The search for the mysterious “Afghan Girl,” whose haunting, green-eyed gaze captivated the world in a NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC magazine cover photograph, takes EXPLORER on a world-wide journey in an attempt to solve the case of a missing person. In January 2002, photographer Steve McCurry, who took the 1984 photograph and has been searching for the [...]

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Destruction of its nuclear cooling tower was important but largely symbolic.
North Korea’s destruction last week of the cooling tower at its Yongbyon nuclear facility was a spectacular piece of geopolitical theater. But as the concrete crumbled, did Pyongyang’s ability to produce plutonium really crumble as well?
The tower’s fall largely was symbolic, say experts. In addition, [...]

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As always – but especially now with globalization intensifying the effect — a few continuing events dominate the worldwide media. From the drama of the natural catastrophe that has befallen the Chinese and the Burmese to the falderal surrounding the American presidential campaign, the headlines and the commentators leave little room for these “minor” topics.
Events [...]

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Military and political experts both in Russia and Central Asia say the timing of Russia’s ratification of the bilateral agreement with Tajikistan and its plans to reinforce the Kant air base are not coincidental, and show Moscow’s seriousness about fortifying its influence in Central Asia.
Vladimir Mukhin, a Moscow-based journalist and expert on military affairs, says [...]

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America’s preoccupation in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars has significantly undermined its influence in the Asia-Pacific region. Much has been written about how China has attempted to fill the “American void” in the Asia-Pacific and to reconfigure the region’s geopolitical architecture, but little attention is being accorded to Russia’s new power plays in the region, [...]

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In itself, Iran’s recent application for membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is probably little more than diplomatic posturing. But coupled with the end of Lebanon’s political stalemate, Turkey’s mediation between Israel and Syria, and Egypt’s attempts to broker a truce in Gaza, it can be seen as part of a new dynamic that [...]

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At its peak in the 12th century, the Angkor kingdom spread across Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, Laos and Vietnam. Angkor is the largest pre-industrial city known to man. So how did Angkor mysteriously disappear?
As archaeologist Damien Evans explains, the team’s findings give a stark warning to Cambodia’s corrupt and greedy rulers, and to modern societies worldwide. [...]

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A building frenzy is raging in Asia, Russia and on the Persian Gulf. And cities like London and New York don’t have the money to compete. Will Western urban landscapes soon look outdated? By Ulrike Knöfel, Frank Hornig and Bernhard Zand more…

Photo Gallery: The East’s New Skylines
The Rise of Dubai: A Queue in the Sand
Unveiling [...]

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Asia in general, and China in particular: The pressure in Asia is starting to show, beginning with South Korea. But anecdotal reports out of China also show the ratcheting of pressure. We have reports of plant closures due partly to informal taxes for earthquake relief imposed by the government and partly to the business environment. [...]

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NARGIS POSES HUMANITARIAN DILEMMA
The stubbornness of Burma’s military junta puts the West into a hopeless situation. If the international community wants to provide relief to victims of Cyclone Nargis, then it has to play by the regime’s rules. But the West’s submissiveness sends a dangerous signal to despots everywhere. By our reporter in Rangoon more…

Junta [...]

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Uprooted trees, destroyed houses, disease. Burma is in chaos more than a week after Cyclone Nargis, and the real disaster is happening now. Drugs and aid aren’t reaching the people who desperately need it. But the Burmese are helping each other, and anger at the junta is mounting. By our reporter in Rangoon, Burma more…

‘Like [...]

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‘LIKE THE APOCALYPSE’
The worst natural disaster since the 2004 tsunami has hit Burma, home to a despotic military regime. Despite a storm that locals claimed was “like the apocalypse,” the junta sought to complicate the arrival of any foreign aid out of mistrust of the West. By Jürgen Kremb and Thilo Thielke more…

Interactive Graphic: Cyclone [...]

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Some of the world’s major concentrations of military power and potential hot spots are in Asia: for example on the Korean peninsula, across the Taiwan Straits and between India and Pakistan. Strong economic growth in our region is leading to the build-up of modern military forces in China and India, as well as in South [...]

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THE US war in Iraq has strengthened its strategic position, especially in terms of key alliances, and the only way this could be reversed would be if it lost the will to continue the struggle and abandoned Iraq in defeat and disarray.
Surely the author of this sentence is on the ganja, you might say. Something [...]

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Even though it looks relatively peaceful on the outside, Northeast Asia is in fact the heart of the global military-industrial complex. The armies that confront each other in this region — the United States, Russia, China, Japan, and the two Koreas — are the largest in the world. They are responsible for at least 65 [...]

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Many locals are wary of China’s motives and suspect their northern neighbor has sought a foothold to extend its influence southward because the ASEAN plans to launch a single market in 2015. Some observers believe China plans to become the key player in developing areas along the Mekong River through the marsh development project.
Beijing [...]

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Violence in Tibet and China’s harsh response to it have marred China’s hopes for calm before it hosts the 2008 Olympics. At first, countries played down any kind of boycott in response. But contrary voices are now starting to make themselves heard. more…

Ceremony Overshadowed by Tibet Unrest: Tibet Activists Disrupt Olympic Torch Ceremony
Photo Gallery: Unrest [...]

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The long-suffering Tibetans have been in the news. This happens perhaps once or twice a decade. In a more moral world, however, public opinion would be far more preoccupied with Tibetans than with Palestinians, would be as harsh on China as it is on Israel, and would be as fawning on Israel as it now [...]

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THOUSANDS of Chinese troops are being deployed in the Tibetan capital Lhasa and in towns scattered across the vast plateau to contain outbreaks of anti-Chinese unrest. The riots and protests in recent days have been the most widespread in the region in decades. As China prepares to host the Olympic Games in August, Tibet is [...]

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Russia’s strong show of support for China suggests that the two states might intervene in the event that anti-government protests broke out in one of the SCO member states in Central Asia. The possibility of such unrest in the region is not so far-fetched. The state of Uzbekistan’s economy has some observers believing that Tashkent [...]

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Bloodshed in Armenia worries both Russia and the West
THE day after Dmitry Medvedev’s presidential victory, Moscow’s leading papers turned their attention away from the long-predicted result to the unexpected bloodshed in Armenia. At least eight people were killed in clashes between security forces and opposition supporters protesting against alleged fraud in the country’s presidential elections. [...]

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