Regional news from Southeast Asia in English — ASEAN politics, economy and diplomacy, covered by Thai PBS World.
The seven-year jail sentence handed down on two Reuters journalists in Myanmar on Monday is a big step backward for press freedom and a travesty of justice in the country, Thepchai Yong, president of the Confederation of ASEAN Journalists said Tuesday. Thepchai also called for regional and international media organizations to join hands in showing
YANGON (Reuters) – A Myanmar judge today found two Reuters journalists guilty of breaching a law on state secrets and jailed them for seven years, in a landmark case seen as a test of progress towards democracy in the Southeast Asian country. Yangon northern district judge Ye Lwin said Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said he will honour his promise to be prime minister for only two years before handing over the reins to his former political adversary Anwar Ibrahim, according to Bernama news agency. “I am confident that he (Anwar) is now more mature and much experienced,” he told a gathering of Malaysians residing
President Joko Widodo, in a recording played during the closing ceremony of the 2018 Asian Games in the Jakarta last night, said that the positive energy exuded by Asia can bring positive reinforcements into the world, according to Antara news agency. “Congratulations and thank you to all contingents from all countries for your achievements, warmth
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad voiced fears that Malays and the Bumiputera would be out-competed if Malaysia welcomes a flood of traders and entrepreneurs from China, the New Straits Times Malaysia reported on Saturday. Meanwhile, Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said the government would review the Forest Citty development project in Johor as
Four people died and three others, including a boy, went missing after runoffs from a collapsed dam spillway on Swar Creek in Taungoo district in Bago region swept into four townships, The Irrawaddy News reported on Friday. Spokesman of the Bago region government office said that four bodies – including a pregnant woman, a 17-year
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump will skip summits with Asian leaders in Singapore and Papua New Guinea in November, sending Vice President Mike Pence in his place, the White House said on Friday, an announcement that will raise questions about his commitment to a regional strategy to counter China. Trump was invited to attend
More than 50,000 people were forced to flee their homes, five people went missing and 27 villages went under floodwater on Wednesday night after a dam spillway collapsed in Bago Region of Myanmar, Myanmar Time Online reported. U Ye Min Thu, deputy director-general of the Department of Fire Services, said a portion of the Bago
STAVANGER, Norway (Reuters) — The Nobel Peace Prize to Aung San Suu Kyi will not be withdrawn in the light of a United Nations report that said Myanmar’s military carried out mass killings of Muslim Rohingya, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said on Wednesday. On Monday, UN investigators said Myanmar’s military carried out mass killings and
The government of Myanmar this morning rejected the findings of a UN investigation accusing its armed forces of genocide against the Rohingya. Myanmar has come under immense pressure this week over last year’s military crackdown that pushed more than 700,000 of the Muslim minority into Bangladesh. Monday’s report by a UN fact-finding mission said there
KUALA LUMPUR — Former deputy prime minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim says he believes Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad will keep his promise to hand over the reins to him. In an interview with Nikkei Asian Review, Anwar said he believed that some quarters are trying to drive a wedge between him and Dr Maharthir for
The new Malaysian facilitator for peace talks in southern Thailand said today he sees the possibility of an agreement to end the violence that has plagued the Thai region for years if the dialogue can proceed in positive manner. Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Noor, a former police inspector general, has been appointed by the Mahathir
