The United States declared the ongoing violence against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar to be “ethnic cleansing” on Wednesday, putting more pressure on the country’s military to halt a crackdown that has sent more than 600,000 refugees flooding over the border to Bangladesh.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson blamed Myanmar’s security forces and “local vigilantes” for what he called “intolerable suffering” by the Rohingya. Although the military has…
Thailand ‘not deporting’ Uygurs to China after detention centre escape, say police
Thai police on Wednesday said ethnic Uygur Muslims from China who escaped an immigration detention centre will not be deported – if they are recaptured – despite a request by Beijing.
The dramatic predawn jailbreak on Monday saw a group of 25 Uygurs use blankets to climb out of their cell in southern Thailand.
Five of them were arrested on Monday while one more was detained on Wednesday, Thai police said, with media reporting the escapee was found over the border in Malaysia.
The…
Duterte defends Philippine troops accused of looting in Marawi siege
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday rejected allegations by a rights group that troops engaged in looting during the bloody battle against Islamic State followers in the southern city of Marawi.
Duterte also assured soldiers he would protect their interests following claims by Amnesty International that they committed abuses during the five-month battle in Marawi that left over 1,000 people dead.
“Those [allegations] of stealing in Marawi, I don’t believe it. I was there…
Philippine court begins hearings in petition against drugs war
The Philippine Supreme Court on Tuesday began hearing arguments in a petition to declare President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly war on drugs unconstitutional.
More than 3,900 Filipinos have been killed in what the police called self-defence after armed drugs suspects resisted arrest in the 16 month-long campaign. Critics say executions are taking place, with zero accountability, allegations the police reject.
In a petition filed last month, lawyers from the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG)…
Pensions freedoms reducing consumer choice and creating ‘capital-lite’ model says report
An in-depth report into the 2015 reform of the UK pensions landscape has said the introduction of pensions freedoms has made the retirement market more complex and ultimately detrimental to consumers.
Firms advised to assess their suppliers’ cyber resilience in the same way they do their own
Financial firms should assess how resilient their suppliers are to cyber risk in the same way that they evaluate their own cyber resilience, a UK regulator has said.
Myanmar’s Suu Kyi blames world conflicts partly on illegal immigration amid Rohingya crisis
Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi said the world is facing instability and conflict in part because illegal immigration spreads terrorism in a speech on Monday that comes as her country is accused of violently pushing out hundreds of thousands of unwanted Rohingya Muslims.
Suu Kyi did not directly mention the refugee exodus as she welcomed European and Asian foreign ministers to Naypyidaw, the capital of Myanmar. But her speech highlighted the views of many in Myanmar who see the Rohingya as…
Singapore’s ‘not very reliable’ MRT train system fails to keep cars off the road
In the battle against the car, space-starved Singapore has deployed road tolls, massive spending on public transport, and a licence fee that bumps the cost of an average vehicle to over US$80,000.
But urban planners looking for solutions to gridlock may find the draconian measures hard to replicate in other less-compliant cities.
Singapore has gone further than any other major city to avoid the monster jams that have blighted Asian metropolises such as Jakarta or Manila.
The tough approach has…
China lays out three-point plan to ease Rohingya crisis
China has offered to help Bangladesh and Myanmar resolve the Rohingya crisis, a move Chinese analysts said reflected Beijing’s more proactive and conciliatory tack on regional affairs.
Arriving in Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw on Sunday after a stop in Bangladesh, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also said the international community must help fight poverty and promote development in Myanmar’s Rakhine State.
More than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh since late…
Defiant Hun Sen challenges US to cut all aid to Cambodia as Washington moves to penalise PM for opposition crackdown
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen challenged the United States on Sunday to cut all aid after it announced it was ending funding for a general election next year in response to the dissolution of the main opposition party, media reported.
Hun Sen, the strongman who has ruled Cambodia for more than three decades, has taken a strident anti-American line in an increasingly tense run-up to a 2018 election that has included a crackdown on critics, rights groups and independent media.
The United…