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Viewpoint: A year of transition, uncertainty and change By Rajiv Biswas Asia-Pacific Chief Economist, IHS Global Insight China's continued economic expansion is key to the region's overall growth In the Chinese Zodiac, 2012 is the Year of the Water Dragon - marking a year of transition, uncertainty and change. The Asia-Pacific economies certainly face considerable uncertainty as well as headwinds in 2012, with the eurozone already sliding into recession at the end of 2011, while the momentum of US economic recovery - although encouraging in recent months - remains moderate at best. The Year of the Dragon will also be a year characterised by political uncertainty, with presidential elections in the US and France, as well as leadership change in China. In autumn 2012, the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China will elect the new Central Committee and Politburo Standing Committee members. The curre...

Uproar over China's 'angry dragon' stamp   The new stamp has managed to attract many buyers despite the controversy A Chinese postage stamp to mark the upcoming Year of the Dragon has sparked uproar among the public because the dragon is thought to look "too fierce". One Chinese writer is quoted as saying she was "scared to death" on seeing the image of the creature with its claws, scales and bared teeth. China Post, which produced the stamp, insists it is a perfect combination of history and modernity. The stamp's designer says a tough image was needed for a powerful creature. "Among everyday people, the dragon is thought to exorcise evil spirits, avert disasters and give blessings, so we need a tough image," Chen Shaohua is quoted by the China Daily as saying. The dragon has been a symbol of Chinese imperial power for centuries. But media figures and people posting on Chinese microblogging sites have said the im...

Golf for all?     Elite game, or everyman's pursuit? Andrew Mlangeni was in a hurry. "We have lots to celebrate," said the 86-year-old anti-apartheid icon, former Robben Island prisoner, and friend of Nelson Mandela. "But now I must play golf." Mr Mlangeni was in Bloemfontein for this weekend's ANC centenary festivities, which began on Friday with a golf tournament for senior party figures and VIPs. "I have a handicap of 16," he said, before speeding off in his golf cart - "not bad for a man of my age." Does golf send off the wrong messages for a party already accused of being elitist, corrupt and out of touch with the struggles of ordinary South Africans? Across town, the ANC's disgraced but militant youth leader, Julius Malema, reportedly was busy telling his supporters that the party's leaders were "baboons" who ignored the poor. Relaxing at the clubhouse, the ANC's spokesman Jimmy Many...

Inside North Korea: The day Kim Jong-il gave me a Rolex As part of North Korea's propaganda machine, Jang Jin-sung spent his career writing eulogies of Kim Jong-il, before growing disillusioned and fleeing to South Korea in 2004. Here he describes life as a member of the North Korean elite. I wrote poems for the regime under a pen name, pretending I was a grass-roots poet from the South. I wrote epic poems glorifying Kim Jong-il, which were published in the main newspaper in the North. I met Kim Jong-il twice. The first time, in 1999, I was overwhelmed and full of emotion. But at the same time I thought the image I had received of him - through brainwashing - was very different to how he appeared in person. Kim Jong-il's words are used as guidelines for running the country. He is a god-like figure. But when I met him I felt he was much more individualistic, even a bit selfish - and I was disappointed. Lavish rations I was given a Rolex watch as a gift ...

Paws 'Dogcam' aids search-and-rescue with canine tech By Dougal Shaw Technology reporter Grant Notman demonstrates the product at a mock disaster scene The first thing you remember is that the floor was trembling and the ceiling cracked - could it have been an earthquake? You look around and see things from your house in unusual places. Floorboards are strewn about you and your bed is at ninety degrees, trapping your legs. Suddenly the friendly face of a dog weaves through the rubble and licks your face. It barks, then a human voice asks if you are OK. This is not a hallucination, Narnia, or your first taste of the afterlife. You have been saved by a rescue dog fitted out with the latest application of wireless broadcast technology. Instead of bringing you some alcohol, this modern day St Bernard offers you the chance to communicate in real time video wi...

By Aleem Maqbool BBC News, Punjab The Pakistani school that has produced 57 international hockey players We find 14-year-old Abu Bakr dribbling a ball with a hockey stick everywhere he goes. "One Olympian, Nadeem, lived on my street," he tells us. "Watching him inspired me to play, now I think of hockey the first thing in the morning and I think about it when I lay in bed at night." The little town of Gojra in central Punjab is far from affluent. It once hit the headlines in recent years, but only for the religious tensions that boiled over there. Its biggest secondary school is shabby, and its pupils often have lessons sitting on the ground outside because there is not enough room inside the classrooms. But if, like Abu Bakr, they have ambiti...

THIS is apropos Irfan Hussain`s article `Morality and atheism in an uncertain world` (Feb 17), wherein the learned columnist laments the decline in the West of the marriage institution, sexual promiscuity, and lack of belief in a supreme being. In spite of that, he points out that most corrupt countries happen to be Muslim, while in contrast Sweden and Singapore are the least corrupt countries in the world. He says Pakistanis are fond of criticising western materialism and boasting of their supposed spirituality without any evidence of practising `spirituality` in their behaviour. The West changed the modern world. The West`s gifts include a gentler standard of behaviour towards the weak, justice, the intellectual rigour of science and its fruits in travel and better healthcare. Modernisation and industrialisation have become worldwide as they enhance the people`s standard of living. All other cultures have been attempting to catch up with the West in wealth and modernity an...