Asia
Thai PM vows action on guns after deadly mall shooting
By Thanaporn PROMYAMYAI BANGKOK, Oct 4, 2023 (AFP) – Thailand’s prime minister on Wednesday vowed “preventive measures” after a shooting at a Bangkok shopping mall left two people dead and raised fresh questions about the kingdom’s gun control. Shoppers returned in dribs and drabs as the Siam Paragon mall reopened less than 24 hours after the shooting — Thailand’s third high-profile deadly gun attack in four years. The shooting at one of Bangkok’s biggest, most […]
Three Filipino fishermen dead after boat ‘rammed’ in South China Sea
(Agence France Presse) — Three Filipino fishermen are dead after their boat was “rammed” by a foreign commercial vessel in the South China Sea, the Philippine Coast Guard said on Wednesday. The incident happened before dawn on Monday about 160 kilometres (100 miles) northwest of Scarborough Shoal, off the Philippines’ main island of Luzon. The fishing vessel was moored to a floating device known as a payao, which is used to catch fish. “The mother […]
No new Nipah cases detected in India: WHO
GENEVA, Oct 3, 2023 (AFP) – No new cases of Nipah virus have been detected in India since September 15, the World Health Organization said Tuesday, following an outbreak earlier in the month that caused two deaths. Nipah has no vaccine and a fatality rate ranging from 40 to 75 percent, according to the WHO. From September 12 to 15, India’s health ministry reported six laboratory-confirmed Nipah virus cases, including two deaths, in Kozhikode district […]
ASEAN in Focus – October 3, 2023
TikTok to stop sales in Indonesia after social media transaction ban
JAKARTA, Oct 3, 2023 (AFP) – Short video app TikTok said it will stop transactions on its app in Indonesia from Wednesday after Southeast Asia’s biggest economy banned direct sales on social media platforms last week to protect millions of small businesses. The new regulation is yet another setback for TikTok, which has faced intense scrutiny in the United States and other nations in recent months over users’ data security and the company’s alleged ties […]
DEVELOPING STORY: Three dead in Bangkok mall shooting, attacker arrested
BANGKOK, Oct 3, 2023 (AFP) – Three people were killed and four wounded in a shooting at a major Bangkok shopping mall on Tuesday, with the shooter arrested by police. Multiple videos circulating on social media showed people running from the Siam Paragon mall, one of the Thai capital’s top shopping destinations, which is hugely popular with tourists and locals alike. Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin told reporters the attacker had been apprehended and the situation […]
Japan sees hottest September since records began
TOKYO, Oct 3, 2023 (AFP) – Japan has seen its hottest September since records began 125 years ago, the weather agency said, in a year expected to be the warmest in human history. The scorching September’s average temperature was 2.66 degrees Celsius higher than usual, the Japan Meteorological Agency said on Monday. This was “the highest figure since the start of statistics in 1898”, the agency said in a statement. This year is expected to […]
US, Philippines begin annual drills in disputed South China Sea
MANILA, Oct 2, 2023 (AFP) – The United States and the Philippines launched annual joint naval war games on Monday, days after the latest diplomatic row between Manila and Beijing over the disputed South China Sea. More than a thousand sailors from the two allies are taking part in the annual “Samasama” (Tagalog for Together) anti-submarine, surface and electronic warfare drills off Manila and the south of Luzon, the main island of the Philippines. China’s […]
Indonesia launches Southeast Asia’s first high-speed rail
JAKARTA, Oct 2, 2023 (AFP) – Indonesia launched Southeast Asia’s first high-speed railway on Monday, a delayed, multibillion-dollar project backed by China that President Joko Widodo hailed as “a symbol of our modernisation”. With a top speed of 350 kilometres (220 miles) per hour, the bullet train “Whoosh” can get between the capital Jakarta and Bandung in 45 minutes. The 140 km journey would previously have taken about three hours by train. “The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed […]
UN concerned about arrests of environmental activists in Vietnam
(UN GENEVA, Switzerland) The UN Human Rights Office spokesperson, Jeremy Laurence, has voiced deep concerns regarding the arrest, detention, and sentencing of environmental human rights defenders in Vietnam. Laurence stressed that these concerns encompass both the charges they face and the fairness of their trials. During a recent press briefing, Laurence said, “Yesterday, Hoang Thi Minh Hong became the fifth of six environmental human rights defenders arrested from 2021 to 2023 to be sentenced. She […]
Muizzu: Pro-China winner of Maldives election
MALÉ, Maldives, Sept 30, 2023 (AFP) – The next president of the Maldives is an ardent advocate of Chinese investment who promised to steer the luxury tourism hotspot back towards Beijing’s orbit if he wins. Mohamed Muizzu, 45, roundly defeated incumbent leader Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Saturday and is set to be sworn in on November 17. A British-educated civil engineer, he was an unlikely candidate for the presidency after serving as construction minister […]
