MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA/BANGKOK — A prominent Southeast Asian rights group said Friday that Myanmar’s ruling State Administration Council reportedly intends to execute five democracy activists Tuesday following their May 2023 conviction and sentencing for alleged involvement in a deadly 2021 shooting on a train in Yangon. The ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights said it was deeply troubled after receiving a report from what it called a reliable …
Thailand grants few asylum claims in first year of program
BANGKOK — Amid a reported surge in cross-border repression across Southeast Asia, rights advocates say Thailand is making promising but very slow progress rolling out an asylum program meant to protect the most vulnerable refugees. They say many who might be eligible for the program are reluctant to apply for fear of exposing themselves to the police and that coming forward could backfire. Thailand does not …
Rapidly escalating Israel-Hezbollah conflict stirs fears of wider war
CAIRO — This week saw a dizzying escalation in the 11-month conflict between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah. First came two days of exploding pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah — deadly attacks pinned on Israel that also maimed civilians around Lebanon. Hezbollah’s leader vowed to retaliate and, on Friday, the militant group launched dozens of rockets into northern Israel. Later in the day, Israel said it …
New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens freed from captivity in Indonesia’s Papua
JAKARTA, Indonesia — New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens has been freed more than 19 months after being kidnapped by armed separatists in Indonesia’s Papua, authorities said on Saturday. Mehrtens was freed and picked up by a joint team in the Nduga area and was undergoing health check-ups and a psychological examination in Timika regency, the Indonesian police said in a statement. A faction of the West …
Iran’s exiled prince urges Israelis to fund civil disobedience in Islamic Republic
Washington — The son of Iran’s last monarch, exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi, is urging Israelis to help fund civil disobedience movements in the Islamic Republic as part of his campaign for regime change. The U.S.-based Pahlavi made the appeal in a VOA interview after speaking on Friday at the Israeli-American Council national summit at the Washington Hilton. The event is an annual gathering of Israeli …
UN denounces Lebanon device blasts as violation of international law
United Nations — The United Nations said Friday that the detonation of handheld communication devices in Lebanon could constitute a war crime as Beirut’s top diplomat accused Israel of orchestrating what he called a terror attack. The blasts that killed at least 37 people and wounded nearly 3,000 on Tuesday and Wednesday targeted communication devices used by the Iran-backed Hezbollah group. Pagers and walkie-talkies exploded as …
Biden opens home to Quad leaders for farewell summit
Wilmington, Delaware — President Joe Biden hosted Australia’s prime minister at his Delaware home Friday at the start of a weekend summit with the “Quad” group he has pushed as a counterweight to China. Biden chose Wilmington for a summit of leaders from Australia, India and Japan — the last of his presidency after he dropped out of the 2024 election against Donald Trump and handed …
US soldier who entered North Korea pleads guilty to desertion
Washington — A U.S. soldier who crossed into North Korea last year pleaded guilty to desertion on Friday as part of a plea agreement and was sentenced to 12 months of confinement, his lawyer said. Because of good behavior and time served, the soldier was released, according to the lawyer. Travis King was facing 14 charges related to him fleeing across the border from South Korea …
Fresh clashes reported between US-backed forces, government troops in eastern Syria
Washington — New clashes erupted Friday between U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces and Iran-backed Syrian government forces in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour, a war monitor and local sources reported. The fighting began when Syrian government forces and their allied militias launched mortar attacks against positions belonging to the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, in the restive province, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human …
Japan faces unpredictable PM race amid domestic, foreign challenges
Japan’s ruling party will hold a leadership vote next week to choose the country’s next prime minister. While the outcome is uncertain, Japan’s foreign policy is expected to remain steady. VOA’s Bill Gallo reports from Tokyo on the challenges ahead. Camera: Ken Watanabe, Gallo …
Taiwan retains death penalty but limits use to ‘exceptional’ cases
Taipei, Taiwan — A Taiwan court decided on Friday to retain capital punishment, but ruled its application should be “limited to special and exceptional circumstances.” Democratic Taiwan has carried out 35 executions since a moratorium on capital punishment was lifted in 2010, with the latest — that of a 53-year-old man convicted for setting a fire that killed his family — occurring in April 2020. Campaigners …
Gaza, Ukraine to vie for world’s attention at UN gathering
World leaders gather for their annual meetings at the United Nations starting Sunday, and the wars in Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine will be center stage. VOA U.N. Correspondent Margaret Besheer reports. …
Kim calls for North Korea to bolster weapons after testing 2 missiles
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Thursday that leader Kim Jong Un supervised successful tests of two types of missiles — one designed to carry a “super-large conventional warhead” and the other likely for a nuclear warhead, as he ordered officials to bolster his country’s military capabilities to repel U.S.-led threats. The tests appear to be the same as the multiple missile launches that neighboring …
Sweden charges woman with war crimes for allegedly torturing Yazidi women, children in Syria
Copenhagen, Denmark — Swedish authorities on Thursday charged a 52-year-old woman associated with the Islamic State group with genocide, crimes against humanity and serious war crimes against Yazidi women and children in Syria — in the first such case of a person to be tried in the Scandinavian country. Lina Laina Ishaq, who’s a Swedish citizen, allegedly committed the crimes from August 2014 to December 2016, …
Calls for better preparedness in Vietnam after Typhoon Yagi
HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM — Typhoon Yagi, which hit Vietnam earlier this month, exposed the country’s lack of preparedness for extreme weather and raised concerns more storms could hit the country this rainy season, experts told VOA. The storm hit northern Vietnam September 7. It resulted in 292 deaths. Thirty-eight people remain missing and over 73,000 homes have been flooded, authorities say. In northwestern Lao …