Asia

Earth Day poem #2     Before the old streetsweeper comes I take a lingering look at the leaves now burnt brown crusty and curled on their new concrete bed down their original home still standing up to the clearing…

Earth Day poem #1     This morning, I picked flowers on the wayside as the sun tarried with its light, pinched off a stem with orange blooms just dotting palm-sized leaves, then a solitary hibiscus queenly in yellow and…

Halt the Endless and Futile Condemnation of the DPRK By Alice Slater It is far beyond hypocrisy for the US and its allies to condemn North Korea for testing a long-range missile when the US boasts about its Air Force…

22 April 2023, Quezon City.  As Earth Day is observed amid the planetary chemical and pollution crisis, advocates push for actions to ensure chemicals are produced, used, and managed in a way that will prevent their harmful impacts on human…

BBM challenged to declare a national state of climate emergency; Climate activists and faith-based groups commit to do the same and take Bold Actions Quezon City, 20 April 2023 – In celebration of Earth Day, climate activists and concerned citizens…

Overseas Filipino Workers are esteemed as modern-day heroes in the Philippines as they contribute greatly to the country’s economy, sacrificing years away from their families with the hope of providing a comfortable life. But not everyone is fortunate enough to…

18 April 2023, Quezon City.  The toxics watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition urged shopping malls in the City of Manila to take immediate action to stop the sale of mercury-containing skin-lightening products in their business premises. In letters sent to the…

During an economic crisis on a scale not seen before, events in Sri Lanka over the past YEAR have taken a dramatic turn. For many overseas Sri Lankans in particular, including me, it has led to months of uncertainty and…

Bangladesh is visibly and invisibly leaning toward the superpowers including the United States, China and Russia. But it also has friends and allies in the Middle East. India has been a proven friend, which has partnered with Bangladesh’s development. Bangladesh…

In mid-April, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs released its Diplomatic Bluebook 2023, its most important guidebook on international affairs. Japan’s foreign minister, Yoshimasa Hayashi, wrote the foreword, which begins: “The world is now at a turning point in history.” This…