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By Kester Kenn Klomegah*
MOSCOW (IDN) — Russian policy experts and academic researchers have been upbeat with heated reactions, especially in the local media on the current state of affairs between the United States, Europe and Russia, and the prospects of moving forward. The focus has been on the key questions dealing with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and its eastward expansion, security in the former Soviet republics and the much-speculated Russia's war on Ukraine.
By Sri Krishnamurthi for Asia-Pacific Report
WELLINGTON (IDN) — The world’s highest paid rugby player, Charles Piutau, is delighted he will be eligible to play for Tonga now that World Rugby has changed its eligibility rules.
In one of his rare New Zealand interviews, he told Pacific Media Network’s Tongan programme with Tangata Pasifika’s John Pulu he was surprised and relieved that world rugby had changed its eligibility rules.
By Kalinga Seneviratne
SINGAPORE (IDN) — A new 414 kilometres high-speed rail link between China and Laos has finally opened landlocked mountainous Laos to the region and made it possible for trade and tourism to expand across Southeast Asia. This link has technically facilitated rail travel from China to Singapore, and land-based trade that could make the South China Sea less important for regional trade.
By Emi Hayakawa
This article is the 48th in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship agency of the Non-profit International Press Syndicate. Click here for previous reports. Emi Hayakawa is Head of Global Operations, BTN (Buddhist Television Network) World, South Korea.
SEOUL (IDN) — The celebrated “birthplace” of contemporary Korean Catholicism was originally a Buddhist hermitage and temple, the history of which is being ruthlessly erased from modern Korean narrative, with an information plate on the site today misrepresenting an important part of the country’s religious history.
It Will Only Ratchet Up Tensions
Viewpoint by David Robie
The writer Dr David Robie is editor of Asia Pacific Report, founding editor of Pacific Journalism Review and former director of the Pacific Media Centre.
AUCKLAND (IDN) — “Loyalist” New Caledonians handed France the decisive victory in the third and final referendum on independence it wanted in Sunday’s vote.
But it was a hollow victory, with pro-independence Kanaks delivering Paris a massive rebuke for its three-decade decolonisation strategy.
By Sugeeswara Senadhira*
COLOMBO (IDN) — Following the recent visit to Delhi by Sri Lanka’s Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, a four-point package agreed to with India to help overcome the island nation’s current economic problems, has put the traditionally close relations between the two South Asian neighbours back on rails.
India acceded to Sri Lanka’s plea for a line of credit to cover the import of food and medicines and a currency swap arrangement, to deepen economic cooperation.
By Pralhad Gairapipli and Simone Galimberti
Pralhad Gairapipli works with Humanity & Inclusion as Regional Communications Officer, covering India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Simone Galimberti is the Co-Founder of ENGAGE, an NGO partnering with youths living with disabilities. Opinions expressed are personal.
KATHMANDU (IDN) — Can a mobile app become the transformative tool that will allow thousands of vulnerable children to enjoy their right to education?
By Josefa Babitu
Suva (IDN | Wansolwara) — Instead of a safe haven for ships, the famous Suva Bay has become a graveyard for derelict vessels, which pose a major risk to shipping and marine habitat. And there are growing concerns over the impact of derelict vessels on the environment and the safety of ships that sail in.
According to the Clear Seas Centre, a research centre in marine shipping in Canada, abandoned ships can harm tourism and fisheries, damage infrastructure, interfere with navigation and pose safety risks to people.
Viewpoint by Rahul Singh
The writer is a veteran journalist. This article first appeared in The Tribune, the largest selling English daily in North India.
DUBAI, UAE (IDN) — Dubai must be one of the most unusual places in the world. It is one of the seven emirates that comprise the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which is about to celebrate its 50th anniversary as an independent, united country. Contrary to what people imagine, Dubai has little oil (Abu Dhabi, the largest emirate, is the oil-rich one). Its prosperity is largely based on trade and commerce, the communications infrastructure there being among the world’s best.
By Kalinga Seneviratne
SYDNEY (IDN) — The first batch of Australian Federal Police (AFP) arrived in the Solomon Islands capital Honiara on November 26 to help quell rioting, after the Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare requested Australia's help under a security treaty the country signed with Canberra in 2017.
Australian troops are back in the independent South Pacific Island state, four years after an Australian-led military mission to Solomon Islands ended its 13 year “peace-keeping” operation in the country to put down an ethnic rebellion then.
IDN-InDepthNews offers news analyses, features, reports and viewpoints that impact the world and its peoples. It has been online since 2009. Its network spans countries around the world.