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MANILA (Reuters) – A United Nations expert urged the Philippines on Friday to do more to curb the killings of journalists and supported abolishing an anti-communism task force whose actions suppress the freedom of expression of activists. Irene Khan, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion, spent almost two weeks in the …

U.N. expert tells Philippines to act on media killings, abolish anti-communist task force Read More »

By Ananda Teresia and Stanley Widianto JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo insisted on Friday that his cabinet was working normally, amid reports of discontent among his top officials and long-running speculation of a planned resignation by his widely respected finance minister. Reports of unease in the cabinet have been swirling as public criticism …

Indonesia’s Jokowi insists ‘no problem’ in cabinet amid rumbles of discontent Read More »

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Activists in Thailand filed a petition on Friday seeking life bans for dozens of lawmakers of the Move Forward party, the latest in a series of moves to stifle a popular opposition that tried to review a tough law against insulting the monarchy. Complaints were submitted to the anti-graft commission to ban …

Thai opposition hit by fresh legal challenge as activists seek life bans Read More »

HANOI (Reuters) – All flights to and from the international airport in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi have been delayed or diverted to other cities on Friday due to heavy fog and worsening air pollution, said an airport official. Air Visual, an independent online air quality index monitor, said Hanoi’s levels of hazardous small particles known as …

Hanoi flights halted as city faces worsening air pollution Read More »

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – An undocumented migrant from Myanmar has died in a road accident while fleeing an immigration detention centre with over a hundred others in Malaysia late Thursday, officials said. The incident was the second reported breakout from a Malaysian detention centre in as many years. In April 2022, 582 ethnic Rohingya refugees …

More than 100 Myanmar migrants flee Malaysian detention centre, one dead Read More »

By Karen Lema MANILA (Reuters) – The alliance between Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte disintegrated this week when they accused each other of using drugs – a rift that could threaten Marcos’s reform agenda and risk fuelling instability. The alliance between two of the Philippines’ most influential families that swept …

Analysis-‘Open warfare’: Philippines’ Marcos-Duterte alliance crumbles Read More »

JAKARTA (Reuters) – The three main candidates contesting Indonesia’s presidential elections this month are proposing to bolster government coffers by creating a new tax collection agency, despite scepticism from the tax and business community. Policymakers in Southeast Asia’s largest economy have long considered the creation of a more powerful tax institution to tackle the problem …

Indonesia’s presidential contenders promise tax reform to boost revenue Read More »