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JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesia confirmed its 100,000th coronavirus case on Monday as the Red Cross warned that the health crisis in the world’s fourth most populous country risked “spiralling out of control”. The vast archipelago — home to more than a quarter of a billion people — has been recording 1,000-plus new infections daily after relaxing movement restrictions this month in a bid to head off a collapse of Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. As […]
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesia on Monday jailed two top leaders of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) — an Al-Qaeda-linked extremist group behind the 2002 Bali bombings — on terror charges linked to sending militants to fight in Syria. JI leader Para Wijayanto and deputy Budi Trikaryanto were handed seven and six-and-a-half year sentences, respectively, at a Jakarta court hearing done by videoconference due to coronavirus concerns. “The defendants prepared cadres to go to Syria as well […]
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia’s prime minister narrowly won a vote to remove the parliament speaker during a rowdy session of the legislature Monday, a key test of support for the embattled leader. The Southeast Asian nation has been gripped by turmoil since a reformist government collapsed in February and Muhyiddin Yassin became premier, at the head of a coalition backed by a scandal-plagued party. He took power without an election, and there […]
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — A 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia’s Java island early Tuesday, the United States Geological Survey said. The strong quake hit at a depth of more than 500 kilometers (300 miles), the USGS said, adding that there was “a low likelihood of casualties and damage”. The quake struck 100 kilometers off the city of Batang around sunrise (2254 GMT Monday). The Southeast Asian archipelago experiences frequent seismic and volcanic […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Two US aircraft carriers have carried out drills in the South China Sea, a US Navy spokesman said Saturday, after the Pentagon expressed concerns over Chinese military exercises around a disputed archipelago. The USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan conducted dual carrier operations in the waterway to “support a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the spokesman said. “These efforts support enduring US commitments to stand up for the right of all nations […]
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — An Indonesian province declared a state of emergency Wednesday as officials said they had pinpointed hundreds of spots at risk of erupting into smog-belching forest fires that plague the region every year. Central Kalimantan on Borneo island was ravaged last year by fires blamed for blanketing swathes of Southeast Asia in toxic haze. Last year’s blazes were the worst since 2015 due to dry weather, with around 1.6 million hectares (3.95 […]
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Mask-wearing pupils catching up with friends at one Bangkok high school were quickly told to spread out as they headed back to lessons on Wednesday after months of distance learning due to coronavirus restrictions. The teenagers, resuming classes along with all other public school students in the kingdom, chatted animatedly before being called to sit in widely spaced rows for the opening session. The school principal, Arwuth Meekhanphet, warned them all […]
HANOI, Vietnam (AFP) — Vietnam on Friday warned the virus pandemic had swept away years of economic gains as Southeast Asia leaders met online for a summit that will also be dominated by anxiety over Beijing’s moves in the flashpoint the South China Sea. The current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) also wants to use the summit to inject momentum into talks on a sprawling China-backed trade pact, the Regional Comprehensive […]
LHOKSEUMAWE, Indonesia (AFP) — Nearly 100 Rohingya asylum seekers stranded off the coast of Indonesia were pulled to shore Thursday by locals angered at the refusal of authorities to give them shelter over coronavirus fears. Some 94 people from the persecuted Myanmar minority — including 30 children — were reportedly plucked from a rickety wooden boat by fishermen this week before being intercepted by maritime officials from Sumatra island who pulled them closer to shore. […]
(Eagle News) — ASEAN Leaders are set to convene at the 36th ASEAN Summit via teleconference Friday, June 26, to “discuss how to further strengthen cooperation on public health emergencies and put in place a robust post-pandemic recovery plan.” The ASEAN Chair for this year is Prime Minister of Viet Nam, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who will preside over the opening ceremony of the Summit. He will be joined by Leaders of other ASEAN Member […]
SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — The Singapore prime minister’s estranged brother said Wednesday he has joined an opposition party ahead of elections next month, presenting a new challenge to the country’s long-ruling government. The city-state’s parliament was dissolved Tuesday for a general election on July 10, even as the country struggles to recover from a major coronavirus outbreak that has swept through migrant worker dormitories. Lee Hsien Yang is locked in a long-running row with his […]
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — A 5.9 magnitude earthquake jolted Indonesia’s Sulawesi island on Tuesday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said, but there was no tsunami warning or immediate reports of damage. The strong offshore quake struck at a relatively deep 102 kilometres (63 miles). The epicentre was some 97.5 kilometres east south-east of Gorontalo city in North Sulawesi, according to USGS. Shallow quakes tend to cause more damage than deeper ones. The Southeast Asian […]
