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WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Joe Biden will meet in mid-May with the leaders of Southeast Asian nations, with a likely focus on the rising power of China, the host country announced Saturday. The summit, originally scheduled for March, “will demonstrate the United States’ enduring commitment to ASEAN,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. “It is a top priority for […]
by Martin Abbugao SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — Singapore’s top court Tuesday dismissed a mentally disabled Malaysian man’s last-ditch appeal against a death sentence, with his family saying they were “devastated” and “shocked” by the ruling. Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam was arrested in 2009 for trafficking a small amount of heroin into the city-state, which has some of the world’s toughest drugs laws, and handed a then mandatory death sentence the following year. He was originally scheduled […]
MEDAN, Indonesia (AFP) — Twenty-six passengers reported missing when a fishing boat carrying undocumented migrant workers sank off the coast of Indonesia have been found alive, some after drifting for two days, officials said Monday. Two of the vessel’s 86 passengers, who were seeking work in neighboring Malaysia, were killed when it capsized Saturday, said Rully Ramadhiansyah, spokesman for the Belawan naval base on Sumatra island. The captain and three crew members all survived. “We […]
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — A strong quake struck off the west coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra island early on Monday, sending residents fleeing from their homes, but no damage or victims were reported immediately. The shallow 6.7-magnitude earthquake hit at 4:06 am (2109 GMT) at a depth of 21 kilometres (13 miles), with its epicentre 167 kilometres west of the coastal city of Pariaman, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said. The epicentre was 197 […]
By Ferdinand Patinio Philippine News Agency MANILA – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday suspended its memorandum of agreement (MOA) with online news website Rappler a day after the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) filed a petition before the Supreme Court (SC) seeking to nullify the deal.In a one-page memorandum signed by Comelec acting chair Socorro Inting, all activities in connection with the fact-checking MOA are ordered on hold. “Given the allegations against […]
A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia’s Sumatra island on Friday, the United States Geological Survey said, with residents sent fleeing from their homes. The quake hit the island’s north at a depth of 12 kilometres (7.5 miles), about 70 kilometres from the town of Bukittinggi in West Sumatra province, according to USGS. No tsunami warning was issued and there were no immediate reports of serious damage, but the quake was felt in the neighbouring provinces of […]
HANOI, Vietnam (AFP) — Vietnam will lift coronavirus restrictions on international flights for fully vaccinated passengers from Tuesday, the country’s aviation authority said in a statement. The communist nation has virtually closed itself to the world since March 2020 due to the pandemic, dealing a severe blow to its vital tourism sector. Authorities have slowly eased the curbs in recent months, with visitors trickling in under a bubble arrangement since November. Starting Tuesday (1700 GMT […]
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — At least 10 Indonesians died after tidal waves swept away a group of people meditating on a beach during Sunday’s early hours, police said. The group of 23 people was holding hands and meditating on Payangan beach, East Java province, shortly after midnight. “They were too close to the sea and could not save themselves when the tidal waves came and swept them away,” local police chief Hery Purnomo told […]
YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — Myanmar’s junta on Saturday announced an amnesty for more than 800 prisoners to mark the country’s Union Day, as it held a parade and show of force in the capital. The country has been in turmoil since last year’s coup, with mass protests and a subsequent military crackdown that has killed more than 1,500 civilians, according to the UN’s human rights office. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing issued the “pardon […]
SURABAYA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesia began testing a homegrown Covid-19 vaccine on humans Wednesday after getting the green light from the drug regulator as the country faces a rising wave of virus cases. Research on the “Merah Putih” (“Red White”) vaccine — named after the colours of the Indonesian national flag — is led by Airlangga University and Biotis Pharmaceutical Indonesia. The project has suffered delays since starting in 2020, but authorities are now hoping […]
SOLO, Indonesia (AFP) — At least 13 people were killed and dozens more injured after a tour bus carrying factory workers to a beach holiday crashed on Indonesia’s Java island, according to police. The bus and its 47 passengers were headed from Sukoharjo in Central Java to a family gathering in neighbouring Yogyakarta province when the driver lost control going downhill, officers said late Sunday. “Witnesses we questioned said they saw the driver panicking as […]
Ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi returned to a junta court on Friday after skipping a previous hearing because she felt unwell, a source with knowledge of the case said. Suu Kyi has been detained since her civilian government was ousted in a coup last year that triggered mass protests and a bloody military crackdown, with more than 1,500 civilians killed, according to a local monitoring group. Cut off from the world except for […]
