The unveiling of the United States’ (US) Blue Dot Network raises several questions about the country’s commitment to ASEAN after signs of fading interest in the region.Seen as a counterbalance to China’s extensive Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the Blue Dot Network aims to promote sustainable infrastructure development in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.
North Korea has launched a visceral diatribe against United States (US) Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, calling the former vice-president a "rabid dog" – while also borrowing the terminology of Donald Trump.Pyongyang is renowned for its vitriol, but the verbal deluge was unusually ferocious even by its own standards.Biden "had the temerity to dare slander the dignity of the supreme leadership of the DPRK", the North's official KCNA news agency said late T
International investigators looking into the downing of flight MH17 over Ukraine released intercepted phone calls on Thursday showing close links between "high-ranking" Russian officials and rebel suspects facing trial over the crash.The probe said the recordings raised questions about the possible involvement of key Kremlin officials – including Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and a top aide to President Vladimir Putin – in the deployment of the missile that shot down the Malaysia A
Aung Gyi is forced to fish covertly under the shroud of night in western Myanmar waters as China bids to transform the strategically key region into a shipping and industrial hub, squeezing out locals who fear being left behind in the gold rush.Myanmar has declared Rakhine state, associated by many worldwide with the military’s 2017 bloody crackdown on Rohingya Muslims, open for business – but locals fear they are being left out of the gold rush as new rules restrict traditional practises.Pad
A suicide bomber blew himself up at a police station in Indonesia on Wednesday, killing himself and wounding six others, according to authorities who described the 24-year-old attacker as a “lone wolf”.The motive for the attack was not immediately known, but police stations have been frequent targets for radicals in the world’s biggest Muslim majority nation, which has long struggled with Islamist militancy.The blast happened around 8:45 am (0145 GMT) at the police compound in Medan on Sumatr
Cambodia’s self-exiled opposition figurehead Sam Rainsy said Tuesday he had not given up on getting home after an initial bid to return was thwarted, and external pressure on strongman Hun Sen would force him to change course.Rainsy spoke to media in Malaysia after flying in at the weekend from France, where he has lived since 2015, as he sought to fulfil a vow to return home by Independence Day on Saturday.Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia since 1985, had denounced efforts by arch-rival Rainsy
Myanmar faced accusations of genocide in a landmark lawsuit filed by Gambia at the United Nation’s top court on Monday over the Southeast Asian nation’s treatment of Rohingya Muslims, Gambia’s government said.Gambia said it was acting on behalf of the 57-nation Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in bringing the case against Myanmar before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.The lawsuit accuses mainly Buddhist Myanmar of breaching the 1948 UN Genocide Convention through a br
A police officer shot a masked protester in an incident shown live on Facebook and a man was set on fire Monday during one of the most violent days of clashes in Hong Kong since pro-democracy unrest erupted more than five months ago.Protesters, who had already begun a city-wide day of action aimed at paralysing the international financial hub, reacted to the morning shooting by rampaging through train stations, barricading streets and vandalising shops throughout the day.A masked assailant al
Malaysia’s ex-leader Najib Razak’s first trial linked to the 1MDB scandal will proceed after a judge ruled Monday prosecutors had made a sufficient case, boosting efforts to bring him to justice over the mammoth fraud.Vast sums were plundered from sovereign wealth fund 1MDB in a multi-billion-dollar scam allegedly involving former prime minister Najib and his cronies, which has triggered investigations around the world.His coalition was ousted at the polls last year after six decades in power
Cambodia has freed a prominent opposition figure from house arrest more than two years after he was charged with treason, a court spokesperson told media on Sunday, after attempts by his colleagues to return to the country were thwarted.Kem Sokha was arrested in 2017 and accused of plotting to overthrow the government of strongman Hun Sen, who has ruled since 1985.He was sent to a remote prison, then confined to his house and the surrounding block and prohibited from talking to the m
One of Philippines’ President Rodrigo Duterte’s fiercest critics, Vice President Leni Robredo has frequently challenged the president on his crackdown on drugs.Now dared to do a better job as the co-chair of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD), the Philippines’ new drug czar has promised a “rational, evidence-based approach” in a bid to end the thousands of extrajudicial killings and abusive police practices that have seen the country’s war on drugs gain international noto
Cambodia’s exiled opposition figurehead Sam Rainsy arrived in Malaysia Saturday as he sought to get home to rally his supporters against strongman Hun Sen, while security was ramped up at the kingdom’s borders and in Phnom Penh.Rainsy, who has lived in France since 2015 to avoid jail for convictions he says are politically motivated, had promised a dramatic return on 9 November, Cambodia’s Independence Day. But Hun Sen, who has ruled the poor Southeast Asian country since 1985, has r
