By Ria Shibata* Toda Peace Institute issued this article, and it is being republished with their permission. WELLINGTON, New Zealand | 4 December 2023 (IDN) — As the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) […], the global community braces for tough negotiations over climate finance, emission reductions, adaptation strategies and funding for climate-induced loss and […]
Sri Lanka’s Northern Tamils are not for Sale to China
By P. Soma Palan* COLOMBO, Sri Lanka | 25 November 2023 (IDN) — I write this not as a northern Tamil but as an independent, free, and objective thinker. In today’s international politics, the phrase “Geopolitics” is a commonplace expression. It means an inter-play of power and spheres of influence between militarized nations. Geopolitics has […]
Exploring China’s Role in Facilitating Israel-Hamas Truce
By M. A. Hossain DHAKA | 18 November 2023 (IDN) — As the conflict between Israel and Hamas intensifies, the death toll of civilians in Gaza has risen to more than 10,000, including 3,700 children. China has stepped forward to mediate between the parties in this catastrophic context. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed the […]
Concerns in the Pacific Over “Neo-colonial” Australia-Tuvalu Agreement
By Ravindra Singh Prasad SUVA, Fiji | 16 November 2023 (IDN) — A new treaty deal announced by Australia and the tiny Pacific Island state of Tuvalu during this month Pacific Island Forum (PIF) in Cook islands may signal a new strategy of Australia and its western allies to counter China in the region. But, […]
A Loss and Damage Fund in the Pacific?
By Kate Higgins* Toda Peace Institute issued this article, and it is being republished with their permission. VICTORIA, Australia | 16 November 2023 (IDN) — At last year’s COP27 in Egypt, an agreement was reached to establish a Loss and Damage Fund for countries, such as those in the Pacific, vulnerable to the “adverse effects” […]
Pacific Needs Powerful Voice Against Superpower Dominance
By Shailendra Bahadur Singh* SUVA, Fiji | 15 November 2023 (IDN) — The Pacific Islands Forum chair and Cook Islands Prime Minister, Mark Brown, has emerged as one of the more powerful Pacific leaders’ voices in projecting the region’s concerns and priorities to the world. Knowing that the international attention was focused on the recent […]
Korean Peninsula: U.N. Coalition’s Commitment to Peace Praised
By Joseph Clark WASHINGTON, D.C. | 14 November 2023 (IDN | DOD News) — Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III praised the international alliance committed to securing lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula as United Nations Command member states gathered today for the coalition’s inaugural defense ministers’ meeting in Seoul, South Korea. Austin […]
PCC at COP28: Advocating for Phasing Out of Fossil Fuels, Funding for Loss and Damage, and Peace
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 […]