Former Philippine president Benigno Aquino is to be charged in court over a botched anti-terror raid that left 44 elite policemen dead in 2015, a special government prosecutor said Friday. Aquino, who ended his six-year term last year, was indicted for usurping authority and allowing a suspended police chief, Alan Purisima, to run the fatal … Read more
Singapore on Friday executed a Malaysian drug trafficker despite a plea for clemency from the United Nations and concerns expressed by rights groups over alleged flaws in his trial. Prabagaran Srivijayan was arrested in 2012 after 22.24 grams (0.8 ounces) of heroin was found in the car he was driving when it was stopped at … Read more
Cambodia has outlawed sand exports from a coastal region where it has been primarily funnelled in huge quantities to Singapore, a move met with scepticism from activists who said previous bans on the destructive industry had failed to take root. Environmental groups have long accused Cambodia of running damaging and corrupt sand dredging operations along … Read more
Indonesia has issued a decree allowing it to ban groups that oppose its official state ideology, in a move seen to target radical Islamists in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country. The law, signed by President Joko Widodo on Monday, comes as concerns grow about the influence of hardliners in Indonesia, where a majority of … Read more
Malaysia has rounded up over 3,000 undocumented migrant workers this month in a major crackdown, prompting alarm Wednesday from lawmakers across the region who said the campaign was “victimising the vulnerable”. The relatively developed country is a magnet for migrant workers from across Asia, but several million are believed to be undocumented. Authorities started rounding … Read more
Human rights activists have urged Singapore to halt the looming execution of a Malaysian drug trafficker, citing a pending appeal in his home country and alleged flaws in his trial. Prabagaran Srivijayan was sentenced to death in 2012 for trafficking 22.24 grams (0.8 ounces) of heroin, but has consistently maintained his innocence. He is expected … Read more
A Korean-Nigerian teenager who is rising through the ranks of the fashion world as South Korea’s first black model is facing widespread racism. Han Hyun-Min’s powerful strut has made him a star on the country’s catwalks, but his agent knew his heritage would be a problem in the ethnically homogenous country. And while the 16-year-old … Read more
Teenage male model Han Hyun-Min’s long legs and powerful strut have made him a rising star on South Korean catwalks, but his agent knew there would be a problem in the ethnically homogenous country: he is half black. Han, 16, has a Nigerian father in a society where racial discrimination is widespread and people of … Read more
Zimbabwe’s 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe is in Singapore for a “routine medical check-up”, state media reported Sunday. “President Mugabe on Friday left the country for Singapore for a routine medical check-up,” the Sunday Mail newspaper reported. The paper said the veteran ruler is expected back in Zimbabwe midweek. Mugabe’s medical trips to the Southeast Asia … Read more
A gun-toting Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte made a surprise visit Friday to a military camp close to a city where Islamic State group-inspired militants are battling security forces. Photos and video footage released by his office showed the 72-year-old wearing camouflage fatigues with a submachine gun slung over his shoulder. Duterte walked with soldiers and … Read more
Thai officials have filed criminal charges against a news website for branding the popular beach destination of Koh Tao “Death Island” in reports about a string of murky tourist fatalities. Koh Tao’s reputation as a tropical paradise was first sullied in 2014 when two British backpackers were brutally murdered on one of its white-sand beaches. … Read more
With Myanmar emerging as a manufacturing hub for mass-produced clothes, a crop of young designers are using home-grown fashion to preserve the country’s sartorial heritage and reshape the sweatshop model. Inside her boutique in downtown Yangon, Pyone Thet Thet Kyaw crafts her own designs using traditional patterns and fabrics, many from ethnic minority groups, to … Read more
Runway potholes forced the Philippines’ main airport to divert several flights Thursday, officials said, in the third such disruption at the facility in the past year. Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport operations chief Octavio Lina said the two potholes, both about 30 centimetres (12 inches) wide, were discovered in the morning, making landings by large … Read more
The siblings of Singapore’s prime minister offered a truce Thursday in an explosive family feud over the legacy of their late father, founding leader Lee Kuan Yew, saying they wanted to settle the matter privately. The tightly-controlled city-state has been captivated by the row over the future of the family bungalow, which has played out … Read more
Nadrey Laurent is a story of evolution, our inspiration for a new fashion brand, A More Personal Meaning, A Stronger Identity. Nadrey in Bété (a language in Cote D’Ivoire) my dialect, means my heart, my love while Laurent is my Father, My Strength, and My Pride. Bold, serene and always elegant, my father, “Nadrey Laurent” has become … Read more
Indonesia is set to lead a consortium of South East Asian countries in an ambitious bid to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup, the country’s football association said Wednesday. Joko Driyono, the vice-president of the Indonesia’s football association, PSSI, said the country had proposed to lead the South East Asian consortium at an Asian Football … Read more
A police boot camp complete with shooting lessons may not seem like a natural training ground for sportsmanship, but Indonesia’s sepak takraw team is hoping that military-style discipline will help them achieve sporting glory. The peculiar sport, which combines elements of football and volleyball, is native to Southeast Asia but the region’s biggest country has … Read more
Officials in Vietnam’s traffic-choked capital Hanoi vowed on Tuesday to banish motorbikes by 2030 to ease environment and congestions woes, a decision that swiftly divided a city where two-wheelers are the main means of transportation. Hanoi is famed for legions of motorbikes — sometimes stacked with entire families or overloaded with deliveries — that clog … Read more
The Philippines’ Supreme Court on Tuesday endorsed President Rodrigo Duterte’s enforcement of martial law across the southern third of the country, which he said was necessary to defeat Islamic State group-backed militants. Duterte imposed military rule across the insurgency-wracked region of Mindanao on May 23, hours after hundreds of gunmen waving black IS flags occupied … Read more
Islamist gunmen led by one of the world’s most wanted terrorists still hold about 1,500 buildings in a southern Philippine city after weeks of ferocious fighting that has left hundreds dead, officials said Monday. The Philippine military has struggled to expel scores of gunmen who rampaged across Marawi city on May 23 flying the black … Read more