Regional news from Southeast Asia in English — ASEAN politics, economy and diplomacy, covered by Thai PBS World.
Singapore has fully inoculated 80% of its 5.7 million people against COVID-19, the health minister said on Sunday, becoming the world’s most vaccinated country and setting the stage for further easing of curbs. “We have crossed another milestone, where 80% of our population has received their full regimen of two doses,” Ong Ye Kung said
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the US should stop disrupt in “regional peace and stability” after U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday (August 25) again charged China with bullying its Southeast Asian neighbors. Earlier on Wednesday, Chinese state media accused Harris of seeking to drive a wedge between China and Southeast Asian
The Philippines said on Wednesday it has approved the commercial propagation of genetically modified Golden Rice after more than a decade of field tests that drew strong opposition from anti-GMO activists. The Southeast Asian country, which is one of the world’s biggest rice importers, is the first nation to approve the Vitamin A-enriched grain for
Cuba will supply large quantities of its home-grown COVID-19 vaccine, Abdala, to Vietnam and also transfer the production technology to the Southeast Asian country by the end of the year, the Vietnamese health ministry said on Tuesday. After successfully containing the disease for much of the pandemic, Vietnam has been struggling to control its worst
Vice President Kamala Harris has picked the two outstanding US allies in ASEAN for her first visit to the Southeast Asian region beginning on Sunday. From the US perspective, these two countries are considered vital allies based on what they are willing to do to augment their strategic value for Washington’s objectives especially in the
A new Malaysian leader was sworn in Saturday following the previous government’s collapse, reclaiming the premiership for his scandal-mired party without an election. Ismail Sabri Yaakob is a stalwart of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the lynchpin of a long-ruling coalition that lost power in landmark elections during the multi-billion-dollar 1MDB graft scandal in 2018.
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is expected to step down on Monday, media reports say, after months of political turmoil that resulted in his losing his majority. If confirmed, Muhyiddin’s resignation would end a tumultuous 17 months in office, but could also hamper Malaysia’s efforts to reboot a pandemic-stricken economy and curb a resurgence in COVID-19 cases, as there is no obvious successor. Malaysia’s ringgit
KUALA LUMPUR (AP) — Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin resigned less than 18 months into his tenure Monday, becoming the country’s shortest-ruling leader after conceding that he lost majority support to govern. Science Minister Khairy Jamaluddin wrote on Instagram that “the Cabinet has tendered our resignation” to the king, shortly after Muhyiddin left the palace
A leading Thai arms manufacturer Chaiseri Metal and Rubber Co has denied any connection with an arms dealer alleged to be involved in an assassination attempt against Myanmar Ambassador to Kyaw Moe Tun. Vice president of Chaiseri Metal and Rubber Co Dr. Noparath Koolhiran, told Thai PBS World that the allegation came as a major
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has proposed a series of bilateral meetings, including a summit later this year, between the US and lower Mekong countries as part of efforts to promote sustainable development in the Mekong sub-region. In a recent virtual meeting with the lower Mekong riparian countries, Blinken said that cooperation with the
ASEAN has accumulated more than US$1.2 billion worth of combined assistance from 11 dialogue partners including the new dialogue partner, the UK. Almost all the countries have contributed special funds for ASEAN to prepare and respond to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to data collected by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ ASEAN Department. The EU was
A plot to assassinate UN Ambassador to Myanmar Kyaw Moe Tun has been foiled with two men already detained. The attempt allegedly also involved an arms dealer in Thailand. Court documents, filed in a US federal court in New Jersey, say that 28-year-old Phyo Hein Htut and 20-year-old Ye Hein Zaw were arrested on charges
