Conflict – Page 2 – The Singapore Post

A narrative shift on Palestinian experiences is disrupting the status quo

2Jun

By Desk TeamNo Comments

A narrative shift on Palestinian experiences is disrupting the status quo

The final scene of the Oscar-nominated short film, “The Present,” is a simple depiction of an Israeli occupation that is being more widely described as “apartheid” than ever before, including from the hallowed halls of the U.S. Congress, long the bastion of pro-Israeli sentiment. The film fictionalizes the fraught effort of a father and his daughter crossing into a neighbouring town to purchase a fridge. It ends with the little girl pushing the fridge onto the road reserved for settlers, rather than turn back because the checkpoint’s turnstiles are too narrow to fit the appliance through. “The Present” is just one more example of how the experiences of Palestinians are no longer hidden from view, long held hostage by the Israel government’s broad narrative depicting Palestinians as terro

31May

By Desk TeamNo Comments

Asia, China, Conflict, World

No duopoly in Thai jab procurement

No duopoly in Thai jab procurement A woman is injected with a Covid-19 vaccine at the Chulabhorn Royal Academy in Bangkok. His Majesty the King's sister has approved coronavirus vaccine imports by an institution she sponsors, bypassing the government as it deals with surging infections and growing public anger over a slow and chaotic rollout. (Photo: Varuth Hirunyatheb) Just as Thailand's murky vaccine plan has gone from bad to worse, the plot keeps thickening. The latest development centres on the May 25 publication in the Royal Gazette of the Chulabhorn Royal Academy's authority to procure Covid-19 vaccines within the country and from abroad as needed for public health benefits. As has been promptly noted elsewhere, this vaccine bombshell could be perceived as a snub to the government ...

Hundreds arrested after anti-government protests in Chad

31May

By Desk TeamNo Comments

Conflict, World

Hundreds arrested after anti-government protests in Chad

N’DJAMENA, Chad - More than 700 people have been arrested in Chad following this week’s demonstrations against the new military government led by the son of slain President Idriss Deby Itno, the United Nations said Friday. Civil society groups are renewing calls for more protests over the weekend in the Central African country, where tensions have mounted in the aftermath of Deby’s killing that was blamed on a rebel group now threatening to overthrow the interim government. U.N. human rights office spokeswoman Marta Hurtado said it was not known how many of the people arrested after Tuesday’s demonstrations are still being detained. “As further protests and general strikes have been called to take place in the coming days, we stress that Chad remains bound by its obligations under inter

Myanmar counts cost of coup, 100 days on

30May

By Desk TeamNo Comments

China, Conflict, World

Myanmar counts cost of coup, 100 days on

Myanmar counts cost of coup, 100 days on The last 100 days has seen Myanmar plunge into chaos as the army struggles to control widespread opposition to its rule. YANGON: One hundred days after the military seized power in Myanmar, the nun who pleaded for protesters on her knees in the street says the coup has cast a pall of fear and depression over the country. The image of Sister Ann Rose Nu Tawng kneeling in the dust, arms spread, begging police not to shoot "the children" went viral in March as an uprising swelled in Myanmar. Today, the 45-year-old nun works in a clinic in Myanmar's northernmost Kachin state, tending to patients injured by security forces, sickened from stress, and even those who try to kill themselves. "With the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic and brutal act...

30May

By Desk TeamNo Comments

Asia, China, Conflict, World

UN is failing the Uighurs in China

UN is failing the Uighurs in China In file photo dated October 1 last year, Ethnic Uighur demonstrators take part in a protest against China, in Istanbul. REUTERS/Murad Sezer Of the 11 million Uighur Muslims living in China's northwestern region of Xinjiang, up to two million of them, including ethnic Uzbeks and Kazakhs have been detained inside camps, while those remaining on the outside facing a crackdown for a number of years. Human rights organizations and many foreign governments have described the many human rights abuses inflicted on the Uighur people as genocide. A recent report by a US think tank -- New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy -- claimed the Chinese government has violated the 1948 United Nations Convention for the Punishment and Prevention of the Crime of Genoc...

General: China’s Africa outreach poses threat from Atlantic

30May

By Desk TeamNo Comments

Asia, China, Conflict, World

General: China’s Africa outreach poses threat from Atlantic

WASHINGTON - The top U.S general for Africa is warning that a growing threat from China may come not just from the waters of the Pacific but from the Atlantic as well. U.S. Gen. Stephen Townsend, in an interview with The Associated Press, said Beijing is looking to establish a large navy port capable of hosting submarines or aircraft carriers on Africa’s western coast. Townsend said China has approached countries stretching from Mauritania to south of Namibia, intent on establishing a naval facility. If realized, that prospect would enable China to base warships in its expanding Navy in the Atlantic as well as Pacific oceans. “They’re looking for a place where they can rearm and repair warships. That becomes militarily useful in conflict,” said Townsend, who heads U.S. Africa Command. “T

The Latest: Connecticut data show COVID-19 vaccine effective

28May

By Desk TeamNo Comments

Business, China, Conflict, World

The Latest: Connecticut data show COVID-19 vaccine effective

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Of the more than 1.4 million Connecticut residents who are now fully vaccinated, 242 later became infected with COVID-19, according to data released Friday from the state Department of Public Health. Among the 242 so-called “vaccine breakthrough cases,” 109 people had no symptoms of the disease. DPH reported three deaths among vaccinated individuals who were confirmed to have had underlying medical conditions. They were between the ages of 55-64, 65-74, and 75 years and older. Nationally, there have been 132 vaccine breakthrough deaths, DPH said. “The main takeaway is that COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective and cases of infection after a person is fully vaccinated are very rare,” Dr. Deidre Gifford, the state’s acting public health commissioner, said in a statemen

Chinese military’s now beyond South China sea

27May

By Yusara AskariNo Comments

Asia, Business, Conflict, World

Chinese military’s now beyond South China sea

Hong Kong: China is now proceeding to Djibouti to establish the first overseas military base. The journey was first started in 2008 when Chinese military dispatched a naval task force to the Gulf of Aden.Indeed, the PLA, at the behest of the Chinese government, is seeking to establish a global presence. By 2035, Chairman Xi Jinping wants the PLA to have basically completed its modernization. Certainly, one quality of a modern military, with the PLA being the world's largest, is the ability to efficiently deploy worldwide.As part of that process, China will move from a mere regional power to one with a global military reach. Whereas China's hitherto aim has been to deter adversaries or to fight a high-intensity but short-duration battle on its periphery, now it is seeking the ability to co...

26May

By Desk TeamNo Comments

Conflict, Politics, World

Coup is seven years old

Soldiers stand guard blocking potential anti-coup protesters at Democracy Monument after the coup on May 22, 2014. (Photo by Patipat Janthong) Questions remain whether Thailand has made any progress or stepped backwards in the past seven years since the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) staged a coup in 2014. Saturday marked seven years since the coup. The Bangkok Post asked academics, politicians and government representatives to share their views on the matter. Academics and opposition politicians say many problems remain unsolved but those from the government insist the Prayut Chan-o-cha administration has made progress in reforms. No reconciliation, new conflict Wanwichit Boonprong, a political science lecturer at Rangsit University, said people were tired of Prime Minist...

25May

By Desk TeamNo Comments

China, Conflict, Singapore, World

Myanmar: From diplomacy to force

Myanmar: From diplomacy to force Ahead of the special Asean Summit in Jakarta last Saturday, a woman prepares a placard out of crossed-out portraits of Myanmar's junta chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing during a protest against the military coup. (Photo: Reuters) At its recent "special" summit in Jakarta on Myanmar's crisis, Asean reached its diplomatic maximum by coming up with a "five-point consensus" that will likely prove too little and too slow. Constrained by consensus and its non-interference principle where any of its 10 members has a virtual veto, Asean's overdue response to Myanmar's fast-escalating violence on the ground is likely to prove ineffective. As Asean's diplomacy faces limitations, more of Myanmar's outcomes are likely to be decided by the use of force in an intens...

Subscribe to our newsletter