News stories by Kalinga Seneviratne

BANGKOK, Jun 26 (IPS) - The Bangkok Declaration on Disaster Risk Reduction in Asia and the Pacific adopted at the close of the 6^th Asian Ministerial Conference On Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) here today emphasised community-based solutions, and reflects a growing global desire to focus more on grassroots actions in the face of catastrophic climate change.

BANGKOK, Jun 25 (IPS) - A consortium of faith-based organisations (FBOs) made a declaration at a side event Wednesday at the 6^th Asian Ministerial Conference On Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR), to let the United Nations know that they stand ready to commit themselves to building resilient communities across Asia in the aftermath of natural disasters.

SINGAPORE, Jun 12 (IPS) - The recent arrest and deportation from Malaysia of three Sri Lankan Tamils on U.N. refugee status, under suspicion of trying to revive the disbanded Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), has raised questions about regional security and minority politics.

SINGAPORE, Jun 05 (IPS) - With over 20,000 international participants, a triple summit currently underway in Singapore is generating an abundance of ideas on sustainable cities.

SINGAPORE, May 04 (IPS) - U.S. President Barack Obama's weeklong visit to Asia was meant to reassure allies in the region of American support and re-engagement. But it raised Chinese hackles and failed to dispel doubts over his administration's ‘pivot to Asia' strategy.

SINGAPORE, Feb 20 (IPS) - Two Myanmar Buddhist politicians who were visiting Malaysia narrowly escaped a late night assassination attempt outside a leading shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur this month. The incident has raised fears of an overseas spillover of the religious violence that has engulfed their state of Rakhine in recent years.

SINGAPORE, Jan 19 (IPS) - Street demonstrations in the Thai capital reflect the disillusionment of growing middle classes across Asia that see multi-party democracy as a playground for the corrupt rather than a process that elects lawmakers to serve society and the nation.

BANGKOK, Dic 27 (IPS) - Mobile broadband services are seen as a key tool of development communication the world over, but people in rural Asia and Africa say telecom companies should cater to their needs and not simply impose technology on them.

BANGKOK, Dic 04 (IPS) - Only 16 percent of Africa's population of over a billion is online. But as Internet and mobile phone connectivity grows rapidly, the continent wants to join forces with Asian powerhouses to change its digital landscape.

SINGAPORE, Aug 20 (IPS) - A new Pacific islands forum will seek to challenge the dominance of Australia and New Zealand in a regional body. The new grouping's approach is being billed the ‘Pacific Way', and also the ‘green and blue' way for its commitment to environmentally sustainable oceans as well as land.