Regional news from Southeast Asia in English — ASEAN politics, economy and diplomacy, covered by Thai PBS World.
MANILA (Reuters) – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has warned violators of coronavirus lockdown measures they could be shot for causing trouble and said abuse of medical workers was a serious crime that would not be tolerated. In a televised address, Duterte said it was vital everyone cooperates and follows home quarantine measures, as authorities try
KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s King and Queen are currently under quarantine after seven staff members of the palace tested positive for coronavirus, national news agency Bernama reported Thursday. Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin and his wife Tuanku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah have tested negative for the virus, it quoted Comptroller of the Royal Household Ahmad Fadli Shamsuddin
BANGKOK (AP) — When Carlo Navarro, his wife and 15-year-old daughter visited Japan from the Philippines in February, they knew they were taking a chance with the coronavirus, but thought they would be spared if they took precautions. They wore masks and gloves and always had alcohol handy to sanitize their hands. But Navarro,
Two patients in Singapore died from COVID-19 on Saturday morning due to complications, the first deaths the republic has seen, the Straits Times reported. It said a 75-year-old Singaporean woman with a history of chronic heart disease and hypertension died at 7.52am. She was linked to the cluster at The Life Church and Missions Singapore.
JAKARTA (REUTERS) – The governor of Indonesia’s capital Jakarta on Friday declared a state of emergency for the next two weeks in the city, the centre of Indonesia’s coronavirus outbreak, as the death toll in the country climbed to the highest in South-east Asia. Governor Anies Baswedan also said that public entertainment such as bars,
Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad is observing self-quarantine after coming into close contact with a member of parliament who tested positive for Covid-19, Malaysian media reported. “He is under self-quarantine,” The Star quoted a spokesman for Mahathir as saying on Thursday. It said it is believed that the 95-year-old statesman had taken a picture
SINGAPORE (AP) — Singapore, a tiny city-state of less than 6 million people, had one of the earliest and biggest clusters of cases of the coronavirus in early February, before it began its rapid, inexorable expansion around the globe. Within weeks, the country’s tally of infections with the highly contagious virus that causes COVID-19
Malaysia will ban its citizens from travelling overseas and foreigners from entering the country in drastic measures announced by the prime minister Monday aimed at curbing the spread of the deadly new coronavirus. Schools will also be closed under the rules that will be in place for two weeks from Wednesday, Muhyiddin Yassin said. Large gatherings
People outside Malaysia must have been caught by surprise by the recent political developments in Malaysia. One key question is why all of a sudden Mahathir Mohamad decided to step down as prime minister. But Mahathir is just of the key players who have contributed to the political mess. In an article published on
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s Mount Merapi volcano erupted on Tuesday morning, sending a 6-km (3.7 mile) column of ash into the air and triggering the closure of the airport in the nearby city of Solo on the densely populated Java island, authorities said. The volcano, located near the cities of Yogyakarta and Solo, is
MANILA – After hours of negotiation, a disgruntled former security guard has released his 30 hostages and walked out of a Philippine shopping mall, ending a day-long hostage crisis in an upscale commercial district in this Philippine capital city. Philippine media reported that the gunman, identified by police as Archie Paray, a former guard
Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia apologized to his allies on Sunday as his former ally Muhyiddin Yassin was about to be sworn in as the new prime minister. Malaysiakini reported that based on a video recording of his address, Mahathir apologized for resigning as prime minister on Feb 24. Mahathir said had
