In Thailand, ‘elephant ticket’ trends on Twitter amid talk of police corruption as PM Prayuth survives no-confidence vote

A list of Thai police officers who allegedly vaulted up the ranks of seniority has gone viral after an opposition lawmaker revealed it during the four-day debate on a no-confidence motion against the army-aligned administration of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha. Move Forward Party’s Rangsiman Rome, who accused the administration of Prayuth and his deputy Prawit Wongsuwon of promoting a culture of patronage and cronyism inside the force, presented the so-called “Tua Chang” – or elephant…

Coronavirus: New Zealand begins vaccination drive; outbreak hits Chinese community in Cambodia

New Zealand started its official roll-out of Pfizer-BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine on Saturday, in what the health director general said marked a “small but important step in a long journey” to fight the pandemic.A small group of medical professionals were injected on Friday in Auckland ahead of the wider roll-out which was officially starting with border staff and so-called Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) workers on Saturday, officials said.“Today, we kick off the largest immunisation…

India prepares to execute Shabnam Ali, first woman since independence

Prison authorities in India’s Uttar Pradesh state have begun preparations to hang a female inmate who has been on death row for 11 years, in what would be the first execution of a woman since the country’s independence from the British in 1947.Shabnam Ali, 38, was sentenced to death for killing seven members of her own family in April 2008. A court found her guilty of carrying out the killings with her lover, Saleem – a high school dropout who worked as a day labourer.The two were in a…

Malaysiakini raises US$123,600 in donations to cover contempt fine within hours of verdict

Just hours after being fined 500,000 ringgit (US$123,600) for contempt, a leading Malaysian news portal on Friday raised the full amount for the penalty through an online fundraising campaign – with citizens decrying the court’s decision as the latest blow for press freedom in the country.The Federal Court, Malaysia’s highest judicial body, on Friday ruled that Malaysiakini was guilty of contempt over five comments posted by readers on its website last year, saying the portal – one of Southeast…

Myanmar protesters pressure Singapore to ‘stand for justice’ and compel Min Aung Hlaing to cede power

Singapore’s foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan on Thursday told the military leaders behind Myanmar’s coup that the use of live rounds against unarmed civilians protesting the seizure of power was unacceptable “under any circumstances”.Diplomatic observers said the language in a foreign ministry press statement, released after Balakrishnan’s meeting with his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi, signified a toughened stance from the city state as it came under pressure from protesters over…

Coronavirus: Indonesia can punish those who refuse vaccine; Singapore opens business travel bubble

Indonesia is requiring those eligible for the Covid-19 vaccine to take the shots as the country seeks ways to quicken its inoculation programme to curb Southeast Asia’s largest outbreak.The government can punish those who refuse the vaccine by stopping or delaying social assistance programmes and administrative services as well as impose fines, according to a revised presidential rule. The actual form of the sanctions are left to local governments to decide.Making the Covid-19 vaccine…