ASEAN IN FOCUS

Deadly Indonesia church suicide bombings committed by one family

by Juni Kriswanto Agence France Presse SURABAYA, Indonesia (AFP) — A family of six including two young daughters staged suicide bombings at three Indonesian churches during Sunday services, killing at least 13 people and wounding dozens in attacks claimed by the Islamic State group. The bombings at three churches in Surabaya were Indonesia’s deadliest for years, as the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country grapples with homegrown militancy and rising intolerance towards religious minorities. A further three […]

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Malaysia’s scandal-mired Najib hit with travel ban after poll loss

by Sam Reeves © Agence France-Presse KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia’s scandal-ridden former leader Najib Razak was hit with a travel ban Saturday as speculation mounted he was about to flee the country following his shock election loss, in a possible bid to avoid prosecution over a massive financial scandal. An angry crowd had gathered at a Kuala Lumpur airport, shouting at vehicles and seeking to stop them entering, after Najib tweeted that he was […]

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Indonesian volcano erupts, sparking evacuations

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesian villagers living in the shadow of one of the world’s most active volcanoes fled to safety Friday as the crater erupted, sending a cascade of ash and smoke some 5,000 meters (16,400 feet) into the sky. The government ordered residents living within a five-kilometer (three-mile) radius of Mount Merapi on Java island to leave as ash covered surrounding communities and even reached parts of Yogyakarta, Indonesia’s cultural capital some 30 […]

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Malaysia king agrees to pardon Anwar after opposition election win

by Martin Abbugao Agence France Presse KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia’s king has agreed to pardon jailed opposition figure Anwar Ibrahim, the newly installed prime minister said Friday, in the latest dramatic development after the opposition toppled the long-ruling regime. Anwar’s expected release paves the way for him to be handed power by Mahathir Mohamad, 92, who was sworn in as the world’s oldest leader Thursday following his alliance’s stunning election victory. Mahathir, who […]

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Lightning strikes kill dozens across Bangladesh

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AFP) — Dozens of Bangladeshis were killed in lightning strikes as pre-monsoon thunderstorms wreaked havoc across the South Asian country, an official said Thursday. Farmers harvesting rice in open fields made up the majority of victims, Iftekharul Islam, a director at Bangladesh’s disaster management department, told AFP. “In the last 24 hours, 29 people have died from lightning in 12 districts. Almost all of them are farmers,” he said. Scores of people die […]

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Malaysia’s Najib ‘accepts verdict of the people’ after shock election loss

  Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia’s defeated leader Najib Razak said Thursday he accepted the will of the people after his long-ruling coalition suffered a shock election loss to 92-year-old former strongman Mahathir Mohamad. “I accept the verdict of the people,” the leader, who looked shattered after his coalition’s defeat, said. But he added that because no single party got a majority in parliament, it was up to the king to decide who will […]

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Malaysia’s Mahathir says expects to be sworn in as PM today

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysian veteran ex-leader Mahathir Mohamad, 92, said he expected to be sworn in as prime minister later Thursday after his stunning election win, adding there was an “urgency” for him to take office. “We expect today for me to be sworn in as prime minister,” he told a press conference, addressing concerns over a delay by saying that some “confusion” over the process had now been cleared up. “We hope by […]

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Hanoi demands Beijing withdraw missiles from disputed islands

HANOI, Vietnam (AFP) — Hanoi has demanded Beijing remove military equipment from contested islands in the South China Sea, saying reported missile installations are a “serious violation” of Vietnam’s sovereignty. The warning follows a report from US network CNBC last week that China had installed anti-ship and air-to-air defenses on the Spratly Islands, which are also claimed by Vietnam. China did not confirm the new military equipment but last week affirmed its right to build […]

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Malaysian opposition bets on ‘tsunami’ of Muslim support

by M Jegathesan Agence France Presse KULA PILAH, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia’s opposition hopes a surge of support from disillusioned members of the country’s Muslim majority can carry them to an unlikely victory in Wednesday’s elections. The optimism has been triggered by the decision of 92-year-old former leader Mahathir Mohamad, a champion of the country’s Muslim Malays, to run as the opposition’s prime ministerial candidate. They believe his connection to rural Muslim voters can trigger […]

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Rohingya will be safe in areas ‘designated’ for them: Myanmar army chief

YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — Rohingya refugees who return to Myanmar will be safe as long as they stay in the model villages built for them, the country’s army chief has said, renewing fears they will be kept in settlements indefinitely. Some 700,000 Rohingya Muslims fled Buddhist-majority Myanmar to Bangladesh after the military launched a brutal crackdown on insurgents in August that the US and the UN have called ethnic cleansing. Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed to […]

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Duterte: Southeast Asian leaders emphasized need to honor “sovereign equality, non-interference” in 32nd ASEAN Summit

(Eagle News)–The leaders of Southeast Asian nations reiterated the need to honor “time-honored principles” of  “sovereign equality” and “non-interference” in internal affairs in the 32nd Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit in Singapore. This is according to President Rodrigo Duterte, who spoke upon his arrival in Davao from the summit on Sunday, April 29. He said during the summit, three “key” documents were also adopted to address terrorism and extremist violence, illegal drug trade, and […]

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President Duterte holds bilateral meetings with Vietnam PM, Indonesian President

  President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday, April 27, met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Leaders’ Summit in Singapore. The President together with some of his Cabinet officials first met with Prime Minister Phuc at Ritz-Carlton Millenia Hotel. The Prime Minister congratulated Duterte for the successful Philippine ASEAN chairmanship, stating that its outputs were good foundations for more […]

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