ASEAN IN FOCUS

President Duterte to attend ASEAN Leaders’ gathering in Bali, Indonesia

(Eagle News) – President Rodrigo Duterte will be attending the ASEAN Leaders’ Gathering that will be held in Bali, Indonesia on October 11, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs. This was announced by Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for ASEAN Affairs Junever Mahilum-West on Monday, October 8 in a press briefing in Malacañang. “Among the activities, the ASEAN leaders will have two major engagements. They will hold the ASEAN Leaders Gathering proper in the afternoon […]

US Indo-Pacific Command chief visits the PHL

  The Commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (Indo-PACOM), Admiral Philip Davidson, visited the Philippines for the annual Mutual Defense Board and Security Engagement Board (MDB-SEB) on September 25 to 28, reinforcing the longstanding U. S.-Philippine alliance. The trip marks his first visit to the Philippines as Indo-PACOM commander. The annual MDB-SEB coordinates the framework for defense and security cooperation between the U.S. and Philippine militaries. While in the Philippines, Adm. Davidson met with Executive […]

ASEAN countries seek to forge stronger ties against terrorism

The two-day 2018 Southeast Asia Counter-Terrorism Symposium started on Thursday, October 4 at the Raffles City Convention Center in Singapore, which aims to discuss ways towards greater concerted efforts against terrorism. With the theme “2018 Southeast Asia Counter-Terrorism Symposium: A collective approach,” the seminar intends to examine building societal resilience against terrorism, applying appropriate counter-measures against the region’s increasingly militarized terror networks, employing advanced technologies, and exploring areas of cooperation to enhance ASEAN’s collective capacity […]

Last-ditch search for survivors as Indonesia disaster toll tops 1,500

by Andrew Beatty Agence France Presse PALU, Indonesia (AFP) — Search teams made desperate last-ditch efforts Friday to find survivors, a week on from Indonesia’s devastating quake-tsunami, as the death toll from the disaster rose above 1,500. The city of Palu on Sulawesi island has been left in ruins after being hit by a 7.5 magnitude quake and a wall of water, which flattened homes, ripped up trees and overturned cars. After days of delays, […]

ASEAN Agriculture Summit 2018: Shaping the Future of Food Security and Agriculture

EBC reports on the analysis of experts on the Philippine agriculture as compared to its ASEAN neighbors. The various experts served as resource speakers in the ASEAN Agriculture Summit of 2018 which was held on October 1, 2018, which was held at the SMX Convention Center, Pasay City. On its second run, the ASEAN Agriculture Summit 2018 is the next step in bringing together various stakeholders of the diverse Agriculture ecosystem at a summit that […]

Amal Clooney appeals to Suu Kyi for reporters’ release

  Prominent human rights lawyer Amal Clooney appealed to Aung San Suu Kyi on Friday over a pardon for two Reuters journalists imprisoned in Myanmar, saying the Nobel laureate held the key to their release. The two fathers, accused of breaching Myanmar’s state secrets law while reporting on a massacre of Rohingya Muslims, were jailed for seven years earlier this month, fueling international outrage. Clooney said the journalists’ families had already submitted a request for […]

Bangladesh kids turn the tide on climate change aboard floating schools

by Sam Jahan Agence France Presse CHALAN BEEL, Bangladesh (AFP) — Mosammat Rekha’s older cousins grew up unable to read and write, their tiny village so frequently cut off from the nearest school by floods that would rise suddenly in their remote corner of disaster-prone Bangladesh. But seven-year-old Mosammat is learning her ABCs aboard a boat fitted with a classroom and play equipment that is helping children thrive even as climate change alters the world […]

Wife of ex-Malaysian leader charged with money laundering

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Rosmah Mansor, the luxury-loving wife of Malaysia’s former prime minister, was Thursday charged with money laundering linked to a multi-billion-dollar scandal that helped bring down his government. The 66-year-old pleaded not guilty to 17 charges of money laundering at a court complex where her husband Najib Razak was also making a separate appearance in connection with the alleged plunder of state funds. Prosecutors sought a 10 million ringgit ($2.4 million) bail […]

Indonesian soldiers ordered to fire on looters in disaster zone

PALU, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesian soldiers have been ordered to fire on people caught looting on the quake and tsunami-struck island of Sulawesi, a colonel said Wednesday, after desperate survivors raided shops for food and water. Police have already arrested dozens of people for looting in the disaster zone around the seaside city of Palu, which has been reduced to rubble. Local military colonel Ida Dewa Agung Hadisaputra told AFP soldiers had now been given […]

UN warns Indonesia quake needs ‘vast’ as toll nears 1,400

by Harry PEARL Agence France Presse PALU, Indonesia (AFP) — Nearly 1,400 people are now known to have died in the quake-tsunami that smashed into Indonesia’s Sulawesi island, with UN officials warning needs are “vast” for both desperate survivors and rescue teams still searching for victims. Almost 200,000 people want urgent help, the UN’s humanitarian office said, among them tens of thousands of children, with an estimated 66,000 homes destroyed or damaged by the 7.5-magnitude […]

Reunited Indonesian couple a rare ray of hope in quake zone

by Harry PEARL Agence France Presse PALU, Indonesia (AFP) — It was two agonizing days of searches through makeshift morgues and hospitals before Azwan found his wife Dewi alive and well after she was swept away in the tsunami that crashed into the Indonesian city of Palu. Recounting the story beside her at a small roadside stall in the quake-hit city, the 38-year-old civil servant struggled to keep his emotions in check, tears welling up […]

UPDATED: Twin quakes hit off Indonesian island of Sumba: USGS

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) —  Two quakes struck in quick succession off the southern coast of Indonesia’s Sumba island on Tuesday morning, the United States Geological Survey said. A shallow and moderately strong 5.9 quake struck at 2359 GMT, around 40 kilometers (25 miles) off Sumba, an island of some 750,000 people. It was followed up some 15 minutes later by a stronger 6.0 magnitude quake in the same area at a depth of 30 kilometers. Sumba […]