Regional news from Southeast Asia in English — ASEAN politics, economy and diplomacy, covered by Thai PBS World.
The South Korean government said today it will soon send a disaster relief team to the area of Laos affected by the massive flooding that has claimed scores of lives, Yonhap news agency reported. The government decided to dispatch the Korea Disaster Relief Team (KDRT), composed of rescue workers and medical staff, as early as
A forward team of about 30 rescuers and life-saving experts of a private relief organization known as “Hook 31 Foundation” in Nakhon Ratchasima or Korat is waiting to cross the border into Laos to help victims of flooding that resulted from the collapse of a hydropower dam in southeastern Attapeu province’s Sanamxay district. They were
The Philippines has become the world’s second most dangerous place for environmental activists after Brazil, with 48 green advocates killed last year, The Manila Times Online reported. According to watchdog Global Witness, Brazil was the most dangerous country, accounting for 57 of more than 200 environmental activists worldwide who were killed last year as government-sponsored
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha this morning expressed deep concerns over the plights of thousands of Lao people affected by the collapse of the Xepian-Xe Namnoy dam in Attapeu province of Laos as Laotian authorities continue the search for hundreds of people still missing. Unofficial reports estimated that scores of people were killed and more than 1,300
Hundreds of people went missing with many believed drowned after a hydropower dam in Attapeu province of Laos collapsed late Monday, unleashing about five billion cubic metres of water downstream, flooding six villages. A statement issued by the Laotian government in Vientiane via state media said that “several human lives” were lost and “several hundreds
President Rodrigo Duterte has vowed to pursue a “relentless” and “chilling” war against illegal drugs as he laid out plans for the second half of his six-year term in his third State of the Nation Address on Monday, the Manila Times reported. It said Duterte declared in his 48-minute expletive-free speech that his two-year-old
Former foreign minister Surakiart Sathirathai who chairs an international panel set up by Myanmar to advise on the Rohingya crisis has rebutted criticism by the body’s former secretary Kobsak Chutikul, saying the panel is effective and the Myanmar government has acted on its recommendations. Surakiart, who last year was picked by Myanmar to chair the
Malaysia’s youngest ever minister, Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, said the government plans to reduce the voting age from 21 to 18 before the next elections in 2023, New Straits Times Malaysia Online reported on Monday. In an interview with Bloomberg in Kuala Lumpur, the 25-year old Cabinet member said the
The new Malaysian government led by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has given an assurance that press freedom in the country would be given more space to grow, national news agency Bernama reported. Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah was quoted as saying that Malaysia was now going through a political transition towards a mature democratic country, and
The United Nations is preparing to send teams to Rakhine state of Myanmar to begin work aimed at repatriating Rohinya Muslims from Bangladesh to Myanmar, The Irrawaddy News reported today, quoting the regional head of the UN Development Programme’s Asia-Pacific region. UNDP’s director for Asia-Pacific region Haoliang Xu said Thursday that UN officials were last
Asean can continue to play a constructive role in helping to usher in peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, said South Korean President Moon Jae-in today. “It is necessary to create opportunities for North Korea to fulfil its role as a responsible member of the international community,” he said in the highlight lecture of
YANGON — Monday night’s successful location of a youth soccer team and their coach who had been missing in a flooded cave complex in northern Thailand has put the spotlight on a local monk who had earlier predicted that the group would be found alive. Phra Khuva Boonchum hails from northern Thailand, and is already
