Asia-Pacific

Photo: Governor-General of New Zealand, Dame Patsy Reddy, lays flowers for the victims of the Christchurch mosque shootings at Hagley Park on 19 March 2019. CC BY-SA 4.0

Why a White Christian Isn't Called a Terrorist

By Kalinga Seneviratne

This article is the 31st in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate. Click here for previous series.

SYDNEY (IDN) – After a White Australian of Christian background Brenton Tarrant gunned down 50 Muslims praying at a Christchurch mosque on a Friday, it took the New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern more than a day to call it a “terrorist” act, and when she did so, the mainstream media in Australia and New Zealand quoted Tarrant’s mother as describing him an “angelic boy”.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 01 April 2019

Photo source: Philippine Institute for Development Studies.

Women’s Unpaid Work Needs Factoring In for Fairer ASEAN Economies

By Jose Ramon Albert

This article is abridged from a version that appears in the latest issue of East Asia Forum Quarterly, 'Investing in Women'. Jose Ramon Albert is a Senior Research Fellow at the Philippine government think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).

MANILA (IDN-INPS) – The Philippines and other ASEAN economies are experiencing stellar economic growth. Frontier technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, such as automation and robotics, the internet of things, 3D printing, blockchain and nanotechnologies are rapidly transforming economies.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 25 March 2019

Photo: President Donald Trump is greeted by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on February 27, 2019, at the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi, for their second summit meeting. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)

Beyond the U.S.-North Korean Summits in Singapore and Hanoi

By Kelsey Davenport and Alicia Sanders-Zakre

The following appeared in Volume 11, Issue 5 of the Issue Brief of the Arms Control Association. Kelsey Davenport is director for nonproliferation policy, and Alicia Sanders-Zakre, research assistant.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN-INPS) – The second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ended abruptly in Hanoi without any agreement on the next steps to advance the shared goals of denuclearization and peacebuilding on the Korean peninsula. While both Trump and Kim described the meeting [February 27-28, 2019] as valuable and appeared committed to continuing dialogue, the future of the diplomatic process is unclear.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 22 March 2019

Photo: Canterbury Mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Time to Address Socioeconomic Issues in Terrorism Reporting

Viewpoint by Kalinga Seneviratne

SYDNEY (IDN) – The reporting of the attack in New Zealand on March 15, 2019 where a White terrorist of Christian background mowed down over 50 Muslims praying at a mosque in Christchurch has obviously focused on religion and migrants.

In a statement released following the Christchurch massacre, Australian senator Fraser Anning from Queensland blamed the New Zealand immigration program which “allowed Muslim fanatics to migrate” who promote a “violent ideology” as the cause of the attack. He was condemned widely in Australia for spreading such hate speech, but his diatribes distracted attention from the socio-economic issues that have fuelled the attack.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; OPINION; 21 March 2019

'From Village Boy to Global Citizen'

In Memory of Dr. Shelton Gunaratne, journalist and professor, who became world-renowned for merging Eastern philosophy with Western communication theory.

By Dr. Ari Wijetunga, Dr. Asoka Dias and Dr. Junius Gunaratne

NEW YORK (IDN) – Dr. Dhavalasri Shelton Abeywickreme Gunaratne, a former Sri Lankan journalist and professor emeritus of Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) in the United States, passed away on March 8, 2019.

A prolific academic, Dr. Gunaratne, made substantial contributions to the field of mass communication. He wrote and published numerous books and academic papers that analyzed media in the developing world, reflected on freedom of the press internationally and constructed theoretical frameworks to explain media development, particularly in Asian countries.

: J Nastranis; OPINION; 20 March 2019

India at Crossroads as Modi's Promises Remain Unfulfilled

By Ram Puniyani

This article is the sixth in a series of joint productions of South Asian Outlook and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate.

MUMBAI (IDN) – Elections in a democracy can rightly be called as festival of the masses. They determine the course of the country in times to come. That is generally the case and Indian democracy has been steering this path, deepening the democratic process so far. It is not that there are no problems. Many issues related to money power, muscle power, electronic voting (EVM) machines' reliability have marred the objectivity of the process.

: Suresh Jaura; OPINION; 18 March 2019

Photo: Basantapur Tower, one of the four red towers that King Prithvi Narayan Shah built delimiting the four old cities of the Kathmandu Valley namely, the Kathmandu or the Basantapur Tower, the Kirtipur Tower, the Bhaktapur Tower or Lakshmi Bilas, and the Patan or Lalitpur Tower. CC BY-SA 3.0

Overdue Ban on a Faction of the Nepalese Communist Party

By Ajit Kumar Singh

This article is the fifth in a series of joint productions of South Asian Outlook and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate. The writer is Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management.

NEW DELHI (IDN) – The Nepal Cabinet during a meeting on March 12, 2019, decided to ban the Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-Maoist-Chand). An aide to Prime Minister (PM) K.P. Sharma Oli stated: "After being briefed by the four security agencies, the Government concluded that the Chand party’s activities were more criminal than political: so it needs to be dealt with accordingly."

: Suresh Jaura; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 16 March 2019

Upsurge in Middle East Arms Imports Amid Upswing in Global Weapons Trade

By Jaya Ramachandran

BERLIN | STOCKHOLM (IDN) – Global arms trade is on the upswing with the United States increasing dominance in the group of five largest exporters including Russia, France, Germany and China, which together account for 75 per cent of the total volume of weapons exports in 2014-2018. While the Middle East imports almost doubled in the past five years, Saudi Arabia became the world’s largest arms importer.

According to new data on arms transfers published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the volume of international transfers of major arms in 2014-2018 was 7.8 per cent higher than in the previous five years and 23 per cent higher than in 2004-2008.

: Jaya Ramachandran; ARMAMENTS; Arms Trade; 14 March 2019

Image: Chinese skyline. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

UN Commends Beijing Air Quality as Model for Other Cities

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK | NAIROBI (IDN) – More than two decades after China's capital city Beijing began looking for ways to improve air quality in one of the largest and fastest growing cities in the developing world, its successful efforts provide a model for other cities to follow, according to a new report.

Research by the UN Environment Programme and the Beijing Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau (BEE) outlines how Beijing’s air quality management programme has evolved, and makes recommendations for near, medium, and long-term steps that Beijing can take to maintain its momentum toward clean air.

: Santo D. Banerjee; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 11 March 2019

Photo: President Sirisena talking to Ven. Dr Omalphe Sobitha at the ceremony on March 9, 2019. Credit: Sri Bodhiraja Foundation.

Sri Lanka and Cambodia Join Hands to Empower Buddhist Communities

By Janaka Perera

This article is the 30th in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate. Click here for previous series.

COLOMBO (IDN) – Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena was the Chief Guest at the ceremonial opening of the Buddha Shrine of the International Cambodian Buddhist Centre in Kaduwela near Colombo on March 9 marking a new chapter in reviving ancient Buddhist links with Cambodia.