(Reuters) – Sixty-six people are feared to have drowned after an overloaded wooden boat carrying 97 illegal immigrants from Indonesia sank off Malaysia’s western coast, Malaysian officials said on Wednesday. The passengers included women and children and the boat was not fit for a sea voyage, said Muhammad Zuri, an official with the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency. “This was an illegal boat and all the passengers were Indonesian,” Zuri told Reuters. Zuri had earlier said […]
Asia
Migrant workers stream across Thailand’s border to Cambodia on crackdown fears
Cambodian workers streamed across the border in Sa Kaew province on Tuesday (June 17), after rumours of a crackdown on illegal immigrants by the new military government. Around 170,000 Cambodian workers have already headed home over the past week, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said, although the exodus is now slowing. IOM Spokesman, Joe Lowry said many are likely to return to Thailand. “The next thing that will happen is people will go […]
Top China diplomat to visit Vietnam in possible thaw over oil rig
(Reuters) – China’s top diplomat will visit Vietnam on Wednesday in a sign the two countries want to ease tensions over China’s deployment of an oil rig in the disputed South China Sea, but experts said there were many obstacles to healing the ruptured relationship. The visit by State Councilor Yang Jiechi, who outranks the foreign minister, will be the highest level direct contact between Beijing and Hanoi since a Chinese state oil company parked […]
Indonesia supports Phl UNCLOS initiative
Indonesia supports the Philippines’ decision to settle its territorial dispute with China through a ruling of the International Tribunal of the Laws of the Sea.
China critizes Phl call for construction freeze; insists rights over parts of west Phl sea
China dismissed Philippines’ call on a hold on all construction activities by the claimant states in the disputed area.
Bilateral talks, set between China and Vietnam this week
A top Chinese official will visit Vietnam regarding China’s deployment of a giant oil rig off Vietnam’s coast.
China sentences three to death for Tiananmen Square attack
(Reuters) – China sentenced three people to death on Monday over a deadly attack at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square last October, state television reported, an incident blamed by the government on Islamist militants. One attacker was given a life sentence, and four others received jail terms ranging from five to 20 years. Five people were killed and 40 hurt when a car plowed into a crowd at the northern edge of Tiananmen Square and burst into flames. Those […]
Beijing hits back at Tokyo
China denies Japanese accusations regarding the near miss incident between Chinese and Japanese military planes, with Beijing saying that it is the Japanese plane that flew abnormally close to a Chinese reconnaissance aircraft.
Japan files diplomatic protest VS China
Japan protests against China after Beijing’s military jets approached a Japanese aircraft.
Hong Kong Vs. China?
Pro-democracy Hong Kong nationals reacted strongly against an official paper from Beijing saying that the city is under the full oversight of Beijing and is not totally autonomous.
Sewol crew faces court; family of victims demand death penalty
15 crew members of MV Sewol that sank last April face trial on charges ranging from homicide to negligence.
Residents of Mosul, Iraq evacuate after militant attacks
More than 100,000 residents of the city of Mosul in Iraq evacuated when Islamist militants attacked, prompting the Iraqi prime minister to urge the parliament to declare a state of emergency. No Filipinos were reported affected by the evacuation.
