Asia

Hartals – strikes – have clearly become a way of life in Kerala which has seen as many as 363 of them, called by different political parties, since 2005.  There have been 18 hartals so far this year alone. While…

Should it answer to conference sponsors Samsung and the Korean government, or to its historical mission to protect the environment and social justice? The world’s largest and oldest conservation organization, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, is holding its…

There was a lot of excitement last Sunday 9 September as Hong Kong went to the polls to vote into power the 70-member Legislative Council, a body stacked with “functional constituencies” that give pro-Beijing parties a guaranteed majority. However, 35…

Cautions issued by organising commitee: Civil Alliance Against National Education’s Statement on Ending Hunger Strike and Occupation of Central Government Office – Government’s announcement shifts the responsibility for the subject onto schools – Schools are susceptible to pressure from the…

  September 6, 2012 An Article from the Asian Human Rights Commission ASIA: Three great protests – In Hong Kong, Sri Lanka and the Omkareshwar Dam in India Basil Fernando   When people are hurt by the actions of authorities,…

“Here the situation is really tense. Heavy contingent of police being deployed. Police have stopped public transport. Sand bags are at the entry points of the Tirunelveli district coastal villages including Idinthakarai. Vehicles are screened. Normal life is heavily disrupted.…

The ATOM Project, an exciting new initiative to build global support for nuclear abolition, was launched at a parliamentary assembly in Astana, Kazakhstan on 29 August, the International Day Against Nuclear Tests. The project, entitled Against Testing Our Mission (ATOM),…

Robert Redford writes… From September 6-15, some 10,000 environmentalists will converge on Jeju Island to attend the World Conservation Congress (WCC) organized by the oldest environmental organization, the International Union of the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The IUCN’s slogan is…

Southeast Asian states should collectively negotiate with powerful China to resolve territory disputes. 04 Jul 2012 China’s claim to a disputed island in the South China Sea has angered many in the Philippines. No one will believe that the stand-off between the Philippines and China over a disputed island in the South China Sea is a straightforward bilateral issue.

The first of February this year was a historic day in the Chinese village of Wukan. Several thousand villagers, who had chased out their corrupt old leaders, went to the polls to democratically elect new representatives. A few months later, on 27 May, there was another equally historic democratic election in a factory in nearby Shenzhen…