It's been a campaign for the history books, upended by the COVID-19 pandemic and taking place in a nation on edge after a summer of civil unrest.
Indonesia's military "executed" a church leader in its insurgency-wracked Papua region, the National Human Rights Commission said Monday, in the latest allegation of a civilian killing by soldiers.A report by the agency, citing witness testimony, alleged pastor Yeremia Zanambani was tortured and then shot by deputy army chief Alpius Hasim Madi during an interrogation on 19 September.
King Maha Vajiralongkorn called Thailand the "land of compromise" in unprecedented comments Sunday, during which the once-unapproachable monarch declared "love" for all Thais after months of protests calling for reform to the monarchy.The 68-year-old ruler sits at the apex of Thai power, and comments to the media are rare due to protocols dictating formalities with the royal family.Societal taboos also prohibit Thais from speaking to - or questioning - the monarch, who is
Three Thai pro-democracy protest leaders – all in hospital after chaotic scenes that erupted when they were released from prison – were facing possible new charges late Saturday.Panupong "Mike" Jadnok, Panusaya "Rung" Sithijirawattanakul and Parit "Penguin" Chiwarak are among the best-known faces of Thailand's pro-democracy movement.A criminal court on Friday ordered the release of the trio, who had been in custody since mid-October on sedition charges.But d
The number of people infected by the coronavirus continued to surge in Europe over the past week, keeping the continent at the epicentre of the pandemic.Here is the roundup from AFP's specialised database:Sharp Increase In EuropeThe pandemic continued to rampage over the past week across the world with a record average of 476,000 new daily cases, 20 percent more than during the previous seven-day period, according to an AFP tally on Friday at 1100 GMT.Again, it is in Europe that the acce
The tank traps on the beaches of Kinmen Island are a stark reminder that Taiwan lives under the constant threat of a Chinese invasion – and fears of a conflict breaking out are now at their highest in decades.Democratic Taiwan has learned to live with the warnings of Beijing's authoritarian leaders that they are ready and willing to seize a place it views as part of its territory.But that background static has reached hard-to-ignore levels recently with China's jets now crossing int
Some 45 million people around the world have been infected with the COVID-19 virus, with over one million fatalities reported to date.
Former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad tweeted Thursday that Muslims had a right "to kill millions of French people" after a deadly attack in Nice, sparking widespread anger and prompting Twitter to delete his post.Three people were killed at a church in the southern French city, with the attacker slitting the throat of at least one, in what authorities were treating as the latest jihadist assault to rock the country.Shortly afterwards, Mahathir - the prime minister of Muslim-maj
China is the "gravest threat" to the future of religious freedom, United States (US) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday, in his latest verbal assault on Beijing during a whirlwind Asian tour.Pompeo has made attacks against China the focus of his trip this week which kicked off in India and included visits to Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Indonesia and, later Friday, Vietnam.In Indonesia - which has the world's biggest Muslim population - Pompeo took aim at China's tre
Tens of thousands of protesters marched through the Bangladesh capital on Tuesday in the biggest anti-France rally since President Emmanuel Macron defended cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed.Muslims across the world have reacted furiously to Macron's robust defence of the right to mock religion following the murder of a French schoolteacher who had shown his pupils cartoons of the prophet.In Syria, people burned pictures of France's leader, tricolour flags were torched in the L
United States (US) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called China's Communist government a "predator" Wednesday as he sought to tempt Sri Lanka away from Beijing's influence and later bolstered the US diplomatic presence in the neighbouring Maldives to counter the Asian superpower.Sri Lanka and the Maldives, both strategically located on key Indian Ocean trade routes, have borrowed heavily from Beijing in recent years, worrying Washington and other countries concerned by Chin
United States (US) senators sought Tuesday to declare that China is committing genocide against Uighurs and other Turkic-speaking Muslims, a step that could ramp up pressure on behalf of the estimated one million-plus people in camps.The resolution was introduced by senators across the political spectrum, although it is unlikely to move immediately as the Senate is out of session until after next week's election.The text states that China's campaign "against Uighurs, ethnic Kaz
