ASEAN – Liliyana Natsir, a former great in mixed doubles who hails from Indonesia, was recently admitted into the Hall of Fame of the Badminton World Federation (BWF). On Saturday, the governing body of badminton in the world announced that the former Olympic gold medalist and four-time world champion would be formally recognized at a ceremony that will take place …

Malaysia – The national chairman of the DAP has said that the party would not accept any proposal to collaborate with parties or people whose betrayal of Pakatan Harapan (PH) resulted to the coalition’s loss of power in 2020. Lim Guan Eng made this statement. Lim stated to the online news portal Free Malaysia Today (FMT) that the party would …

Thailand – Thai legislators passed four separate laws on same-sex partnerships in their first reading  on Wednesday, one step closer to becoming the second territory in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage. Thailand has the most open and visible lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities in Asia, contributing to the image of tolerance and charm as a generous vacation destination …

ASEAN – Singapore hosts Shangri-La Dialog, an annual rally of senior defense officers across Asia and beyond.  This dialogue, the largest  gathering of senior military officials in Asia, is not actually hosted by the Government of Singapore. Rather, the event is hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, an independent think tank. However, the Government of Singapore is helping …

Beijing – On Wednesday, June 15, President Xi Jinping assured Vladimir Putin of China’s support for Russian “sovereignty and security.” This prompted Washington to warn Beijing that they risked ending up “on the wrong side of history.” China has declined to denounce Russia’s unprecedented military assault on Ukraine and has been accused of providing diplomatic cover for Moscow by criticizing …

Indonesia – Indonesia may be facing another legal crisis as the  controversial draft criminal law is imminent (a complete review of the current criminal law). Deputy Minister of Justice and Human Rights Edward Omar Sharif Heariezi said the  law  should be passed by July this year at the latest, but the date has not been released. A draft of the …

Indonesia – Indonesian President Joko Widodo argued over a series of policy U-turns on palm oil exports when the cabinet was reorganized on Wednesday. The Minister of Trade was dismissed. Zulkifuri Hasan, the leader of the National Delegation Party (PAN) and  former Minister of Forestry, has been appointed as the  new Minister of Trade of the country. His predecessor, Muhammad …

Philippines – Many international affairs analysts believe that the new administration of President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. should pursue multilateral relations for better economic interests and national security. They said  Marcos should review the partnership built by  President Rodrigo Duterte’s government, learn from them, and use the lessons learned to form a new foreign policy. “We must involve multilateral institutions …

Philippines – A businessman in an SUV was shot dead  here on a motorcycle on Tuesday afternoon. Jovito Pastrana, Deputy Chief of Lieutenant Police Station 2, identified the victim as Jeffrey Espeleta Keng Seng, 40 years old. 5. The victim who was injured by multiple ammunition was B.S. I managed to drive west until I entered the vacant lot at …

ASEAN – Despite having the third biggest increase in the external debt ratio among five Southeast Asian countries, the Philippines still maintains the lowest ratio of foreign debt to domestic production. According to a research from the Department of Finance’s senior economist Gil Beltran, the Philippines has the lowest foreign debt as a percentage of GDP (27%) among ASEAN nations …