Regional news from Southeast Asia in English — ASEAN politics, economy and diplomacy, covered by Thai PBS World.
With the goal of reminding children of the value of books, an original story has been published called Kiki’s Fantastic Adventure by Studio Boba. The creator decided that the comic-manga format was the best way to bring the story of an adventurous princess to life. “It is about a daring and curious little princess in
Vietnam is preparing to make it mandatory for social media users of both local and foreign platforms to verify their identity in a bid to rein in online scams, state media reported on Monday. The measure, part of the Telecommunications Law Amendment to be issued by the end of this year, will enable law enforcement
Indonesia and Singapore condemned an attack against a convoy including Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) officials delivering humanitarian aid in Myanmar and called for an end to violence in the strife-torn country. It was unclear who was behind the incident that, according to Indonesian foreign ministry spokesperson Teuku Faizasyah, took place in Hsi Hseng
Vietnam‘s mined output of rare earths soared tenfold last year, U.S. data showed, as global firms have flocked to the Southeast Asian country with the world’s second largest estimated deposits to reduce reliance on China for the key industrial metals. Past attempts to build up Vietnam‘s rare earth industry have stuttered due to falling prices and
Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha will not attend the ASEAN-related summit next week, according to an informed source. The source said that Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai will represent the Thai leader at the 42nd summit in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia on May 10th and 11th. Prayut, who has attended all the previous
Myanmar’s junta pardoned more than 2,000 political prisoners to mark a Buddhist holiday on Wednesday, with families rushing to prisons for tearful reunions with loved ones jailed in a sweeping crackdown on dissent. The military has arrested thousands of protesters and activists since the February 2021 putsch that ended Myanmar’s brief democratic experiment and plunged
Singapore is expected to post slower economic growth this year but it “should avoid an outright contraction”, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Sunday. The Southeast Asian city-state’s economic performance is often seen as a barometer of the global environment because of its reliance on trade with the rest of the world. The financial centre
Asia must rapidly cut fossil fuel subsidies and plow more money into a clean energy transition to avoid catastrophic climate change that puts its own development at risk, according to a new report Thursday from the Asian Development Bank. The region’s economic development is being fueled in a carbon-intensive way that is well above the
Singapore on Wednesday executed a man accused of coordinating a cannabis delivery, despite pleas for clemency from his family and protests from activists that he was convicted on weak evidence. Tangaraju Suppiah, 46, was sentenced to death in 2018 for abetting the trafficking of 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of cannabis. Under Singapore laws, trafficking more
This year is likely to go down as Myanmar’s hottest year so far, as temperatures in at least 10 cities have broken 40oC, according to figures released by the meteorological department. On April 18th, places like Kalewa and Nyaung-U saw temperatures exceeding 44oC. Kale, Tamu, Mingin, Monywa, Myinmu, Myingyan, Chauk and Pakokku all saw a
Former U.N. chief Ban Ki-Moon on Tuesday called for an end to violence in Myanmar after meeting the leader of its ruling military, which he said “must take the first steps”. Ban met junta chief Min Aung Hlaing and a reformist ex-president, Thein Sein, this week in what was seen as a peacemaking mission to
To say that Myanmar’s power supply cannot deal with the burgeoning electrical demand would be an understatement. Forget rural areas, Myanmar’s economic hub of Yangon suffers from both scheduled and random blackouts. “It has got noticeably worse since the start of 2023 and it is the worst it has ever been since Thingyan this year,”
