By Emi Hayakawa This article is the 48th in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship agency of the Non-profit International Press Syndicate. Click here for previous reports. Emi Hayakawa is Head of Global Operations, BTN (Buddhist Television Network) World, South Korea. SEOUL (IDN) — The celebrated “birthplace” of contemporary […]
New Caledonia Vote to Stay with France Is a Hollow Victory
It Will Only Ratchet Up Tensions Viewpoint by David Robie The writer Dr David Robie is editor of Asia Pacific Report, founding editor of Pacific Journalism Review and former director of the Pacific Media Centre. AUCKLAND (IDN) — “Loyalist” New Caledonians handed France the decisive victory in the third and final referendum on independence it […]
Will New Mobile Apps Give Deaf Children More Learning Paths?
By Pralhad Gairapipli and Simone Galimberti Pralhad Gairapipli works with Humanity & Inclusion as Regional Communications Officer, covering India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Simone Galimberti is the Co-Founder of ENGAGE, an NGO partnering with youths living with disabilities. Opinions expressed are personal. KATHMANDU (IDN) — Can a mobile app become the transformative tool that will […]
Solomon Islands: Geo-Political Battles Engulf the Pacific as Australia Sends Troops to Honiara
By Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY (IDN) — The first batch of Australian Federal Police (AFP) arrived in the Solomon Islands capital Honiara on November 26 to help quell rioting, after the Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare requested Australia’s help under a security treaty the country signed with Canberra in 2017. Australian troops are back in the independent […]
Philippines: Supporting The Weavers of Lousiana
Our Better World LUISIANA, Philippines (IDN/OBW) — Each day, Maria’s Kitchen, a bakery in Laguna, sells tray after tray of ube cheese pandesal (cheese and yam infused bread rolls) and other breads and cakes. But there is more to these baked goods than belly-rubbing yumminess; the simple and elegant pandan leaf boxes that bear them […]
Alternative Noble Prize Recognition for Pakistan’s Islamic Community Development Pioneer
By Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY (IDN) — One of the five winners of this year’s Ramon Magsaysay Awards—known as Asia’s Nobel Prizes—is Dr Muhammad Amjad Saquib the founder of Pakistan’s biggest community development network Akhuwat that is based on Islamic principles of sharing and brotherhood. Launched in 2001, hundreds of thousands of poor families have been […]
Bangladesh’s “Affordable Vaccine Pioneer” Wins Asia’s Nobel Prize
By Amitava Chowdhury KOLKATTA (IDN) — One of 2021 Ramon Magsaysay Awards—known as ‘Asia’s Nobel Prize’—has been awarded to the Bangladeshi scientist Dr Firdausi Qadri who has played a “key role” in creating more affordable vaccines to combat cholera and typhoid, the Manila-based award foundation said in a statement on August 31. The 70-year-old female […]
From War Hero to Sports Hero — Inspirational Story of Sri Lanka’s Paralympics Gold Medallist
By Mohan Srilal COLOMBO (IDN) — Sri Lanka’s latest sporting hero Dinesh Priyantha Herath is expected to touch down in Sri Lanka to a red-carpet airport welcome on Tuesday. The life story of the F46 Javelin Throw gold medalist at the Tokyo Paralympics is an inspirational one of how to overcome disabilities both economic and […]
Filipino Medal Winners at Tokyo Olympics Show Sports Could Empower The “Economically Disabled”
By Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY (IDN) — As the Paralympics begin in Tokyo—a celebration of the athletics prowess of the “differently-abled”—it will be appropriate to look at how the Tokyo Olympic Games that concluded on August 8 empowered the “economically disabled” athletes from the Philippines—a Southeast Asian country not well-known for its sporting prowess except for […]
Australian Farmers Cry Out for Foreign Labour as Locals Shun “Slave Wages”
By Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY (IDN) — Australia’s farming sector has been badly hit by the closing of the borders due to the Covid-19 pandemic and with the harvesting season on the horizon there is an estimated shortage of 25,000 fruit pickers and harvesting machinery operators across Australia. While the farmers are asking the government to […]