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 […]
Famed Ugandan Novelist Claims Torture in Detention
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — A human rights watchdog group is calling on the government of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to investigate claims by internationally acclaimed writer, Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, that he was severely tortured while in detention for his social media postings. Human Rights Watch called the arrest of the […]
Combat Troops March in The DRC After Attempted Coup d’état
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — The Democratic Republic of Congo is the latest African nation to face an attempt to overthrow the government, allegedly by a government official. In the first official comment since reports of the failed coup plot emerged five days ago, a spokesman for President Felix Tshisekedi […]
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 […]
Chadian Filmmaker Takes a Strong Stand for Women’s Rights
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Mahamat-Saleh Haroun was seven years old when he first heard that a newborn baby was found dead in the trash. A few weeks later, another baby was similarly found. Tragically, this was nothing out of the ordinary in a repressive society that denied women the […]
New Round of Cultural Festivals Planned in West Africa Despite Sanctions
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Festival season is around the corner in West Africa despite ongoing insurgencies that have hurt tourism. The region has long been known for its music, dance and cultural shows, among them the Amani festival in Goma, the Democratic Republic of Congo, which opened on Febuary […]
African Troops Heading for Guinea Bissau After Failed Coup Linked to Narcos
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — ECOWAS, a West African trade union, has voted to send troops to the coastal nation of Guinea Bissau after unidentified coup plotters brazenly threatened the lives of government leaders. While the identity of the coup plotters is still unknown, the nation’s president, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, […]