the country has successfully conducted the underground nuclear test to ...

With a view to tackle the on-going global financial crisis, thirteen Asian countries have decided to create a 120 billion US dollar emergency fund. The decision was taken during the Asian Development Bank (ADB) annual meeting in Bali. The crisis fund aims to support international banks at this ...

At least 20 people were killed when two tremors shook eastern Afghanistan on Friday (April 17) morning. According to the reports of the US Geological Survey, the first earthquake of 5.5 magnitude took place at around 2 am, which was followed by another tremor of 5.1 magnitude at 4 am. Apart from ...

Protesting against the UN criticism of its recent rocket launch, North Korea has said it will boycott the Six Party talks over its nuclear programme, the state media reported. Pyongyang has termed the Six Party talks as useless which aims to end its nuclear weapons programme through a negotiated ...

Massive protests by the anti-government agitators in the sea side resort of Pattaya in Thailand have forced the leaders to call of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit. Even the massive security couldn't stop anti-government protesters from barging into the venue of the ...

Today, North Korea succeeded in sending a satellite into space, in a launch that has been condemned by the international community. According to the North's official Korean Central News Agency, the Kwangmyongsong-2 satellite was carried up by a three-stage Unha-2 (Taepodong-2) rocket, which is now ...

Benjamin Netanyahu is all set to become Israel's new premier on Tuesday (31st March). He is going to head a predominantly right-wing cabinet that has sparked international concern over the future of the troubled peace talks with Palestine. The 59-year-old, Netanyahu is returning to power 10 years ...

Following North Korea's announcement of launching a satellite into orbit by test-firing a rocket between the 4 and 8 April, Japan has issued orders to its deploying missile interceptors to destroy any parts of a North Korean rocket that might fall on its territory. However, members of the ...

After a fatal cargo plane crash disrupted the normal operation of the Narita airport's main runway in Japan, the airport authority announced the reopening of the main runway on Tuesday (24th March). Earlier, a FedEx Corp cargo plane crashed as it landed in strong winds on Monday (23rd March) ...

The former Israeli president Moshe Katsav was today (20th March) officially indicted on charges of rape and indecent assault against a female aide, Justice Ministry of Israel said in a statement. The indictment was filed in a Tel Aviv court. However, no trial date has been fixed yet by the court. ...

On Tuesday (17th March), Iran's reformist ex-president Mohammad Khatami formally announced his plan to withdraw from the 10th presidential election scheduled to be held in June this year. In a statement, he said he was withdrawing from the election in a bid to avoid any division of votes among ...

The 15th ‘World Conference on Tobacco or Health’ in 2012 will be hosted by Singapore. It was announced on Thursday (12th March) at the closing ceremony of the 14th anti-smoking summit in Mumbai. At the ceremony in Mumbai, conference president Prakash C. Gupta addressed the gathering of ...