Southeast Asia News

“We summarize which kind of things we are very confident in and what is much less certain. That can be quite a complex discussion”

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, center, with cabinet ministers and top officials ride during a campaign promoting the use of bicycles to reduce carbon emission ahead of U.N. conference on climate ... via Kansas.com

“I have regular dialogues with President Chen and the other players in Taiwan on the political side”

Nineteen U.S. lawmakers, nearly all of them from President George W. Bush's Republican party, have introduced a bill in the House of Representatives backing U.N. membership for Taiwan, a move that could anger ... via The China Post

Police entered the home of the former foreign minister of the communist Khmer Rouge regime early Monday in an apparent move to arrest him for trial before Cambodia's U.N.-backed genocide tribunal.

Police cordoned off the street outside Ieng Sary's Phnom Penh home at about 5:30 a.m. Police officers and tribunal officials moved into the house at about 6 a.m., the earliest permissible time for arrests under tribunal rules.

Police forced reporters away from the entrance to the house, and the tribunal's public affairs chief, Helen Jarvis, declined to comment on the development. An Associated Press reporter saw at least one tribunal official who had taken part in the arrest of a previous suspect in September accompanying the police party. Read more

“The next wave of protests may have to be led by student leaders and political activists”

The monasteries of Myanmar used to teem with saffron-robed Buddhist monks, revered as spiritual guides and moral authorities in a country in the grip of a repressive military regime. via The Macon Telegraph

“Global warming is one of the most serious problems the world faces today”

Tanyarat Jirapatpakon was named Miss International Queen 2007 on Sunday, besting 23 stunning transsexuals who had come to the Thai beach resort of Pattaya from as far as Germany and Puerto Rico for a shot at ... via Bangkok Post

“UNICEF suspected the project's intentions could be shady”

AUTHORITIES have stopped a woman from leaving East Timor with 23 children from an orphanage run by an Australian after a UN agency raised concerns. via The Sydney Morning Herald

“I would stop short of saying there is some sort of consequence.”

A US envoy warned Friday against Taiwan's plan to hold a controversial UN membership referendum, saying it would undermine trust between Washington and Taipei. via Earth Times

“We have to come to mutually acceptable ground, I guess one side would have to give, perhaps, more than the other.”

The Philippines will resume official talks with the country's largest Muslim rebel group next week after agreeing to compromise on the size and wealth of a proposed homeland, the government said on Friday. via ABS-CBN News

“It is that we do not have enough people to match the current rate of job creation.”

From correspondents in Singapore, Singapore, 11:01 AM IST The number of foreigners becoming Singapore citizens or permanent residents will possibly hit a new record this year, a welcome boost as the city-state ... via India eNews

“Vietnam shares the difficulties that Myanmar is facing and hopes Myanmar will overcome them some”

Vietnamese dignitaries greeted Myanmar's new prime minister, General Thein Sein, on Friday as he arrived for a two-day visit as part of a tour of neighbouring countries after taking office last month. via Earth Times

“Our appeals to the government for reforms of the electoral system have fallen on deaf ears and as such it has abdicated its responsibility to safeguard the democratic institutions of the nation”

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian police stepped up security in the capital on Saturday, effectively shutting down the city centre to try to foil a banned opposition rally demanding changes to the electoral system, witnesses said.

Hundreds of policemen, including riot police backed by water cannon, guarded the landmark Merdeka (Freedom) Square, where tens of thousands of protesters had intended to gather in one of the biggest anti-government rallies since 1998.

"We will not hesitate to take action against those who defied our orders," news agency Bernama on Saturday quoted Kuala Lumpur police chief Zul Hasnan Najib as saying. The police have refused to grant a permit for the rally. Read more

“The main thing we discussed is Aung San Suu Kyi asked for suggestions from us regarding the dialogue process and we discussed the suggestions”

Detained Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is optimistic after meeting on Friday with a junta official and believes it is time for the "healing process" to start, her party said. via The Standard

“The two leaders also exchanged views on the current state of the Israel-Palestine conflict.”

Britain's former prime minister Tony Blair and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Friday discussed issues ranging from extremist terrorism to the situation in the Middle East. via Earth Times

Tajikistan News.Net Thursday 8th November, 2007 Kuala Lumpur, Nov 8 Diwali was celebrated with joy and traditional gaiety across Malaysia Thursday. via Tajikistan News.Net

“They trust it, they do not see it as a threat like volcanologists do.”

The Anak Krakatau volcano sends up powerful clouds of hot gasses, rocks, and lava as a fishing boat is moored offshore early Thursday Nov. via York Daily Record

“Violence by one side will breed violence from the other”

Posted online: Wednesday, November 07, 2007 at 12:00:00 Updated: Wednesday, November 07, 2007 at 04:44:44 Kuala Lumpur, November 7: Malaysia's leader urged the country's majority Muslims on Wednesday to respect ... via Expressindia

“The next 24 hours is critical. He needs to be closely monitored hourly. We hope that he will remain strong”

National Docs eye surgery on Saguisag Neurosurgeons may have to perform a delicate operation on former senator Rene Saguisag as a result of head trauma he sustained following the accident that killed his wife ... via ABS-CBN News

“Of course, we all hope that the technical results of Chevron's evaluation of its discoveries will be good for Cambodia”

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia : Cambodia's dream of seeing money flow from the discovery of oil will not come true overnight, a deputy prime minister said Thursday, in the latest warning against excitement over an ... via International Herald Tribune

“The perpetrators have been sentenced to death and according to our law, that must be implemented”

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's president has said the death sentence for three Islamic militants on death row for the 2002 Bali bombings must be carried out, hinting in a television interview that he will not grant them clemency.

Imam Samudra, Amrozi and Mukhlas, also known as Ali Gufron, were sentenced to death for the October 12, 2002 resort island bombings in which more than 200 people died, most of them foreigners.

They face execution by a firing squad after the country's Supreme Court rejected their final appeal. Read more