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LABUAN BAJO, Indonesia, May 10, 2023 (AFP) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo called Wednesday for “unity” among Southeast Asian nations, as they come under growing pressure to end the violence ravaging Myanmar or risk irrelevance. Turmoil in junta-ruled Myanmar has dominated talks at this week’s Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Indonesia, as the regional bloc faces criticism for its perceived inaction. ASEAN has led diplomatic attempts to resolve the crisis, but […]
By Martin Abbugao and Allison Jackson Agence France-Presse LABUAN BAJO, Indonesia (AFP) — Junta-ruled Myanmar is set to dominate a meeting of Southeast Asian nations in Indonesia starting Tuesday, after an airstrike on a village last month reportedly killed at least 170 people. Myanmar has been ravaged by deadly violence since a military coup deposed Aung San Suu Kyi’s government more than two years ago and unleashed a bloody crackdown on dissent. The Association […]
SINGAPORE, May 8, 2023 (AFP) – A bill which will allow Singapore authorities to remove apps was introduced in parliament Monday to provide police with broad powers to combat malicious online crime and scams. If passed, the “Online Criminal Harms Bill” could among other things require app stores to remove an app from Singapore storefronts as well as demand online service providers to disable specified content. Such orders could be given “when there is […]
YANGON, May 8, 2023 (AFP) – A convoy of diplomats travelling in Myanmar came under fire from an unknown armed group, a military official and a diplomat said Monday. Myanmar has been in turmoil since a military coup deposed Aung San Suu Kyi’s administration in February 2021. On Sunday a convoy of several vehicles travelling in Taunggyi township in eastern Myanmar’s Shan State was attacked by an unknown armed group, a foreign diplomat based in […]
HANOI, May 7, 2023 (AFP) – Vietnam reported a record high temperature late Saturday with a north-central weather station measuring 44.1 degrees Celsius (111.38 degrees Fahrenheit), officials said, breaking a previous high set in 2019. South Asia has been sweltering under a heatwave for much of April, with neighbouring countries also registering record temperatures. Vietnam’s weather varies from north to south, but the entire country is now entering its hottest summer months. The record temperature […]
YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — Myanmar’s junta on Wednesday announced it had pardoned more than 2,000 prisoners jailed under a law that criminalizes encouraging dissent against the military. The military pardoned “2,153 prisoners serving sentences under Penal Code 505 (a) to mark Kasone Full Moon Day”, a Buddhist festival, the junta said in a statement. The law — which carries a maximum three-year jail term — has been widely used in the junta’s crackdown on dissent […]
Singapore is expected to post slower economic growth this year but it “should avoid an outright contraction”, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Sunday. The Southeast Asian city-state’s economic performance is often seen as a barometer of the global environment because of its reliance on trade with the rest of the world. The financial centre also has one of the busiest ports in the world which serves as a key link between Asia and the […]
WASHINGTON, April 29, 2023 (AFP) – The United States called on China Saturday to stop “provocative and unsafe conduct” in the disputed South China Sea after a recent near-collision with a Philippines coast guard boat there, ramping up rhetoric ahead of a visit by the Filipino president to the White House. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, in a statement two days before President Joe Biden is to host his Philippine counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr., said […]
Beijing, China | AFP | China said Friday that a near-collision in the South China Sea between a Chinese coast guard ship and a Philippine patrol vessel carrying journalists was caused by the latter’s “premeditated and provocative action”. The near-miss off the Spratly Islands on Sunday was the latest in a long string of incidents between China and the Philippines in the contested waterway. Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, ignoring […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan should sanction Myanmar as it has done for Russia over its Ukraine invasion, a United Nations expert said Thursday, slamming the junta’s “barbarism and oppression”. Thomas Andrews, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, also urged Japan to immediately end a training program for Myanmar troops, warning it was tarnishing the image of the country’s military. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military ousted civilian leader Aung […]
ABOARD THE BRP MALABRIGO , April 27, 2023 (AFP) – A Chinese coast guard ship cut off a Philippine patrol vessel carrying journalists in the disputed South China Sea, causing a near-collision, an AFP team on board another boat saw. The near-miss off the Spratly Islands on Sunday was the latest in a steady string of incidents between China and the Philippines in the contested waterway. AFP was one of several media outlets invited to […]
Padang, Indonesia | AFP | Tuesday 4/25/2023 A 7.1-magnitude earthquake rattled residents on islands west of Indonesia’s Sumatra on Tuesday, forcing them to flee to higher ground before an hours-long tsunami warning was lifted. The epicentre of the quake, which struck at 3 am (2000 GMT Monday), was in the sea near the Mentawai islands at a depth of 15.5 kilometres (more than 9 miles), the United States Geological Survey said. No casualties or severe […]
