Asiathisweek

Situations

09 March

History was created in the Rajya Sabha when it voted by an overwhelming majority a Bill to reserve 33 per cent of the seats in Lok Sabha and Assemblies for women after the Government pushed ahead with it, ignoring possible threats to its stability and after eviction of troublesome MPs opposed to it.

Century Case

Ending the blame game

Jakarta Post, 07 March

News reports in the past week have undoubtedly been dominated by the investigation results of the House of Representatives’ special inquiry committee into the high-profile Bank Century case that implicates the country’s top-ranking officials, mainly those in the financial sector.

Regions

East Asia

Indian wave

The Standard, 09 March , Kosuke Takizawa and Mai Fukuda

A growing number of Japanese children are attending private schools for an Indian-style education emphasizing advanced mental arithmetic, computers and English.

China's Wen seeks peace with Taiwan

The China Post, 06 March

Beijing -- China said on Friday it wants to sign a broad economic agreement with Taiwan, which would slash import tariffs and open the banking sector, as part of a drive to promote peaceful ties with the self-ruled island.

South Asia

Road to Jaffna Requires regulation

Island, 09 March , Jehan Perera

The opening of the road to Jaffna was one of the dividends of the Presidential Election. It illustrated the benefits that could accrue to the people due to the competitive bidding for votes by rival political parties.

Iraq votes

The Nation, Pakistan, 07 March

Iraqis have begun voting in their second full parliamentary elections since the 2003 US-led invasion against a backdrop of deadly attacks. Around 19 million eligible voters will choose from over 6,000 candidates from 86 political groups looking to gain seats in the 325-member assembly.

South East Asia

Corporate chiefs support use of ISA

Bangkok Post, 09 March

The government's decision to use the Internal Security Act during anti-government rallies planned for this weekend may hurt investor sentiment in the short term, but it was an appropriate step for the authorities to take, business leaders say.

Terror alert for Malacca oil tankers

The Standard, 05 March

Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia have increased patrols in the Malacca Strait after Singapore warned that a terrorist group was planning attacks on the waterway.

Economics

Business

RI, Malaysia promote new approach to CPO exports

Jakarta Post, 09 March , Mustaqim Adamrah

Indonesia and Malaysia — the world’s two largest crude palm oil (CPO) producers — seek to jointly professionalize dispute management on environmental issues and public relations to counter EU negative campaigns.

Record 40.6% increase seen stemming from recovery in exports to U.S.

Daily Yomiuri, 09 March

A preliminary Finance Ministry report released Monday put the nation's current account surplus at 899.8 billion yen in January, compared with a 132.7 billion yen deficit for the same month last year, an increase that analysts say can be attributed to a recovery in exports.

Two procedures at work in Satyam case, says Sebi Chief

Times of India, 06 March

Mumbai: SEBI Chairman, C B Bhave, said that there were two procedures at work with relation to the Satyam scam, apart from criminal proceedings.

Kirin pins growth to S.E. Asia, not China

Asahi Shimbun, 06 March , Osamu Uchiyama

Senji Miyake, the next president of Kirin Holdings Co., hopes to lead his company out of the blues of a failed merger bid with Suntory Holdings Ltd. by bolstering its presence in Southeast Asia.

Technology & Environment

Internet access is ‘a fundamental right’

The Hindu, 09 March

Four in five people across 26 countries of the world, including India, believe that access to the Internet is a fundamental right, according to a recent poll.

Web site asks social networkers to rethink their revelations

Japan Times, 03 March , Rachel Metz

San Francisco (AP) As more people reveal their whereabouts on social networks, a new site has sprung up to remind you that letting everyone know where you are — and, by extension, where you're not — could leave you vulnerable to those with less-than- friendly intentions.

People

Dramatic twists in ATV power saga

The Standard, 09 March

It was a day of high drama over ailing ATV yesterday as three media tycoons sent the press into a feeding frenzy.

'Mr. Shiseido' blends beauty and business

Japan Times, 07 March , Edan Corkill

Yoshiharu Fukuhara not only headed the iconic company his grandfather started, but there's his orchids and cameras — and a museum to run, too

Weekend

Travel & Leisure

Lounge by the lake

05 March , Prema Manmadhan

Kumarakom has been a favourite holiday choice of many including former Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee. Whispering Palms Lake Resort of the Abad Group on the side of the seemingly never-ending Vembanad Lake is tailor-made for the urbanite who yearns for quiet, yet fancies the pleasures of the city.

Wetland experience

New Straits Times, 03 March

From coral reefs to inland lakes, the wetlands make for an exciting adventure for the out-and-about traveller. DAVID BOWDEN offers his top 10 wetland picks in Southeast Asia

Books & Arts

Kopassus: A view from within

Jakarta Post, 07 March , Imanuddin Razak

The Army’s Special Forces (Kopassus), as its name suggests, is an elite military unit whose tasks differ from other regular units within the Indonesian Military (TNI).

books and literature

Nostalgia compensates for a lost world

The Hindu, 02 March , Sukrita Paul Kumar

Born out of bleeding borders, all Partition literature is in fact essentially unbordered. Writers of Partition stories question the hastily drawn borders, interrogate the suspicion and insane violence that followed, and cling to the secure memories of the borderless past. However, the book, Unbordered Memories, acquires a special place in this vast body of literature created since 1947.