Regional news from Southeast Asia in English — ASEAN politics, economy and diplomacy, covered by Thai PBS World.
Fourteen former officials of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) who were serving jail terms from seven to 20 years were Monday night released from prison in Phnom Penh after they were pardoned by King Norodom Sihamoni, The Phnom Penh Post Online reported today. King Norodom Sihamoni signed a Royal decree on Monday night
YANGON (Reuters) – Facebook said on Monday it was removing several Myanmar military officials, including military commander-in-chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, from the social media website and an Instagram account to prevent the spread of “hate and misinformation” after reviewing the content. It was the first time Facebook banned a country’s military or political
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia said there was so much rot in the previous Najib government that everyone under him “became a thief”, The New Straits Times Malaysia reported on Sunday. “When Najib became a thief, everyone under him became thief. Government officers made RM200,000 a month. Where did the money come from? It
The call, accompanying the first report by UN investigators, amounts to some of the strongest language yet from UN officials who have denounced alleged human rights violations in Myanmar since a bloody crackdown began last August. Myanmar’s military carried out mass killings and gang rapes of Muslim Rohingya with “genocidal intent” and the commander-in-chief and
The appointment of a former senior police officer as Malaysia’s new facilitator for peace talks in southern Thailand has been strongly opposed by Nurul Izzah Anwar, a prominent politician and daughter of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim. Taking to Twitter, she described him as a “brutal assaulter of an innocent man”. Abdul Rahim Mohd
South Korean Lee Geum-Sum, 92, waves to her North Korean son Lee Sung-Chul, 71, as she is leaving on a bus after a three-day family reunion meeting at the Mount Kumgang resort on Mount Kumgang, North Korea on August 22. Almost a hundred South Koreans crossed the heavily armed border to meet their separated families
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Tuesday freed on bail two former Radio Free Asia reporters who were charged with espionage, The Phnom Penh Post Online reported on Wednesday. 49-year old Oun Chhin and 35-year old Yeang Sochea Meta were arrested by officials of Meanchey district last November on suspicion of filing stories for the
Recognizing fake news as a global challenge, media representatives of ASEAN countries have agreed that the fight against falsehoods and disinformation must be a joint effort of all stake-holders in their societies. They agreed that journalists and media organizations in the region must also join hands to share experience and their best practices in coping
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Reuters) – Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was convicted on Tuesday of eight counts of financial wrongdoing, giving Special Counsel Robert Mueller a victory in the first trial arising from his investigation of Russia’s role in the 2016 US election. After almost four days of deliberations, a 12-member jury found Manafort guilty
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday defended the steps her government has made in handling the Rohingya crisis, amid global criticism on the issue. Ms Suu Kyi, who is State Counsellor, is in Singapore on a four-day working visit and used a rare public speech abroad to also
BEIJING (Reuters) – Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Monday he has asked China for help with his country’s “internal fiscal problems” as he seeks to renegotiate, or possibly cancel, more than $20 billion in Chinese-funded projects. Mahathir said after meeting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing he did not believe in confrontation with
At least five people were killed in multiple earthquakes – including a powerful and a shallow 6.9-magnitude tremor – which rocked the Indonesian holiday island of Lombok on Sunday, according to AFP report and the New Straits Times Malaysia Online. A series of quakes were recorded by seismologists throughout Sunday, the first measuring 6.3 shortly
