Opinion Archives - Page 33 of 45

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

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

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

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

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

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

Beijing-backed think tank: High risk of armed conflict at Taiwan Strait.

23May

By Nectar GanNo Comments

Beijing-backed think tank: High risk of armed conflict at Taiwan Strait.

Beijing, China : According to a Beijing-backed think-tank the risk of armed conflict has increased as tension has increased over Taiwan Strait.The China Cross-Strait Academy released a report on Wednesday on relations across the 180-km wide stretch of water that separates mainland China from Taiwan, South China Morning Post reported.The report was released after US Navy destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54) transited the Taiwan Strait to demonstrate America's commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.The think tank said researchers had looked at factors including the two sides' military strength, trade relations, public opinion, political events and support from allies, concluding that they were "on the brink of war".Its conclusion was based on an index of the risk level of armed conflict...

Beijing developing second-strike capability.

17May

By Nectar GanNo Comments

Beijing developing second-strike capability.

Beijing, China: After the report that China may be capable of second nuclear stick capability, the US and China arms have raced up.Francesco Sisci, writing in Asia Times said that the US commentariat is ringing alarms about China's nuclear rearmament and apparent new second-strike reaction capability.In recent days, two American journalistic heavyweights, David Ignatius and Fred Kaplan pointed to the ongoing nuclear and missile rearmament process in China. The fundamental point is that according to opinion-makers China has acquired second-strike nuclear reaction capability.This is a fundamental point in the balance of nuclear terror. The ability to react after a first nuclear strike means that even if an enemy were to attack first with a nuclear offensive, the attacked country would retai...

17May

By Desk TeamNo Comments

New police look in the works

Officers' khaki shirts get a refresh with agility and comfort in mind A senior officer explains the change in uniforms that will make police better suited to the crime suppression job and the hot climate. (Photo by Pattarapong Chatpattarasill) The Royal Thai Police is seeking to update its conventional khaki uniform, in the hopes of making its officers more agile in their pursuit of criminals. Even though the new uniform's prototype is still being trialled at some police stations and has yet to be officially launched, many believe that a change is inevitable. Previously, a number of police units have attempted to change the police uniform, with little success. For example, tourist police at tourism hotspots once saw their uniforms change from the long-sleeved khaki shirt with shoulder...

6May

By Yusara AskariNo Comments

India saw hope in Japan-US meet.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on his visit to the United States last month has set the agenda for the wider Indo-Pacific engagement of Tokyo and its evolving priorities went other way as people were not expecting to be.Focus on ChinaRight at the outset, it was clear that the crux of the discussions during this first in-person meeting between the newly anointed President of the United States, Joe Biden, and Mr. Suga would revolve around China. To begin with, Tokyo and Washington drilled down to brass tacks on their joint security partnership given the need to address China’s recent belligerence in territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas as well as in the Taiwan Strait. Both sides affirmed the centrality of their treaty alliance, for long a source of stability in East