Southeast Asia updates

Cambodians voted Sunday in an election that longtime leader Hun Sen is all but guaranteed to win as he looks to secure his legacy by handing the reins to his eldest son.

The 70-year-old former Khmer Rouge cadre has ruled since 1985 and faces no real contest in this vote, with opposition parties banned, challenger candidates forced to flee and freedom of expression stifled.

His Cambodian People's Party (CPP) is likely to retain all 125 seats in the lower house, prolonging his grip on power and paving the way for a dynastic succession some critics have compared to North Korean politics.

The only serious opposition party was disqualified on a technicality in the runup to the polls and it will be a surprise if any of the 17 other small, poorly funded parties win seats.

Hun Sen cast his ballot in the capital Phnom Penh shortly after polling stations opened at 7:00 am (0000 GMT), according to AFP journalists at the scene. — AFP

After nearly four decades as Cambodian leader, Hun Sen goes into elections this weekend certain of victory and vowing to eventually hand power to his eldest son.

But the 70-year-old has given no timeframe for his dynastic succession and signalled he will continue to wield influence even after standing down.

Sunday's vote is widely deemed a sham thanks to the near-total absence of genuine opposition parties, and critics say that more than 30 years after UN-brokered peace accords ended decades of bloody conflict, Cambodian democracy is in a sorry state. 

"Nobody can block the steps forward of Hun Sen or Hun Manet," the prime minister told voters in June.

"After Hun Sen, it will be Hun Manet."

While no fixed date has been given for a transfer of power, Hun Manet, 45, has taken on a number of his father's campaign duties this year. — AFP

Thailand's foreign minister met with ousted Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi last week, he tells reporters, her first known meeting with a foreign envoy since she was detained following a 2021 coup.

"There was a meeting, she was in good health and it was a good meeting," Don Pramudwinai told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers in the Indonesian capital Jakarta. — AFP

A Thai elephant gifted to Sri Lanka two decades ago was flown back to its birth country on Sunday after a diplomatic spat over the animal's alleged mistreatment.

Thai authorities had gifted the 29-year-old Muthu Raja -- also known back in its birthplace as Sak Surin -- to Sri Lanka in 2001.

But they demanded it back last year after allegations it was tortured and neglected while housed at a Buddhist temple in the island nation's south.

The 4,000-kilogram (8,800-pound) mammal flew out from Colombo airport on Sunday morning on a one-way commercial flight for a repatriation that Thai officials said had cost $700,000. 

The Ilyushin IL-76 cargo plane carrying Muthu Raja took off around 7:40 am (0210 GMT), the airport manager said.

After touching down in Chiang Mai the elephant will be quarantined at a nearby nature reserve. .— AFP

The front runner to become Thailand's next prime minister, Pita Limjaroenra, says he had secured enough support from the Senate to take the top job.

Pita's progressive Move Forward Party (MFP) won the most seats at last month's election as voters delivered a crushing rejection of military-linked parties that have run the kingdom for nearly a decade.

To become PM, Pita has to muster a majority across both houses, including the Senate, whose 250 members were handpicked by the last junta.

His eight-party coalition has a total of 312 seats in the lower house, but needs another 64 -- from either house -- for a majority. — AFP

A US aircraft carrier arrived in the central Vietnamese city of Danang on Sunday, AFP journalists saw, weeks after Hanoi protested against Chinese vessels sailing in its waters.

The USS Ronald Reagan's port call in Danang comes as the US and Vietnam celebrate the 10th anniversary of their "comprehensive partnership", with the two countries sharing increasingly close trade links, as well as concerns over China's growing strength in the region.

RELATED: Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group passes through South China Sea amid regional tensions

A Chinese survey vessel, multiple coast guard ships and fishing boats operated for several weeks in Vietnam's exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea, prompting a demand that they leave from Vietnam's foreign ministry.

The boats eventually departed in early June.

China claims most of the resource-rich waterway despite competing claims from other Southeast Asian nations including Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia.— AFP

Indonesia has ordered 13 long-range military radars from Thales to boost airspace surveillance efforts across its immense archipelago, the French manufacturer and state-owned Indonesian defence firm PT Len Industri said Sunday.

The Ground Master 400 Alpha (GM400a) radars will allow the Indonesian military to "benefit from a single air picture integrating the detection of all types of threats, from jets and missiles to hovering helicopters and unmanned air vehicles", the companies said in a joint statement.

The amount of the contract, which spans several years, has not been disclosed. Each radar costs several tens of millions of dollars.

The GM400a is a mobile radar with a range of 515 kilometres (320 miles) and "integrates artificial intelligence capabilities to manage the massive amounts of data" it receives, president of Thales International Pascale Sourisse told AFP. — AFP

Singapore will "progressively deploy" more patrol robots across the city-state, police said Thursday, after more than five years of small-scale trials.

Robots were deployed at Changi Airport's Terminal 4 starting in April "to augment frontline police officers in conducting premises patrol", the Singapore Police Force said.

More deployments are expected across the city of 5.6 million people, whose small population and low birth rate mean it has to make use of technology to overcome a lack of manpower.

"The SPF plans to progressively deploy more patrol robots to augment police's operations across Singapore," the SPF said in a statement, without giving a timeline.

The robots are equipped with cameras, sensors, speakers, a display panel, blinkers and a siren. — AFP

Cambodian leader Hun Sen on Tuesday ordered election laws to be changed to ban anyone who fails to vote in an upcoming poll from ever running for office -- a move that will affect exiled rivals.

The kingdom votes in a general election next month with Hun Sen's party running almost unopposed, after the main opposition outfit was barred on a technicality.

Rights groups accuse Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia for nearly four decades, of using the legal system to crush any opposition to his power.

Hun Sen said he had asked officials to add a clause to election laws saying that anyone who does not vote in the upcoming poll has no right to run in future ballots.

"If you don't vote on July 23, 2023, you will have no right to be elected" in any future elections, Hun Sen said in a speech to thousands of garment workers in Phnom Penh.

The change will take effect in time for the election, he said.

The move will largely affect the many leading opposition figures who have fled the country to avoid convictions they say are politically motivated.

Hun Sen said he was forced to make the amendment to counter calls for an election boycott by opposition activists after the main opposition Candlelight Party was disqualified for the July polls. — AFP

Several people were killed and wounded in shootings at two police headquarters in Vietnam's Central Highlands on Sunday, authorities said.

Six people were arrested in connection with the shootings in Cu Kuin district of Dak Lak province, according to the ministry of public security's website.

Investigators were searching for more suspects, it said.

The attacks on the police headquarters of both Ea Tieu and Ea Ktur communes occurred in the early hours of Sunday, according to the site. 

It said a number of people, including police, local officials and civilians were killed and wounded but did not provide exact figures.

Police could not be reached immediately be reached for comment. — AFP

Myanmar lawyers defending political detainees in junta-run courts are being harassed and even jailed by military authorities, Human Rights Watch said Thursday, warning that intimidation was forcing many to stop taking cases.

Since it seized power more than two years ago and plunged the country into turmoil, the junta has arrested tens of thousands in a sweeping and bloody crackdown on dissent.

Rights groups say the military has used the courts to throttle opponents including democracy figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi and former president Win Myint, who were jailed for lengthy terms by closed-door courts.

Defence lawyers working in "special courts" set up by the junta to try political crimes face harassment, intimidation and threats from authorities, HRW said in a report based on interviews with 19 lawyers.

"In the courtroom, I now have to worry about not getting myself detained rather than speaking the truth," one Yangon-based lawyer told the watchdog. — AFP

Thailand has cut electricity supplies to a Myanmar border township home to a billion-dollar Chinese-backed development that analysts say is a front for illegal gambling and online scam operations.

Thai authorities halted the power to Shwe Kokko in Myanmar's Karen state from midnight Monday-Tuesday, police chief of Maesod district Monsak Kaew-on told AFP.

The electricity was cut after a contract for the Thai side to supply the town ended without the Myanmar junta renewing it, he added.

Many areas along Myanmar's lawless eastern border are awash with Chinese investment, including in casinos, mines and logging.

The sprawling Shwe Kokko complex houses hotels and casinos targeting Chinese customers and is run by the Border Guard Force (BGF), a military-aligned ethnic militia.

A spokesman for the BGF could not be reached for comment by AFP. — AFP

Cyclone death toll in Myanmar's Rakhine state at least 41, local leaders tell AFP

Thailand's progressive Move Forward Party (MFP) claimed victory in the country's election Monday after a result that decimated military-backed parties that have ruled the kingdom for nearly a decade.

A stunning surge for the upstart MFP in Sunday's ballot left it on course to be the biggest party, followed by its rival opposition -- the Pheu Thai movement of billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

MFP leader Pita Limjaroenrat said he would seek to build a six-party coalition including Pheu Thai.

"I am Pita Limjaroenrat, the next prime minister of Thailand," he told reporters at the MFP headquarters in Bangkok. -- AFP

Thai voters have delivered a clear rejection of nearly a decade of military-backed government, election results showed Monday, backing two major pro-democracy opposition parties who are now expected to open coalition talks.

The progressive Move Forward Party (MFP), which wants to reform Thailand's strict royal insult laws, looks on course to be the biggest party -- setting up a potential clash with the kingdom's powerful royalist-military elite.

Thais voted in large numbers after an election campaign pitting a young generation yearning for change against the conservative elite embodied by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha, the ex-army chief who seized power in a 2014 coup.

But in a kingdom where coups and court orders have often trumped the ballot box, there are fears that the result may yet be thwarted, raising the prospect of fresh instability. — AFP

Cyclone Mocha crashed ashore in Myanmar and southeastern Bangladesh on Sunday, uprooting trees, scattering flimsy homes in Rohingya displacement camps and bringing a storm surge into low-lying areas. 

Packing winds of up to 195 kilometres (120 miles) per hour, Mocha hit between Cox's Bazar, home to nearly one million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, and Myanmar's Sittwe, according to Bangladesh's weather office.

Streets in Sittwe were turned into rivers as the biggest storm to hit the Bay of Bengal in more than a decade surged through the seaside town.

"The water is gradually rising," social worker Wai Hun Aung told AFP from Sittwe.

"The tide has reached to the drain in front of a school... Soon we will move our important belongings upstairs." — AFP

Voting is underway Sunday in Thailand's general election, where opposition parties are tipped to beat the government of army-backed Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha.

Polls opened at 8:00 am (0100 GMT), AFP journalists witnessed, after a campaign that played out as a clash between a young generation yearning for change and the traditionalist, royalist establishment. — AFP

A high-ranking Indonesian police officer was given a life sentence on Tuesday for trafficking five kilograms (11 pounds) of methamphetamine that was originally confiscated as criminal evidence.

A court in Jakarta found Teddy Minahasa Putra guilty of ordering his subordinate to swap the seized methamphetamine with potassium alum in a plot to illicitly sell drugs.

Putra, who was previously the police chief for West Sumatra province, then trafficked the methamphetamine through a civilian intermediary, the court heard.

Putra's lawyer told reporters outside the court that an appeal would be filed, local media reported. — AFP

Malaysian rescuers on Tuesday were searching for three missing crew members from an oil tanker that caught fire off the country's southern coast.

Thick, black smoke engulfed the Gabon-flagged ship when the fire broke out on Monday during its journey from China to Singapore, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said in a statement.

Singaporean authorities identified the ship as the MT Pablo.

The fire was extinguished and the vessel was afloat with no danger to passing ships, a Malaysian official told AFP. — AFP

An opposition frontrunner in Thailand's upcoming general elections has given birth two weeks before the polling day, her party confirmed on Monday.

The kingdom is entering the final stretch before the May 14 election with reformist groups, including Pheu Thai and Move Forward, surging ahead of establishment parties.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of billionaire former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, is one of Pheu Thai's prime ministerial candidates and has been polling strongly.

A near-constant presence on the campaign trail, for the past week she has rallied virtually, appearing by video link at an event on Saturday in Thailand's eastern Si Sa Ket province.

"She gave birth this morning," Rinthipond Varinvatchararoj, Pheu Thai acting spokeswoman, told AFP.

It is unclear how long Paetongtarn will rest, she said, but Rinthipond was confident that she would be present at Pheu Thai's final rally in Bangkok on May 12. — AFP

Japan should sanction Myanmar as it has done for Russia over its Ukraine invasion, a United Nations expert said Thursday, slamming the junta's "barbarism and oppression".

Thomas Andrews, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, also urged Japan to immediately end a training programme for Myanmar troops, warning it was tarnishing the image of the country's military.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi's government in February 2021, sparking fighting across swathes of the country and tanking the economy.

An air strike on a village in a resistance hotspot this month killed at least 170 people, according to media and locals.

"The human rights situation in Myanmar is horrific and getting worse," Andrews told reporters in Tokyo at the end of a trip to meet Japanese officials and businesses. — AFP

Thai police have widened their investigation into a woman accused of a spate of cyanide poisoning murders, with officers on Thursday raising the number of victims to 13 and charging her with premeditated murder.

Sararat Rangsiwuthaporn, who is married to a senior police officer, was arrested on Tuesday over nine alleged murders which took place over several years.

Police believe money was the motive in the killings but said that Sararat — who is four months pregnant — has previously been diagnosed with psychiatric issues.

Officers were now investigating at least 13 suspicious deaths dating back to 2020, deputy national police chief Surachate Hakparn said Thursday.

"She has been charged with premeditated murder," he told reporters in Bangkok. — AFP

Cambodian leader Hun Sen's eldest son was officially promoted to the rank of four-star general on Thursday, in another sign of plans for him to succeed his father.

Hun Sen has publicly backed Hun Manet to lead the kingdom in the future.

Hun Manet, who is commander of the army, received the four-star rank at a ceremony attended by more than 1,000 senior military officials.

Defence minister Tea Banh, who presided over the ceremony, said Hun Manet's promotion reflected his efforts "to serve the nation, military and Cambodian people".

Hun Manet -- who was educated in Britain and the United States -- has been officially backed by the ruling party as a future prime minister, and has been active on social media in recent months to increase his public profile.

The 45-year-old has also had more diplomatic meetings with senior political figures than before, according to the Lowy Institute's Asia Power Index. — AFP

Indonesian forces on Tuesday were searching for four soldiers who went missing last week after a deadly rebel ambush in Papua, the country's military chief said.

The missing troops were part of the search for Phillip Mark Mehrtens, a pilot with Indonesian airline Susi Air, who was taken in February by armed separatists at Nduga airport in Papua.

They were on their way to the pilot's location in the hilly Nduga region on Saturday when rebels started shooting at them, Indonesian military chief Yudo Margono said. — AFP

Malaysia's parliament has passed a bill to remove mandatory death sentences, with rights groups welcoming the vote as an "important step" that could have a knock-on effect elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

Convictions for several offences, including murder and drug trafficking, previously came with automatic death penalties, giving judges no leeway.

The bill does not scrap death sentences, but grants judges the option to instead impose lengthy prison sentences of between 30 to 40 years under certain conditions. — AFP

Flanked by tanks and missile launchers, Myanmar's junta chief Monday vowed no let up in a crackdown on opponents and insisted the military would hold elections -- weeks after admitting it did not control enough territory to allow a vote.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military deposed Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government over two years ago after making unsubstantiated claims of electoral fraud.

The putsch sparked renewed fighting with ethnic rebels and birthed dozens of anti-junta "People's Defence Forces" (PDFs), with swathes of the country now ravaged by fighting and the economy in tatters. 

The military will take "decisive action" against its opponents and ethnic rebels supporting them, Min Aung Hlaing told an audience of around 8,000 service members attending the annual Armed Forces Day parade in the military-built capital Naypyidaw.

"The terror acts of NUG and its lackey so-called PDFs need to be tackled for good and all," he said, referring to the "National Unity Government," a body dominated by ousted lawmakers working to reverse the coup.

The junta would then hold "free and fair elections" upon the completion of the state of emergency, he said. — AFP

Thai police shot dead a gunman who killed three people and wounded three others, a senior officer said Thursday, after a 15-hour standoff.

The shooter started firing in Phetchaburi, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) southwest of Bangkok, at around 3 pm (0800 GMT) on Wednesday, before police surrounded a house he was in.

The standoff ended early Thursday when armed police stormed the building and killed the gunman, who has not been named but was reported by local media to be a 29-year-old former national park official. 

"We proceeded step by step, starting with negotiation but he kept fighting back and shot others," Police Lieutenant General Thanawut Wutijarasthamrong said. 

"He ran into his room (on the second floor). If we did not have shields, my men would have been shot." — AFP

Thailand's general election will be held on May 14, authorities confirm, as embattled Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha tries to extend nearly a decade of army-backed rule.

Former army chief Prayut, who came to power in a 2014 coup, faces a tough fight against the main opposition party, fronted by the daughter of billionaire former PM Thaksin Shinawatra.

The Pheu Thai party of Paetongtarn Shinawatra is riding high in the polls but may find it hard to secure the premiership because Thailand's junta-scripted 2017 constitution favours army-backed candidates.

A statement from the Election Commission said the vote would be on May 14, with early ballots cast on May 7. — AFP

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha dissolved the country's parliament on Monday, setting up a general election in May as the former coup leader seeks to extend army-backed rule.

The vote pits unpopular former army chief Prayut, who came to power in a 2014 putsch, against the daughter of billionaire former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, whose shadow still looms over the kingdom's political scene despite more than a decade in exile.

The main opposition Pheu Thai group, fronted by Paetongtarn Shinawatra, is polling strongly but Thailand's junta-scripted 2017 constitution will make it hard for the party to secure the top job.

A statement in the official Royal Gazette published on Monday announced the dissolution, and the Election Commission will confirm the date of the poll later, with May 7 or 14 tipped as the most likely. — AFP

Malaysia's former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin has been charged with abusing his power to obtain bribes and money laundering linked to the alleged misuse of a Covid economic recovery fund.

Muhyiddin was prime minister for 17 months between 2020 and 2021, at the height of Malaysia's battle against the coronavirus, and now leads an opposition coalition against Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's government.

He is the second former prime minister to be charged with corruption after ex-leader Najib Razak, who is currently serving a 12-year jail term for his role in a financial scandal at state investment fund 1MDB.

Muhyiddin, 75, was hit with four charges of abusing his position to obtain bribes totalling 232.5 million ringgit ($51.4 million) for his political party Bersatu. — AFP

An Indonesian court has sentenced a football match official to 18 months in prison for negligence over a stadium crush that killed 135 people last year.

"I am sentencing the defendant to a year and a half in prison," presiding judge Abu Achmad Sidqi Amsya tells the court in the city of Surabaya, in Indonesia's first ruling on the tragedy. — AFP

Vietnam's rubber stamp National Assembly votes in a new president, who immediately pledged to crack down on corruption following the dramatic resignation of his predecessor in an anti-graft campaign.

The appointment of Vo Van Thuong comes during a period of political upheaval in Vietnam, where the all-powerful Communist Party's anti-graft purge and factional fighting have seen several ministers fired.

Members of the National Assembly elected 52-year-old Thuong -- the sole candidate -- for a term running until 2026, following the dramatic resignation of Nguyen Xuan Phuc as part of an anti-corruption drive.

In his first statement as president, Thuong says he would be "determined in the fight against corruption and negative phenomena". — AFP

An eleven-year-old girl in Cambodia has died from bird flu, the country's first fatality from the virus in years, health authorities said.

The World Health Organization has called for vigilance after the recent detection of bird flu in mammals, but has stressed that the risk to humans is low.

The girl in Cambodia fell ill on February 16 with a fever, cough and sore throat, and later died in hospital, Cambodia's Communicable Disease Control Department said Wednesday.

It did not specify the time of death, but said that test results delivered on Wednesday confirmed that the girl -- who was from Prey Veng province -- was "positive for H5N1", referring to the bird flu virus.

The disease typically spreads from birds to humans through direct contact.

Since late 2021, Europe has been gripped by its worst-ever outbreak of bird flu, with North and South America also experiencing severe outbreaks.

This has led to the culling of tens of millions of domestic poultry worldwide, many with the H5N1 strain. -- AFP

A British crime boss has been arrested in Thailand after five years on the run, Thai police said Sunday.

Richard Wakeling fled Britain in 2018 after he attempted to smuggle £8 million ($9.6 million) of liquid amphetamine into the country in 2016.

The 55-year-old was sentenced in absentia to 11 years and placed on the British National Crime Agency's (NCA) "most wanted" watch list.

Originally from Essex county in southeast England, Wakeling was caught on Friday in the Thai capital Bangkok by the Central Investigation Bureau working with the NCA.

"Since 1993 he regularly traveled to Thailand but after being charged he changed his name and his passport's nationality to Irish, that's why it didn't show up on the system," a senior Thai police officer involved with the arrest told AFP.

"We arrested him and asked whether he was Richard as on the warrant, and he confirmed he was," the officer said.

Wakeling will be taken to court on Monday to begin the extradition process, he added. -- AFP

Two Thai protesters held under the kingdom's tough royal insult laws are growing extremely weak after nearly three weeks on hunger strike, a hospital statement says.

Tantawan Tuatulanon and Orawan Phupong have refused food and most liquids for the past 20 days to urge political parties to support the abolition of Thailand's lese majeste laws, as well as other justice reforms.

King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his close family are protected by some of the world's strictest royal defamation laws, with each charge carrying a possible 15-year jail term, but rights groups say they are misused to suppress public debate.

Tantawan, 21, and Orawan, 23, were still conscious but weak, Thammasat University Hospital says in a statement posted on Facebook early on Monday.

"Key organs such as the kidneys are starting to work more slowly," Paruhat Tor-udom, the hospital director, tells reporters.

"They can communicate with doctors and visitors, and while their condition is getting worse it is not at a crisis yet." — AFP

Ethnic Indian Malaysians massed in Hindu temples across the country Sunday to celebrate the annual Thaipusam festival, months after the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions that had barred large crowds.

Tens of thousands of people gathered at the Batu Caves temple just outside Kuala Lumpur over the weekend, many piercing their bodies with hooks and skewers in an act of devotion to the deity Lord Murugan.

The event commemorates the day when the goddess Parvathi gave her son Lord Murugan a powerful lance to fight evil demons.

Bearing offerings such as milk pots and heavy ornate metal structures called kavadis, devotees walked barefoot up 272 steps to reach the temple -- an important religious site for local Hindus.

This year's celebration was the liveliest seen in recent years, with devotees glad at being allowed to return to observe their rituals.

"(Previously) we couldn't do our vows due to the Covid-19 lockdown," Kupuvanes Tetchanamwoorthy, 45, told AFP.

"This year we could come here and take our vows ... I feel so grateful." -- AFP

A Thai court sentenced a man to 28 years in prison for insulting the monarchy in online posts, his lawyer said Thursday.

The kingdom's lese-majeste laws are among the harshest in the world and rights groups say they are misused to suppress public debate.

A court in the northern city of Chiang Rai found Mongkol Tirakote, 29, an online clothing vendor and activist, guilty in two separate royal defamation cases.

His prison sentence was originally 42 years but the court reduced it following his testimony, his lawyer told AFP.

His lawyer said Mongkol intended to lodge an appeal and the court granted him bail of 300,000 baht ($9,100).

Royal defamation convictions in Thailand can carry a jail sentence of up to 15 years per charge.

Mongkol also faces a third, separate royal defamation charge over online posts from last year and will be back in court in March. — AFP

Thailand will boycott a kickboxing event at the upcoming Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia, officials confirmed Tuesday, in a bitter row with the hosts over what to call the sport: Muay Thai or Kun Khmer.

Thai officials are angry at plans by Cambodia to refer to the event -- which they regard as their national sport -- on the official program as Kun Khmer instead of Muay Thai.

While the name Muay Thai may be better known around the world, Cambodian officials insist the sport originated from their Khmer culture.

The event is one of a series of combat sports at the 11-country regional games, alongside regular kickboxing, karate, taekwondo, kun bokator and vovinam.

The games are due to get underway in May, with Cambodia hosting for the first time in 60 years. -- AFP

Eleven people, including two children, burned to death in a passenger van crash in central Thailand over the Lunar New Year holiday, police said Monday.

Traffic accidents are common in the kingdom, which has a notorious road safety record, particularly during busy public holidays.

The van carrying 12 people was travelling from northeastern Amnat Charoen province to Bangkok when it veered off the highway in central Nakhon Ratchasima province Saturday night, said Police Colonel Yingyos Poldej.

Yingyos told AFP that one man had been able to climb out a window, but the other passengers were trapped and died in the blaze. 

The survivor, Thanachit Kingkaew, a 20-year-old student, said he was asleep when he was jolted awake after hearing someone scream.

"I woke up and the next thing I know, the van was upside down. I didn't see what happened," he said.

"After the crash, the fire started engulfing the whole van starting from the back." -- AFP

Rescuers in Vietnam have pulled the body of a 10-year-old boy from a hollow concrete pillar at a construction site, weeks after he became trapped, state media says.

Thai Ly Hao Nam fell into the 25-centimetre-wide (12-inch) shaft of the pillar -- sunk 35 metres (115 feet) as part of a new bridge -- apparently while looking for scrap metal on December 31. 

Hundreds of rescuers, including soldiers and engineering experts, were deployed to the site in Dong Thap province in the Mekong Delta. 

Four days after the fall, authorities declared Nam dead, saying retrieving his body would be a "very difficult task". — AFP

Vietnam President Nguyen Xuan Phuc resigns: state media -- AFP

The Thai military killed five suspected drug traffickers in a jungle shootout in Thailand's north, officials say -- the third such deadly clash in two months.

The incident happened in the early hours of Thursday morning in Chiang Rai province which is near the infamous "Golden Triangle" border region between Thailand, Laos and Myanmar -- long a lucrative hub for the illegal drug trade.

A patrol encountered a group of five suspected smugglers with backpacks who refused to be searched and then started shooting with an unknown weapon, the military says.

"Narcotics have been very prevalent (at the border) but recently there has been an order from the commander to step up law enforcement efforts," Premchai Premkamol, an officer with Pha Muang Task Force, tells AFP.

The clash lasted five minutes and no soldiers were injured, the task force says in a statement.

Close to 500,000 methamphetamine pills and a gun were found in the group's possession. — AFP

Officials say Thai soldiers killed six suspected drug smugglers in a shoot-out in a jungle in northern Thailand. 

The incident took place near the "Golden Triangle" -- where Thailand, Myanmar and Laos meet -- long a hub for smuggling despite repeated crackdowns.

Army officials say rangers encountered a group of 15 to 20 men in Fang district before dawn on Monday as they crossed the border from Myanmar.

The Pha Muang Task Force, which monitors six border provinces, said six alleged smugglers were killed after an exchange of gunfire.

The army said soldiers searched 19 backpacks belonging to the men and discovered 300 kilograms (660 pounds) of ketamine and three guns. — AFP

A 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit deep under the ocean off Indonesia and East Timor early Tuesday, injuring at least one person after rattling nearby islands, damaging homes and forcing residents to flee in panic.

The epicentre of the quake was 427 kilometres (265 miles) south of the Indonesian island of Ambon at a depth of 95 kilometres, the US Geological Survey reported.

Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said the tremor was felt on the eastern islands of Timor, the Maluku archipelago and Papua. It reported some aftershocks at a magnitude of 5.5. — AFP

Vietnam on Tuesday mobilised soldiers and engineering experts to try free a 10-year-old boy trapped in a buried hollow concrete pillar on a construction site.

Rescuers hope to raise the pillar from its 35-metre-deep (115-feet) hole and cut the boy, named Thai Ly Hao Nam, out -- though after three days trapped inside, it is not clear whether he is still alive.

The youngster fell into the 25-centimetre (12-inch) wide shaft of the pillar, sunk as part of a new bridge in Mekong delta province of Dong Thap, on Saturday, apparently while looking for scrap metal.

A wider 19-metre-long metal pipe has been lowered around the concrete tube in which Nam is trapped to allow them to remove mud from around the pillar and try to lift it out.

Rescuers were softening and removing mud and water to reduce pressure around the pillar before bringing it up -- most likely later on Tuesday evening.

Around 100 soldiers and professional equipment have been deployed at the site, which has been sealed off from the public while the rescue effort goes on. -- AFP

Singapore's economy grew more than expected last year but much slower than in 2021, official data showed Tuesday, as analysts warned of weaker growth ahead owing to an expected recession in key markets.

While the 3.8 percent on-year expansion was welcome, it was weighed by a 3.0 percent contraction in the key manufacturing sector in the final three months.

Growth in the fourth quarter came in at 2.2 percent, sharply down from 4.2 percent in July-September, according to advance estimates by the trade ministry.

Exports for computer chips and other products have been hit by softer global demand caused by surging inflation and sharp increases in interest rates.

The city-state's economic performance is often seen as a useful barometer of the global environment because of its reliance on trade with the rest of the world. -- AFP

Hundreds of rescuers in Vietnam battled Monday to free a 10-year-old boy who fell into a 35-metre-deep hole at a construction site two days ago.

The boy, named Thai Ly Hao Nam, fell into the shaft of a hollow concrete pillar just 25 centimetres wide, sunk as part of a new bridge in southern Dong Thap province, apparently while looking for scrap metal, a rescuer told AFP by phone. 

"We are trying our best. We cannot tell the boy's condition yet,"  the rescuer said, identifying himself only as Sau.

According to media reports, rescuers have tried drilling and softening the surrounding soil to try to pull the pillar up to save Nam.

Authorities "are not sure about the current condition of the boy. He has stopped interacting with the outside though oxygen had always been pumped into the" hole, the Vietnamese Tuoi Tre newspaper reported. — AFP

Death toll rises to at least 25 in Cambodia hotel-casino fire: official -- AFP

Authorities say Vietnam's economy grew by 8% in 2022, driven by strong exports and retail sales.

Growth in the communist nation stuttered at around three percent for two consecutive years due to the pandemic.

Before that, Vietnam was a success story among Asian economies, posting growth of seven percent in 2019.

This year the economy grew by an estimated 8 percent, beating the government's target of 6-6.5 percent, the official statistics office says.

"The economy has recovered" from the Covid-19 pandemic, it adds.  -- AFP

As many as 10 people have died in a fire at a Cambodian hotel-casino on the border of Thailand, police say Thursday.

The blaze at the Grand Diamond City casino-hotel in Poipet broke out late Wednesday night at around 11:30 pm local (1630 GMT), Cambodian police said.

A provisional police report seen by AFP says "about 10 people died and 30 people injured", adding that around 400 individuals were believed to be working at the casino.

Video footage shared online showed the massive complex ablaze, with some clips appearing to show people jumping from the burning building.

Local media reported that foreign nationals were inside the casino at the time of the fire. — AFP

A Malaysian businessman convicted of masterminding a stock scam that wiped US$5.8 billion off Singapore's exchange was sentenced on Wednesday to 36 years in jail by a court in the city-state.

John Soh Chee Wen orchestrated the scheme, according to court documents, and his accomplice, Singaporean Quah Su-Ling, was also given a 20-year jail term.

Both were convicted in May of using more than 180 trading accounts to inflate the share prices of three companies in what High Court judge Hoo Sheau Peng called a "scheme of substantial scale, complexity and sophistication".

"Armed with a good understanding of the securities and financial markets, and tapping on their extensive connections and networks, they boldly exploited the system," she said during sentencing.

"Immense harm" was caused by the stock market crash, she added.  

Prosecutors called it the "most serious case" of stock market manipulation in Singapore, a global financial center. -- AFP

A top Thai conservation official was arrested on corruption charges on Tuesday, with police saying he was caught receiving a bribe and that $144,000 in cash was found in his office.

Rutchada Suriyakul na Ayutya, director-general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, was appointed in February.

He managed efforts to protect the kingdom's environment and endangered animals, overseeing more than 150 national parks.

"The officials have arrested him while the money was exchanged, so the evidence was quite clear," said Jaroonkiat Pankaew, chief of the Anti-Corruption Division.

Police searched Rutchada's office in the capital, Bangkok, after he was detained and found roughly 5 million baht ($144,000) in cash, Jaroonkiat said.

Rutchada has denied all the charges. — AFP

Rescuers have called off the search for bodies after a massive, predawn landslide blanketed a campsite north of Malaysia's capital killing 31 people, officials said on Saturday.

According to police, 92 people, including dozens of children, were sleeping at the unlicensed campsite at an organic farm in Batang Kali, Selangor state on December 16 when tonnes of soil and mud thundered down a hill.

All of those killed were Malaysian nationals, including 11 children, while 61 campers were rescued.

"We found the last body, that of a boy," senior rescue official Hafisham Mohamad Noor told AFP.

"We will end our search and rescue operations." — AFP

A Cambodian court handed out jail terms Thursday to 36 opposition figures, including exiled leader Sam Rainsy, in the latest mass trial against opponents of strongman ruler Hun Sen, a rights group and lawyer said.

Rainsy has lived in France since 2015 to avoid jail on multiple convictions he says are politically motivated, including a life sentence handed down in October for allegedly ceding territory to a foreign entity.

Eleven politicians from his now-dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) were sentenced to seven years in jail and stripped of their rights to vote or stand for office for five years, rights group Licadho said.

A further 22 activists were sentenced to five years in prison, while three defendants received suspended sentences in a case related to an attempt by exiled opposition politician Mu Sochua to enter Cambodia in January 2021.

Only three of the activists are in detention. The other 33, who are either abroad or on the run, were convicted in absentia by the Phnom Penh Municipal court.

"I am so disappointed with the ruling," the defendants' lawyer Sam Sokong told AFP, adding he will discuss with his clients whether to appeal against the verdicts. -- AFP

A regional envoy tasked with solving the Myanmar crisis will attend an informal meeting in Thailand on Thursday, Cambodia said, with a Thai government source indicating the junta's foreign minister would attend.

The Thailand meeting comes shortly after the United Nations Security Council adopted its first resolution on Myanmar, demanding "an immediate end to all forms of violence".

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has so far led diplomatic efforts to resolve the turmoil that has gripped Myanmar since the military seized power last year.

However, there has been little progress on a "five-point consensus" agreed with the junta in April 2021, with the regional bloc struggling to come up with ways to enforce it.

Cambodia's foreign ministry said Prak Sokhonn, its top diplomat and special envoy, would participate in a meeting in Bangkok at the request of his Thai counterpart, Don Pramudwinai. -- AFP

After dawn in a small eastern Indonesia town, a young man holds an ornate umbrella over non-binary priest Puang Matowa Nani, as they walk barefoot to a nearby pond to perform the annual ritual of Mappalili.

The ceremony marks the start of the planting season on the island of Sulawesi, where the androgynous Bissu community to whom they belong once held divine status, but are now fighting against extinction.

Less than 40 Bissu remain in just a few areas across South Sulawesi, according to anthropologists, and they now perform cultural and shaman-like roles to prevent their traditions from dying.

Nani, a Bissu in their 60s who was born male, said they faced opposition from their family when they experienced a gender identity crisis as a child, but was now at peace with who they are. 

"My family disliked it, especially my older brother," they recalled. "He kept beating me to force me to be a real man.

"I've tried to change but I could not."  -- AFP

A junta court will hear the final arguments in the 18-month-long trial of Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi next week, a legal source said Tuesday, before reaching its final verdicts against the Nobel laureate.

Suu Kyi has been a prisoner since the military toppled her government in February 2021, ending the Southeast Asian nation's brief period of democracy.

She has been convicted on 14 charges, ranging from corruption to illegally possessing walkie-talkies and flouting Covid restrictions.

The junta court will hear "final arguments" from both sides related to five remaining charges of corruption on December 26, according to a source with knowledge of the case.

"The verdict will be given after that stage," the source said, adding a date had not yet been set.

Suu Kyi, 77, appeared in good health, the source said. -- AFP

Rescuers in helicopters scoured the Gulf of Thailand on Tuesday for dozens of sailors who went missing when their naval vessel sank, hoping life jackets had helped them survive two nights in the choppy waters.

Seventy-six sailors from the HTMS Sukhothai were hauled from the sea after the vessel went down late Sunday in the Gulf of Thailand, roughly 37 kilometres (22 miles) off the Southeast Asian country's southeastern coast.

Thai warship the HTMS Kraburi left port to resume the search early Tuesday, scanning the turbulent waters for 30 missing sailors alongside other naval vessels and two Seahawk helicopters.

"I am hopeful we will find some survivors, because they have life vests," said naval officer Narong Khumburi.

"But I imagine they must be exhausted." — AFP

At least 31 Thai Navy sailors were missing on Monday after their vessel sank off the southeastern coast of Thailand, a naval spokesperson said.

The HTMS Sukhothai was patrolling the Gulf of Thailand, roughly 20 nautical miles from Bang Saphan pier in southern Prachuap Khiri Khan, when it ran into strong tides and took on water late Sunday night.

A rescue mission was launched after the vessel's electronic system was damaged, with pictures shared by the navy showing the ship dramatically heeling to one side.

"We are still looking for 31 missing," said navy spokesperson Admiral Pogkrong Montradpalin, adding that the ship sank shortly after midnight.

"The ship's operating systems stopped working, causing the ship to lose control," he said earlier Monday morning. -- AFP

The Thai king's eldest daughter remained in hospital on Monday receiving support for her heart, lungs and kidney, according to a palace statement after she collapsed last week.

Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol initially fell ill Wednesday evening during a military dog training session at Nakhon Ratchasima, north of the capital Bangkok.

Known in Thailand as "Princess Bha", the 44-year-old is the eldest daughter of King Maha Vajiralongkorn and the only child from his first marriage.

The kingdom's succession rules favor male heirs; however the palace has not formally announced an heir apparent.

Following the princess' collapse, she was flown to Bangkok where she continues to receive intensive medical care under close observation.

In a statement issued Monday morning, the palace said her condition was "stable at one level", without elaborating.

"Her royal highness's heartbeat is controlled by medicine, the statement said, adding that the systole — part of the process by which the heart beats — "does not go well". 

"The medical team has offered her royal highness medicine and equipment to support the work of her royal highness's heart, lung and kidney," the statement added. — AFP

Parts of Indonesia's revised criminal code appear "incompatible" with fundamental freedoms and human rights, the United Nations said Thursday.

The sweeping overhaul includes a ban on sex outside marriage and the cohabitation of unmarried couples, which activists have said are a major threat to the LGBTQ community's rights in Indonesia.

There are also updates to offences related to blasphemy -- already a crime in Muslim-majority Indonesia -- while journalists could face punishment for publishing news "that could incite unrest".

The UN "notes with concern the adoption of certain provisions in the revised Criminal Code that appear to be incompatible with fundamental freedoms and human rights," its office in Indonesia said in a statement.

"Some articles have the potential to criminalise journalistic work and impinge upon press freedom," it added. — AFP

A suicide bomber killed a police officer and wounded 10 others in an attack on a police station in Indonesia's West Java province on Wednesday, police said. 

Police have not yet determined a motive for the attack but Indonesia, the world's biggest Muslim-majority nation, has long struggled with Islamist militancy.

The blast occurred at about 8:00 am local time (0100 GMT) during roll call at the Astana Anyar police office in Bandung, the capital of Indonesia's most populous province.

"When our officers were doing the morning roll call, a man tried to enter the office forcibly and officers tried to stop him," said West Java police chief Suntana, who like many Indonesians goes by one name. — AFP

A seven-year-old Indonesian girl who was the subject of a day-long rescue effort after an earthquake killed 272 people in West Java has been found dead, rescuers told AFP on Friday.

Emergency workers found the body of Ashika Nur Fauziah, also known as Cika, under rubble in the worst-hit district of Cianjur town, epicentre of the quake that triggered landslides, collapsed roofs, walls and buried victims in mounds of earth Monday.

"The body was immediately handed over to the family. The family accepted and she was then buried," 28-year-old rescuer Jeksen Kolibu told AFP.

"The family was very hysterical. They were very sad. The mother was the one who received the body." — AFP

Indonesian authorities deploy heavy machinery, helicopters and thousands of personnel Thursday in a desperate effort to locate dozens trapped in rubble by an earthquake that killed 271 people, as hopes faded to find survivors.

Some have been pulled alive from the hulk of twisted metal and concrete in dramatic rescues in the town of Cianjur in West Java, including a six-year-old boy who spent two days under the wreckage without food or water.

Officials say around 40 people are still missing and believed trapped, including a seven-year-old girl, as rescue efforts were delayed by hammering rains and aftershocks.

But the rescue of the young boy Azka alive, captured on video, gave relatives and rescuers a dash of optimism.

"Once we realized Azka was alive everybody broke into tears, including me," 28-year-old local volunteer Jeksen Kolibu tells AFP on Thursday.

"It was very moving, it felt like a miracle." — AFP

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has been appointed prime minister, the palace said in a statement Thursday, ending a days-long political impasse after inconclusive polls.

"After taking into the consideration the views of Their Royal Highnesses the Malay Rulers, His Majesty has given consent to appoint Anwar Ibrahim as the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia," the statement said. — AFP

Malaysian politician Anwar Ibrahim says there was "no decision yet" on the country's next prime minister despite him and a rival being summoned to the king's palace to break a post-election impasse.

No clear winner emerged from Saturday's election, leaving the nation of 33 million people in extended political limbo.

Malaysia's king, Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah, had summoned Anwar and his rival Muhyiddin Yassin in a bid to break the deadlock, but the two left without any answers.— AFP

The death toll from an earthquake that shook Indonesia's main island of Java has risen to 252, a local official tells AFP Tuesday.

The Cianjur local administration in West Java announced the new toll in an Instagram post. Adam, spokesman for the town's administration in West Java, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, confirmed the new toll to AFP. — AFP

A shallow 5.6-magnitude earthquake shook Indonesia's main island Java on Monday, killing at least 44 people and injuring hundreds, local officials said, with buildings damaged and a landslide triggered.

The quake was centered in the Cianjur region of West Java, according to the United States Geological Survey, and was felt as far away as the capital of Jakarta, where panicked residents ran into the streets.

"There have been dozens of people killed. So far, 44 people have died," Adam, a spokesman for the local administration in Cianjur town, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, told AFP.

He said as many as thousands of houses could have been damaged in the quake. — AFP

More than 300 suspected migrants from Sri Lanka were rescued off the coast of Vietnam after their boat began taking on water, Vietnamese authorities said Tuesday.

The Myanmar-flagged Lady 3 fishing vessel encountered difficulties around 250 nautical miles off Vung Tau on Vietnam's southern coast, according to Vietnam's Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre which said the boat was thought to be heading to Canada, about 6,000 nautical miles across the Pacific Ocean.

"There was an issue with the ship which meant water flowed into the engine room and could not be fixed since November 5," the center said.

After the captain called for help on Monday, Vietnamese authorities asked a Japanese-flagged ship sailing nearby to rescue the Sri Lankans.

The vessel was drifting with a lot of panicked people gathering on the deck, the rescue center said.

All 303 people, including 20 children, were brought safely to Vung Tau. — AFP

A Singaporean businessman wanted by the United States for violating sanctions on North Korea is currently in the city-state where he is under investigation, the Singapore police said.

In a statement issued late Saturday, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said they have sought clarification from their US counterparts over the reward as they have kept them informed about the ongoing probe by local authorities.

The US State Department on Thursday offered $5 million for information on businessman Kwek Kee Seng, blaming him for numerous fuel deliveries to North Korea and ship-to-ship transfers as well as money laundering through front companies.

Federal prosecutors in New York in 2021 issued an arrest warrant for Kwek, a year after one of his oil tankers, the M/T Courageous, was seized by Cambodia on a US request over purported sanctions violations.

Kwek, 62, owns the Swanseas Port Services shipping company based in the city-state. — AFP

British tycoon Richard Branson has rejected an invitation to debate Singapore's interior minister on the death penalty but doubled down on criticism that grew over the execution of a Malaysian man.

The Ministry of Home Affairs invited Branson, a long-time campaigner against capital punishment, this month for a live televised debate with the interior minister on the death penalty and Singapore's approach to illicit drugs.

The ministry even offered to fly the Virgin Group founder to the city-state to show why Singapore should do away with laws it said had kept its "safe from the global scourge of drug abuse".

The British billionaire turned down the invitation and said the "brave thing" for officials to do would be to engage with local activists.

"They deserve to be listened to, not ignored, or worse yet, harassed," Branson said in a letter posted on the Virgin website.

"A television debate - limited in time and scope, always at risk of prioritising personalities over issues — cannot do the complexity of the death penalty any service," he said.

The ministry had questioned Branson's credentials on the subject, saying it did not accept anyone in the West was "entitled to impose their values on other societies".

"Nor do we believe that a country that prosecuted two wars in China in the 19th century to force the Chinese to accept opium imports has any moral right to lecture Asians on drugs," it said in its original statement.  — AFP

Malaysia's Islamic religious officers broke up a large Halloween party attended by the LGBT community and arrested 20 people for cross-dressing and allegedly encouraging vice, activists said Sunday.

Activist Numan Afifi who was among those arrested at the event in Kuala Lumpur late Saturday described the raid as "traumatizing and harrowing".

"About 40 religious officers backed by the police came into the venue with some 1,000 participants, and they stopped the music and dance," he told AFP.

Numan said authorities divided party-goers into two groups — Muslims and followers of other faiths.

Subsequently, 20 Muslims were taken to the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department where "our identity details were recorded".

"Some were alleged to have committed offences under cross-dressing while others, including me, for encouraging vice," Numan said. 

All 20 were released a few hours later but are required to return next week for questioning.

The LGBT community has continuously suffered discrimination, with conservative attitudes chipping away at the Muslim-majority nation's one-time reputation for moderation and tolerance.

Malaysia has a dual-track legal system, with sharia courts handling some cases for Muslim citizens, who make up around 60% of the population.

Homosexuality is forbidden and laws criminalising sodomy can result in imprisonment, corporal punishment and fines — although enforcement of the law is rare.

Siti Kassim, a human rights lawyer, condemned the raid, saying "moral policing must stop".

"These people are not criminals. The oppression and discrimination against LGBT people must end immediately," she told AFP. — AFP

A group who used sex dolls to carry out "ritual incantations" in the car park of Myanmar's holiest site will be prosecuted by the religious affairs ministry, state media said Monday.

Around eight people attempted to bring two "lady dolls" into the towering, gold-plated Shwedagon pagoda in Yangon on Saturday, according to the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper.

Security prevented the dolls from entering the complex, which dominates the commercial capital's skyline and, according to local chronicles, contains strands of the Buddha's hair.

The group instead left them outside and made a circumambulation of the compound before repairing to the car park to begin "ritual incantations," according to the report, which did not specify what those were.

"While performing their ritual incantations, pagoda security personnel called them for interrogation and rid the pagoda precinct of the dolls," it said. — AFP

Malaysia will hold a snap election on November 19, officials announced Thursday, with the ruling party seeking to consolidate its comeback after its former leader was jailed for corruption.

The United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), which ruled the country for more than 60 years, was voted out in 2018 over a massive graft scandal, but capitalised on disarray amongst its opposition to claw back to power in 2021.

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has now decided to hold elections -- a year ahead of schedule -- in a bid to expand the slim parliamentary majority of the Barislan National coalition that UMNO leads.

The election date announcement comes eight weeks after former prime minister and UMNO leader Najib Razak began serving a 12-year sentence for corruption in the 1MDB financial scandal. — AFP

Cambodia's top opposition leader called for a swift verdict in his treason trial Wednesday, after a court ended more than two years of evidence hearings in a case rights groups have said is politically motivated. 

Kem Sokha, the co-founder of the now-dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party, stands accused of conspiring with foreign entities to overthrow strongman ruler Hun Sen's government. 

The trial only began some two years after Kem Sokha's arrest, and hearings were postponed in March 2020 following coronavirus restrictions.

During a hearing Wednesday, Kem Sokha told judges he wanted the proceedings to finish soon as he was suffering back and shoulder pain from long spells sitting in the dock.

"I don't want to suffer any longer... I want it to finish very soon and to receive justice," he told the court. — AFP

Malaysia's jailed ex-leader Najib Razak could be freed if his ruling party wins snap elections expected next month, former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad said Tuesday.

Najib is serving a 12-year prison term for corruption linked to the misuse of billions in public money. He was ousted from power at polls in 2018 by Mahathir's opposition alliance amid anger over the scandal.

But Najib's long-ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) returned to office in August last year and is now seeking a fresh mandate after dissolving parliament Monday.

"If they win and form the government, their first objective is to free Najib," Mahathir told a media conference Tuesday.

"Najib will be pardoned and released and all other charges will be dropped." — AFP

Devastated families in Thailand gathered Tuesday for the cremation of their loved ones, killed in a nursery massacre that claimed 36 lives — including 24 children.

The kingdom has been stunned by the tragedy in northeastern Na Klang province, one of the worst mass killings in its history, with flags at half-mast and King Maha Vajiralongkorn visiting the families of the victims.

At Wat Rat Samakee temple in Na Klang, chanting monks began the ceremony as the exhausted and grieving close-knit rural community prepared to say a final goodbye to 19 of those killed.

"An incident like this shouldn't have happened," said Thanakorn Nueangmatcha, 39, ahead of the funeral at the temple.

"They were only children."

Other victims of the attack — perpetrated by a former police officer, who went on to kill his wife and her child before taking his own life — will be cremated at other temples in the area. — AFP

Malaysia's prime minister announced the dissolution of parliament Monday, allowing for snap elections aimed at bringing political stability as the country emerges from Covid-19 and the 1MDB corruption scandal.

"Yesterday I met the king ... and I sought his permission to dissolve the parliament. And the king agreed to my request to dissolve parliament today," Ismail Sabri Yaakob said in a televised address to the nation.

"I hope the people will use their votes wisely to vote for stability, economic growth and harmony in the country," he said, referring to the mainly Muslim but multi-racial Southeast Asian nation.

He made the announcement a day after an audience with the king, Sultan Abdullah, who gave his consent.

No date has been given for an election, but under the constitution polls must be held within 60 days following the dissolution of parliament.

The dissolution came days after the government unveiled a populist budget that included a few billion dollars worth of cash handouts and a cut in personal income taxes. 

— AFP

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