By James Bhagwan* SUVA, Fiji | 11 November 2023 (IDN) — For the Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC), the ecumenical alliance for the Pacific region, it was a very difficult decision to go to this year’s COP in Dubai, a conference chaired by the CEO of Dubai’s national oil company who is a significant figure […]
Fiji: Korean Church’s Businesses Thrive While Its Head Faces Deportation
By Rohit Kumar* SUVA, Fiji | 10 November 2023 (IDN | WANSOLWARA) — The Grace Road Business Empire, a South Korean Christian group established within a short nine-year span, has impressed many in Fiji. However, the group has also attracted controversy due to the South Korean government’s ongoing investigations against the church and its desire […]
Activists Confront Uganda Over Oil Pipeline Financed by China
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | 6 November 2023 (IDN) — As the world tightens its belt to use less dirty oil and more solar and other clean energies, one country on the African continent is moving full speed ahead in the opposite direction. Uganda recently signed on to one of the […]
Fiji: Pro-Israel UN Vote Splits the Governing Coalition and Upsets The Army
By Ravindra Singh Prasad SUVA, Fiji | 3 November 2023 (IDN) — Fiji’s vote at the recent UN General Assembly against a ceasefire in Gaza to protect civilians has split the governing coalition government and upset the chief of the armed forces. Fiji’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Professor Biman Prasad, leader of the […]
COP28, Peace and the Pacific Islands
By Volker Boege* Toda Peace Institute issued this article, and it is being republished with their permission. BRISBANE, Australia | 1 November 2023 (IDN) — COP28 (the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change) takes place from 30 November to 12 December in Dubai. As UN Secretary-General António Guterres […]
Australian PM’s Beijing-Visit Will Signal Reproachment with China
Analysis by Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY | 29 October 2023 (IDN) — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will arrive in Beijing on 4 November for a much-awaited visit to China, the country’s biggest trading partner. Australia’s wine and barley growers, as well as the tourism and tertiary education sectors, will welcome the visit. Albanese is also […]
US Likely to Persist with Renewed Pacific Role Despite Island Nations’ Doubts
Viewpoint by Shailendra Bahadur Singh* SUVA, Fiji | 23 October 2023 (IDN) — Pacific Island nations have been skeptical about the recent revival in U.S. interest in the region. Despite those misgivings, likely, Washington is back for the long haul. China’s rise to a major economy—second only to the United States—is reshaping the world, notwithstanding […]
Australia Referendum Exposes Flaws of Democracy Architecture
Analysis by Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY | 17 October 2023 (IDN) — The resounding defeat suffered by the Australian Labour Government on the 14 October referendum to amend the constitution to recognize the “First Australians” (indigenous people) exposes the flaws in the Australian democratic architecture, especially the role of social media and concentration of media ownership […]
No Blind Support for Israel in Asia
By Kalinga Seneviratne SINGAPORE. 14 October 2023 (IDN) — In the aftermath of Palestinian group Hamas’s terror attack inside Israel on 7 October and the Israeli state’s equally terrifying attacks on Palestinian settlements in Gaza, the media across many parts of Asia tend to take a more neutral stand to that of their western counterparts, […]
Who’s WHO?
BY Aayusha Pokharel* KATHMANDU. 12 October 2023 (IDN) — The World Health Organisation (WHO) will be nominating its South East Asia Regional Office (SEARO) Director at its 76th session starting 30 October in New Delhi. Nepal’s candidate Shambu Prasad Acharya has emerged as a clear favourite among international public health practitioners. But vying for the […]