News
69m people breathed toxic smoke from 2015 Indonesian fires: study
Sixty-nine million people were exposed to toxic haze as a result of last year’s devastating wildfires in Indonesia, a new study has found. Little is known about the health impacts of Indonesia’s annual fires, which spread uncontrollably because the country’s vast peat swamp zones have ...
Military training areas can be important wildlife refuges: new study
Bombs and biodiversity can go hand in hand, a new study has found. Military training areas — used for the training of armed forces — can maintain biodiversity and even support species threatened with extinction, despite years of repeated bombing, fires and other disturbances, scientists ...
Tidal turbines to power remote site in Indonesia
Over the last year a team of Indonesian and international specialists has worked in a remote part of Bintuni Bay, West Papua, Indonesia. The goal was to assess the local electricity situation, renewable energy options, including tidal in-stream power; and to then install a demonstration ...
Japan's PM seeks improved ties with China - government spokesman
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told Chinese President Xi Jinping on November 20 that he aims to improve ties with China by capitalizing on key anniversaries for bilateral relations in the next few years, a Japanese government spokesman said. The two leaders held impromptu talks while ...
China puts army on high alert after fighting in northeastern Myanmar
China has said its army is on high alert after armed groups in Myanmar attacked military and police posts close to their shared border at the weekend and that it would act to protect its citizens and their property in the area. The official Xinhua ...
Malaysia silences 1MDB whistleblower in blow to rights
A chorus of international outrage was struck immediately after the sentencing of opposition politician Rafizi Ramli for disclosing part of the Auditor General’s report into the 1MDB corruption scandal, which has severely damaged Malaysia’s reputation in business and politics. London based Amnesty International immediately called ...
Trump vows Paris Agreement pull out; world unites behind green economy
The 22nd United Nations climate summit began as a wonky, low-profile affair. Nearly 200 nations, finally agreeing to keep the world from burning up, began writing the rulebook by which the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement could be achieved, while seeking the trillions needed ...
Indonesia ships first containers of timber under EU legality scheme
The first containers of plywood certified as legal under the EU’s anti-illegal-logging action plan were shipped out of the Indonesian capital on November 15, a milestone in the fight against blackmarket timber in one of the world’s most heavily forested countries. Of the 15 nations that ...
'An epochal change': what a Trump presidency means for the Asia Pacific region
From China and Japan to India and the countries of south-east Asia, leaders are being confronted by the unknowns of a new American president. Donald Trump’s victory has the potential to radically redraw the geopolitical landscape in Asia, where Barack Obama has been trying to counterbalance ...
The hydropower paradox: is this energy as clean as it seems?
In July, UN Secretary Ban Ki-Moon highlighted the role of hydropower in boosting the use of renewable energy globally, when he visited a nonprofit institute in China that helps emerging nations develop and build hydropower plants. Many countries consider hydroelectricity a clean source of power ...
