These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
Get up to speed with what’s happening in the fastest growing region in the world.
Myanmar, Northern Alliance negotiators meet in China
Government officials and representatives of the four ethnic armed groups in the Northern Alliance met in China over the weekend in an effort to revive truce negotiations.
After the last meeting by the two sides on 17 September in Kyaingtong town in Shan State, the government said it hoped to sign bilateral ceasefire agreements with the alliance, but instead of signing a truce, the two sides agreed on seven points as the basis for further negotiations.
Political analysts said China is involved in the peace process to ensure implementation of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) infrastructure projects. They said Myanmar is important to China because of its location between the Indian Ocean and China’s Yunnan province, which makes it a gateway to South Asian countries such as India and Bangladesh, and a main link in the BRI. – Myanmar Times
Former Malaysian commando claims Najib told him to kill Mongolian model Altantuya
Convicted murderer Azilah Hadri has alleged that he was ordered to kill model Altantuya Shaariibuu in 2006 by former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak and the politician's close associate Abdul Razak Baginda - claims that were immediately rejected by the former premier.
In a statutory declaration (SD) Azilah filed on 17 October, 2019 and reported by news site Malaysiakini on Monday (16 December), the former police commando said he and his former colleague Sirul Azhar Umar killed the Mongolian national, following an explicit "shoot to kill" order by Najib. – The Straits Times
From tweet to street: New Thai generation joins protest
It wasn't only the moves to ban Thailand's most vocal opposition party that brought Gift onto the street for the first time.
The 25-year-old landscape architect was also stung by taunts that her generation was not brave enough to go beyond online comments in challenging the army-dominated establishment's enduring hold since elections to end junta rule. – Bangkok Post
Verdict due in Philippines' worst political massacre
The alleged masterminds of the Philippines' worst political massacre will learn their fate on Thursday when a Manila court issues its verdict, in a test of the justice system for a nation with a deep-seated culture of impunity.
A decade ago, 58 people, including 32 media workers, were slaughtered and dumped into roadside pits during an attack that was also one of the world's worst mass killings of journalists. – The New Straits Times
Former communications ministers stand trial for bribery
A highly anticipated trial in which two former communications ministers are facing bribery charges officially began on Monday and was due to last until the end of the year.
Retired minister Nguyễn Bắc Son, 66, and his successor Trương Minh Tuấn, 59, were taken to the Hà Nội People’s Court on Monday morning where they would stand trial for alleged breaches in the scandalous deal of the State-owned communications group MobiFone’s purchase of the Audio Visual Global JSC (AVG) back in 2015. – Viet Nam News