Regional news from Southeast Asia in English — ASEAN politics, economy and diplomacy, covered by Thai PBS World.
President Joko Widodo of Indonesia, while highlighting the role of the media in building democracy, said yesterday that criticisms are beneficial for the government in order to fix its deficiencies, according to Antara news agency. Speaking at the opening of the Congress of the Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI), he said he considered criticisms voiced by
Malaysian Prime Minisrer Mahathir Mohamad has predicted the collapse of Umno which is the backbone of the Barisan Nasional coalition that had ruled the country for almost six decades before being toppled in the May elections, the New Straits Times Malaysia Online reported. Speaking at a meeting with members of the United States Council on
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has made history by bringing her three-month-old daughter into the United Nations assembly hall in New York. Ardern, 38, was photographed kissing and coddling Neve in the assembly hall next to partner Clarke Gayford at the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit. Reuters reported that her partner Clarke Gayford, who
HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnam’s President Tran Dai Quang, a former chief of internal security who became one of the most high-profile leaders in the communist-ruled country, died on Friday after an illness, state media said. Quang’s rise, at a time of growing dissent on social media and challenges to the party’s authority, signaled limits to
A coalition of Indonesian civil society groups has urged the government of Indonesia to utilize its position as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) to help put an end to the humanitarian crisis against Rohingya people in Myanmar, Antara news agency reported. The call was made by Fatia Maulidiyanti from the Commission for
GENEVA (Reuters) — Myanmar’s democratic transition has ground to a standstill as authorities seek to silence critics while allowing hate speech, particularly against Muslim Rohingya, the head of the UN human rights mission said on Tuesday. Marzuki Darusman, chair of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, denounced what he called “the extreme brutality of the
The UN says Rohingya Muslims have faced four of five prohibited acts defined as genocide at the hands of Myanmar’s military. The findings were part of a final report released by UN investigators. Myanmar’s powerful army should be removed from politics, UN investigators said Tuesday, as they released the final part of a damning report
BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Fan Bingbing, an A-list Chinese movie star who has appeared in the “X-Men” and “Iron Man” film franchises, has more than 62 million followers online in China and fronted campaigns for Montblanc watches and De Beers diamonds, has disappeared. The star’s vanishing act – she dropped off the radar in June when
The US government has imposed sanctions on a Thailand-based company it accuses of providing service to an Iranian airline that is suspected of Thai terrorist activities directed by Iranian government, according to the New York Times on Friday. The US Treasury Department said in a statement that My Aviation Company, headquartered in Bangkok provides cargo
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump is likely to announce new tariffs on about $200 billion on Chinese imports as early as Monday, a senior administration official told Reuters on Saturday. The tariff level will probably be about 10 percent, the Wall Street Journal reported, quoting people familiar with the matter. This is below
MANILA (Reuters) – Typhoon Mangkhut tore through the northern tip of the Philippines on Saturday packing winds of more than 200 kph (124 mph) along with torrential rain, killing at least three people, wrecking homes and triggering at least 42 landslides. Mangkhut entered the Philippines as a super typhoon in the early hours, and sent
MANILA (Reuters) – Philippine authorities evacuated more areas on Friday and warned an estimated 5.2 million people in the path of a “very destructive” typhoon to stay indoors, as the country braced for heavy rain and damage to infrastructure and crops. Super Typhoon Mangkhut is expected to barrel through the northernmost tip of the Philippines
