Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte incorrectly based his threat to expel European ambassadors within 24 hours on news reports, and there are no plans to kick them out, his spokesman said Friday.Duterte threatened in a fiery speech on Thursday to quickly send European envoys home as he accused their governments, without citing evidence, of plotting to have Manila "excluded" from the UN."You think we are a bunch of morons here. You are the one.

Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines will begin coordinated air patrols off the strife-torn southern Philippines next month to combat the growing threat posed by Islamist militants, an official said Friday.The neighbours had already launched joint sea patrols four months ago in the same area, the Sulu Sea.Fears have been growing that the IS (Islamic State) group is trying to establish a Southeast Asian outpost in the southern Philippines after gunmen waving the jihadists' black flag o

Cambodian Prime Minister, Hun Sen is on an unstoppable onslaught. Communal elections in June this year have shown that his ruling CPP (Cambodian People’s Party) is fast losing its foothold amongst voters. Supporters are leaving his party in droves in favour of the opposition CNRP (Cambodian National Rescue Party) ahead of the general election slated for next year. But Hun Sen is having none of this.

Pope Francis will push for peace during his visit to Myanmar, a church official said Thursday, a trip that plunges the pontiff into the centre of a simmering religious conflict which has sparked an exodus of Muslim Rohingya.Myanmar's western Rakhine state has been torn apart by communal violence, sending more than 520,000 Rohingya racing over to neighbouring Bangladesh since late August.The leader of the world's Catholics will visit both nations on a highly charged trip in late Nove

A Malaysian national diving coach will go on trial for allegedly raping a diver who was training for the next Olympics, a lawyer for the athlete and reports said Thursday.Huang Qiang is accused of raping the 20-year-old sportswoman at a gym at the national aquatics centre in Kuala Lumpur last month.Huang pleaded not guilty to the charge when he appeared in court in the capital Wednesday, Cheow Wee, a lawyer for the alleged victim, told AFP.The father of two, who was born in China but now has

The media has "exaggerated" the number of Rohingya refugees fleeing an army crackdown, Myanmar's commander-in-chief said Thursday, in a brash rebuttal of accusations of ethnic cleansing by his forces.Some 520,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar's western Rakhine state since August 25, when the military launched a sweeping campaign against militants from the Muslim minority.

Today marks the 15th anniversary of the deadly 2002 Bali bombings. On October 12, 2002, tragedy hit Indonesia when three bombs devastated the world-renowned tourist island of Bali. The attack took the lives of 202 individuals from 21 countries across the world.The incident took place only one year after the 911 attack in the US.

The Security Council will on Friday hold an informal meeting on Myanmar to hear former UN chief Kofi Annan provide details of a report on the plight of Rohingya Muslims, diplomats said.The UN's top political affairs official, Jeffrey Feltman, will travel to Myanmar on Friday for four days of talks on the crisis.More than 500,000 people, mostly Rohingyas, have since late August fled an army campaign in Myanmar's Rakhine state that the United Nations has denounced as ethnic cleansing.

Freedom of religious practise is a constitutionalised law that has been established in all 10 ASEAN countries. However therein lies the difference between establishing a law and enforcing it. Certain nations experienced severe backlash due to infringement on their religious practises caused by discrimination.

Singapore's reforms to its use of the death penalty are flawed, with some low-level drug offenders still being denied leniency and sent to the gallows, Amnesty International said Wednesday.After years of criticism from rights groups, the city-state in 2013 eased the requirement for mandatory death sentences in some drug trafficking and murder cases.