By Kalinga Seneviratne SINGAPORE (IDN) – A Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) – a “free” trade agreement between the 10 ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and its major trading partners in the region – is expected to be signed later this year. But labour unions and workers’ rights advocates in the region fear that […]
Japan-China Relations Apparently Back On Track
Viewpoint by Katsuji Nakazawa* TOKYO (IDN-INPS) – In early May 2018 during his first visit to Japan since being appointed in 2013, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang publicly remarked that Japan-China relations had returned to a path of normality. This “throw-away line” revealed that China’s official perspective prior to then was that Japan-China relations had been […]
Climate Change Threatens Bhutan’s Development Gains
By Ramesh Jaura UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – The Buddhist kingdom Bhutan’s report to the United Nations High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development was in many ways exceptional. The holistic goal the landlocked country on the Himalayas’ eastern edge has set itself is the pursuit of Gross National Happiness (GNH). The principal guiding philosophy behind […]
Asia-Pacific May Achieve Only One Out Of 17 Goals By 2030
By Ramesh Jaura UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) spanning an area home to 4.1 billion people, or two thirds of the world’s population, sprang a surprise when it admitted that at the current rate of progress in the region only one of the […]
Elections Pose Yet Another Challenge To Pakistan
By Sajjad Ashraf* ISLAMABAD (IDN-INPS) – Though some legal challenges on constituency delimitation remain, Pakistan is well on its way to a general election. Caretaker Prime Minister Nasir-ul-Mulk took the oath of office at the beginning of June, setting the stage for elections to take place on July 25, 2018. Punjab province is the main […]
Mahathir Appears To Be Setting The Stage For A New Malaysia
By Shankaran Nambiar* KUALA LUMPUR (IDN-INPS) – Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad appears to be setting the tone for a revision of Malaysia’s geo-economic policy, if the bilateral meetings with his Indian and Japanese counterparts in the early days of his administration are anything to go by. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on Mahathir not […]
India Supports Sustainable Development Through UN Tax Fund
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – India has provided a voluntary contribution of US $100,000 to encourage the participation of developing countries in the work of a key UN committee on tax matters tasked with finding ways of mobilizing resources for sustainable development. This is the second year India has contributed to the UN […]
Lao Women Village Weavers Pursue Moderate Livelihoods
By Toung Eh Synuanchanh This article is the 24th in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate. BUNGSANTHUENG, Laos (IDN) – The consciousness of finite resource and traditional wisdom are inspiring a group of women in the Southeast Asian country to pursue business practices based on the Buddhist […]
UN Report Bashes India and Pakistan for Multiple Human Rights Violations in Kashmir
By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | GENEVA (IDN) – In its first ever report on the human rights situation in Indian- and Pakistan-Administered Kashmir, the UN has listed human rights violations and abuses on both sides of the Line of Control, and highlighted a situation of chronic impunity for violations committed by security forces. “There is […]
The South Indian State of Kerala Shows the Way By Embracing Migrant Workers
By Shastri Ramachandaran* NEW DELHI (IDN) – By any yardstick of human and social development, Kerala in South India is ahead of most Indian states. It provides social security to all sections of employees and workers through schemes that are superior to what obtains in most other states. Its labour policies are progressive. Minimum wages, […]