Politics

Sri Lanka expressed gratitude for India’s support to douse MV X-Press Pearl fire
Asia, Politics

Sri Lanka expressed gratitude for India’s support to douse MV X-Press Pearl fire

Colombo, Sri Lanka: India extended its supported to Sri Lanka for douse the fire on vessel X-Pearl for which Defense Secretary Gen. Kamal Gunaratne (Retd) expressed his gratitude to the Indian High Commissioner in Colombo. The gratitude was conveyed by the Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay in Colombo on Friday as Sri Lanka’s Defense Secretary also recalled the long-existing bilateral ties and cooperation between the two countries, Colombo Page reported. The X-Press Pearl reported an onboard acid leak and caught fire just as it was due to enter the Colombo harbour on May 20. The fire was put out only after 13 days. Besides X-Press Pearl, Defense Secretary Gunaratne also discussed matters of defense cooperation with the Indian envoy in Sri Lanka. According to the Sri Lankan
Fears for supplies in Myanmar as exodus grows from fighting
Asia, Conflict, Opinion, Politics, Singapore, World

Fears for supplies in Myanmar as exodus grows from fighting

Fears for supplies in Myanmar as exodus grows from fighting This handout from Kachinwaves taken and released on May 16, 2021 shows protesters taking part in a demonstration in Hpakant in support of Mindat, a town in Chin state where a civilian defence force has clashed with the military, as the country remains in turmoil after the February coup. (AFP PHOTO / KACHINWAVES) People displaced by an upsurge of fighting in Myanmar's Chin State voiced concerns over shelter and supplies as more flee the conflict that has sprung up between the army and insurgents opposed to the junta that seized power in February. The exodus also threatens to push more people over the nearby border with India, where an Indian government official said more than 15,000 had sought refuge since the Feb 1 coup that ha...
EU vows to boost efforts to end Israeli-Palestinian fighting
Conflict, Opinion, Politics, Singapore, World

EU vows to boost efforts to end Israeli-Palestinian fighting

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union will redouble its efforts to end the surge in violence between the Israeli military and Palestinian militants, and seek progress during a special meeting of its foreign ministers on Tuesday. The EU also called the weekend destruction of a building housing The Associated Press and other major international media “extremely worrying” and said safe working conditions for journalists were essential. The EU has never had the impact that Washington can wield in the region and no immediate breakthrough was expected from Tuesday’s meeting. Ever since the outbreak of violence last week, the EU has been calling for restraint and condemned attacks that hit civilian populations. Individual member states also let their voices be heard. France’s President Emmanuel
AP Exclusive: Full-blown boycott pushed for Beijing Olympics
Business, China, Politics, World

AP Exclusive: Full-blown boycott pushed for Beijing Olympics

Groups alleging human-rights abuses against minorities in China are calling for a full-blown boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, a move likely to ratchet up pressure on the International Olympic Committee, athletes, sponsors and sports federations. A coalition representing Uyghurs, Tibetans, residents of Hong Kong and others issued a statement Monday calling for the boycott, eschewing lesser measures that had been floated like “diplomatic boycotts“ and further negotiations with the IOC or China. “The time for talking with the IOC is over,” Lhadon Tethong of the Tibet Action Institute said in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press. “This cannot be games as usual or business as usual; not for the IOC and not for the international community.” The Beijing Games are set
Regional vaccine approach is imperative
Asia, China, Politics, Singapore, World

Regional vaccine approach is imperative

Regional vaccine approach is imperative A shipment of 600,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines donated by China arrives at Phnom Penh International Airport in February. (Photo: Reuters) As vaccine diplomacy thrives and vaccine nationalism rears its head, it has become clear that the ideal global solution to the collective action problem of the coronavirus pandemic is for all countries to put their eggs in the same basket. If all countries are forced to rely on the global vaccine alliances' and the World Health Organization's Covid-19 Global Vaccines Access (Covax) plan, whereby any vaccine for one means an available antidote for all, the post-pandemic recovery would arrive faster and smoother with more promising prospects. But short of the ideal solution, the global health system is largely ba...
How media’s groupthink effect led to bungling of COVID’s origin story
Asia, China, Opinion, Politics, World

How media’s groupthink effect led to bungling of COVID’s origin story

As the end of the pandemic mercifully nears, everything old is becoming new again. Nowhere is that more evident than in the ongoing debate — revisionist history and all — over the origins of COVID-19. You may already be familiar with the widely accepted version of the story, which involves animal-to-human transmission beginning in or around a wet market in Wuhan. If you are familiar at all with the competing “lab leak” hypothesis, it may be as a fringe conspiracy, parroted by a certain former president and peddled by the likes of Fox News. Recent events, however, have helped return this idea from the fringe to the mainstream. The lab leak theory holds that the virus may have escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. When this theory was originally posited, it was based on the idea o
Global stocks mixed after Wall St ends May with gain
Asia, Conflict, Opinion, Politics, Singapore, World

Global stocks mixed after Wall St ends May with gain

BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets were mixed Monday after Wall Street ended May with a gain and Japan’s factory output grew less than expected. London opened higher while Frankfurt retreated. Tokyo declined while Shanghai and Hong Kong gained. Wall Street futures were higher. U.S. markets were closed for a holiday. Investors are wavering between optimism about consumer spending and factory output reviving and unease that rising inflation might prompt governments and central banks to withdraw stimulus. “It still feels like a market looking for direction in the face of uncertainty,” said Patrik Schowitz of JP Morgan Asset Management in a report. In early trading, London’s FTSE 100 was down less than 0.1% at 7,022.61. The DAX in Frankfurt fell 0.2% to 15,485.89 while the CAC 40 in Pari
China’s ambition now includes influence beyond immediate neighbourhood
China, Conflict, Opinion, Politics, Singapore

China’s ambition now includes influence beyond immediate neighbourhood

Beijing, China: A Chinese navy unit has recently its training exercise in Pacific Ocean. This is giving birth to speculation that China is now aiming to expand its border ambition focus away from its immediate neighbourhood.According to South China Morning Post (SCMP), the Southern Theatre Command of the PLA said on Saturday that a fleet under its command had travelled over 6,700 nautical miles over the past month, passing between Indonesia and the Philippines and through the western Pacific."The complicated military situation presents a great challenge to the will and perseverance of the officers and soldiers… The use of weapons in the far seas not only helps assess equipment performance under continuous sailing conditions, it also tests the ability of officers and soldiers to command an
Politician killed in Kashmir, detainee shot dead in camp
Conflict, Opinion, Politics, Singapore, World

Politician killed in Kashmir, detainee shot dead in camp

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Assailants fatally shot a politician belonging to India’s ruling party in disputed Kashmir, and separately, police on Thursday killed a detainee who they said snatched an officer’s rifle and fired at officials inside a police camp. The unidentified assailants shot Rakesh Pandita late Wednesday in the southern town of Tral, where he was visiting a friend, police said, blaming anti-India rebels for the attack. He was declared dead in a hospital. Rebels in Indian-controlled Kashmir have been fighting the central government for decades. Suspected militants carried out a string of deadly attacks last year on members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party in Kashmir. Among those killed was a top BJP politician and his father and brother, who were also p
Taking absolute positions on the crisis in Israel and Gaza is easy and comfortable, but ultimately pointless
Conflict, Opinion, Politics, Singapore, World

Taking absolute positions on the crisis in Israel and Gaza is easy and comfortable, but ultimately pointless

Last Saturday, the Jerusalem Post reported that, “Tens of millions of Evangelical Christians are expected to pray for Israel in their churches on Sunday.” Fair enough, but I doubt they also prayed for the people of Gaza, who have little protection against Israel’s bombardment, no iron dome, and already live in appalling conditions. Better, surely, for Christians to pray for justice, peace, a fair and balanced solution, and the dignity of all people in the region, whatever their faith or politics. I say this as an ordained Anglican cleric with three Jewish grandparents, one of them from a Holocaust family. I’ve also spent a great deal of time in Israel, and reported on the 2006 Lebanon War. In other words, I have connection as well as experience. And it breaks my heart when churches turn