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KUPANG, Indonesia (AFP) — A strong 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck eastern Indonesia on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said, but there was no tsunami warning or immediate reports of damage. The offshore tremor struck at a shallow depth of eight kilometres (five miles), about 100 kilometers southeast of Kupang on the Indonesian portion of Timor island, the USGS said. Witnesses described a powerful jolt that lasted a few seconds. “I was on the second floor […]
YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — A Myanmar court postponed its ruling Monday on whether two Reuters journalists violated a state secrets law while reporting on a massacre of Rohingya Muslims, delaying the decision for a week. Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, have been detained in Myanmar’s infamous Insein prison since December in the case which has ignited a global outcry. The two journalists had been investigating the September 2017 killings of 10 Rohingya Muslims […]
(Eagle News) — The Philippines on Thursday, Aug. 23, reiterated its readiness to extend assistance to Indonesia, following the earthquakes that struck Lombok and that left hundreds dead. “As a neighbor and close friend in (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations), we stand ready to lend a helping hand much like you have done when we were struck with disasters,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano told Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi during his recent official […]
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) – A police crackdown on petty crime in the run-up to the Asian Games in Indonesia has claimed dozens of lives, Amnesty International said Friday, criticizing what it said was an “unnecessary and excessive” campaign. The rights group said at least 31 suspects were killed under a “shoot first and ask questions later” operation in host city Jakarta and South Sumatra in the lead-up to the world’s second-biggest multi-sport event, which kicks […]
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesia’s 2019 presidential race took shape Friday with incumbent Joko Widodo choosing to run alongside a conservative Islamic cleric against controversial ex-general Prabowo Subianto. Widodo, whose down-to-earth style and ambitious infrastructure drive has made him popular with many Indonesians, picked cleric Ma’ruf Amin as his vice presidential nominee. The decision will bolster the president’s Islamic credentials but could be polarizing among more progressive voters. Amin, 75, is the current chairman the […]
by M. Jegathesan Agence France-Presse KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak was hit with new charges Wednesday linked to a multi-billion-dollar financial scandal that contributed to his shock election defeat in May. Appearing at a court in Kuala Lumpur, Najib was charged with three counts of money-laundering over claims he pocketed 42 million ringgit ($10.3 million) from a former unit of scandal-hit sovereign wealth fund 1MDB. These are in […]
TANJUNG, Indonesia (AFP) — The death toll from a shallow 6.9-magnitude earthquake on the Indonesian island of Lombok has risen above 130, officials said Wednesday. “We estimate the death toll of 131 will keep rising,” national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said. © Agence France-Presse
ASEAN and China agree on need for an effective Code of Conduct on South China Sea, he says (Eagle News) – Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said that the Philippines has taken over as country coordinator with China for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) dialogue and will be working for an effective Code of Conduct (COC) on the South China Sea, a flashpoint in the region. “So we are happy to take […]
SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — China and Southeast Asian states held simulated naval exercises this week for the first time, Singapore said Friday, as they seek to lower long-running tensions in disputed waters. The “table-top” exercises at a Singapore naval base came ahead of the first naval drills between the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Beijing, scheduled for October. Four ASEAN states — Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam — […]
by Martin Abbugao / Ayee Macaraig Agence France Presse SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — China wants military exercises and energy exploration with Southeast Asian nations in disputed waters, according to a draft document, but insists on outside countries being excluded in what analysts said was a bid to diminish US influence. Beijing’s suggestions are part of efforts to expand its influence in the South China Sea, which it claims almost entirely, and push back at […]
by Martin Abbugao / Ayee Macaraig Agence France-Presse SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) – The US will urge the international community to keep up sanctions pressure against North Korea at a security forum in Singapore this week, as concerns mount that Pyongyang has made little progress towards denuclearisation. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his North Korean counterpart will attend the gathering in the city-state where US President Donald Trump and the North’s leader Kim Jong Un […]
by Bara Elank Agence France Presse MATARAM, Indonesia (AFP) — More than 500 hikers and guides stranded by landslides on an Indonesian mountain after an earthquake have returned to safety, with some recalling their terror when tonnes of rock cascaded down. The shallow 6.4-magnitude quake, which struck early Sunday on Lombok island and was followed by scores of aftershocks, triggered major landslides on Mount Rinjani, blocking the hiking routes that criss-cross it. Some 800 trekkers […]
