Author: Raadi Noori

The Philippines has expressed concern to China over incidents between Chinese and Philippine vessels in the South China Sea. The leaders of the two countries have discussed possible ways to ease tensions. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in San Francisco on Friday. In October, a Chinese Coast Guard vessel collided with a Philippine military supply boat near the Spratly Islands. The Philippine presidential office said that Marcos had brought up the plight of Filipino fishermen who have complained of Chinese vessels preventing them from fishing in the area.…

JAPAN and ASEAN have pledged to accelerate the growth of regional tourism by strengthening collaboration in the sector and agreed upon the direction for further cooperation. The pledge came during the October 28 ASEAN-Japan Tourism Ministers’ Special Dialogue, held in the Japanese capital Tokyo to commemorate the 50th year of ASEAN-Japan friendship and cooperation. The dialogue was held under the theme “The next 50 years of ASEAN and Japan: designing the path to sustainable tourism together”. “The meeting acknowledged the immense tourism potential of the region, as well as the importance of concerted efforts by ASEAN and Japan, two of…

The global political machine grapples with instability. The raging protest-riots in Sri Lanka, the government collapse in Pakistan, the resignation of UK’s Boris Johnson, the resignation of Italy’s Mario Draghi, the assassination of Japan’s Shinzo Abe and the plummeting public approval for America’s Joe Biden are just some of the bad cards on the international table of politics. At present, a new rise of political instability unfolds in Iraq, where protesters backed by ex-militant leaders have stormed the nation’s parliament twice within the last seven days — perhaps repugnant precedence from the Sri Lankan neo-insurrection. Iraq’s politics and national security…

KUCHING (Oct 28): The Sungai Sarawak Integrated River Basin Development Project (PLSB) can now move forward after the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) Sarawak has been allowed to call for tenders this early November. Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Women chief Kho Teck Wan said DID Sarawak had received RM6.9 million for the payment of land acquisition at Batu Lintang area as of May this year, out of the RM150 million allocated to the PLBS flood mitigation project for Bandar Kuching. She expressed her gratitude to Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian and his team for making…

JAKARTA, 6 October 2023 – Today, the 18th ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Education (18th SOM-ED) and Related Meetings concluded with significant milestone as it convened virtually on 5-6 October 2023. The two-day event was hosted by the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training and brought together senior officials representing ASEAN Member States, the Plus Three (+3) countries as well as East Asia Summit (EAS) countries. Also in attendance were partner organisations and Timor-Leste as observer. One of the highlights of the 18th SOM-ED meeting was the comprehensive discussion on the Midterm Review of the ASEAN Workplan on Education 2021-2025. The…

Berlin (22/10 – 75) UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, Fernand de Varennes, reported during his trip to the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region in Tajikistan, he met with representatives of civil society and residents of the region. Varennes arrived in Tajikistan for a working visit on October 9 till October 20. The UN Special Rapporteur told journalists that the residents of Gorno-Badakhshan informed him about violations of their rights in 2021-2022, particularly concerning the rights of detainees and cases of harsh treatment by law enforcement agencies. He stated, “People are complaining about religious restrictions as well as limitations on the use…

NEW DELHI: Sabah is set to host an influx of more than 800 Indian leisure golfers starting next month. This follows a fruitful follow-up by Sabah Tourism Board (STB) of an exploratory visit by a delegation of Indian golfing experts to Sabah in May this year, resulting in a surge of interest from avid Indian golfers. Assistant Tourism, Culture, and Environment Minister cum STB chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai projected an even larger turnout as these golf enthusiasts are anticipated to arrive accompanied by their families. “We stand at the threshold of yet another exciting chapter in Sabah’s tourism journey as we…

Evocative gifts: Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un gave each other a rifle during the North Korean leader’s current visit to Russia, the Kremlin said on Thursday, confirming that the Russian president had agreed to visit Pyongyang. These gifts appear highly symbolic at a time when the United States suspects Russia of wanting to buy weapons from Pyongyang to support its assault in Ukraine. For the moment, however, nothing has been officially communicated regarding a possible agreement for the delivery of equipment or military collaboration between the two regimes, isolated and under international sanctions. Mr. Putin gave Mr. Kim a glove…

New Zealand successfully concluded negotiations for an air services agreement with ASEAN during a final round of talks in Siem Reap, Cambodia, on September 13. The ASEAN-New Zealand Air Services Agreement (ANZ-ASA) will allow airlines from signatory countries to operate more passenger and/or cargo services between and beyond ASEAN and New Zealand. ASEAN member states include Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, Viet Nam, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia. Per Protocol 1 of the ANZ-ASA, eligible airlines can operate between ASEAN countries and New Zealand with unlimited 3rd and 4th freedom traffic rights. In addition, eligible airlines will be…

Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC) hopes to address the gap in the current Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education through the development of the Case Study of STEM Programmes in Sarawak, its chief executive officer Sudarnoto Osman said. He said this was crucial to ensure that all students have access to high quality STEM education, regardless of their background or location. He pointed out that SDEC, one of the key implementing agencies for digital economy initiatives, has always been supporting STEM programmes. “In this era of artificial intelligence (AI), it is more important than ever for our students to…