Regional news from Southeast Asia in English — ASEAN politics, economy and diplomacy, covered by Thai PBS World.
Yangon (AFP) – Myanmar will release more than 5,000 people jailed for protesting against a February coup which ousted the civilian government, the country’s junta chief said Monday. A total of 5,636 prisoners will be freed to mark the Thadingyut festival later in October, Min Aung Hlaing said, days after he was excluded from a
Oct 18 (Reuters) – Myanmar’s shadow government, formed by opponents of ruling military, welcomed on Monday the exclusion of junta leader Min Aung Hlaing from an upcoming regional summit, but said it should be the legitimate representative. However, the opposition said it would accept inviting a truly neutral alternative Myanmar representative, as decided over the
MANILA, Oct 3 (Reuters) – Hundreds of animal lovers in the Philippines had their pets blessed via a drive–through ceremony on Sunday to mark World Animal Day and the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, forgoing the usual fanfare due to COVID-19. This was the second straight year that organisers had to hold a drive–through ceremony to mark World Animal
In the strongest sign of its frustration with the continuing crisis in Myanmar, ASEAN foreign ministers have decided not to invite the country’s junta leader Gen Min Aung Hlaing to the upcoming leader summit of the grouping later this month. According to a statement released today by the ASEAN chair Brunei Darussalam, the ASEAN ministers
Brunei said on Saturday a non-political representative from Myanmar will be invited to an upcoming summit of leaders from Southeast Asian countries this month, effectively sidelining the leader of a military junta that seized power earlier this year. Brunei, the current chair of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian nations, said the decision was made
Yangon (AFP) – The chief lawyer for ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi said Friday he had been banned by the junta from speaking to journalists, diplomats or international organisations. The gag order came after he relayed vivid testimony from the country’s deposed president Win Myint — describing how he rejected a military offer to
More than 2,400 vaccinated travelers from eight countries like the UK, France, and the US are now approved to enter Singapore without quarantine, from next Tuesday. Applications under these new Vaccinated Travel Lanes opened Wednesday. One of the travelers approved is a British citizen Daniel Emlyn-Jones. He said he is planning to feast on Singapore’s
Thailand’s Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) is 0.002, the lowest among all the ASEAN countries, according to a new report released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) today (Wednesday). The low index, compared to those of Myanmar (0.176), Cambodia (0.170), Laos (0.108), the Philippines (0.024), Viet
MANILA (Reuters) – Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte’s office on Monday congratulated journalist Maria Ressa for winning the Nobel Peace Prize, calling it “a victory for a Filipina” for which it was happy to see. Ressa, founder of Philippine news site Rappler, and Dmitry Muratov shared the 2021 prize after braving the wrath of the leaders of the Philippines and Russia to
Myanmar’s envoy to the United Nations, Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, has vowed to continue in the post and to carry on seeking international support for democratization of his home country. Speaking with the Japanese news agency NHK at the UN mission in New York, Kyaw Moe Tun said that, if he retains his post, his
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The son and namesake of Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who was toppled in a 1986 pro-democracy uprising, registered his candidacy Wednesday for next year’s presidential elections, sparking a protest by activists who angrily recalled the widespread human rights atrocities that marked the martial law era under his late father. Former senator
It becomes clearer by the day that Myanmar’s military regime, headed by Senior Gen Min Aung Hlaing, is moving painfully slowly towards the implementation of the five-point consensus agreed in April. Eight months have now elapsed and Naypyidaw has accomplished very little toward the agreed objectives. This has created a big headache for the rest
