ASIA-PACIFIC COUNTRIES FORM WORLD’S LARGEST TRADING BLOC
On 15 November, 15 Asia-Pacific countries formed the world’s largest free-trade bloc, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The agreement includes the 10 nations that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well as China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand. The agreement excludes the United States, as tensions between China…
INTER-KOREAN RELATIONS IN DOWNWARD SPIRAL
Relations between North and South Korea continue to deteriorate following the demolition of a jointly operated liaison office on Tuesday 16 June. According to an Associated Press source, North Korea issued a statement saying: “All hope for peace along the Korean peninsula has faded away into a dark nightmare.” The latest battle between the Koreas…
11 MARCH ’20 | PRAY FOR OUR WORLD
Dear prayer partners, On Sunday 8 March, Italy’s government announced that they will be locking down much of the country’s north, restricting the movement of about a quarter of the Italian population in region that serves as the country’s economic engine, in efforts to contain the COVID-19 coronavirus. Around the world major events – from…
WORLD SCRAMBLES TO CONTAIN CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK
The international community is scrambling to halt the progress of the Covid-19 coronavirus, just days after the World Health Organisation’s director general said they needed to act quickly before the narrowing “window of opportunity” closed completely. In Italy, 11 northern towns have been in lockdown since Friday night, with police patrolling the streets and imposing…
MAJOR BATTLEFRONTS OF 2019
By Andrew Richards and Donnelly McCleland 2019 has been characterised by major ongoing ‘hot’ wars, ‘cold’ wars, proxy wars and trade wars, often involving multiple nations. The ebb and flow in 2019 has seen some advances towards peace in major theatres of war, such as Syria and Yemen, while elsewhere peace has become more elusive,…
UNDETERRED BY SUMMIT COLLAPSE, MOON VOWS CLOSER NORTH TIES
1 MARCH 2019 (SOURCE: AP) – South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Friday his government plans to discuss with the United States the possibility of restarting joint inter-Korean economic projects to induce nuclear disarmament from North Korea. Moon’s comments during a nationally televised speech came a day after a high-stakes nuclear summit between President Donald Trump and…
THREE COUNTRIES MOVING TOWARDS PEACE IN 2018
By Cherolyn Amery, Alex Pollock and Donnelly McCleland News outlets around the world bombard their audience with stories of war, disaster and famine. Seldom do stories of peace and hope make the headlines, and if they do, they usually disappear quickly, or commentators and analysts quickly provide an alternative outlook, focusing on what could…
NORTH AND SOUTH KOREA AND UN COMMAND DISCUSS DISARMING BORDER
16 OCTOBER 2018 (SOURCE: REUTERS) – North Korea, South Korea and the United Nations Command (UNC) held their first three-way talks on Tuesday to discuss demilitarising the border as the two Koreas push for peace, Seoul’s defence ministry said. The two Koreas agreed during last month’s summit in Pyongyang to form a tripartite consultation with the…
