Internal Affairs

HEADLINES

USTR Section 301 Action’s New Maritime Fee Structure against China

By Wyatt Mingji Lim | April 19, 2025 |

The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) introduced a new maritime fee structure in April 2025 to counter China’s dominance in the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors while promoting U.S. shipbuilding. The initiative stems from a Section 301 investigation, prompted by five U.S. labor unions in March 2024, which concluded that China’s state subsidies and policies unfairly…

[ PBS ] House passes Republican bill requiring voters provide proof of U.S. citizenship

By Wyatt Mingji Lim | April 11, 2025 |

The House passed one of Republicans’ signature issues for the year on Thursday, approving legislation to require proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote for federal elections, one of President Donald Trump’s top election-related priorities. Nearly all Democrats lined up against the bill and warned that it risks disenfranchising millions of Americans who do…

SK impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol avoided arrest after standoff – Timeline of South Korea’s Martial Law Saga so far

By Wyatt Mingji Lim | January 3, 2025

For those that had not been following the South Korean Martial Law saga, you may be surprised to learn that, until today, the President of South Korea who declared the surprised nationwide emergency martial law controversially then, Yoon Suk Yeol, remains… somewhat President… and not arrested. So I’m sure, we now need to recap and…

Putin’s Meeting with Former Wagner Commander Raises Questions

By DPA NewsDesk | September 30, 2023

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent meeting with Andrei Troshev, the former commander of the Wagner private military contractor, has thrust this secretive organization back into the spotlight, igniting a fresh wave of curiosity and raising questions about the group’s future objectives and operations. The meeting, which unfolded within the walls of the Kremlin and was…

History meeting between representative of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and Azerbaijan at Yevlakh city

By DPA NewsDesk | September 22, 2023

The historical meeting took place on September 21st in Yevlakh city, with representatives from Azerbaijan and Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) convening under Russian mediation. The focal point of this meeting was the presentation of a reintegration plan aimed at the Armenian residents of Azerbaijan’s Karabakh. This initiative sought to explore potential avenues for the Armenian population to…

DPA:COUNTRY STABILITY INDEX MAP

ARTICLES

Singapore removing most COVID-19 restrictions; no Covid tests needed for vaccinated tourists

By Wyatt Mingji Lim | April 25, 2022

From 26 April 2022 onwards, Singapore will return to near-normal life as the government announced the relaxation of almost all COVID-19 restrictions – with only mask-wearing in indoor environment and public transport being retained. The Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCON) level, will be lowered from ORANGE to YELLOW, for the first time since 7…

Shiafication of Syria

By Eduardo Batista | April 19, 2022

It is not a secret that with the Civil War in Syria Iran has tried to increase its influence in the region by actively supporting Bashar al-Assad led-government. The Iranians seek to transform Syria into a stable base of operations and are promoting cultural, demographic and religious changes in some regions to secure their long-term…

Yemen President-in-Exile resigned; Presidential Leadership Council to take over all powers

By Wyatt Mingji Lim | April 8, 2022

Having failed to stay in power over the course of a seven-year-long civil war, Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi has resigned, handing full authority to an eight-member council led by the country’s former interior minister, Rashad al-Alimi.  “I irreversibly delegate to the Presidential Leadership Council my full powers, in accordance with the constitution and the…

Crisis in Sri Lanka: state of emergency imposed by government

By Wyatt Mingji Lim | April 3, 2022

The inability for the Sri Lanka government handle their acute shortage in foreign currency is spiraling out of control, as the government desperately imposed a state of emergency to deal with the protests on the streets. According to AFP (https://news.yahoo.com/sri-lanka-runs-diesel-faces-071054451.html), diesel was no longer on sale on 31 March 2022 across Sri Lanka – the…

[ Reuters ] Belarus referendum approves proposal to renounce non-nuclear status

By Wyatt Mingji Lim | February 28, 2022

A referendum in Belarus on Sunday approved a new constitution ditching the country’s non-nuclear status at a time when the former Soviet republic has become a launch pad for Russian troops invading Ukraine, Russian news agencies said. The agencies cited the Belarus central elections commission as saying 65.2% of those who took part voted in…

Germany finally stop their military rot: promising to keep defense spending above NATO’s 2% GDP requirement

By Wyatt Mingji Lim | February 27, 2022

Germany, one of the country specifically called out by former US President Donald Trump, for failing to meet NATO requirement of annual defense spending of at least 2% of the GDP, has finally committed officially to keep it’s defense spending over 2% of GDP immediately. This is the most significant shift in Germany’s policy when…

Belarus to vote on constitutional changes to host nuclear weapons and effectively make Lukashenka a dictator – Russia pushed to the brink

By Wyatt Mingji Lim | February 27, 2022

Lukashenka, 67, has proposed amending the constitution, the third time he has done so since coming to power in 1994, that would allow him to rule to 2035, offer him a new lever of power, and abolish a section of the document defining Belarus as a “nuclear free zone,” possibly paving the way for the…

Ukraine Defense Minister, Oleksii Reznikov call for citizens to lookout for spies and attack supply convoys

By Wyatt Mingji Lim | February 27, 2022

Dear Ukrainians! Over 55 hours of resistance. Our defenders have destroyed the enemy’s plans. As of this morning, the number of Russian occupiers killed has exceeded 3,000. More than 200 interventionists are captured. The number of captives is increasing. They did not expect such a response and themselves. Hundreds of armoured vehicles have been destroyed,…

Ukrainian president announces general mobilization of all conscripts and reservists within 90 days

By Wyatt Mingji Lim | February 25, 2022

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky had ordered a general military mobilization through out Ukraine. The mobilization will be carried out within 90 days, and expect to provide the government with personnel, vehicles, infrastructure and land use for the defense operations. All male citizens between 18-60 will be banned from leaving the country. Local government officials would…

Zelenskyy calls on all citizens with military experience to “join the defence of Ukraine”

By Wyatt Mingji Lim | February 24, 2022

Sky News@SkyNews·15m Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy calls on all citizens with military experience to “join the defence of Ukraine”, and asks for people to donate blood as there are “wounded soldiers in hospitals”. I thought he said his military was stronger than it was 8 years ago? Now he is asking civilians to suicide. And…

Military coup in Burkina Faso; Army ousted President, suspended constitution, dissolved government, national assembly and closed border.

By Wyatt Mingji Lim | January 25, 2022

An announcement signed by Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba and read by another officer on state television, declared the takeover by the military and people had been detained in the process. Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, is a former graduate from a military school in Paris. He has a master’s degree in criminology from CNAM…

A Case for Increasing Singapore’s Participation in International Peacekeeping

By Ibrahim Conrad Abdullah | January 22, 2022

‘Military Operations Other Than War’ (MOOTW), also known as ‘Peace Support Operations’ (PSO)[1] encompasses operations that have been described by the United Nations’ ‘Supplement to an Agenda for Peace’[2] as ‘Instruments for Peace and Security’ that involve elements such as ‘peace-keeping’, ‘post-conflict peace-building’, and ‘preventive diplomacy and peacemaking’[3]. This article aims to argue that Singapore…

[ The Balochistan Post ] Who is “Baloch Nationalist Army”?—TBP Feature Report

By Wyatt Mingji Lim | January 17, 2022

Baloch Republican Army (BRA) BRA was formed after the military operation in Dera Bugti and murder of a renowned Baloch leader, Nawab Akbar Bugti, by Pakistan Army in 2006. In the beginning, the group was mostly joined by Bugti tribesmen but later years it gained popularity among Baloch students and in urban areas of Balochistan…

Baloch Nationalist Army (BNA) formed from the merger of Baloch Republican Army (BRA) and United Baloch Army (UBA)

By Wyatt Mingji Lim | January 13, 2022

[ Article is edited on 13 January 2022 to correct the currency of the amount of money “stolen” in the 4th paragraph ] According to a press release from Baloch Republican Army, Baloch Republican Army (BRA) and United Baloch Army (UBA) will be dissolved in the wake of a new resistance organisation, named The Baloch…

[ AP ] Myanmar’s Suu Kyi sentenced to 4 more years in prison

By Wyatt Mingji Lim | January 10, 2022

Suu Kyi was convicted last month on two other charges and given a four-year prison sentence, which was then halved by the head of the military-installed government. The cases are among about a dozen brought against the 76-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate since the army seized power last February, ousting her elected government and arresting…

[ Arab News Pakistan ] Yemeni government forces retake key district in Al-Bayda as Houthis flee

By Wyatt Mingji Lim | January 10, 2022

Yemeni government forces on Saturday recaptured substantial territory from the Houthis in the provinces of Al-Bayda and Shabwa.  Backed by air cover from Coalition warplanes, the loyalist Giants Brigades liberated several villages and mountains before storming the center of the Noaman district in Al-Bayda.  A convoy of armed vehicles and jubilant fighters entered scattered villages…

Ending Pakistan’s Forcible Occupation is the Ultimate Goal- Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF)

By Manish Rai | January 7, 2022

Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) is one of the oldest and sizeable Baloch armed separatist groups frequently carrying out armed attacks against Pakistani forces and government installations in Pakistan’s restive province of Balochistan. Recently BLF has intensified its attacks against the government forces and China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Islamabad’s dream Economic project. In an exclusive…

Kazakhstan declares emergency; government resigned

By Wyatt Mingji Lim | January 6, 2022

Emergency is declared in Kazakhstan and will last until January 19 after the country’s largest city, Almaty’s airport was breached by protesters after unrest broke out across the country after the government lifted price controls on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which many cars in the country runs on due to the low cost – which…