World

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited Cambodia for talks with the country’s longtime leader, Hun Sen, on Sunday to deepen relations and promote calls for the rule of law in one of the Southeast Asia’s closest partners of both China and Japan. Kishida and Hun Sen in a joint statement condemned Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and called for “an immediate stop of the use of force and the withdrawal of the military forces from the territory of Ukraine.“ They stressed ”neither threat nor use of all kind of weapons of mass destruction can ever be accepted in any occasion.” After China, Japan is Cambodia’s largest donor and has funded the construction of bridges, roads, ports, electricity and water supply. But Japan and the U.S. also share concerns over China

OTTAWA—Russia’s war on Ukraine was fully underway three weeks ago when the leaders of Canada, Latvia and Spain and the head of NATO stood overlooking a muddy brown field in Latvia strewn with light armoured vehicles. Standing a few hundred kilometres from the Russian border, gun-toting soldiers of 10 different NATO countries had paused a live-fire combat exercise that suddenly seemed more urgent. At a tactical level, Col. Sandris Gaugers, the gruff commander of Latvia’s Mechanized Infantry Brigade, told the politicians that the multinational troops — led by Canada — were working well together after five years of “hard work.” “We’ve been taking the approach on the deterrence side (that) the more flags, the better it is.” “But eventually when deterrence goes sideways … we have to make su

World mustn't forget Myanmar With all eyes focusing on the Russia-Ukraine war, Southeast Asia and the world should not forget about what has been going on in Myanmar. The military shows no signs of stopping its brutal campaign of violence against the people, who continue to fight for the democracy that was stolen from them 14 months ago. More than 1,700 civilians have been killed since Feb 1 last year, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. The number of political prisoners has passed 10,000. Thousands more have been forced from their homes as a result of aerial bombardment. And civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi remains under house arrest pending trial on yet more charges that could put her in jail for the rest of her life. Myanmar's military ruler Gen Min Aung...

Both sides in Malaysia-mediated peace talks hope gesture will lead to more progress Malaysian Islamic Authority officials use a theodolite to perform rukyah, the sighting of the new moon, which signals the start of Ramadan, on Friday evening in Kuala Lumpur. Peace talks between the Thai government and southern insurgents have been taking place in the Malaysian capital this week. (Reuters Photo) KUALA LUMPUR: The Thai government and southern separatist insurgents agreed on Friday to a truce during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, in what they hope could lead to a more lasting solution. “Both main parties agreed to stop violent activities throughout the month of Ramadan from April 3 to May 14,” said Anas Abdulrahman, who leads the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) delegation to peace t

WASHINGTON (NYTIMES) - When the Cold War ended, governments and companies believed that stronger global economic ties would lead to greater stability. But the Ukraine war and the coronavirus pandemic are pushing the world in the opposite direction and upending those ideas. Important parts of the integrated economy are unwinding. United States and European officials are now using sanctions to sever major parts of the Russian economy - the 11th largest in the world - from global commerce, and hundreds of Western companies have halted operations in Russia on their own. Amid the pandemic, companies are reorganising how they obtain their goods because of soaring costs and unpredictable delays in global supply chains. Western officials and executives are also rethinking how they do business w...

Index Living banking on M&As, supermarkets Ms Kridchanok expects the property sector to see a recovery this year. SET-listed furniture and home furnishing chain Index Living Mall (ILM) has diversified its business into supermarkets and aims to expand its boundaries via mergers and acquisitions (M&As). Kridchanok Patamasatayasonthi, the company's managing director, said the "Index Nextperience 2022" vision is to grow the business via four strategies: business diversification; collaborative marketing; customer experiences; and sustainable development. As part of the diversification strategy, the company opened two "Seoul U Mart" Korean supermarkets at The Walk Kaset-Nawamin and Ratchapruek branches at the end of 2021. Each 250-square-metre supermarket offers 1,000 Korean grocery items f...

“We should soon expect the world to stand firmly behind occupied countries like Tibet, East Turkistan and South Mongolia which China has colonized over past many decades” : predicts Prof. Michael Van Walt  “An interesting outcome of the events in Ukraine today is that it has helped the world community to revive its memory about how a big nation like China used its brutal force to occupy weaker neighboring nations like Tibet, East Turkistan and South Mongolia by imposing its own interpretation of history and law. The arguments being forwarded by President Putin of Russia today and the manner in which Russian Army has invaded Ukraine have too many similarities to ignore how China occupied Tibet in 1950-1951 era”, says Prof. Michael Van Walt Van Praag, a renowned

Thai activists sign up to fight 'tyranny' in Ukraine Chanaphong Phongpai (second right) and friends who want to volunteer to fight in Ukraine following Russia's invasion of the country wait outside the Ukrainian embassy in Bangkok on Wednesday. (Reuters photo) Far-off Thailand might not seem an obvious place for recruits to Ukraine's efforts to raise an international volunteer force to defend against Russia's invasion. But for former air force conscript turned political activist Chanaphong "Ball" Phongpai, the cause is a natural fit for members of the pro-democracy movement that emerged in 2020 to protest a military-backed government in the country. Mr Chanaphong, 28, said he felt upset for the Ukrainian people, particularly after reports of Russian attacks on civilians. "I have been ...

Indonesia preparing tough new curbs for online platforms SINGAPORE/JAKARTA: Indonesia is readying tough new rules that will allow it to fine and criminally charge internet and social media platforms, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said, potentially slowing online firms' rapid growth in a $70 billion market. The rules, which authorities believe are needed to make platforms remove "unlawful" content quickly, are among the most stringent globally on social media and follow intensifying crackdowns on online content that have alarmed activists in countries like India. Indonesia is a top-10 market globally by number of users for social media companies, including Alphabet Inc's YouTube, TikTok, Twitter Inc and Meta's Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp. Some executives of online com...

US, Philippines to hold their 'largest-ever' war games This file photo taken on April 11, 2019, shows a US V-22 Osprey taking off from the USS Wasp, the US Navy's multipurpose amphibious assault ship, during amphibious landing drills as part of the annual joint US-Philippines military exercise on the shores of San Antonio facing the South China sea in Zambales province. (Photo: AFP) The Philippines and the United States will kick off the largest-ever joint military drills in the archipelago nation next week, US officials said Tuesday, showing off their strong defence ties in the face of growing Chinese assertiveness. Nearly 9,000 Filipino and American soldiers will take part in the 12-day war games on the main island of Luzon, which are usually an annual affair but were cancelled or cur...