ASEAN IN FOCUS

Kim, Trump arrive in Hanoi ahead of nuclear summit

by Richard CARTER / Sebastian Smith North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump arrived in Hanoi Tuesday, ahead of a second summit closely watched for concrete steps to dismantle Pyongyang’s nuclear programme. After an initial historic meeting in Singapore in June that produced only a vague statement about denuclearisation, analysts say the second date must deliver more in the way of tangible progress. The summit itself is shrouded in secrecy and […]

URGENT: Trump lands in Hanoi for North Korea nuclear summit

US President Donald Trump landed in Hanoi on Tuesday for two days of talks to try to persuade North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to give up his nuclear arsenal. Trump arrived on Air Force One after flying half way around the world from Washington, while Kim arrived earlier, following a two-and-a-half-day train journey from Pyongyang. They were due to have dinner Wednesday and continue talks on Thursday. sms/slb/rma © Agence France-Presse

LOOK: Kim arrives ahead of Trump meet

LANG SON, Vietnam (AFP) — A jovial North Korean leader Kim Jong Un grins and waves as he walks the red carpet from a Vietnamese rail station, and heads to Hanoi for the much anticipated second summit with US President Donald Trump. https://youtu.be/aA3hbeXeD2I

Kim arrives for nuclear summit with Trump after marathon train trip

by Quy Le BUI Agence France Presse DONG DANG, Vietnam (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un crossed into Vietnam Tuesday after a marathon train journey for a second summit showdown with Donald Trump, with the world looking for concrete progress over the North’s nuclear programme. Following a historic first meeting in Singapore in June that produced a vaguely worded statement about Kim’s nuclear arsenal, analysts say the second summit in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi […]

North Korean leader’s train arrives in China

by Matthew Knight and  Claire Lee North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s armoured train arrived in China late Saturday ahead of his highly anticipated second summit with US President Donald Trump in Vietnam, according to media reports. The train arrived in the border city of Dandong after 9:00 pm local time (1300 GMT), according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency and the specialist outlet NK News. Official North Korean news agency KCNA confirmed Kim’s departure […]

Vietnam readying for Kim train arrival next week: sources

Vietnamese authorities are preparing for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to arrive by train next week ahead of his summit with US president Donald Trump, several sources told AFP Friday. The leaders are slated to meet in Hanoi on February 27-28 to follow up on their first meeting last June in Singapore that ended with vaguely worded commitments on dismantling Pyongyang’s nuclear program. Sources told AFP that Kim was expected to arrive by train […]

Pompeo to visit Philippines amid China flirtation

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will travel next week to the Philippines, the State Department said Friday, as the former US colony increasingly flirts with regional giant China. Pompeo will travel to Manila on February 28 and March 1 for talks with President Rodrigo Duterte, State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said. The top US diplomat will be paying the visit on his way back from Hanoi where he is joining President Donald Trump for […]

Myanmar court sentences two to death for Muslim lawyer’s murder

by Hla-Hla HTAY Agence France Presse YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — A Myanmar court Friday sentenced two people to death for the murder of a Muslim lawyer and Aung San Suu Kyi advisor, after a drawn-out trial backlit by allegations of impunity with a main suspect still at large. Ko Ni, whose work and faith made him a target of hate speech online by Buddhist nationalists, was shot in the head at point blank range outside […]

Malaysia makes record 30-tonne pangolin seizure

Malaysian authorities have made a record seizure of about 30 tonnes of pangolins and their scales worth some $2 million in raids on major processing facilities, police and environmentalists said Tuesday. The haul included about 1,800 boxes full of frozen pangolins stuffed inside three refrigerated containers, 572 more frozen pangolins in six freezers, 61 live pangolins in cages, and 361 kilogrammes (795 pounds) of pangolin scales, according to police. The Southeast Asian nation is battling […]

Toppled Malaysian leader’s 1MDB trial delayed

Former Malaysian premier Najib Razak’s trial over a massive financial scandal that contributed to his government’s downfall was postponed Monday, in a blow to slow-moving efforts to bring the disgraced politician to justice. Najib had been due to go on trial Tuesday for the first time over allegations linked to his involvement in the looting of Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB in a fraud that reverberated around the world. Billions of dollars were allegedly stolen […]

Thai princess disqualified from list of candidates for PM

Thai Princess Ubolratana was on Monday formally disqualified for running for prime minister, ending her brief and ill-fated political union with a party allied to the powerful Shinawatra clan, just days after a stern royal command rebuking her candidacy was issued by her brother, the king. Uncertainty and conjecture have coursed through Thailand since Friday when the Thai Raksa Chart party made the explosive announcement of Princess Ubolratana, King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s elder sister, as their […]

Refugee footballer makes triumphant return to Australia

Refugee footballer Hakeem al-Araibi made a triumphant return to Australia Tuesday, ending a two month ordeal that saw him jailed in Thailand and threatened with forced return to his native Bahrain. A throng of well wishers decked in #SAVEHAKEEM T-shirts cheered and sang the football anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone” as they greeted the 25-year-old defender at Melbourne Airport, after an overnight flight to freedom aboard Thai Airways flight 465. “I want to thank Australia” […]