General Min Aung Hlaing ended a three-day visit to Vietnam, where he agreed that defence and security should become a cornerstone of bilateral relations. Hanoi is targeting new investments. Mytel, a telecommunications giant linked to the militaries of both countries, is accused of contributing to digital repression.
Beijing's defence budget reached USD 225 billion. Taiwan responds with a 13.9% year-on-year increase. Japan will double its outlay in five years. Vietnam and Indonesia are not standing idly by. India a danger for China. Australia close to buying nuclear submarines from Washington.
Today's headlines: emergency landing in Nepal for a Shree Airlines plane; for Women's Day, the Pyongyang regime calls for more children for the army; three more Palestinian victims today in the West Bank from an Israeli raid. More than 14,000 Protestant Christians attend Spring Love Festival in Vietnam; more and more Japanese companies leave Russia.
Today's headlines: the Burmese junta implodes schools, 300,000 teachers missing; Six Palestinian victims in an Israeli raid in Jenin, rockets fired from the Strip today; Millions of Indians celebrate Holi, festival of colours; Young Thai man sentenced to two years in prison for lese majesty; earthquake damage exceeds 100 billion in Turkey alone.
The leader of the Homeland Fighter's Party, son of a former prime minister, minority schools are a legacy of British colonial rule, and must be overcome to build a Malaysian identity “not coloured by” people’s “ethnic background”. However, the country’s divisions are fuelled more by the fight since independence to assert Muslim Malay identity than language issues.
Today's headlines: for the UN, the Taliban's treatment of Afghan women is tantamount to 'crimes against humanity'; the Philippine Catholic Educators Association condemns the practice of 'hazing' after a suspicious death at a university. Tehran confirms its hard line on transgressions of the Islamic 'dress code'; in 2022, new births in Japan fell below 800,000 for the first time.
Today's headlines: Philippine coast guard spotted over 40 Beijing ships in a disputed area of the South China Sea; Pakistani police serve arrest warrants on former premier Imran Khan; Qatari emir 'perplexed' over delays in aid to post-earthquake Syria; illegal pangolin sales increase in Laos.
Inclusive and sustainable growth; institutional reforms and good governance; fighting inequality through social justice. Total budget is about 82 billion euros. Focus on education and health. People call for fight against corruption, social problems and inequality. Budget in line with the premier's "Madani Way."
Accused of conspiring with foreign forces, for the chair of the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights, he was convicted in “An act of sheer vindictiveness by the Hun Sen regime.” The upcoming Cambodian elections in July, the first without any opposition, will not be “fair and free”.
The National Assembly voted 487 out of 488 to elect 52-year-old Vo Van Thuong to replace his predecessor who failed to adequately fight corruption. Close to Nguyen Phu Trong, the very powerful Communist Party’s boss, he is expected to continue to purge the party of those elements who profiteered from the pandemic.
After fewer shutdowns during the pandemic, Internet censorship worsened substantially last year in terms of number, duration, and target groups, this according to a report by Access Now. Iran, Myanmar, and Bangladesh are among the top offenders. In India, “security” is given as the main reason with the power to shut down vested in central and state Home Affairs ministries.
The authorities reiterate that 30 June is the deadline for joining cooperatives, the first step towards modernising the country’s cheapest and most popular public form of transit. Reducing pollution is another goal, but almost one jeepney in three is driven by an individual owner operator who might not be able to afford the transition.
The leader of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua met for the first time with a head of government from the region. Together with the Pacific Conference of Churches, the Fijian prime minister reiterated his support for the independence movement's full membership in the Melanesian Spearhead Group.
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