China
The number of people deemed illiterate in China grew by 30 million to 116 million in the five years to 2005, an education official has said. Gao Xuegui said the main reason was that farmers' children were leaving school early in order to find work. China's economic growth has seen millions of poorer people leave their rural homes to work in cities. (BBC)
India
India's Maharashtra state has banned the introduction of sex education in schools after protests from legislators who say it will corrupt young minds. The move is being seen as a setback to central government efforts to introduce sex education in schools countrywide. Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh states recently announced similar decisions. (BBC)
Japan
Veteran Japanese diplomat Kiyotaka Akasaka of Japan, who has been closely involved throughout his career with the work of multilateral organizations, began his tenure April 2 as the new chief of the UN Department of Public Information (DPI). Akasaka succeeds Shashi Tharoor of India as the Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information. Akasaka comes to the UN from the OECD in Paris, where he served as Deputy Secretary-General since August 2003. (UN News)
Nepal
Senior UN envoy to Nepal Ian Martin on April 1 hailed the establishment of the country’s interim Government, while emphasizing that many challenges lie ahead as preparations continue for elections aimed at cementing the democratic transition in the Himalayan country. "I congratulate the leaders of the eight political parties on their willingness to share responsibilities in this transitional period," Martin said. (UN News) Philippines
The World Bank said Friday it expects to increase its lending to the Philippines to around USD 600 million per year over the next few years, amid improvement in the country's fiscal position. Manila's improved fiscal health has allowed it greater ability to provide the required matching funds for Bank loans. The government is currently seeking to lower its reliance on commercial foreign borrowing and shifting toward more domestic bond issuance and cheaper loans from multinational lenders. (Dow Jones)
South Korea
The US and South Korea agreed on the biggest US trade pact in 15 years Apirl 2 with only minutes to go before a deadline. The deal to cut tariffs and remove trade barriers follows nine months of talks and sometimes violent protests in South Korea, mostly over fears that heavily subsidized farmers could not survive a flood of cheaper US farm products. Seoul agreed in the end to phase out its 40 percent tariff on US beef over 15 years, but did not budge on rice. (Reuters)
Timor Leste
More than 2,000 national and international election observers will monitor the April 9 landmark presidential elections in Timor-Leste, the first polls held since independence from Indonesia in 2002, the UNMIT said April 3. Almost 1,900 national observers from more than 50 Timorese organizations have already registered to observe voting across 504 polling centers in 13 districts for the polls, UNMIT said, adding that 180 international observers will also be accredited by the electoral authorities. (UN News)
Vietnam
A Thai appeal court has overturned a decision to extradite a high-profile Vietnamese dissident. Ly Tong is accused of flying a hijacked plane from Thailand to Vietnam to drop thousands of anti-communist leaflets. The court ruled that Tong's act was a political rather than a security offense, and decided that he should not be sent to Vietnam to face charges. Tong spent several years in a Thai jail because of the incident, but the ruling now makes him a free man. (BBC)
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