Asia – Page 76 – The Singapore Post

Tribes along India-Myanmar border dream of a ‘united Nagaland’

20May

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Tribes along India-Myanmar border dream of a ‘united Nagaland’

Dozens of Naga tribes yearn to reunite the 3 million living in India with their 400,000 estranged cousins in Myanmar.The king of the Konyak tribe sleeps in Myanmar, but eats in India - his house, village and people divided by a mountain border which serves as a vulnerable lifeline now severed by a coronavirus lockdown. The Konyak are just one of dozens of Naga tribes, a people yearning to reunite the 3 million living in India with their 400,000 estranged - and much poorer - cousins in Myanmar's isolated far north.Many from Myanmar cross the border to attend school, sell vegetables or visit a hospital, as it is a days-long journey by foot to the nearest town in Myanmar. Even in normal times, they live at the mercy of Indian soldiers guarding checkpoints against the threat of armed groups fi

COVID-19: Could food security in Southeast Asia be in jeopardy?

20May

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Asia, World

COVID-19: Could food security in Southeast Asia be in jeopardy?

Countries and cities across Southeast Asia have been on different versions of lockdown for over a month, with heightened border restrictions and controls on the movement of labor. Last month, the Global Food Security Index (GFSI) 2019 Asia Pacific regional report was released. It revealed the state of food security systems in the region by measuring the three core pillars of food security: affordability, availability, and quality and safety. The GFSI was developed by The Economist Intelligence Unit providing a common framework for understanding the root causes of food insecurity. For the second consecutive year, Singapore maintained its position as the most food secure country in Asia Pacific, and globally. However, the report showed significant disparity in food security across the region

China Tensions in Southeast Asia Flare Online

20May

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Asia

China Tensions in Southeast Asia Flare Online

Social media anger from Chinese nationalists over a Thai internet model's comments on the coronavirus has set off a storm, uniting pro-democracy campaigners against pro-Beijing cyber-warriors, with insults and mocking memes flying. The quarrel, which has seen Southeast Asian internet users join forces with those in Taiwan and Hong Kong, has highlighted old tensions between China and its smaller neighbors fanned by the emergence of the new coronavirus. Political analysts and activists said the online row, which started at the weekend, was unique in volume and regional spread at a time when ever more of life has been forced online. "This is the first transnational geopolitical Twitter war Thais have engaged in," said Prajak Kongkirati of Bangkok's Thammasat University. "We see people questio

Indonesia suspends all passenger travel across cities to prevent Ramadan exodus

8May

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Asia

Indonesia suspends all passenger travel across cities to prevent Ramadan exodus

The Transportation Ministry will restrict all passenger travel starting on Friday as the government attempts to prevent citizens from participating in the annual Idul Fitri tradition of mudik (exodus) to curb the spread of COVID-19. The ban will not apply to cargo transportation or to vehicles serving special purposes, such as ambulances and fire trucks. “The ban will apply to all types of public and private transportation by air, sea, land and railway, except for vehicles carrying leaders of state institutions, police and military vehicles, ambulances, fire trucks, hearses and vehicles transporting logistical supplies, staple goods and medicines,” ministry spokesperson Adita Irawati said in a statement on Thursday. She added that the ban would apply to vehicles enteri

The curious case of Ravio Patra: Why Indonesian cyberspace is a dystopian nightmare

8May

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Asia

The curious case of Ravio Patra: Why Indonesian cyberspace is a dystopian nightmare

Imagine checking your phone and instead of finding a list of unread WhatsApp messages from families and colleagues, you find a harrowing notification saying, “You’ve registered your number on another phone”. After scrambling on social media to announce the hacking, you gain control of the text messaging application, but only to find that whoever hacked your account has broadcast a message inciting people to take part in nationwide riots a day before May Day. You realize there is something sinister about the whole incident and seek advice from human rights organizations who tell you to switch off your phone and find a safe house. But the police get to you first. They arrest you on incitement charges, along with a foreign national, just before you step into a vehicle owned by a local

Ramadan bazaars go digital in Southeast Asia amid pandemic

8May

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Asia, Business

Ramadan bazaars go digital in Southeast Asia amid pandemic

KUALA LUMPUR - For 15 years, Siti Zabedah Abdul Wahab’s family food business has opened for one month a year, selling murtabak, a pan-fried bread stuffed with meat, at Malaysia’s popular Ramadan bazaars. But this year, Murtabak Mami Murtabak Sultan started taking orders on Whatsapp and Facebook weeks before the Muslim fasting month began on April 23, as authorities across Southeast Asia called off Ramadan bazaars amid the coronavirus pandemic. “This is the first time we are selling online, so we wanted to start early to make sure our customers can find us,” 38-year-old Siti Zabedah told Reuters. Ramadan is traditionally a lucrative time for food vendors in Muslim-majority countries, with more people going out for late-night meals after breaking their fast at sunset. But the g

In Southeast Asia, Governments Exploit Coronavirus Fears To Tighten Grip

8May

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Asia

In Southeast Asia, Governments Exploit Coronavirus Fears To Tighten Grip

Three Southeast Asian nations — Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar — are using fears over the coronavirus to double down on repressive measures aimed at silencing critics or opponents. In Thailand, general-turned-prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha declared a state of emergency on March 26, granting him broad powers to protect the "safety of the people." It allows him to confine people to their homes, prohibits public assembly and includes additional powers of arrest and search and seizure. The most public examples of its use so far are a limited lockdown in Bangkok and a nationwide curfew that begins today. The curfew will be in effect each night from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. Thailand's restrictions extend to the news media. They are prohibited from sharing "any kind of news or information re

Coronavirus: Myanmar ships 800 freed Rohingya prisoners back to Rakhine

8May

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Asia

Coronavirus: Myanmar ships 800 freed Rohingya prisoners back to Rakhine

SITTWE, MYANMAR (AFP) - Myanmar shipped hundreds of recently released Rohingya inmates back to the country's restive western borderlands on Monday (April 20), after fears that its overcrowded prisons could become hotbeds for runaway coronavirus outbreaks. Men, women and children belonging to the stateless and long-persecuted Muslim minority were among nearly 25,000 prisoners freed last week by a presidential pardon to mark the country's April New Year celebrations. A Navy vessel transported the group from Yangon to Rakhine state, where most Rohingya live under tight movement restrictions and in conditions Amnesty International has condemned as "apartheid". More than 600 disembarked near state capital Sittwe, while another 200 were taken further north to townships on the border wi...

Amid Pandemic, UK-Vietnam Cooperation Continues to Deepen

2May

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Asia, Business

Amid Pandemic, UK-Vietnam Cooperation Continues to Deepen

A closer look at recent developments between the two countries, both before and during the coronavirus pandemic. Last week, two Vietnamese children donated 20,000 facemasks to help the United Kingdom fight the coronavirus pandemic. The British Embassy staff in Hanoi sent the masks, along with 100 stranded British nationals, on a commercial flight back to the UK. With the growing number of deaths in the UK and shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) for health workers, these gifts are valuable; they further underscore strengthened relations between the UK and Vietnam. As covered at The Diplomat previously, since 2010 the relationship between Vietnam and the United Kingdom has been elevated to a strategic partnership. Tran Ngoc An, Vietnam’s Ambassador to the UK, has strongly

2May

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Asia

Magnitude 5.0 earthquake shakes eastern Indonesia

JAKARTA A magnitude 5.0 earthquake jolted Indonesia's North Sulawesi province Thursday, according to the Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics (BMKG). BMKG said the earthquake’s epicenter was 66 kilometers (41 miles) northeast of Melonguane district in the Talaud Islands. The quake occurred 21 kilometers (13 miles) below the surface, it added. There were no immediate reports of casualties, said officials.

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