Author: Darrell Anderson

Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai met with Home Affairs Minister of Myanmar Lieutenant General Soe Htut on Thursday in Nay Pyi Taw and the two sides talked about enhancing cooperation in cracking down on cross-border crimes including internet fraud and gambling, according to the Chinese embassy. Cross-border crimes damage the interests and safety of the people, undermine social stability and order, and affect exchanges and cooperation between China and Myanmar, Chen said during the meeting, according to a statement released on the embassy’s WeChat account on Thursday. The talks came after police from the two sides recently cooperated in…

Russian enterprises supplied 67,000 cubic meters of softwood and hardwood lumber to Tajikistan in two months of this year, Roslesinforg reports . This is a 40% increase compared to the same period in 2022. The report says that Tajikistan, along with Hong Kong, is in third place in the supply of lumber from Russia. ” According to the first results of the year, China has traditionally remained the main sales market for Russian enterprises. Its share in the first two months of 2023 amounted to 63% of all exports of sawn softwood and hardwood. In second place is the Uzbekistan market, it accounted for…

In recent months, the group’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, has appeared to take a stronger hand in directing policy. In particular, it was on his orders that the Taliban government banned women and girls from universities and schools after the sixth grade. A rare public show of division within the ranks of Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban emerged in recent days when Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, a powerful government figure, gave a speech seen as implicit criticism of the movement’s reclusive supreme leader. The Taliban leadership has been opaque since the former insurgents’ takeover of the country in August 2021, with almost…

At the London-based think tank Asia House, Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan gave a keynote speech on the UK’s ongoing commitment to the Indo-Pacific region. Thank you Stephen, Michael, I am so pleased to be here at Asia House today. I was recalling that I thought I’d been here before, and then realised that I’d only been here virtually, so it’s lovely. I’m sorry for those of you who are virtual but it’s lovely to be actually here – the sense that we can gather once again and really share our thoughts and the work that you’re doing. At a personal level,…

Judge rules caseworker interpreted eligibility criteria too narrowly for eight claimants who are in hiding Eight former BBC journalists who had their applications to relocate from Afghanistan to the UK rejected are expecting their cases to be reconsidered after they successfully challenged the rationale behind the refusals at the high court. In a judgment handed down on Monday, Mr Justice Lane said the decisions had been made on an incorrect basis and, but for the error, there was a “more than fanciful prospect of a different outcome”. The journalists worked in high-profile roles for the BBC and other media agencies in Afghanistan…

Junta extends emergency YANGON – Myanmar’s National Defence and Security Council (NDSC) on Wednesday extended the state of emergency in the Southeast Asian country for six more months. According to a statement signed by Acting President U Myint Swe, the emergency period is extended in accordance with the Section 425 of the State Constitution for six months from Feb. 1, 2023, citing unusual circumstances are happening in the country, only if the emergency period is extended, will the Commander-in-Chief accomplish his responsibilities. Myanmar declared the state of emergency in February 2021 fand then extended it twice until Jan. 31 this…

Aichi Prefecture will invest 550 million yen in the “Expenses for promoting cooperation with overseas startup support organizations” with China and other countries as a FY2023 budget proposal for innovation creation and startup support. In the “overseas startup support organization collaboration promotion project cost”, “development of the world’s highest level accelerator program” and “collaboration with 14 overseas startup support organizations and universities in 5 countries” will be carried out. In the “development of the world’s highest level accelerator program”, we will [support the growth of startups in the prefecture, etc. by the world’s top-level accelerator, and implement a program to…

Some senators will not vote for Paetongtarn “Ung-Ing” Shinawatra of the Pheu Thai Party to become the next prime minister, even if the party wins the next election by a landslide, said Senator Wanchai Sornsiri.Mr Wanchai posted a message on his Facebook page yesterday saying: “250 MPs or senators, who will make a landslide win?” He was referring to the vote for a prime minister in parliament. Ms Paetongtarn, the youngest daughter of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and Pheu Thai’s chief adviser on public participation and innovation, vowed to lead the main opposition party to a landslide victory in…

Three Vietnamese nationals have been arrested in Taichung for allegedly working as money mules retrieving money via local ATM machines for Taiwanese telecoms scam rings, local police said on Friday. Wufeng Precinct under Taichung City Police Department identified the three as a 26-year-old man surnamed Nguyễn, a 24-year-old man surnamed Hồ and a 34-year-old woman surnamed Bùi. They were arrested after making withdrawals from accounts flagged as being linked to scam rings. Local police said a task force was established after they were informed by the National Police Agency about the flagged accounts and ATMs frequently used by suspected money…