NORWAY

NORWAY

Dagsavisen, Oslo, July 22: We’ve seen it in Tibet and Xinjiang, in Kashmir and Chechnya, and in many other parts of Asia. Minority groups fight for their own cultural, religious and economic interests. They fight for autonomy and independence. Yet they never manage to escape their straight jackets.

They call out for attention and support throughout a world rendered accessible by globalization and the information revolution. But they’re kept down by rulers bent on keeping them in the fold. What we’ve seen lately we’ll see again, many times over.

Nation building

In Asia, societal tradition is stronger than it is in the West, and individual rights weaker. State sovereignty and isolationism go hand in hand with nation building and nationalism. China has seen only thirty years of continuous nation building since the Gang of Four power struggle and the turbulent years of the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution.

How should we respond to the plight of minority groups in these countries?

Dialogue is only one of many resources. Economic cooperation is another. ... It’s just as important to avoid errors as it is to find new and constructive approaches. Few things have damaged the cause of human rights so much as the United States’s use of the word “terror” after September 11. This tactic was appropriated across Asia, from Israel to China, from Russia to India, and used to legitimize further state-run oppression of already oppressed ethnic groups.”

BRITAIN

The Independent, London, July 22: Tom Watson did not putt in vain. The veteran golfer may have missed by only a few inches but the drama of the final day of the British Open kept the amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley awake for an extra half-hour at his home outside Murrumbateman in New South Wales.

Black mark

When he went back to shut down his 14.5-inch Newtonian telescope he noticed a black mark on the giant Jupiter. Since the Australian star-gazer spends an average of 20 hours a week looking at the fifth planet, he knew it was significant.

He e-mailed NASA whose giant telescopes confirmed that, indeed, something massive was going on. A comet seemed to have crashed into Jupiter leaving a scar the size of the earth. In a world of hi-tech professionalism, there is something reassuring about the fact that a dilettante dabbler can still make a major discovery that eludes the experts. It restores your faith in the power of romance. Next year, Mr. Watson, next year.

JAPAN

Asahi Shimbun, Tokyo, July 16: As of the end of March, the number of university and senior high school students who had fallen behind in tuition payments stood at 15,000 and 17,000, respectively. While applications for scholarship loans are rapidly rising, there are insufficient bursaries to meet demand. In fiscal 2008, nearly 8,000 university students dropped out for “financial reasons.”

Tuition has become high. Sending children to a juku cram school is also costly. On top of that, Japan is still grappling with the financial crisis that hit last year. Some students say they were told by their parents to give up on going on to higher education. Some couples are opting not to have children because of the expense.

Widening income gap

Public spending on education in Japan represents 3.4 percent of gross domestic product. The figure is the lowest among industrialized countries. The idea that education is something for which parents are responsible is deeply rooted in this culture. But, the surge in educational expenses and the widening gap in income of parents are shaking the principle of “equal opportunity of education.”