Britain's parliament on Tuesday resoundingly rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal, triggering a no-confidence vote in her government and plunging its plans to leave the European Union (EU) into further chaos.MPs voted 432 to 202 against May's plan for taking Britain out of the EU, the biggest parliamentary defeat for a government in modern British political history.With a deal that took nearly two years to craft in tatters and her government's future hanging i

The South China Sea’s Code Of Conduct (COC) will likely be on the agenda at this week’s ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat, but analysts do not expect any major breakthroughs to be reached in Chiang Mai.The northern Thai city is the venue for the 17-18 January meeting which marks the first time Thailand plays host as the new chair for the 10-member bloc this year.Busadee Santipitaks, the Director-General of the Department of Information and Spokesperson for the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs,

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s battle with the European Union (EU) intensified this week after he threatened to act out against the country’s opposition should the EU follow through with its proposed withdrawal of trade benefits. Cambodia is part of the EU’s Everything But Arms (EBA) initiative which aims to increase development in the world’s poorest countries. Under the EBA, Cambodia enjoys duty-free and quota-free exports to countries in the EU.

Singapore warned Malaysia Monday it was ready to defend its interests after a flare-up of maritime tensions, the latest sign of fraying ties since a change of government in Kuala Lumpur.The neighbours have had testy relations since Malaysia evicted the island from the Malaysian Federation in 1965, ending a brief and stormy union of the former British colonies.Ties have gone up and down over the years but have been shaky since Malaysia's Mahathir Mohamad – who has long had a prickly relat

Two insurgents believed to be tied to a motorcycle drive-by shooting at a school in Thailand's south were shot dead Saturday, police said, as the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) warned of trauma for children near the scene of the lunchtime violence.Since 2004 clashes between Malay-Muslim rebels and the Buddhist-majority Thai state that annexed the area over 100 years ago have killed nearly 7,000 people, mostly civilians of both faiths.The conflict rar

Huawei said Saturday it has fired a Chinese employee who was arrested in Poland on espionage allegations, as China's telecom giant distanced itself from the case amid Western concerns that it could act as a proxy for Chinese security services.This week's detention of Wang Weijing follows the December arrest of Huawei's chief financial officer (CFO) in Canada and United States (US) efforts to blacklist the company internationally over security concerns.While China's governm

A report by the International Crisis Group (ICG) this week pointing out that Myanmar’s Shan State is one of the world’s largest producers of crystal methamphetamine is hardly surprising.There have been record seizures of meth in the last two years in ASEAN countries and the surrounding region – 1.6 tonnes in Indonesia, 1.2 tonnes in Malaysia, 788 kilograms (kg) in Thailand, 1.2 tonnes in Western Australia and 0.9 tonnes in Melbourne – all of which is thought to have come from Shan State.Autho

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un came away from his fourth meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping with his hand strengthened in nuclear talks with the United States (US), analysts say, even as Seoul urged him to do more.Beijing is Pyongyang's sole major ally and key provider of trade and aid, their ties forged in the blood of the Korean War.The relationship had soured in recent years as China became frustrated with its neighbour's nuclear antics but warmed dramatically in 2018 as

Two Reuters journalists jailed for seven years while investigating atrocities committed against the Rohingya in Myanmar had their appeal dismissed Friday, dismaying colleagues and tearful family members who had held slim hopes they would walk free.Reporters Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, were arrested in Yangon in December 2017 and later jailed for violating the state secrets act, a charge Reuters said was trumped up to muzzle their reporting.Prosecutors say the two had classified informat

Malaysia’s landmark election on 9 May 2018 saw the National Front (Barisan Nasional) lose its grip on power for the first time in 60 years. The media – both foreign and local – were abuzz with news of the defeat at the hands of the Alliance of Hope (Pakatan Harapan) coalition. Many local politicians were cast under the spotlight and this was not limited to former prime minister Najib Razak and new Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.