Regional news from Southeast Asia in English — ASEAN politics, economy and diplomacy, covered by Thai PBS World.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Wednesday issued an emergency airworthiness directive on about 250 Boeing 737 Max aircraft after the US aircraft manufacturer sent a bulletin to carriers in the aftermath of a deadly Lion Air flight. The FAA said the order is effective immediately and covers 45 aircraft in
The Kresek mosque in Pattani, where 32 suspected Muslim insurgents were killed in a stand-off 14 years ago, continues to receive visitors from Malaysia, the News Straits Times of Malaysia reported. The mosque’s imam, Zakaria Mat Sin, said Malaysians, especially those from East Coast states like Kelantan and Terengganu, travelled all the way to the
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s transport minister removed on Wednesday the technical director of the Lion Air airline and several of its technicians after the crash of one of its jets with 189 people on board, the Antara news agency reported on Wednesday. “Today we dismiss (the director) from his position and his duty,” Budi Karya
A top Myanmar official said Wednesday that his country would take back a first group of 2,000 Rohingya refugees from camps in Bangladesh in November despite widespread doubts over the proposal. Officials from the two countries announced on Tuesday that some of the 720,000 Muslim Rohingya who fled a deadly military clampdown in the Buddhist-majority
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia on Tuesday stepped up a search for the Lion Air airliner that plunged into the sea with all 189 aboard feared dead, deploying underwater beacons to trace its black box recorders and uncover why an almost-new plane crashed minutes after take-off. Indonesia, one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets, has a
RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman vowed on Wednesday that the killers of Jamal Khashoggi would be brought to justice, in his first public comments since the journalist’s murder sparked global condemnation. Striking a defiant tone, Prince Mohammed told international investors at a major conference in Riyadh that the furor
Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak is expected to face four more charges related to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal this week, the New Straits Times Online reported on Tuesday. Quoting those with knowledge of the ongoing investigation, the New Straits Times said the four charges expected to be slapped against Najib deal with 1MDB
WASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia on Sunday called the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at its Istanbul consulate a “huge and grave mistake,” but sought to shield its powerful crown prince from the widening crisis, saying Mohammed bin Salman had not been aware. The comments from Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir were some of the most
An ultra-nationalist monk – dubbed the ‘Buddhist Bin Laden’ – on Sunday condemned the international community for their calls to bring Myanmar’s generals to justice over the Rohingya crisis. AFP reported that firebrand monk Wirathu, known as the face of Myanmar’s Buddhist nationalist movement, was speaking at a pro-military rally that attracted hundreds of supporters,
YANGON (The Irrawaddy) — Myanmar’s ultranationalist firebrand Buddhist monk U Wirathu said he would take up arms if Myanmar’s military leadership is charged at the International Criminal Court (ICC), showing his solidarity with the country’s armed forces, which have been internationally blamed for their alleged atrocities against the Rohingya. Human rights groups abroad and the
The Similan-Surin islands, popular tourist attractions in the Andaman sea, will be reopened to visitors as of Monday October 15, but the number of visitors will be capped at 3,325 a day to prevent overcrowding. Of the number of visitors to be allowed on the two islands, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plants
A Royal Command has been issued by His Majesty the King to endorse the government’s 20-year National Strategy effective as of its publication in the Royal Gazette. The National Strategy for 2018-2037 comprises six strategies: national security; competiveness enhancement; human resources development and empowerment; broadening opportunity and social equality, environmental-friendly development and growth and reforming
