ASEAN News

ASEAN – On March 19, voting began in East Timor for its fifth presidential election since liberation, with worries about political and economic stability at the top of the list. Former resistance soldier and current President Francisco “Lu Olo” Guterres, as well as independence figure and Nobel laureate Jose Ramos-Horta and a former Catholic priest, are among the 16 presidential …

Cambodia – Exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy was sentenced to ten years in jail by a Cambodian court today for allegedly plotting to depose dictator Hun Sen. Rainsy has been residing in France since 2015 in order to escape being imprisoned for a series of convictions he claims are politically motivated, including a 25-year term handed down in March of …

Cambodia – After the Asean chair Cambodia has announced that the Washington summit together with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations had been postponed since not all leaders could go later this month, the White House stated on Thursday that it is exploring other dates. Last month, the White House announced that US President Joe Biden will convene an Asean …

ASEAN – A massive magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck off the coast of Fukushima late yesterday, killing two people and injuring 94 others, and bringing back memories of a devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck the same area little over a decade ago. According to the authorities, there were several reports of fire. Two verified fatalities and 94 injuries, including four …

Philippines – According to Parti Warisan (Warisan) Wira head Datuk Azis Jamman, Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal has never recognized Sulu’s claim to Sabah and in fact released a statement requesting Putrajaya to take the problem of the Philippines’ claim seriously. He asked if Mohd Shafie acknowledged Sulu’s claim if he said Putrajaya has to undertake diplomatic negotiations with the …

Vietnam – According to the official media, Vietnam has decided to put the Sony’s action film Uncharted on ban from local release due to a sequence in which a map depicts a disputed line drawn by China to lay its claim to huge swaths of the South China Sea (Mar 12). Tom Holland, Mark Walhberg, and Antonio Banderas feature in …

South Korea – Large number of BTS fans flocked to Seoul on Thursday for the K-Pop singers’ first public performance in the country since the outbreak, despite Covid laws prohibiting them from dancing or singing along. The septet’s three-concert series, dubbed as “Permission to Dance on Stage – Seoul,” begins Thursday evening at the capital’s Olympic Stadium. BTS has gone …

Singapore – The Embassy of Ukraine in Singapore has received calls from people seeking to join the battle in Ukraine, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs, but any individual in Singapore taking part in the war is breaking the law, as added by the ministry. In a statement made by the MHA on March 10, it said that any …

Japan – Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Ramon Lopez has praised the Asia-Japan Investing for the Future Initiative, which seeks to improve investment cooperation in Asia. Lopez said the Japan-led project is likely to assist Southeast Asian countries’ post-pandemic recovery efforts, speaking at the 47th Asean-Japan business summit on Thursday. The Asia-Japan Investing or Future Initiative, …

Malaysia – Tim Leissner, a former Goldman Sachs partner, confessed to accepting US$60 million in bribes, lying to the bank about his unethical dealings, and faking divorce paperwork twice to take on new spouses before a US court. Despite his history of deception, prosecutors are pleading with jurors to trust Leissner in the trial of Roger Ng, a former Goldman …