Category: THE WORLD

By Kalinga Seneviratne

This article is the 18th in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate.

YANGON, Myanmar (IDN) – “The desire for peace exists everywhere, but the majority of people are not in a position to enjoy peace, stability and security they desire,” noted venerable Dr Ashin Nyanissara, spiritual head of the Sitagu International Buddhist University (SIBU), in opening a two-day gathering of spiritual leaders and scholars at the university here on August 5.

The event was the second Global Initiative for Conflict Avoidance and Environmental Consciousness (SAMVAD) conference, following the first held in New Delhi in September 2015.

By 38 North

38 North is a website devoted to informed analysis of North Korea. 38 North is a program of the US-Korea Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC. The following is Editor’s Column as it appeared on August 9, 2017 with the title Fake News. – The Editor

WASHINGTIN, D.C. (IDN-INPS) – Lost in the media scrum about threats and counter threats from President Trump and North Korea is a very important story that was totally missed. While headlines a few days ago blared that North Korea said it would never negotiate with the US on its nuclear and missile programs, in fact, it never said that. This isn’t the first time the media missed the story. It happens all the time, whenever it covers statements by North Korea.

Viewpoint by William R. Hawkins

William R. Hawkins, a former economics professor and Congressional staffer, is a consultant specializing in international economics and national security issues. He is a contributor to SFPPR News & Analysis, of the Conservative-Online-Journalism center at the Washington-based Selous Foundation for Public Policy Research. This article was published on August 2, 2017 in The World Tribune. Opinions expressed in Viewpoints are those of the writer and not necessarily shared by IDN-INPS. – The Editor

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN-INPS) – The state-owned press in China was all aglow about President Xi Jinping’s address to the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany. Xinhua proclaimed how “Many overseas experts and scholars have praised” it.

By Kalinga Seneviratne

This article is the 17th in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate.

YANGON, Myanmar (IDN) – A Myanmar government commission that investigated allegations made by an international human rights organisation and the media about the country’s security forces abusing the human rights of Muslims known as Rohingyas in Rakhine State has found these allegations to be “unproven” and slammed its critics, including the United Nations, for carrying out an international “smear campaign” against the country.

The 13-member Investigative Commission on Maungtaw in Rakhine State headed by Vice-President U Myint Swe released its report at a press conference on August 6.

By Dr Palitha Kohona*

COLOMBO (IDN) – Sri Lanka’s long history has been intimately conditioned by the monsoonal winds that buffet its shores and the tides and waves of the vast Indian Ocean. The greed and ambitions of its regional and distant neighbours who followed the winds and rode the waves coveting its treasures and its unique strategic location have been a bane as well as blessing.

While, time and time again, it was forced to ward off the marauding attention of external powers during the course of its long history, (in the early part, mainly from South India), geography provided it with the opportunity to exploit its fortunate position as a trading hub.

Now, once again history appears to be ready to place little Lanka at centre stage with emerging India nervously seeking to place constraints on it from engaging too intimately with distant powers (China in particular) and China identifying it as a central player in its One Belt One Road (OBOR) Initiative.

By Kalinga Seneviratne

COLOMBO (IDN) – The signing of a deal between the Sri Lankan government and a Chinese company, basically transferring the ownership on a 99-year lease of the strategically located Chinese-built Hambantota Port and 5,000 acres of land surrounding it for an industrial park in southern Sri Lanka has cleared a major hurdle for China’s ambitious Maritime Silk Route project while at the same time raising concerns about security and sovereignty issues.

The government-owned Sri Lankan Port Authority has signed a 1.1 billion dollar deal agreeing to sell a 70 percent stake in the Hambantota port to China’s state-run conglomerate China Merchants Port Holdings. The Cabinet approved the deal on July 25 and the government signed it at a ceremony opened to the media on July 29.

By Neena Bhandari

SYDNEY (IDN) – Violence is one of the most pressing issues, especially in the highlands, of Papua New Guinea (PNG) – one of the world’s most ethnically and linguistically diverse nations.

“Increased access to high-powered guns such as military style M16s and home-made shotguns, and the breakdown of traditional rules of warfare, has amplified the effects of violence, resulting in dozens – if not hundreds – of violent deaths and thousands of displacements each year, especially in the Highlands,” says International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) chief official in PNG, Mark Kessler. ”We are seeing wounds that one would see in war zones.”

Viewpoint by Asanga Abeyagoonasekera

COLOMBO (IDN-INPS) – The Sri Lankan public has become the unfortunate victim of the nation’s health and sanitation crisis. The policymakers are questioned by both the public and the media of their inability to manage the ongoing situation. 

One of the world’s most iconic cities, New York, was turned into a garbage dump in February 1968 due to the sanitation workers’ refusal to collect garbage. After 9 days, 100,000 tons of garbage had piled up and a state of emergency was declared. In Sri Lanka, garbage collection in Colombo and the surrounding areas has become a serious problem over the past few weeks. Sabotage by sanitation workers and relocation of the garbage dump, with an on-going blame-game, has aggravated the situation. A record high of 100,000 dengue patients is an indirect consequence. Hospitals have run out of beds compounding the health crisis. 

By Manish Rai*

NEW DELHI (IDN-INPS) – The recent three-day visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi marks the first trip of an Indian Premier to Israel after 25 years of diplomatic relations. Many analysts see the July 4-6 visit as a clear diplomatic tilt toward Israel after years of India keeping its distance.

Israel also gave a lot of importance to this state visit. Only a selected few world leaders such as U.S. President and the Pope receive a grand reception at Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport. So, it did not go unnoticed that India’s Prime Minister received the same red-carpet treatment.