Conflict Archives - Page 2 of 23

The new president of Sri Lanka is seeking support from the legislature.

9Nov

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Asia, Conflict, Opinion, World

The new president of Sri Lanka is seeking support from the legislature.

On September 21, 2024, Sri Lankans elected Anura Kumara Dissanayake, a 55 year-old former Marxist, as their tenth president, paving the way for a new parliament and extensive reforms in the debt-ridden country. Mr. Dissanayake beat incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is widely credited with successfully negotiating the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout that brought Sri Lanka’s economy out of bankruptcy two years ago. Mr. Wickremesinghe, who had earlier served as prime minister for multiple terms, was chosen as president by the parliament rather than a popular vote in 2022 after massive protests and riots on the heels of an economic crisis that forced out the directly elected president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa. President Dissanayake and the three-member cabinet he has appoi

Defectors from North Korea want Ukraine to be used to fight their former allies psychologically.

28Oct

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Conflict, Opinion, World

Defectors from North Korea want Ukraine to be used to fight their former allies psychologically.

A group of nearly 200 North Korean defectors living in South Korea is pushing to deploy to Ukraine so they can launch a psychological warfare campaign against their former comrades, now reportedly assembling in Russia. Drawing on their military backgrounds, this band of ex-soldiers – each with seven to 10 years of military experience – aim to leverage their insider knowledge of North Korea’s military to disrupt and demoralise the troops sent to fight in Ukraine, exploiting their psychological vulnerabilities. “We are all military veterans who understand North Korea’s military culture and psychological state better than anyone else,” Ahn Chan-il, a 69-year-old defector and member of the group, told This Week in Asia. Ahn, who leads the World Inst

Iran considers its options following an Israeli strike that reveals military weaknesses.

28Oct

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Conflict, Opinion, World

Iran considers its options following an Israeli strike that reveals military weaknesses.

As the smoke clears from Israel’s recent air strikes on Iran, cautious optimism is growing that Tehran will refrain from retaliation – at least for now. But the unprecedented military exchanges between the Middle Eastern rivals signal a precarious shift in the balance of power, heightening fears of an impending conflict that looms larger than it did before the outbreak of the Gaza war. For the moment, analysts believe both Israel and Iran will act with restraint, wary of dragging the United States and its next president into a conflict neither side desires. “Interestingly, Israel provided advance warning and cautioned Tehran against further escalation but still crossed huge red lines,” said Sanam Vakil, director of British think tank Chatham Hou

According to the PM, Russia jeopardizes Ukraine’s global food security.

25Oct

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Conflict, Opinion, World

According to the PM, Russia jeopardizes Ukraine’s global food security.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has warned that Russia is stepping up attacks on Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea – delaying the export of agricultural produce, including aid intended for Palestinians caught up in the conflict with Israel. During several days of strikes in early October, Russian weapons hit at least four cargo ships, including one reportedly carrying 6,000 tonnes of corn. Sir Keir said that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin was willing “to gamble on global food security in his attempts to force Ukraine into submission”. The prime minister's remarks came as he travels to the Pacific Island of Samoa for a meeting of Commonwealth heads of government. During several days of strikes, Russian missile strikes on the Odesa region hit a Panamanian-registered ship

How Republican-affiliated advertisements inflame relations with Israel to undercut Harris Kamala

23Oct

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Conflict, Opinion, World

How Republican-affiliated advertisements inflame relations with Israel to undercut Harris Kamala

Those contradictory messages have aired in the weeks leading up to a close presidential election in the United States. And both were produced and paid for by the same group: a shadowy Republican-linked political action committee (PAC) bankrolled by an organisation that has hosted events with Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump. But the advertisements targeted two separate sets of voters. The first, touting Harris’s pro-Israel bona fides, went out in areas of Michigan with a large Arab American presence, according to Google data. The second, warning of her supposed pro-Palestine bent, targeted towns with large Jewish communities in Pennsylvania. Experts say the messaging blitz is designed to stoke divisions over Israel’s war in Gaza and Lebanon — and pla

What use does Dutch recognition of Indonesia’s independence from the Netherlands in 1945 have in the absence of compensation, argue Indonesian critics?

22Jun

By Stuart WhiteNo Comments

Conflict

What use does Dutch recognition of Indonesia’s independence from the Netherlands in 1945 have in the absence of compensation, argue Indonesian critics?

According to Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, the Netherlands is dodging its need to pay reparations for its colonial authority over Indonesia by saying that his remarks "would not change any existing legal grounds."One observer adds that if the Dutch invasion of Indonesia in the 1940s were to be considered an invasion of a sovereign nation as of August 17, 1945.Observers have said that the Netherlands' recent commemoration of the formal independence day of its former colony Indonesia is "not sincere" and a "huge insult" to Jakarta since it lacks the necessary legal ramifications. The Netherlands "recognises fully and without reservation" that Indonesia gained independence on August 17, 1945, according to remarks made by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on June 14.During a parliame...

Online media newspaper “Aisha Daily” shuts down in Macau, questions on freedom of media raised

31Jan

By News DeskNo Comments

China, Conflict, Opinion

Online media newspaper “Aisha Daily” shuts down in Macau, questions on freedom of media raised

Macau, unlike Hong Kong is an interesting experiment within the Chinese political landscape, which has since the late 1990s been reclaimed by China from Western nations in promise of civil liberties alongside China’s authoritarian regime. Macau has largely been obedient to the Chinese diktats, unlike Hong Kong where pro-democracy protests have been raging regularly since the last few years. However, dissenting voices within Macau are now facing heat as independent online media houses are either shutting down or operating on borrowed time. Aisha Daily, an independent critical media outlet stood out for 16 years within the sphere of pro-organized media. Found in November 2005, Aisha Daily has now ceased operations in Macau allegedly due to “unprecedented environmental changes and

CHINA TRYING TO GAIN HOLD ON HONGKONG THROUGH PLA

31Jan

By News DeskNo Comments

China, Conflict

CHINA TRYING TO GAIN HOLD ON HONGKONG THROUGH PLA

By :PushkarSinha The People's Liberation Army's garrison in Hong Kong will be led by the former chief of internal security in the Xinjiang province, according to China's military, in the latest of a series of actions intended at bringing the semi-autonomous city under Beijing's tight control. According to a brief article on the Defense Ministry's website on Monday, Xi Jinping, China's President, Communist Party head and PLA commander, had signed Major General PengJingtang's appointment. Peng promised to "perform defence responsibilities in accordance with the law, fiercely protect national sovereignty, security, and development interests, and firmly preserve Hong Kong's long-term prosperity and stability," according to the statement. According to a govt. press releasePeng met ...

Slovenia shifts its office in Taiwan from China

29Jan

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China, Conflict, Politics

Slovenia shifts its office in Taiwan from China

Ljubljana, Slovenia: "Lithuania and Slovenia are members of NATO and plan to set up their own representative offices in Taiwan, a close US ally. Their move has left China shocked and fuming," reports The Singapore Post. Ahead of winter Olympic games Slovenia’s Prime Minister Janez Jansa disclosed his plans to establish a representative office in Taiwan, the newspaper reported. The Slovenian prime minister stated that he had visited Taiwan four or five times, and that Taiwanese should have the right to determine their future. China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province. However, Taiwan considers itself as an independent state.

29Jan

By News DeskNo Comments

Conflict

Hong Kong: 2022 ‘Mis-happenings’

Hong Kong's free press has started to a disappointing start in 2022. The Cantonese Citizen News, amongthe last remaining important independent news outlets in Hong Kong, was the newest to close its shutters,announcing its closure on Sunday, days after the closing of Stand News. Radio Free Asia's Lau Siu Fungand Raymond Chung explained how Citizen News had to say goodbye to its readers over the weekend.According to a post by Citizen News on its Facebook page, it stated that it’ll shut all its offices down from 4th January 2022 and the website will be no longer updated in the future.“It is with great sadness that we thank all of our subscribers for their support; we will carry your deep lovewith us, recorded in our memories,” The award-winning organization which was crowdfunded in 2017witho