Category: Asia-Pacific

By Kalinga Seneviratne*

This article is the eighth in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate.

BANGKOK (IDN | Lotus News Features) – Mindfulness, the meditative practice, which has its roots in Buddhism as Vipassana Bhavana, encourages people to focus on the present, rather than on the anxieties of the past or future.

In the previous decade, however, it has become somewhat of a fad around the world. Particularly in the U.S., it is now everywhere: in schools, law firms, banks, governments, and even in the U.S. military. They are all offering mindfulness sessions to staff.

By Naimul Haq

DHAKA (IDN) – Twenty-year-old Aklima Khatun gave birth to her first child on August 27 at a small clinic run by the government. The clinic, known as community clinic (CC), offers affordable but reliable maternal health services. Unlike the widely adopted traditional home deliveries, Aklima chose safer delivery in the hands of skilled birth attendants and in a hygienic environment.

All this was possible because Aklima had attended a safe motherhood programme, which promotes maternal healthcare and health education needed for mostly the poor and illiterate mothers. It is part of a Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) funded project. The project aims at improving a maternal healthcare programme by revitalizing and enhancing effective care and monitoring.

By Kalinga Seneviratne

SINGAPORE (IDN) – The stunning victory of 21-year-old Singaporean swimmer Joseph Schooling in the 100m butterfly at the Rio Olympics on August 12 has reignited debate about importing foreign sporting talent to raise the profile of local sports, especially in the international arena.

It was the tiny island nation’s first ever Olympic gold medal and Southeast Asia’s first Olympic Gold in swimming.

Schooling beat his childhood idol and perhaps the greatest swimmer of all-time Michael Phelps of the United States as well as Commonwealth Games champion Chad Le Clos of South Africa and the 33-time European champion Laszlo Cseh of Hungary. All three of them tied for silver medal while the young Singaporean took the gold with a new Olympic Games record.

Analysis by Kalinga Seneviratne*

SYDNEY (IDN) – The return of the firebrand anti-immigration politician of the 1990s Pauline Hanson along with three others from his One Nation Party (ONP) to the federal parliament after a 20-year absence has triggered debate in the Australian media about racism coming to the surface again in Australian politics and the failure of multiculturalism.

But a more intelligent analysis of the election results would show that the impressive showing of her ONP has more to do with socio-economic issues and average White Australians’ disillusionment with mainstream political parties.

 Viewpoint by Shenali Waduge *

COLOMBO (IDN-INPS) – Since the fall of the Mahinda Rajapaksa government in January 2015, reconciliation has propelled to the top of the political agenda with Western governments pushing Sri Lanka to be accountable for alleged war crimes committed at the end of the 30-year war with terror group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The new government led by President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has been currying favour with its new allies in the West and has been uncritically entertaining their demands for accountability, even to the extent of possibly allowing foreign (i.e. Western) judges to sit in judgement of war crime cases that may be brought against Sri Lanka’s war heroes in the army and the former government.

Feature by Ramesh Jaura and Katsuhiro Asagiri

TOKYO (IDN-INPS) – Kennichi Suzuki is the Mayor of Ise, a city home to the Ise Grand Shrine – the most sacred Shintō shrine in Japan, dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu – where Prime Minister Shinzo Abe received the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union on the occasion of the 2016 annual G7 summit in May.

The city – some 460 kilometres away from Tokyo – was the constituency of the late Yukio Ozaki with the pseudonym ‘Gakudo’, who served in the House of Representatives of the Japanese Diet for 63 years (1890–1953), and is still revered as the “God of constitutional politics” and the “Father of the Japanese Constitutional Democracy“.

Analysis by Debalina Ghoshal *

NEW DELHI (INPS-IDN | Yale Global) – Since the signing of the controversial Iranian nuclear deal that lifted most international sanctions, China has emerged as a principal beneficiary. This is as much a result of aggressive Chinese push as it is difficulties faced by the West. China has pursued opportunities in the Iranian nuclear energy market, increased investment and expanded influence, with what could be rightly called a Middle Eastern pivot.

The country predicted to become the world’s largest energy consumer by 2030, is wasting no time in availing itself of Iran’s energy resources. China’s demand for oil imports is expected to grow from 6 million barrels per day to 13 million by 2035, and Iran, ranked fourth in the world with proven oil reserves and second with reserves of natural gas, is considered a reliable supplier.

By Palitha Kohona *

COLOMBO (IDN) – During the 25-year war against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Sri Lanka’s traditional arms suppliers imposed restrictions. The government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) had to look elsewhere – and China was willing to help.

Following the defeat of the LTTE in May 2009, the former Mahinda Rajapaksa regime chose to focus on rapid economic revival and development of infrastructure. The U.S. reneged on its commitment to provide $500 million from the Millennium Development Account for road development.

The recently-released e-mails reveal that then-U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tried to block an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan to GOSL and that the IMF did not like it.

Analysis by Dr Palitha Kohona

The writer is former Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in New York, previously Head of the UN Treaty Section. Dr Kohona was closely involved with the Uruguay Round of Trade negotiations.

COLOMBO (IDN) – The Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremasingha, has declared that Sri Lanka will sign the proposed Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) with India urgently as a means of cushioning the possible negative effects of Brexit on the country.

As to whether the proposed ETCA will be effective in realising this goal has not been properly discussed. Nor have the deeply felt reservations of the Sri Lankan business and professional communities about the ETCA been adequately addressed.

By Kalinga Seneviratne*

This article is the seventh in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate.

BANGKOK (IDN | Lotus News Features) – Wat Po temple in Bangkok is better known for the huge reclining Buddha statue, which attracts millions of tourists each year. Some also quietly walk into the air-conditioned massage clinic inside the monastery premises to try out an “authentic” Thai massage wondering what has the temple and Buddhism got to do with massage.

What is today called Thai Massage is an ancient healing system combining acupressure and energy balancing techniques, based on Indian Ayurvedic medicine, and yoga postures. The founding father of Thai massage is an Indian born Ayurvedic doctor named Jivaka Kumar Bhacca, who lived during the time of the Buddha and is believed to have treated him as well. He is revered to this day throughout Thailand as the Father of Thai Medicine.