How a popular toothpaste maker functions like a hedge fund

As the 3,000-odd A-share companies tally their equity trading accounts for 2016, Liuzhou Liangmianzhen, one of mainland China’s most popular toothpaste makers, emerged the winner after pocketing a handsome gain from selling its shares in Citic Securities to boost its bottom line. According to a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Liangmianzhen, based in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, sold 11.62 million shares of Citic Securities, the country’s largest brokerage, for a profit of 157.6 million yuan .

Defector: North Korean Regime Crumbling

Declaring that “Kim Jong Un’s days are numbered,” one of the highest-ranking North Korean officials to ever defect to South Korea shared rare firsthand knowledge and insight into the what he describes as the deteriorating situation inside the secretive and repressive Kim Jong Un regime. “The elite class, which had supported North Korean society, has turned their backs on Kim Jong Un.

China releases new list of items banned for export to NKorea

China has released a new list of items banned for export to North Korea, following a new round of United Nations sanctions and complaints from President Donald Trump that Beijing was not doing enough to pressure its communist neighbor. A statement from the Commerce Ministry late Wednesday said the items included dual-use technologies that could aid the North’s programs to develop nuclear, chemical and biological weapons as well as the missiles to deliver them.

China boycotts Japan hotel chain over massacre denials

DECEMBER 12: General view of the monument commemorating victims who died in the Nanjing Massacre of1937; during rehearsals for a ceremony due to take place to mark the 70th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre, at the ‘Memorial Hall for Compatriot Victims of the Japanese Military’s Nanking Massacre’ on December 12, 2007 in Nanjing of Jiangsu Province, China. Japanese troops occupied the former captial city of Nanjing on December 13, 1937 and launched a six-week long massacre of over 300,000 Chinese soldiers and civilians.

Books on Trump prove tough sell in Japan – so far

Dozens of books bearing U.S. President Donald Trump’s face on its cover have been piling up at bookstores across the nation since his stunning victory in November. But sales so far have been lackluster compared to how former President Barack Obama-related books did when he assumed the presidency in 2009, according to bookstores and publishers.

160 years since advent of Chinese

Update: 4:26PM THE Chinese community around the country will be celebrating the 160th anniversary of the first Chinese settlement in Fiji this week. President of the Fijian Hotel and Tourism Association Dixon Seeto said this is part of the Chinese New Year’s celebration which will happen this Saturday, January 28, 2017.

Samsung Looks to Repair Consumer Trust

Samsung’s apology and diagnosis of the Galaxy Note 7’s battery problems marked the company’s most concerted attempt to move past its biggest recent crisis, but concerns over product safety could continue to weigh on its brand. At an event in Seoul this week, Samsung blamed the overheating of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones on problems with the manufacturing and design of the device’s batteries.

China, Philippines to roll out $3.7B in cooperation projects30 min ago

State media cite a senior Chinese official as saying China and the Philippines have agreed on $3.7 billion worth of projects to boost cooperation. The official Xinhua News Agency cited Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng as saying after a Monday meeting with a Cabinet delegation from the Philippines that the projects are aimed at “improving people’s living standards.”

China, Philippines to roll out $3.7B in cooperation projects

State media cite a senior Chinese official as saying China and the Philippines have agreed on $3.7 billion worth of projects to boost cooperation. The official Xinhua News Agency cited Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng as saying after a Monday meeting with a Cabinet delegation from the Philippines that the projects are aimed at “improving people’s living standards.”

Ilham Aliyev: Armenia formally exists on world map as independent state

News selected on topics and regions – oil and gas, business, politics, IT, the South Caucasus, the Caspian Sea region, Central Asia Ranking of the Azerbaijani banking sector Azerbaijan’s president, supreme commander-in-chief, Ilham Aliyev has said that the future status of Nagorno-Karabakh can only be possible within the Azerbaijani state. “This is the resolution of the conflict, and the sooner the Armenian leadership understands this, the better it will be for them,” President Aliyev said as he was addressing the opening of a newly built military town of the Ministry of Defense in Pirekeshkul Settlement of Absheron District.

Ilham Aliyev: Armenia formally exists on world map as independent state

News selected on topics and regions – oil and gas, business, politics, IT, the South Caucasus, the Caspian Sea region, Central Asia Ranking of the Azerbaijani banking sector Azerbaijan’s president, supreme commander-in-chief, Ilham Aliyev has said that the future status of Nagorno-Karabakh can only be possible within the Azerbaijani state. “This is the resolution of the conflict, and the sooner the Armenian leadership understands this, the better it will be for them,” President Aliyev said as he was addressing the opening of a newly built military town of the Ministry of Defense in Pirekeshkul Settlement of Absheron District.

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Burma is expected to see economic growth of 6.9 percent in 2017, down 1.5 points from a previous estimate, according to the World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects report released earlier this month. The report said that real-term growth in 2016 was estimated to be 6.5 percent, down 1.3 percentage points from an earlier estimate in June last year, the Nikkei Asia Review reported.

Recent developments surrounding the South China Sea

A look at recent developments in the South China Sea, where China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons in waters crucial for global commerce and rich in fish and potential oil and gas reserves: EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a weekly look at the latest developments in the South China Sea, home to several territorial conflicts that have raised tensions in the region. China is not happy with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s high-profile visits to the Philippines, Australia, Indonesia and Vietnam over concerns that he may be trying to pull the rug out from under Beijing’s efforts to pacify its neighbors in and around the South China Sea.

India rail disaster kills 39 passengers

Rescuers struggled Sunday to pull survivors from the wreckage of a train crash which killed 39 passengers in India, the latest disaster on the country’s creaking rail network. Officials were investigating whether Maoist rebels had tampered with the track, after eight coaches and the engine of the Jagdalpur-Bhubaneswar express were derailed at around 11:00pm on Saturday in Andhra Pradesh state.

Little is known on status of US student held in North Korea

In this March 16, 2016, file photo, American student Otto Warmbier, center, is escorted at the Supreme Court in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korea announced Warmbier’s detention Jan. 22, 2016, and the University of Virginia student from suburban Cincinnati was sentenced in March 2016 to 15 years in prison at hard labor after a televised confession that he tried to steal a propaganda banner.

Afghan spy agency busts three terror cells

Kabul, Jan 22 – The Afghan security service on Sunday claimed to have busted three terrorist cells in the southern restive province of Kandahar with the arrest of 16 Taliban militants. The National Directorate for Security said those arrested were involved in various attacks, killings of government workers and planting of landmines, Xinhua news agency reported.

At least 36 killed as Indian train derails

Derailed coaches of a Hirakhand express train from Jagdalpur to Bhubaneswar are seen near Kuneri station, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, outside the town of Rayagada, India, in this still image from video January 22, 2017. – Reuters Derailed coaches of a Hirakhand express train from Jagdalpur to Bhubaneswar are seen near Kuneri station, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, outside the town of Rayagada, India, in this still image from video January 22, 2017.

Interview: Belgium’s mayor praises China’s success of opening policy

Richard Fournaux, Belgium’s mayor of Dinant, a city 90 km to the south of the capital Brussels, spoke highly of China’s opening-up policy and congratulated China on its efforts made in dealing with environmental challenges. “It’s so exceptional to see how such a large country with a large population has been managed with so many success, by not only keeping your own political characteristics but also by turning your country toward modernity and the opening to the world,” Fournaux told Xinhua in an interview on Friday.

US could have a surprise deal with NK’

US President Donald Trump could strike a surprise deal with North Korea over its nuclear program, while adopting a more hawkish policy toward China, Pyongyang’s main ally, said Park Hwee-rhak, the dean of the graduate school of politics and leadership at Kookmin University. The most concerning situation, he said, is that Washington might acknowledge Pyongyang’s current nuclear capability in exchange for getting the reclusive regime to agree to stop building nukes capable of hitting the US continent.

No major changes to US-NK ties under Trump: professor

Despite the rhetoric, the Trump administration is unlikely to make a drastic change to its relations with North Korea in the long term, as its deep economic ties with China, the North’s primary backer, would limit its policy options, said Choi Jong-kun, a renowned scholar on Northeast Asian security in Seoul. He stressed South Korea badly needs strategic thinking in its relations with allies and neighbors, and the country should avoid getting involved in unnecessary disputes to maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

Latest India rail disaster kills 32, officials investigate track tampering

The train was travelling from the city of Jagdalpur to Bhubaneswar when it came off the track nearly 160 kilometres from Visakhapatnam, the nearest city to the accident site Rescuers battled Sunday to pull survivors from the wreckage of a train crash which killed 32 passengers in southern India, the latest in a series of disasters on the country’s creaking rail network. Officials were investigating whether Maoist rebels had tampered with the track, after eight coaches and the engine of the Jagdalpur-Bhubaneswar express were derailed at around 11:00 pm on Saturday.

At least 23 killed, scores injured as Indian train derails

At least 23 people were killed and around 100 injured after an express train derailed in southeast India Saturday night in the latest disaster to hit one of the world’s largest rail networks. Eight coaches and the engine of the Jagdalpur-Bhubaneswar express derailed at 11:00 pm near Kuneru railway station in Vizianagram district of Andhra Pradesh state Eight coaches and the engine of the Jagdalpur-Bhubaneswar express derailed at 11:00 pm near Kuneru railway station in Vizianagram district of Andhra Pradesh state.

Crossing red lines: What’s annoying Asian nations most?

In this Nov. 10, 2016, file photo, a TV screen shows images of then U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, right, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea. South Korea takes offense first, and most regularly, with Japan, largely over disputes stemming from Tokyo’s 35-year colonization of the Korean Peninsula in the early 20th century.

Government says High Peace Council chief dies

An Afghan official says that Pir Sayed Ahmed Gailani, chief of Afghanistan’s High Peace Council, tasked with negotiating an end to the country’s protracted conflict, has died at age 84. Mohammed Karim Khalili, deputy head of the council, told The Associated Press that Gailani died in Kabul earlier Friday. The exact cause of death was not immediately reported but he had been ill.

Bomb blast kill 20, wounds at least 50 in northwest Pakistan

A bomb exploded Saturday in a market in a northwest tribal region that borders Afghanistan, killing 20 people and wounding at least 50, officials said. Dr. Sabir Hussain at the main hospital in Parachinar, the capital of Pakistan’s Kurram tribal region, said two wounded victims died during treatment, raising the death toll to 20 Saturday.

US requests South Korea’s help in detaining former UN chief Ban Ki-moon’s brother

THE U.S. government has asked South Korea to arrest a brother of former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on charges that he engaged in a bribery scheme to carry out the sale of a Vietnamese building complex, a U.S. prosecutor said on Friday. During a court hearing in federal court in Manhattan, Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Noble said that a request had been made for the arrest of Ban Ki-sang, who was an executive at South Korean construction firm Keangnam Enterprises Co Ltd. South Korea’s Justice Ministry was discussing the request to arrest Ban but “it is not yet a formal consultation,” Yonhap news agency quoted an unnamed source in the country’s judiciary as saying.

Russian Chocolate Factory Owned By Poroshenko To Close, Lay Off 700

A chocolate maker owned by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced on January 20 that it is planning to shut its factory in Russia for “economic and political reasons” and lay off 700 workers. The move came after a barrage of criticism in Kyiv questioning why Poroshenko, who made his fortune with his Roshen candy empire, was maintaining business activities in Russia while the two nations are in armed conflict.

FBI employee gets jail time for acting as Chinese agent

Kun Shan Chun, also known as Joey Chun, was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero in Manhattan to pay $10,000 after pleading guilty in August to having illegally acted as an agent of a foreign government. Chun, a U.S. citizen who was born in China, was arrested in March in connection with what prosecutors called a duplicitous betrayal of the Prosecutors said that beginning in 2005, Chinese individuals claiming to be affiliated with a China-based printer products manufacturer called Zhuhai Kolion Technology Company Ltd solicited an investment from one of Chun’s parents.

Independent thinking under threat: Manmohan

Calcutta, Jan. 20 : Independent thinking and free expression in Indian universities “are now under threat” former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Friday, targeting the Narendra Modi government at the Centre. Singh, 84, said that the recent attempts to interfere with free expression of the student community in Hyderabad Central University and Jawaharlal Nehru University were of particular concern and termed suppression of peaceful dissent as “inimical to learning” and “undemocratic”.

Atlas V rocket blasts off with missile warning satellite

The rocket thundered from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Friday night, powered by a Russian main engine generating 860,000 pounds of thrust. Atlas V rocket blasts off with missile warning satellite The rocket thundered from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Friday night, powered by a Russian main engine generating 860,000 pounds of thrust.

‘India Using Terrorism to Create Unrest…

Pakistan today accused India of “perpetrating terrorism” and “terror financing”, claiming that it has “irrefutable evidence” on it. Foreign Office Spokesman Nafees Zakaria, during his weekly briefing, alleged that “Indian involvement” in Pakistan’s internal matters was a long-standing problem that Pakistan has been raising with the international community.

Trump reportedly wanted tanks and missile launchers at his inaugural…

Missiles are taken on trucks past a stand with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during the parade celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, in Pyongyang President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team reportedly wanted to include tanks and missile launchers during the inaugural parade Friday, sources told The Huffington Post . According to the report, Trump’s team wanted to have the military featured front and center, typically seen in parades in Russia and North Korea.