Originally Posted by mmonew0012 (Post 575125)

China, Japan, South Korea and Asean said they will expedite the development of permanent emergency rice reserves to ensure food security in times of crisis and disasters, according to a joint statement. China pledged 300,000 tons of rice. Australia and New Zealand’s free-trade agreement with a group of Southeast Asian nations will take effect next year, Australia said yesterday. The deal, originally signed in February at an earlier Asean meeting, is designed to eliminate or lower tariffs on products such as coffee, dairy, minerals, cars and vegetables in the next 12 years. Southeast Asian countries are “on track” to eliminate tariffs on most goods traded within the region by the beginning of 2010, Asean said in a statement yesterday. The group aims to form a free-trade area by Jan. 1 that would remove tariffs on more than 87 percent of imports, part of its efforts to create an economic zone modeled after the EU, without a common currency, by 2015. Regional Groups The Japanese and Australian proposals would build on existing regional groupings. Those include the 10-member Asean, the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation bloc set to meet next month in Singapore and the 27-member Asean Regional Forum that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attended in July. Rudd’s Asia-Pacific Community would include the U.S., Japan, China, India, Indonesia and “the other states of our region,” he said in a speech last year. Its purpose would be to cooperate on economic, political and security matters and dispel notions that a conflict in Asia may be inevitable, he said at the time. Hatoyama, who came to office Sept. 16, said in a speech at the United Nations a week later that he would strive to create an East Asian community similar to the European Union. The goal was seen as potentially excluding the U.S. after he published an opinion article in the New York Times in August arguing that “the era of U.S.-led globalism is coming to an end.” Besides Thailand, which holds Asean’s rotating chairmanship, the group includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam. A wider East Asian free trade area may emerge before a new regional community is formed, Abhisit said yesterday.

Originally Posted by Jaye Jang (Post 575502)

Now that we've met by default, welcome aboard. Have a similar degree, (Social and Cultural Anth). Never finished it. Major concentration was in Medieval French Civilization (particularly castles and cathedrals). Minor was in film history, with a side of geology. Never been to Greece, but I seldom miss the Greek Festival here (we have a pretty large international community).

Unfortunately, the only Greek I know (besides medical terminology), is Opa. Don't know if that means 'hello', 'goodbye' or 'no, I'm not Armenian'. Don't even know if I'm spelling it right, but for what it's worth, OPA.

Originally Posted by skoteinh (Post 575668)

Your degree sounds really interesting, Jayne!
Well, I'm trying to finish my MA on Communications, Media and PR...

Greek festivals abroad are usually lots of fun, my Uni in London had a Greek society and they were notorious for their parties.

Well, 'opa' doesn't really translate, it's just an expression denoting enthousiasm, surprise, or just that you're having fun! People say it a lot when they're dancing. You can also use it when you want to stop someone from doing something, something like 'don't'.

I'll take your 'opa' as an expression of enthousiasm, or fun!!! : )
I'm sending you a virtual shot of ouzo!!!