Myanmar’s shadow government, formed by opponents of military rule, called for a revolt against the junta on Tuesday, setting out a strategy that included action by armed militias and ethnic forces and urging bureaucrats to leave their posts.Duwa Lashi La, the acting president of the National Unity Government (NUG), said in a speech that the shadow government, which is made up of members in exile or in hiding, was declaring a state of emergency.How technology reshaped Asia’s protest…
UK fertility storage limits to be increased
The UK government will legislate to increase the maximum period for which frozen eggs, sperm and embryos can be stored to 55 years.
Coronavirus: New Zealand to ease curbs; the Philippines trials ‘granular lockdowns’
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday said nationwide coronavirus curbs would be lifted, except in the biggest city of Auckland, as the country gets on top of an outbreak of the Delta variant.Excluding a small cluster of cases in February, New Zealand had been largely virus-free until an infected traveller from Australia seeded an outbreak that prompted Ardern to impose the national lockdown last month.Ardern, who said restrictions would be eased outside Auckland from Wednesday,…
Japan-Australia green hydrogen supply chain possibilities to be studied
Japan’s largest oil company ENEOS will carry out a study on building up a commercial scale green hydrogen supply chain between Japan and Queensland, Australia, the Queensland government has announced.
Malaysia’s Lost Food Project hopes to feed those in need and fight climate change, one meal at a time
When Malaysian retirees Adeline Chang and Zai Saimon began volunteering with a tiny non-profit group called The Lost Food Project in 2016, they never imagined the scale of their work on behalf of the poor could be tangibly measured – let alone in terms of saved greenhouse gas emissions.Five years on, the organisation has risen in prominence because of its crucial efforts during the debilitating pandemic-fuelled economic crisis, with climate activists taking an interest in its operations.The…
Does the US and Indonesia’s resumed strategic dialogue really herald a new era of bilateral relations?
When Indonesia’s foreign minister Retno Marsudi met her American counterpart Antony Blinken in Washington last month, she remarked that Jakarta had entered a “new era of bilateral relations” with the United States.This indication of closer ties comes after Retno and Blinken launched a “strategic dialogue” between their countries that resuscitates the US-Indonesia strategic partnership that was agreed on in 2015, only to be largely abandoned during the Trump administration.Since then, China has…
Thais demand police reform as videos of alleged brutality go viral online
Videos of alleged police brutality are going viral on Thai social media, as whistle-blowers seize the opportunity to demand reform of the scandal-ridden force following the arrest last week of a police chief over the alleged extortion and murder of a suspected drug dealer.Police Colonel Thitisant Utthanaphon was detained on August 26 after the leak of a video allegedly showing him using plastic bags to suffocate 24-year-old Jeerapong Thanapat to death, with the help of six other officers.The…
Thai PM Prayuth survives no-confidence vote as Bangkok braces for more protests
Thailand’s embattled Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha won a no-confidence vote in parliament on Saturday as pro-democracy protesters vowed to swamp Bangkok’s streets to demand his resignation.Prayuth, who has run the country since seizing power as army chief in a 2014 coup, got 264 votes in his favour and 208 against. Five key ministers also survived the vote.Over four days of televised censure debate, lawmakers accused the prime minister of incompetence in handling the pandemic, vaccination…
New Zealand vows to pass counterterrorism law after supermarket stabbing
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern vowed on Saturday to tighten counterterrorism laws this month after a knife-wielding militant known to the authorities stabbed and wounded seven people in a supermarket.Police shot dead the 32-year-old attacker, a Sri Lankan national who had been convicted and imprisoned for about three years before being released in July, moments after he launched his stabbing spree on Friday.Ardern said earlier the man was inspired by Islamic State militant group …
Upper Tribunal upholds UK financial adviser ban
The Upper Tribunal has backed a decision by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to ban Jon Frensham from carrying out regulated activities for criminal behaviour unrelated to his work as an independent financial adviser.