ASEAN IN FOCUS

Cambodia ex-PM Hun Sen returns to frontline politics for senate seat

Cambodia’s ruling party claimed a landslide victory in Senate elections on Sunday, setting the stage for ex-PM Hun Sen to officially return to politics after he stepped down last year. After nearly four decades of hardline rule, Hun Sen handed power to his eldest son Hun Manet after national polls last July held without any significant opposition. Hun Sen at the time made it clear that despite his resignation, he still intended to wield influence. […]

UN: Myanmar junta ‘doubles down’ on civilian attacks as forced military recruitment begins

Myanmar’s ruling military junta has “doubled down” on civilian attacks while showing signs of becoming “increasingly desperate” by imposing military service, the UN special rapporteur on the country said Wednesday. Earlier this month, the military said it would enforce a law allowing it to call up all men aged 18-35 and women aged 18-27 to serve for at least two years, as it struggles to quell opposition to its 2021 coup. “While wounded and increasingly […]

Vietnam EV maker VinFast reports $2 billion net loss in 2023

HANOI, Feb 22, 2024 (AFP) – Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast on Thursday reported a net loss of more than $2 billion in 2023 after missing its sales target, despite a 90 percent increase in revenue. The communist state’s first homegrown car manufacturer is trying to crack the international market, aiming to compete with global EV giants such as Tesla. VinFast said in a filing submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission that its […]

Six soldiers killed, one militant dead in Mindanao as hunt for bombers continues

MANILA, Feb 19, 2024 (AFP) – Six soldiers and at least one Islamist militant have been killed in the southern Philippines, an army spokesman said Monday, as security forces hunted down fighters believed to have bombed a Catholic mass last December. The clashes took place Sunday in the jungle near the town of Munai on Mindanao island, Philippine army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala told AFP. “This is part of the operation against the Dawlah Islamiyah. […]

Thai ex-PM Thaksin returns home after release on parole

BANGKOK, Feb 18, 2024 (AFP) – Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was released on parole Sunday, just six months after he was arrested following a dramatic return to the kingdom from 15 years of self-imposed exile. The controversial billionaire, twice elected premier and ousted in a 2006 military coup, was jailed for eight years on graft and abuse-of-power charges upon his return in August. But his sentence was cut to one year by King […]

Taiwanese streamers jailed for faking kidnapping in Cambodia

  PHNOM PENH, Feb 16, 2024 (AFP) – Two Taiwanese men have been sentenced to two years in jail each after they staged a fake kidnapping from a Cambodian seaside resort and posted video of it online, a court said on Friday. Chen Neng-chuan, 31, and Lu Tsu-hsien, 34, were arrested after they posted a video of themselves being detained and beaten up by security guards at a building in Sihanoukville on Facebook earlier this […]

Indonesia’s Prabowo set for sweeping presidential win

JAKARTA, Feb 15, 2024 (AFP) – Indonesian Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto on Thursday looked set to become the new president of the world’s third-largest democracy, likely avoiding a runoff vote against election rivals who have yet to concede. The ex-general declared victory Wednesday evening after preliminary counts from government-approved pollsters — previously shown to be reliable — indicated he would win high office with a majority in his third attempt. The slower, official count by […]

Singapore economy grew 1.1% in 2023, data shows

SINGAPORE, Feb 15, 2024 (AFP) – Singapore’s economy grew less than expected last year, the government said Thursday as it warned geopolitical risks would continue to cause headwinds this year. The city-state’s economic performance is often seen as a barometer of the global environment because of its reliance on international trade. The 1.1 percent expansion last year, released by the trade ministry, was short of the 1.2 percent announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong […]

Bangkok says work from home as pollution blankets city

BANGKOK, Feb 15, 2024 (AFP) – Bangkok city employees have been told to work from home to avoid harmful air pollution, as a layer of noxious haze blanketed the Thai capital on Thursday. City authorities asked for cooperation from employers to help workers in the city of some 11 million people avoid the pollution, which is expected to last into Friday. The air monitoring website IQAir ranked Bangkok among the 10 most polluted cities in […]

Philippines to file charges against sunken oil tanker owners

MANILA, Feb 14, 2024 (AFP) – The Philippine government said Wednesday it will file criminal charges against the owners of an oil tanker that sank off a central island nearly a year ago, causing severe marine pollution. More than half of the vessel’s 800,000-litre (211,000-gallon) oil cargo spilled into the sea over hundreds of kilometres off Mindoro island, famed for having some of the world’s most diverse marine life. A justice department statement said it […]