Regional news from Southeast Asia in English — ASEAN politics, economy and diplomacy, covered by Thai PBS World.
(AFP) – Ousted Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced to another seven years in jail as her long series of trials ended on Friday, with the Nobel laureate now facing more than three decades behind bars. A prisoner of the military since a coup last year, Suu Kyi, 77, has been convicted
At least 19 people were killed and up to 30 were missing after a huge fire tore through a casino-hotel complex in a Cambodian town on the Thai border, officials said on Thursday. About 400 employees and patrons were in the Grand Diamond City casino and hotel in the town of Poipet when the fire broke out
At least eight people have died and over 130 were injured late Wednesday night in a fire at a Cambodian casino in the border town of Poipet, about 200 metres from the Thai border in Aranyaprathet district of Sa Kaeo Province. Thanatip Kokmanee, the deputy governor of Sa Kaeo, told Thai PBS that 82 injured,
The death toll from Christmas day rains in southern Philippines has risen to 13, authorities said on Tuesday, with the search still on for 23 people as floods started to recede. Most of the deaths were caused by drowning from flash floods after two days of heavy rains disrupted Christmas celebrations and forced more than
It must be clear today that the Japan with which Southeast Asia has been familiar throughout the post-war years is no longer the same. The past 70 years of a docile Japan are no more. The country’s latest defence strategy demonstrates that Tokyo is getting more active and more assertive in its defence strategy, following
(AFP) – Myanmar authorities have arrested more than 110 Rohingya, including children, for travelling “without official documents” as they tried to make their way to Malaysia, state media reported Friday. A total of 112 people, including a dozen children, were arrested in the southeastern township of Bogale, according to the Global New Light of Myanmar,
The Government of Japan pledges US$2.1m to help migrant children with digital education and food security, to assist their recovery and further safeguard them against sexual abuse, trafficking in persons and exploitation of child labour, said UNESCO on Thursday. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the Government of Japan have announced
The Philippines’ defence ministry on Thursday ordered the military to strengthen its presence in the South China Sea after monitoring “Chinese activities” in disputed waters close to a strategic Philippine-held island. The ministry did not specify what activities those were and its statement follows a report this week of Chinese construction on four uninhabited features in the
A junta court will hear the final arguments in the 18-month-long trial of Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi next week, a legal source said Tuesday, before reaching its final verdicts against the Nobel laureate. Suu Kyi has been a prisoner since the military toppled her government in February 2021, ending the Southeast Asian nation’s brief period of democracy. The junta
A bomb went off at 6.45pm on December 18th on the busy “Cherry” ferry that transports commuters between Dala Township and the downtown Pansodan Port in Yangon. A passenger on board said that, despite it being a relatively small explosion, at least 10 people were hurt. “Luckily, I was on deck when it happened. It
Thailand has invited interested members of ASEAN to join an open-ended consultative meeting on the situation in Myanmar on December 22nd. The informed source, who asked not to be identified because he is not authorised to speak, said that the meeting is not an ASEAN meeting. “It is a Thai initiative to update and exchange
While the international community has put in a lot of effort into resolving the political crisis in Myanmar after General Min Aung Hlaing’s coup last year, Thailand in contrast has tried to maintain the status quo, including good relations with the junta as usual. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, also a former coup architect in Thailand,
