By Maheswary Sivapragasam The writer is a lawyer specializing in housing and property laws. COLOMBO (IDN) — As land forgery continues unabated in Sri Lanka, something has to be done to prevent the prevalent rate of land fraud, with legal owners and innocent buyers unknowingly falling into these traps. According to news sources, the Registrar […]
ASEAN’s ‘Feeble and Overly Diplomatic Response’ to Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Viewpoint by Tim Newton The writer Tim Newton has lived in Thailand since 2011. An Australian, he has worked in the media, principally radio and TV, for 42 years. This article was issued by Thaiger. BANGKOK (IDN) — Issuing its first cautious statement over the invasion of Ukraine, ASEAN calls on… “all parties concerned to […]
South Pacific: US Announce New South Pacific Strategy to Counter China
By Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY (IDN) — Marking the first visit by a US Secretary of State in 37 years to South Pacific’s major power Fiji, Antony Blinken during his 8-hour stay on February 13 insisted that the US is a Pacific nation and unveiled a raft of new strategies to better engage with the nations […]
Panguna Copper Mine Share Value Doubles Overnight After Landowners Opt to Reopen Mine
By Gorethy Kenneth The writer is a senior PNG Post-Courier journalist. This article was issued by Asia Pacific Report on 15 February and is being republished with permission. PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (IDN) — The dormant Bougainville Copper Limited share value has more than doubled overnight on the Australian Stock Exchange following a resolution […]
Civic Rights for Foreign Residents Sparks Backlash in Japan
By Yasuo Takao This article was issued by East Asia Forum on February 12. The writer is an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at the School of Media, Culture and Creative Arts, Curtin University, Perth, Australia. PERTH (IDN) — The number of foreign residents living in Japan has dramatically increased in the past decade, marking a […]
Sri Lanka-Russia Relations: Epitome of Unfeigned Diplomacy
By Somar Wijayadasa* NEW YORK (IDN) — Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) gained its independence in 1948, but it was only on 19 February 1957 that Mr S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, then Prime Minister of Ceylon established diplomatic relations with the former Soviet Union (now Russia)—a superpower at the time, and today a global power. […]
Timor Leste: Oil Revenue Fails to Address Child Stunting
By Annamarie Reyes DILI, Timor Leste (IDN) — The world’s newest democracy of Timor Leste is currently confronting a surge of omicron cases after being one of the safest countries from Covid. But as it continues to manage the pandemic fairly well, the story is quite the opposite when it comes to the problem of […]
If You Want to Deter a Military Invasion, Should You Go Nuclear?
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — North Korea, whose economy has been severely undermined by rigid sanctions imposed by the United Nations and the United States, in retaliation for its active nuclear weapons program, has long justified its growing military arsenal on sheer political and ideological grounds. The invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, and […]
Sri Lanka: Government’s Badly Planned Organic Farming Policy Upsets Rice Farmers
By R.M.Samanmalee Swarnalatha POLLONNARUWA, Sri Lanka (IDN) — Sri Lankan government’s badly planned organic farming policy that has banned the use of chemical fertilizer in farms has upset farmers in this rice-growing heartland and a political stronghold of the ruling coalition. The policy has also drawn criticism from agricultural experts, who warn that Sri Lanka’s […]
The Geo-Political Battle in Asia About Democracy
Analysis by Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY (IDN) — With the geo-political battle between China and the United States gathering momentum in Asia, whoever can define democracy better and demonstrate that it works for the betterment of the people, could win the battle in coming years. One may argue that there is no such battle for democracy […]