Southeast Asia

19 killed in fire, fight between rivals in Indonesia's karaoke bar

At least 19 people have died after a karaoke bar in Indonesia's West Papua was set ablaze following a brawl between rival gangs of youths in the area, police in the provincial capital of Sorong said on Tuesday.
25 January 2022, 15:43 PM

Mahathir admitted to hospital again

Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, 96, has been admitted to a specialist heart hospital for the third time in the space of a few weeks, a spokesperson said yesterday.
22 January 2022, 18:00 PM

3 arrested as Myanmar military cracks down yet again on media

Myanmar's military has arrested three people working for the independent news portal Dawei Watch, an editor at the publication said on Thursday (January 20), the latest detentions under a media crackdown that has occurred since last year's coup.
20 January 2022, 16:02 PM

Genocide against Rohingyas: ICJ to hold public hearings Feb 21-28

The International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of the UN, is scheduled to hold public hearings of the case concerning genocide against the Rohingyas in Myanmar, from February 21-28.
19 January 2022, 13:52 PM

Autocracies outdo democracies

Public trust in governments running the world’s democracies has fallen to new lows over their handling of the pandemic and amid a widespread sense of economic pessimism, a global survey has found. 
18 January 2022, 18:00 PM

Indonesia passes law to move capital from Jakarta to jungled Borneo

Indonesia's parliament has approved a bill to relocate the nation's capital from Jakarta to Kalimantan on Borneo, House Speaker Puan Maharani said on Tuesday.
18 January 2022, 12:19 PM

North Korea fires two more ballistic missiles

North Korea fired two suspected short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) yesterday from an airport in its capital city of Pyongyang, South Korea’s military reported, the fourth test this month to demonstrate its expanding missile arsenal.  
17 January 2022, 18:00 PM

Taliban dismiss 3,000 members

The Taliban have dismissed about 3,000 members accused of abusive practices from its hardline Islamist movement in a widespread “vetting process” launched since coming to power, an official said Saturday.
16 January 2022, 18:00 PM

Suu Kyi must be involved: Manila

Deposed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi is “indispensable” in restoring democracy to the military-ruled country and must be included in any peace talks, regardless of her conviction, the Philippines’ foreign minister said yesterday.
16 January 2022, 18:00 PM

S’pore PM backs continued exclusion of Myanmar junta

Singapore’s leader said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) should continue excluding Myanmar’s junta from its meeting until it cooperates on an agreed peace plans.
15 January 2022, 18:00 PM

Myanmar junta hits Suu Kyi with five new charges

A Myanmar junta court has hit ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi with five new corruption charges related to the alleged hiring and purchase of a helicopter, sources close to the case told AFP.
15 January 2022, 18:00 PM

N Korea fires two ballistic missiles

North Korea fired at least two ballistic missiles yesterday, its third test in less than two weeks, just hours after criticising a US push for new sanctions over the previous launches as a “provocation” and warning of a strong reaction.
14 January 2022, 18:00 PM

Unfreeze Afghan funds

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged the United States and the World Bank to unfreeze Afghan funds, locked since the Taliban’s return to power, to prevent “the nightmare unfolding in Afghanistan” from getting worse.
14 January 2022, 18:00 PM

Myanmar Junta ordered personnel not to respond to ICC summons: Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK

Myanmar junta has ordered all military personnel not to answer letters related to arrest warrants or summons from the International Criminal Court (ICC) or the Argentinian judiciary on the human rights violation of the Rohingyas and other communities in the country, according to Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK).
14 January 2022, 05:34 AM

Woman flogged 100 times, partner gets 15 lashes for adultery in Indonesian

An Indonesian woman has been flogged 100 times in Aceh province for adultery while the male involved, who denied the accusations, received just 15 lashes.
14 January 2022, 03:35 AM

Singaporean charged with bribing nurse to record he had received second vaccine jab

A 34-year-old man was on Thursday (Jan 13) charged in a district court with attempting to bribe a nurse to falsely record that he had received his second vaccination dose.
13 January 2022, 04:38 AM

N Korea fires 2nd missile in a week

North Korea fired a suspected ballistic missile into the sea yesterday, with South Korea’s military warning the second such weapons test in less than a week showed clear signs of progress.
11 January 2022, 18:00 PM

‘Cambodian PM’s rogue diplomacy a threat to ASEAN, Myanmar’

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's official visit to Myanmar, his meeting with the self-declared State Administration Council leader Min Aung Hlaing, and their joint press statement, are a "brazen and dangerous" attempt to seize the initiative away from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (ASEAN's) collective approach to the crisis in Myanmar, says a rights body today.
10 January 2022, 06:51 AM

Suu Kyi hit with new convictions, jailed for 4 more years

A Myanmar junta court on Monday convicted Aung San Suu Kyi of three criminal charges, sentencing her to four years in prison in the latest in a slew of cases against the ousted civilian leader.
10 January 2022, 05:44 AM

Taliban arrest Afghan professor after criticism

A prominent Afghan university professor who openly criticised the Taliban’s hardline regime has been arrested in Kabul, a spokesman for the government said.
9 January 2022, 18:00 PM