ASEAN IN FOCUS

Many dozens of Rohingya, including children, killed in drone attack while fleeing Myanmar, witnesses say

By Shoon Naing, Poppy McPherson and Devjyot Ghoshal BANGKOK (Reuters) -A drone attack on Rohingya fleeing Myanmar killed many dozens of people, including families with children, several witnesses said, describing survivors wandering between piles of bodies to identify dead and injured relatives. Four witnesses, activists and a diplomat described drone attacks on Monday that struck down families waiting to cross the border into neighbouring Bangladesh. A heavily pregnant woman and her 2-year-old daughter were among […]

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Meta says Malaysian PM Anwar’s posts on Haniyeh assassination were removed in error

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) -Meta Platforms apologised on Tuesday for erroneously removing Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s social media posts in which he expressed condolences to a Hamas official about the assassination of the group’s leader Ismail Haniyeh. Meta was sorry for “an operational error”, adding that the content had been restored with “the correct newsworthy label,” a Meta spokesperson told Reuters. The U.S. social media giant designates Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement that governs Gaza, […]

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Magnitude 6.7 earthquake strikes off Mindanao, Philippines, GFZ says

(Reuters) -An earthquake of magnitude 6.7 struck off the eastern shore of the island of Mindanao in the Philippines on Saturday, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) said. The quake was at a depth of 10 km (6.21 miles), GFZ said. The U.S. Geological Survey said pegged the magnitude at 6.8. The U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center said that there was no tsunami threat from the earthquake. Philippine seismology agency PHIVOLCS said in an […]

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Myanmar’s junta terrorised a Rohingya Muslim town. Then rebels burned it down

By Ruma Paul, Shoon Naing, Wa Lone, Poppy McPherson and Devjyot Ghoshal (Reuters) – Saifur Rahman woke up to screams. In the darkness, the air reeked of fuel. Flames blazed in the distance. The town of Buthidaung in Rakhine state, Myanmar’s largest settlement of minority Rohingya, was on fire and under attack. “All I could see was fire,” said the 30-year-old Rohingya. “We knew something bad could happen but never imagined this.” When the fires […]

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US pledges funds to boost Philippine defences amid China disputes

By Simon Lewis and Karen Lema MANILA (Reuters) -The United States on Tuesday pledged funding of $500 million for the Philippines‘ military and coast guard in a big show of support for Manila as it faces Chinese actions in disputed waters in the South China Sea. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met their Philippine counterparts in Manila to reaffirm Washington’s unwavering commitment to its oldest treaty ally in Asia. “This […]

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Philippines says China ‘mischaracterised’ South China Sea resupply mission deal

  MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines’ foreign ministry accused China on Sunday of ‘mischaracterising’ an arrangement between them that allowed the unimpeded resupply of Filipino troops stationed on a beached naval vessel in the South China Sea. After repeated clashes in the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, the two countries reached a “provisional arrangement” earlier this month on resupply missions to soldiers stationed at the Sierra Madre, a naval vessel Manila deliberately grounded in 1999 to […]

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Blinken chides Beijing’s ‘escalating actions’ at sea, concerned over Taiwan

VIENTIANE (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticised Beijing’s “escalating and unlawful actions” in the South China Sea at a summit on Saturday, while his Russian counterpart said Washington has stoked anxiety with its plan for a nuclear deterrence with ally Seoul for the Korean peninsula. Blinken singled out China over its coast guard’s hostile actions against U.S. defence treaty ally the Philippines in the South China Sea. But he also lauded the two […]

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Australia signs $1.4 billion deal to upgrade navy submarines

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia said on Saturday it had signed a A$2.2 billion ($1.4 billion) four-year contract with state-owned submarine builder ASC to upgrade the navy’s Collins class submarines. The “sustainment contract” is part of a government pledge to keep the diesel-electric powered Collins-class fleet “a potent strike and deterrence capability”, Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said in a statement. The contract will be “directly ensuring job security for more than 1,100 highly skilled workers”, […]

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China’s foreign minister warns Philippines over US missile deployment

BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has warned the Philippines over the U.S. intermediate-range missile deployment, saying such a move could fuel regional tensions and spark an arms race. The United States deployed its Typhon missile system to the Philippines as part of joint military drills earlier this year. It was not fired during the exercises, a Philippine military official later said, without giving details on how long it would stay in the […]

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Philippine Coast Guard to deploy floating barriers to contain oil spill

By Faith Brown with Pam Castro in Manila LIMAY, Philippines, July 26, 2024 (AFP) – The Philippine Coast Guard planned Friday to deploy oil dispersant and floating barriers a day after a tanker carrying 1.4 million litres of industrial fuel sank off Manila. AFP journalists at the Port of Limay in Bataan province watched coast guard personnel preparing equipment for a boat to be used against the slick in Manila Bay. The MT Terra Nova […]

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Philippines says tanker carrying 1.4 million litres of oil capsizes in Manila Bay

MANILA, July 25, 2024 (AFP) – A Philippine-flagged tanker carrying 1.4 million litres of industrial fuel oil capsized and sank off Manila on Thursday, authorities said, as they sought to contain a spill stretching several kilometres. The MT Terra Nova had been heading for the central city of Iloilo when it sank in Manila Bay, nearly seven kilometres (4.3 miles) off Limay municipality in Bataan province, near the capital, in the early hours. Strong winds […]

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President Marcos urges swift relief as Typhoon Carina and monsoon batter the Philippines

Manila, July 24, 2024 – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has urged government agencies to prioritize assistance to isolated areas affected by Typhoon Carina (international name: Gaemi) and the intensified southwest monsoon, known locally as “habagat,” which continue to bring heavy rains to parts of the country. In a briefing held at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, Marcos commended the government’s response efforts thus far. He instructed the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) […]

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