ASEAN IN FOCUS

Philippines detains nearly 600 in anti-trafficking raid

MANILA, Oct 30, 2023 (AFP) – Philippine police have detained nearly 600 people during a raid on a suspected sex trafficking and online scam operation in Manila, authorities said Saturday. Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Filipino nationals were among the people found inside the compound during Friday night’s operation, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) said in a statement. Authorities were interviewing 598 detainees to determine who was a victim or suspect, Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla […]

Continue Reading →

95 arrested in Myanmar scam operation raids

  YANGON, Oct 28, 2023 (AFP) – Myanmar police arrested 95 people during raids this week on an online scam operation in the commercial hub of Yangon, authorities said. The country has been in chaos since a military coup in February 2021, with criminal syndicates taking advantage of the lawlessness to run scam centres, particularly in border regions. Authorities arrested a total of 95 people at three addresses in Yangon on Thursday — most of […]

Continue Reading →

Indonesia sentences Iranian drug gang to death

JAKARTA, Oct 27, 2023 (AFP) – An Indonesian court on Friday handed death sentences to eight Iranian drug traffickers found guilty of smuggling more than 300 kilograms of crystal meth into the Southeast Asian country. Indonesia has some of the world’s toughest anti-drug laws but has held off conducting executions for several years. A judge in Banten province on Java island ordered that all eight men be executed by firing squad for the gang’s role […]

Continue Reading →

Myanmar nationals ask Philippines to probe alleged war crimes

MANILA, Oct 25, 2023 (AFP) – Five Myanmar nationals asked the Philippines on Wednesday to investigate alleged war crimes committed by 10 serving or former members of Myanmar’s military against the mainly Chin minority. Filipino lawyers representing the Myanmar nationals told reporters they lodged the “landmark” criminal complaint against junta chief Min Aung Hlaing and nine others at the Department of Justice in Manila. They asked prosecutors to open an investigation into alleged war crimes […]

Continue Reading →

Four South Korean tourists killed in Vietnam floods

HANOI, Oct 24, 2023 (AFP) – Four South Korean tourists were killed Tuesday in Vietnam’s Central Highlands after their car was swept away by rising floodwater following days of heavy rain, state media said. The accident took place around midday in Dalat, a picturesque city popular with holidaymakers, when the tourists’ jeep tried to cross a swollen stream. The water had “suddenly risen high” after three days of continuous rainfall in the mountainous Lam Dong […]

Continue Reading →

Manila says Chinese vessels ‘intentionally’ hit Philippine boats

MANILA, Oct 23, 2023 (AFP) – Manila said Monday that Chinese vessels “intentionally hit” Philippine boats at the weekend, escalating a diplomatic row over two collisions in the South China Sea. The countries have traded blame over Sunday’s incidents near Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands, with both sides filing diplomatic protests and releasing videos to support their accusations. The two collisions happened during a Philippine resupply mission to troops stationed on a navy […]

Continue Reading →

Gulf-ASEAN summit calls for permanent ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza

(AFP) – Gulf and Southeast Asian leaders on Friday condemned attacks on civilians in the Gaza Strip and called for a permanent ceasefire, according to a statement published after a summit meeting. The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) also called for the release of some 200 hostages held by Hamas militants, as well as the restoration of basic services for Palestinians and the delivery of humanitarian […]

Continue Reading →

Maritime spat escalates: Philippines and China lodge protests after South China Sea collisions

By Pam Castro with Peter Catterall in Beijing MANILA, Oct 23, 2023 (AFP) – Manila summoned Beijing’s ambassador and China lodged a complaint on Monday in a growing spat over two collisions between Philippine and Chinese vessels in the disputed South China Sea. The countries have traded blame over Sunday’s incidents near Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands, with both sides filing diplomatic protests and releasing videos to support their accusations. The two collisions […]

Continue Reading →

China and Philippines point fingers over South China Sea collisions

By Cecil Morella with Sebastien Ricci in Beijing MANILA, Oct 22, 2023 (AFP) – Beijing and Manila traded blame for two collisions Sunday between Chinese vessels and Philippine boats on a resupply mission to Filipino troops on a remote outpost in the disputed South China Sea. The incidents happened near Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands, a hotly contested region where Beijing deploys ships to assert its claims over almost the entire sea. A […]

Continue Reading →
1 … 33 34 35 36 37 … 229