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  • Indonesia Under Pressure to Prevent Plummeting Rupiah

    JAKARTA — Indonesia’s government has announced new policies to mitigate the rapidly depreciating rupiah, which has faced its worst week since 2008. Analysts say the measures are unlikely to be effective in the short term, because of broader trends affecting currencies across Asia...

  • US Cannot 'Conclusively Determine' Chemical Weapons Use in Syria

    STATE DEPARTMENT — The United States says it can not yet "conclusively determine" that chemical weapons were used in an attack in Syria Wednesday that Syrian opposition leaders say killed more than 1,000 people...

  • Spiraling Onion Prices Worry Indian Government

    NEW DELHI — In India, the government will import onions to ease spiraling prices of a crop that is an essential ingredient in Indian cooking. Seen as a symbol of high food inflation, the price of the "humble" onion has turned into a political headache for the government...

  • China Releases Video Testimony of Ousted Politician Bo's Wife

    A Chinese court trying former Communist Party politician Bo Xilai has released video testimony of his wife in an attempt to bolster the claim that he knowingly accepted bribes...

  • Karzai Heads to Pakistan for Talks on Afghan Peace Process

    ISLAMABAD — Afghan President Hamid Karzai is set to pay an official visit to neighboring Pakistan next week, perhaps as early as Monday, where he will seek help of the newly-elected leadership to...

Go Solar With Home Solar Panels

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Lots of money could be rescued annually through generating alternative and free power. Home Solar panels can help to conserve significant amounts of money with the actual down submit economy. Sunshine could be the best way to accomplish cold weather vitality and this vitality costs absolutely no quantity at all. You can convert this kind of electricity to own the actual devices as an alternative to using the electrical energy in which price loaded with the particular month to month budget. These sections can be produced in various sizes depending on the use of electricity along with. Solar energy may be stuck as well as converted into a reputable origin to run a few of the domestic appliances that will decrease the consumption of electrical energy.
This process can be executed by making use of various sun's rays solar panels. These kinds of sunshine panels incorporate a lot of solar cells that will take action in addition to a few semi-conductors. They create a massive division of p-n junction throughout diode. While natural light as well as solar technology comes in contact with these kinds of solar cells it ends in output of electric power. This kind of electricity will be capable to operate several equipment for example geyser, mixing machine, heater and many others. This gives a drastic drop throughout month-to-month power company bill.
Rather than acquiring high-priced huge solar power energy you can purchase Do-it-yourself kits that are affordable and earn a smaller amount investment. If an individual will be effective enough it's possible to put together a package by simply individual, this gives even smaller expense. Preserving number of fundamental tools handy will offer a tremendous help to fix the actual solar panel. Generally the packages incorporate all the tasks that are required regarding installing. The Do it yourself kits has every one of the minute items like anchoring screws, north and south poles, products, solder, solder gun, feets, plywood and a handbook guide in which consists all of the directions. These instructions are easy to recognize and is implemented effortlessly.
90% expenditures for your energy might be stored with the setting up home solar panels. In the event you put in numerous Build it yourself sun's rays sections you'll be able to totally set off the particular electric metered. There's amazing conserving into your market that could be noticed inside initial week involving installation. This particular motion will probably be ideal for your environment. Mending a property solar panel is an excellent enjoyable any time finished with fantastic attention. You will not only enjoy doing the work but you'll always be tips often. You will probably help with reduce the issue upon global warming, green energy.
As soon as if it's decided to deploy the cell one thing would be to help make research as well as have in mind the top deals that are offered. Numerous manuals can be purchased that requires very small purchases. They include instructions which are authored by the professionals and also professionals so that there are far more advantages with solar panels. While buying home solar panels you may have to what is package deal and the material integrated. You'll be able that you can acquire more panels as compared to essential or perhaps it can be the little system. It might vary compared to a single a person obtained and also paid for. Find the firm that is certainly in the area based so that if you find any problem while set up concerned particular person might be approached.

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How To Keep Yourself Youthful

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Your age is not the real basis of your youth. The number is your age but you don't need to base your appearance and physical ability on.
Youth is about the age because many people can still function like a your person even when other people their age are struggling with the same physical and mental feat. People who want to look younger should keep up with the trends and should also know how to present himself in the way he wears his clothes.
Even if you have been around for a very long time, you can still youthful to other people's eyes. You could make yourself seem younger by using your activity level and your appearance as a basis.
The way you dress speaks about who you are
Your clothes you wear and how you wear them will tell people about how old you are. You should look into a style that not only fits your age but also you position in society to avoid looking like a poser.
Your aim is to be fashion forward because people see these types of people to be youthful and this will also help in building your confidence. Self presentation is an important part of socialization and you will feel more confident about yourself if you look goof.
Keep your skin blemish free
Your skin is also a big factor that people consider when they have to guess your age. You can look more youthful if there are less blemishes in the skin of your face.
The problem of warts is common with aging individuals but luckily, you can easily find the best wart remover online. You should look into the reviews of products like wartrol, that are effective in keeping your face free of warts.
The best wart removal products stops the spread of warts by burning them off; and decreasing the chances of them transferring to other body parts. You can know which among the products in the market is the best by looking into wart remover reviews.
Keep your body fit
Your age should not be a reason that your workouts have lessened. If you are fond of working out when you were younger, you should use that experience to keep working out now even though you are already aging.
It will help a lot if you apply your physical improvement on a recreational activity like a sport or dancing. You could also start a hobby that requires a lot of physical activity like a construction project.

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Karzai Heads to Pakistan for Talks on Afghan Peace Process

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ISLAMABAD — Afghan President Hamid Karzai is set to pay an official visit to neighboring Pakistan next week, perhaps as early as Monday, where he will seek help of the newly-elected leadership to arrange talks between his peace negotiators and Taliban representatives. Kabul’s top diplomat in Islamabad says he expects the upcoming talks between the two countries will yield “positive results.”

Afghan leaders have long alleged that neighboring Pakistan is sheltering top Taliban commanders and the country’s spy agency, the ISI, has been helping them plan cross-border attacks on local and U.S.-led coalition forces.

President Karzai wants Pakistani authorities to eliminate the militant sanctuaries in their country to prevent attacks in Afghanistan. He also has been demanding Islamabad use its influence with the Taliban and bring them to the table for talks with members of an Afghan High Peace Council, to try to promote political reconciliation. 

Improving cooperation

While bilateral economic, trade, education, cultural and sports relations have strengthened in recent years, Afghan officials insist that without improving cooperation on issues related to peace and security, progress in other areas will remain fragile.                            

“There is one particular area where we are yet to make progress. That is in the security area. In the whole security department we still have problems," said Mohammad Umer Daudzai, Kabul’s ambassador in Islamabad. "There are allegations from Afghanistan or rather complaints from Afghanistan and Afghanistan obviously has proofs to put those allegations forward that the Taliban and the extremists responsible for criminal actions against the people of Afghanistan have their sanctuaries in Pakistan have their leaderships sheltered in Pakistan.”

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry says that President Karzai’s visit is a symbol of how the leadership of both countries want to further improve relations.

“The emphasis will be on [Afghan] peace and reconciliation process in which Pakistan has already offered that we would like to extend all possible support and assistance in advancing that peace process,” he said.

Ambassador Daudzai, however, said they have been hearing similar positive Pakistani statements for more than a year but that has not led to actual cooperation on the peace initiative.

Hope for change

The Afghan ambassador said he hopes to see a change in that policy under Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government and his country is expecting President Karzai talks with Pakistani interlocutors to “yield good results.”

“Yes, we do hope because there is a new government in Pakistan, it is a government that has a stronger mandate and it is a government that even before coming to power they were preaching that they will do something about peace and stability in Afghanistan. And now that government is in place and they still talk of the same issues in the same manner. It is a test when the President comes and meets his counterpart to see if that gap between statements and action could be closed,” he said.

Afghan Taliban detainees

Officials in Kabul say that in his talks with Pakistani leaders, President Karzai will also repeat his demand that Islamabad release all Afghan prisoners from its jails, including Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a former deputy commander of the Taliban.

The insurgent leader was believed to be independently attempting to engage in peace talks with Afghan authorities, but his actions apparently upset Pakistani officials and he was detained while traveling through Pakistan in 2010.

Ambassador Daudzai also insists that it is unclear whether the release of 26 Afghan Taliban detainees from Pakistani jails late last year has really benefited the peace efforts. He said Pakistani officials did not share enough information with Afghan authorities before and after releasing these men, and their whereabouts remain unknown.

The Afghan diplomat said Pakistan has now assured his country it will share information when remaining prisoners are released.

Pakistan said it helped more than two dozen Taliban representatives travel to Qatar to open a political office in June as part of a U.S. peace plan to give the insurgency an address where they can engaged in talks.

But the fanfare surrounding the opening ceremony and a proposed direct meeting between the Taliban and American officials both upset President Karzai and provoked him to boycott the peace process.

Afghan authorities are now demanding Pakistan use the same influence to facilitate a direct meeting between Taliban representatives and members of the Afghan Peace Council, saying the venue of the talks is immaterial for them. 

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China Releases Video Testimony of Ousted Politician Bo's Wife

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A Chinese court trying former Communist Party politician Bo Xilai has released video testimony of his wife in an attempt to bolster the claim that he knowingly accepted bribes.

In the pre-recorded, 11-minute video, Gu Kailai said her husband was aware that a wealthy businessman had given the family gifts, including airline tickets, expensive seafood and cash.

Bo, who is also charged with embezzlement and abuse of power, has vigorously denied the bribery allegations. On Thursday, the first day of the trial, he dismissed his wife's testimony as "laughable."

The official Xinhua news agency says Bo on Friday denied his wife's testimony by doubting her mental condition. It says he claimed "she is mad and always tells lies."

It is the first time Gu has been seen since she was convicted last year of killing a British businessman over a failed financial dispute, in a scandal that eventually led to Bo's dramatic downfall.

VOA Mandarin Service's Fred Wang, who is watching the trial from a media center near the court in the eastern city of Jinan, says the prosecution is trying to use Gu's testimony to weaken Bo's case that he was not aware of her dealings.

"Can you just by these facts make a conclusion that Bo Xilai took a bribe? I don't know. It's kind of yes and no. But Bo Xilai's wife's testimony testimony will damage her husband's reputation."

Government-run microblogs on Thursday gave a real-time account of the proceedings and posted court transcripts, providing an unexpected level of transparency for a sensitive trial that is one of the country's most closely watched in decades.

Wang says that information largely dried up as the second day of the hearing began, possibly because Chinese authorities were concerned about the level of public attention given to Bo's defiance of authorities.

"This (trial) is very popular. Three hundred million people are probably watching on Weibo. I think there might be a disagreement among the top leaders, so that is why there was nothing the whole morning."

The trial is not televised and foreign journalists have been barred, though 19 members of state media have been allowed inside. Foreign media have been relegated to watching official microblogs and selectively released videos on large-screen television from a nearby hotel.

Analysts say China's top political leaders almost certainly decided beforehand that Bo will be found guilty and receive a lengthy prison sentence, as in other sensitive political trials in China.

Steve Tsang with Britain's University of Nottignham tells VOA that this will not likely change, even if Bo manages to present a convincing case.

"A trial of a former Politburo member is of such importance to the Communist Party, that it is above the pay grade of any judge in China to be put in charge of. The verdict will have to be agreed on beforehand by the Politburo or the Standing Committee. Bo Xilai knows that." 

Bo's downfall began last February when his police chief, Wang Lijun, fled to the U.S. consulate in Chengdu. There, he told American diplomats about Bo's alleged role in covering up his wife's murder of British businessman Neil Heywood.

A former Politburo member, Bo was stripped of his political posts and kicked out of the Communist Party shortly after the scandal erupted. His wife was later given a suspended death sentence. 

Thursday's hearing saw Bo firmly reject charges that he accepted millions of dollars in bribes over the course of several years from a real estate developer in the eastern city of Dalian. 

Bo retracted an earlier confession about the bribery, saying his "mind was a blank" and he did not fully understand the charges against him. He also attacked the testimony of the developer, calling him a "crazy dog" and saying the developer was trying to frame him for the crime.

Thursday's trial was the first time the 64-year-old Bo had been seen in public since his arrest in March, 2012. A picture released by the court showed him standing somberly, his hands folded, next to two policemen in the dock. 

State broadcaster CCTV originally reported that the trial will only last two days and that a verdict is expected in early September.


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Spiraling Onion Prices Worry Indian Government

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NEW DELHI — In India, the government will import onions to ease spiraling prices of a crop that is an essential ingredient in Indian cooking. Seen as a symbol of high food inflation, the price of the "humble" onion has turned into a political headache for the government.

Krishna Chopra has been coping with rising food prices for many months, but her anger has intensified since she began shelling out $1.25 for a kilogram of onions - about four times their usual price.

“I am upset at the price of onions," she admitted."For a normal person it is almost impossible to buy. And personally, even if I can afford it, I have reduced my consumption of onions."

Used to make the famous Indian curry, onions are an indispensable item in virtually all Indian dishes. It is regarded as the most affordable item on the table - a vegetable within the reach of even the poorest person.

Little wonder then that the runaway onion prices have made headlines and become the subject of animated television talk shows. The expensive onion even prompted a highway robbery last weekend, when a truck carrying 9,000 kilograms of onions was hijacked by two men. It was later intercepted by police. The loot: worth an estimated $10,000.

Hoarders 

The government said there is no shortage. It blames rising prices on traders, accusing them of hoarding stocks to push up prices. It said it will import onions from Pakistan, China, Iran and Egypt to ease pressure.

That is not placating the public, who see the expensive onion as a symbol of persistent high food inflation in recent years. An independent political commentator in New Delhi, B.G. Verghese, blames the problem on poor food management.

“Food prices have gone up, everyone feels that, basic sugar, rice, wheat, milk, vegetables, the whole works. It is a chain reaction, part of general inflation, partly because of shortages, partly because of artificial shortages created by hoarding as in the case of some vegetables and so on,” Verghese said.

Cashing in 

India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party hopes to cash in on voter disgruntlement over high onion prices as it gears up for state elections due in Delhi later this year. Onions have become the centerpiece of their campaign to slam the government for mismanaging the economy and failing to protect the interests of poor people. To woo voters, it has set up stalls to sell onions at rates significantly lesser than the market price in New Delhi.

Political commentator Verghese admits onions are a “political heavyweight." But he said as prices reduce following imports, they may fade from public memory during local elections this year and national elections next year.

“There are so many issues that I don’t know whether onions will be leading the charge. People will be talking about more enduring issues, corruption, misgovernance, lack of governance, so many other things that are worrying,” said
Verghese.

But the government has reason to worry about the humble commodity.  High onion prices helped former prime minister Indira Gandhi wrest back power in 1980, and they were largely responsible for the defeat of the Delhi state government 15 years ago. 

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US Cannot 'Conclusively Determine' Chemical Weapons Use in Syria

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STATE DEPARTMENT — The United States says it can not yet "conclusively determine" that chemical weapons were used in an attack in Syria Wednesday that Syrian opposition leaders say killed more than 1,000 people. Secretary of State John Kerry discussed the attack on Thursday with counterparts from the European Union, France, Turkey, Jordan, and Qatar.

U.S. officials say they are gathering information about Wednesday's alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria as President Obama considers how to respond.

"If these reports are true, it would be an outrageous and flagrant escalation of use of chemical weapons by the regime. So our focus is on nailing down the facts. The president, of course, has a range of options," said State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki.

With French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius suggesting using force if chemical weapons claims prove true, U.S. officials say they have been increasing assistance to Syrian rebels since concluding that Syrian government forces launched  earlier chemical weapons attacks. But that's not enough, said former U.S. ambassador Adam Ereli.

"We say we are going to support the opposition. We say we have red lines," he said. "We say they're being crossed. And we say we are going to do something. But we don't really do enough to have it be meaningful in any substantive way."

Ereli said U.S. inaction emboldens Syria's allies Iran and Hezbollah.

"We're going to provide arms. What arms? Don't know," he said. "We're going to provide assistance. What assistance? Well, humanitarian assistance. Does that help? It helps the people of Syria, which is great. Does it help get rid of Bashar al-Assad? No."

Syrian rebel spokesman Louay Meqdad said Arab Gulf states are stepping up to arm the rebellion, not the West.

"We are receiving some shipments from some countries, and exactly from some Arabic countries," he said. "Till now the Europe countries, especially France and Britain, and the United States governments, they didn't get any serious step in this field to give us the proper weapons that we need."

Russia's support for President Bashar al-Assad complicates Washington's response as Moscow suggests rebels could have staged the chemical attack to provoke international action against Damascus.

"We expect that experts will clarify this issue and will help to disperse numerous speculations about the use of Syrian chemical weapons," said Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich.

If Syrian forces have nothing to do with chemical weapons, U.S. officials say Damascus should allow U.N. weapons inspectors who are already in the country to gather information about the attack. 

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Indonesia Under Pressure to Prevent Plummeting Rupiah

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JAKARTA — Indonesia’s government has announced new policies to mitigate the rapidly depreciating rupiah, which has faced its worst week since 2008. Analysts say the measures are unlikely to be effective in the short term, because of broader trends affecting currencies across Asia.

A darling of investors at a time when advanced economies were flailing, Indonesia’s economic boom is being rapidly undermined by its plummeting rupiah.

Following reports of a record high current account deficit, the country has faced sell-offs in the rupiah, stocks and bonds. This week more than $500 million in global funds have been pulled from the local stock exchange.

Already among Asia’s worst performing currencies this year, the rupiah has now suffered its worst week in four years, sliding 4.2 percent. On Friday the government announced plans designed to boost investment and reduce imports.

The measures include increasing import taxes on luxury cars, reducing oil imports and providing tax incentives for investments in agriculture and the metal industries.

HSBC senior economist Fauzi Ichsan said the plan would not prevent the rupiah from depreciating further in the short term.

“Certainly the policy package will help boost exports, boost foreign direct investment but that’s for the long run. The impact of the policy once it is in implemented will only be felt in three to six months, earliest, so it does not really address the immediate problem of the lack of dollar liquidity in the foreign exchange market,” said Ichsan.

The Indonesian government has also revised its GDP growth estimate from 6.3 to 5.9 percent this year.

Ichsan said the rupiah was likely to remain ‘fragile’ and would not rebound until after the general election in the second half of 2014.

Speculation that the U.S. Federal Reserve will begin winding down its stimulus program, along with slowdowns in China and India have also hit Indonesia, which relies heavily on commodity exports.

Currencies across South and Southeast Asia have fallen hard this week, with Indonesia and India suffering the steepest losses. The currencies of Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines also fell, but by less than one percent.

But analyst Andrew Colquhoun, from 
Fitch Rating in Hong Kong said concerns the region could be headed for a repeat of the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 are unwarranted.

“We think Indonesia is in a rather stronger position today from a sovereign credit perspective certainly than it was in 1996 or 1997 and that is true across a range of areas. But one factor is the self insurance that Indonesia and a number of other Asian sovereigns have built up in the form of foreign currency reserves,” he said.

Colquhoun also suggested there was a ‘global reorientation’ of economic growth drivers away from investment and construction within China and toward growing demand in the advanced economies. He said that was also contributing to currency declines in the region.

Fitch Ratings said policy management would be an important factor in whether economic and financial stability was maintained in India and Indonesia. 

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