Asia

On the 2nd of September, the joint South Korean-US military exercises known as “Ulchi-Freedom Guardian”, in which more than 50 thousand Korean and 25 thousand US soldiers took part to “review joint defence strategies”, came to an end. The USA…

September 9, 2016: North Korea today confirmed that it had conducted its most powerful nuclear test explosion to date, with an estimated yield of 10 kilotonnes, triggering a magnitude 5.3 earthquake. The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) – a…

By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | ASTANA (IDN) – The fact that President Nursultan Nazarbayev shut down the Semipalatinsk test site “against the interests of the Soviet military authorities” even before the Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan became “fully independent”, is…

Barack Obama is the first US President to visit Laos. Yet Laos has a long and painful history with the US, stretching back over 50 years. And this history is made up of a secret war, a secret army and…

Human Wrongs Watch By Sara Perria* YANGON/LONDON, Aug 27 2016 (IPS) – Myanmar’s government has responded to pressure from the international community to tackle religious tensions and persecution of Muslims in Rakhine State by appointing former U.N. secretary general Kofi…

By Ramesh Jaura for InDepthNews. For the seventh year in succession, the world would commemorate on August 29 the International Day against Nuclear Tests, which would coincide with the 25th anniversary of the closure of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test site…

By Shilpa Thakur,  Photo Journalist. Indian women shop for ‘Rakhis’ or sacred threads in a market ahead of Raksha Bandhan festival in Jammu, India, 16 August 2016. The Raksha Bandhan, a Hindu festival celebrating the bond between sisters and brothers…

By Nava J Thakuria The people of India, except in Kashmir valley and parts of Manipur, celebrated 70th Independence Day on 15 August with great enthusiasm. Braving the odd, when the country witnessed violent acts in  Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur…

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – The announcement was made on August 15 by Japan’s Finance Ministry: In the last quarter of the year the Japanese economy grew at an annualised rate of 0.2%. “One wonders if the…

Pressenza is devastated to learn of the passing away of our Asia-Pacific Editor, Tony Henderson, on Sunday the 14th of August, in the arms of his wife Mila, at the age of 74. Tony, originally from England’s North East region…