E Asia Societal News - RSS News Feed by Intellasia.Net

Vietnam arrests nine members of dissident group

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:06:00 +0800

Vietnam has arrested nine men said to be members of a 'politically reactionary' organisation that was aiming to overthrow the country's communist government, state media said on Monday.

Tibet exiles say repression in China at new heights

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:05:00 +0800

A continuing spate of self-immolations by Tibetans in China are a desperate response to "new levels" of Chinese persecution, the Tibet government-in-exile said Monday.

Philippines searches swamps for kidnapped Europeans

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:04:00 +0800

Philippine troops were scouring mangroves on remote southern islands Monday as the search for two kidnapped Europeans intensified, security officials said.

Malaysian jungle adventurers solve WWII mysteries

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:00:00 +0800

They trek for days through crocodile-infested swamps and up rain-lashed mountain jungles, but the members of the Malaya Historical Group are not seeking treasure or ancient artefacts.

Laos probes sale of babies to foreigners

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:00:00 +0800

Laos is investigating a retired justice ministry official for allegedly selling adopted babies to Americans, Canadians and Australians for thousands of dollars each, a report said.

China fancies female bodyguards (video)

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:44:11 +0800

They may be smaller than their male counterparts, but these women are no pushovers.

Taiwanese celebrate year of the dragon by launching paper lanterns into the sky (video)

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:44:10 +0800

Thousands of glowing, paper lanterns lit up the sky in New Taipei City to help celebrate the year of the dragon.

Philippine rescuers search for quake survivors

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 07:08:00 +0800

Rescuers were fanning out across the central Philippines Tuesday after a powerful earthquake triggered landslides, collapsed homes and killed dozens of people.

Indonesia to try Bali bomber mastermind suspect

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 07:07:00 +0800

The alleged mastermind behind Indonesia's deadliest terrorist attack that killed more than 200 people in Bali a decade ago will likely stand trial next week, a prosecutor said Monday.

'Oldest marathon runner' competes in HK?

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 07:06:00 +0800

A 100-year-old British Indian man who claims to be the world's oldest marathoner was all smiles after completing a 10km run at the Hong Kong marathon on Sunday.

Use of Twitter stokes row at Khmer Rouge court

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 07:05:00 +0800

Controversial tweets by a Khmer Rouge tribunal judge have inflamed a damaging public spat between the UN and Cambodia and raised questions over how Twitter is used in the courts.

Asia's K-Pop clones dance to Korean beat

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 07:00:00 +0800

Twelve-year-old Sabrina Kaur does not understand the lyrics of her favourite South Korean boy band Big Bang's songs and, until recently, had never met Koreans in real life.

Report says 3 more people set themselves on fire in China to protest its Tibet policies

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 07:00:00 +0800

Three more people have set themselves on fire to protest China's policies toward Tibetans in a politically sensitive area that already has seen ethnic violence this year, a media report and an activist group said.

Polka-dot queen of Japanese art plans London exhibition

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 07:00:00 +0800

Yayoi Kusama, the Japanese artist who has made a name as the creator of vast and complex works in bold colors and polka dots, has two exhibitions of her most recent works set to open in London.

Taiwan makes biggest drugs bust in 10 years: report

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 07:00:00 +0800

Taiwan authorities have arrested three people and seized nearly half a tonne of narcotics in their biggest drugs bust in 10 years, according to local media.

Burma back on the map: Tourism returns to South-east Asia's forbidden land

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 07:00:00 +0800

I arrived in Yangon - or Rangoon, as the British knew Burma's old capital - half expecting not to make it beyond the airport.

China gets restive taste of post-Dalai Lama era

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 07:00:00 +0800

China over the years has derided the Dalai Lama as a jackal in Buddhist robes, choreographer of a separatist Peking opera and, lately, instigator of a plot that led some Tibetans to set themselves on fire and other forms of protest.

Michelle Yeoh says Suu Kyi role 'lifetime opportunity'

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 07:00:00 +0800

Actor Michelle Yeoh said Friday that playing the role of Aung San Suu Kyi in the "The Lady" was an opportunity of a lifetime, as the film about the Myanmar democracy leader made its debut in Hong Kong.

Khmer Rouge jailer's sentence increased to life (video)

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:13:00 +0800

A Khmer Rouge jailer who oversaw the deaths of some 15,000 people had his sentence increased to life Friday, bringing down the curtain on a landmark first case at Cambodia's UN-backed war crimes court.

Vietnam's awakening youth circumvent censorship

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:11:00 +0800

When student Nguyen Hong Nhung saw "Killer with a Festering Head" on someone's smartphone, she wanted the banned comic book too.

For many Indonesians, 'Fesbuk' is the only Internet

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:10:00 +0800

Indonesia, a developing Muslim nation which claims the world's third-largest community of Facebook users, has become a showcase for the social networking site's global power and reach.

Philippines hunts for proof of slain militants

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:09:00 +0800

The Philippine military said Friday it had not been able to obtain proof that it killed three of Southeast Asia's most-wanted terror suspects, but insisted the trio had died in a US-backed airstrike.

Malaysian boat disaster raises asylum pressure

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:08:00 +0800

A boat with up to 30 asylum-seekers has sunk off the coast of Malaysia, claiming at least eight lives.

Eight die in Cambodia anti-tank mine blast

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:07:00 +0800

Eight Cambodian farmers were killed and one was critically injured on Friday after their truck hit two old anti-tank mines in northwestern Cambodia, police said.

Philippine search fails to find kidnapped Europeans

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:06:00 +0800

Philippine authorities said Thursday they had failed to find two European birdwatchers in the crucial 24 hours after their abduction and warned Islamic militants may be holding them.

Rare Sumatran rhino pregnancy offers hope to species

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:05:00 +0800

A Sumatran rhino which is 10-months pregnant is receiving special medical care after suffering two miscarriages, a conservationist said Thursday, fuelling hope for the critically-endangered species.

Burma sanctions put rock band in hard place

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:04:00 +0800

As the volume rises inside Myanmar for the US and Europe to lift strict sanctions, some noise is also coming from an unlikely quarter: a local underground rock band.

Philippines says kills 15 al Qaeda-linked militants

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:00:00 +0800

Fifteen al Qaeda-linked militants, including three faction leaders, were killed on Thursday in an air strike on a rebel camp in the southern Philippines, officials said, hailing the strike as a victory in the fight against terrorism.

Cambodian workers hold 'people's tribunal' to look at factory conditions

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:00:00 +0800

Workers in Cambodia will hold a "people's tribunal" next week to investigate pay and conditions at factories working for fashion brands including H&M and Gap.

Cambodia police arrest women protesting against forced evictions

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:00:00 +0800

Cambodian authorities have arrested at least six protesters in an on-going dispute over forced evictions in Phnom Penh, that saw two of the female demonstrators tear off their shirts in a rare act of defiance in this modest society.

US envoy visits Vietnam amid human rights concerns

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:08:00 +0800

Human rights were expected to top the agenda as the senior US diplomat on South-East Asia arrived in Hanoi Wednesday.

Philippine leader adds Korean fizz to love life

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:07:00 +0800

The Philippines' bachelor president, Benigno Aquino, confirmed Wednesday that he had put the fizz back into his love life by dating a South Korean media personality more than 20 years his junior.

Cambodia awaits Khmer Rouge jailer final verdict

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:06:00 +0800

Cambodia's UN-backed war crimes court gives its final verdict Friday on the Khmer Rouge jailer who oversaw the deaths of 15,000 people, ending the first-ever prosecution for the "Killing Fields" era.

Search on for more than 100 missing from PNG ferry

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:06:00 +0800

Rescuers scoured the ocean for more than 100 people, many of them believed to be university students, still missing Friday after a ferry sank in the Pacific off Papua New Guinea.

Facebook's daunting Asian challenge

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:05:00 +0800

Facebook aims to connect all two billion Internet users. So far it has captured 845 million of them.

Global rice production set to hit record in 2011-2012: FAO

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:04:00 +0800

The harvest of rice around the world in 2011-2012 should hit a new record of 721 million tonnes and lead to lower prices, the UN's Food and Agricultural Organisation said Wednesday.

Philippines kills three top Islamic militants

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:04:00 +0800

The Philippines said it killed three of Southeast Asia's top Islamic militants in a US-backed airstrike on Thursday, including a Malaysian bombmaker with a $5 million bounty on his head.

Michelle Yeoh calls Burma's Suu Kyi her 'hero'