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August
Indonesia delays China-funded rail project's trial run for passengers
Written by Nur Yasmin
Indonesia has delayed until next month a free trial launch of its $7.3 billion high-speed rail line, the consortium behind it said on Tuesday, the latest in a series of setbacks for the flagship, China-funded project.
PT KCIC, a consortium of Indonesian and Chinese state companies behind the 142-kilometre (88-mile) railway connecting the Indonesian capital Jakarta and Bandung city, said more time was needed to ensure passengers' safety and comfort.
The project, which is part of China's Belt and Road Initiative, was originally set to be completed by 2019 but has been beset by problems, including a $1.2 billion cost overrun and delays on its commercial operation.
A free, limited trial run for passengers, initially set for Aug. 18, has been postponed to early September, but no delay is expected to the full operational launch on Oct. 1, KCIC said on Tuesday.
Safety checks were ongoing as of last Friday, according to transport ministry official Mohamad Risal Wasal.
KCIC said internal trials had gone smoothly but the company was still working with the transport ministry on necessary operational certificates.
Chinese President Xi Jinping told President Joko Widodo during the Indonesian leader's trip to China last month that both countries must ensure the project adheres to high standards as it nears completion. (Reuters)
August
Japan, US must show resolve to fight for Taiwan, ex-PM Aso says
Written by Nur Yasmin
Former Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso said on Tuesday that a tougher security environment in the Taiwan Strait means Japan, the United States and others need to show strong resolve to come to Taiwan's defence if it were attacked.
"The most important thing now is to make sure that war doesn't break out in the Taiwan Strait," Aso, vice president of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said in a speech in Taipei during a three-day visit to Taiwan.
"I believe that now is the time for Japan, Taiwan, the United States and other like-minded countries to be prepared to put into action very strong deterrence," he said in remarks streamed online. "It's the resolve to fight."
He added that clearly showing the will to defend Taiwan was a form of deterrence. He did not specify China as the aggressor, but said it was crucial for Japan, as a neighbour of Taiwan, and other countries that are upholding international order, to send the message to China and the rest of the international community.
Aso is the most senior Japanese political official to visit Taiwan since 1972.
China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has never ruled out the use of force to bring the island under its control. Taiwan's government strongly rejects China's sovereignty claims.
Speaking before Aso at the same forum, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said her government was committed to improving its defences and did not take the backing of its security partners for granted.
"While we don't seek military confrontation and hope for a peaceful, stable and beneficial coexistence with our neighbours, Taiwan is always ready to defend our democracy and way of life," she said.
Tensions over Taiwan have contributed to a decision by close U.S. ally Japan to boost its defence spending.
In 2021, Aso, then deputy prime minister, called any invasion of Taiwan by China a "threat to Japan's survival" and said Japan and the U.S. would defend Taiwan together should such an incident happen.
Those comments angered China, which said the remarks "harmed the political foundation of China-Japan relations."
Aso meet Tsai on Tuesday afternoon at the presidential office, where he told her about the popularity of Taiwanese comic books in Japan.
Tsai thanked Aso for the "encouragement" in his morning speech. (Reuters)
August
Pakistan's jailed Imran Khan appeals against graft conviction
Written by Nur Yasmin
Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan appealed against his conviction and three-year sentence on corruption charges on Tuesday, four days after he was jailed and barred from politics in a case threatening to worsen political uncertainty.
His lawyer, Naeem Panjutha, said the petition, challenging Khan's conviction on charges of selling state gifts unlawfully during his 2018-2022 term as prime minister, had been filed in Islamabad High Court, which will hear the case on Wednesday.
The petition seen by Reuters described the conviction as "without lawful authority, tainted with bias", and said Khan, 70, had not received an adequate hearing.
Noting that the court rejected a list of witnesses for the defence a day before reaching its verdict, it said a conviction without hearing the defence case was a "gross travesty of justice, and a slap in the face of due process and fair trial".
The verdict was also a violation of high court orders which had called for a review of whether the case involved genuine criminal charges before coming to the final ruling, the petition said.
The court had expedited the trial after Khan refused to attend hearings, defying repeated summonses and arrest warrants.
INSTABILITY
Khan has been at the heart of political turmoil since he was ousted as prime minister in a vote of no confidence last year, raising concern about stability in the nuclear-armed country as it grapples with an economic crisis.
With Khan out of the political picture for now, all eyes should be turning to the upcoming election, South Asia institute director at Washington-based The Wilson Center Michael Kugelman told Reuters.
Any delay in the election would fuel more anger among Pakistan's public and inject more uncertainty into the political environment, he said.
"That volatility and uncertainty could have implications for political stability but also the economy, if foreign investors and donors become reluctant to deploy more capital in such an environment," he said.
In June Pakistan secured a last-gasp $3 billion deal with the IMF, which has sought a consensus on policy objectives among all political parties ahead of general elections due by November.
Khan's legal team says he is being kept in abject conditions in a small, so-called C-class cell in a prison in Attock, near the capital Islamabad, with an open toilet, when he should qualify for a B-class cell with facilities including an attached washroom, newspapers, books and TV.
A request had been filed on his behalf for an A-class cell all the facilities he was entitled to.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, who spent several months in jail on drug trafficking charges he says were fabricated during Khan's tenure, said that Khan himself had been a proponent of uniformity in prisons.
"As far as the open washrooms, the jails have got only open washrooms, there are no separate washrooms, and it could be in Khan's knowledge that the cells where we were kept they were also the same," the minister told Geo News TV.
He said Khan could file an application in court that he shouldn't be kept with ordinary inmates.
"Whatever the court decides, it will be implemented and if he wants to have meals from home, he should seek a permission from court," he said. (Reuters)
August
Singapore PM Lee reassures public amid political scandals, inflation
Written by Nur Yasmin
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday sought to reassure the public after a spate of political scandals rocked his ruling party in recent months and amid continuing worries over inflation in the city-state.
In remarks made on the eve of Singapore's national day, Lee said his government would maintain "high standards of honesty, integrity, and propriety" after the anti-graft agency launched a rare investigation into a cabinet minister, and two lawmakers from the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) were forced to resign over an inappropriate relationship.
"Let there be no doubt: my government is determined to keep our system free of corruption and wrongdoing," he said in a televised address, wearing a shirt with Singapore's national colours of red and white.
Singapore is due to hold elections by 2025. The PAP has maintained a grip on power since Singapore became an independent nation in 1965.
Lee also addressed rising living costs in a country already considered among the world's most expensive.
"Inflation is still a problem for us, as it is for many countries," he said.
Singapore's yearly core inflation rate - which excludes private road transport and accommodation costs - eased to 4.2% in June from 4.7% in May.
Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) chief Ravi Menon said last month that Singapore's inflation would ease significantly thanks to a tight monetary policy stance, but the central bank would "not switch from inflation-fighting mode to growth-supporting mode".
The MAS left monetary policy settings unchanged in April, after tightening five times in a row since October 2021, reflecting concerns over the city-state's growth outlook. (Reuters)
August
War crimes by Myanmar's military 'more frequent and brazen', UN probe finds
Written by Nur Yasmin
War crimes committed by Myanmar's military, including the bombing of civilians, have become "increasingly frequent and brazen", a team of United Nations investigators said in a report published on Tuesday.
The report by the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), which covered the period between July 2022 and June 2023, said there was "strong evidence that the Myanmar military and its affiliate militias have committed three types of combat-related war crimes with increasing frequency and brazenness".
These crimes include the indiscriminate or disproportionate targeting of civilians using bombs and the burning of civilian homes and buildings, resulting at times in the destruction of entire villages, it said.
The report also cited "killings of civilians or combatants detained during operations".
"Our evidence points to a dramatic increase in war crimes and crimes against humanity in the country, with widespread and systematic attacks against civilians, and we are building case files that can be used by courts to hold individual perpetrators responsible," said Nicholas Koumjian, head of the IIMM.
Since a junta seized power two years ago, Myanmar has been plunged into chaos, with a resistance movement fighting the military on multiple fronts after a bloody crackdown on opponents that saw Western countries re-impose sanctions.
A spokesperson for the junta could not be reached for comment on the findings made by U.N. investigators.
The junta has previously denied atrocities have taken place, saying it is carrying out a legitimate campaign against terrorists.
Although it has justified bombings as attacks against military targets, UN investigators said the Myanmar military "should have known or did know" that a large number of civilians were in or around the alleged targets when the attacks took place. (Reuters)
August
South Korea evacuates tens of thousands of scouts ahead of typhoon
Written by Nur Yasmin
South Korea on Tuesday evacuated the majority of teenage scouts from their campsite ahead of an approaching typhoon, the latest disruption to the World Scout Jamboree which has been marred by illness and criticism of its organisation and facilities.
More than 1,000 buses were being deployed to move the scouts out of the southwest, a region that Typhoon Khanun is expected to hit as early as Wednesday.
There were about 36,000 participants at the campsite, near Buan city, and more than two-thirds have already left, Interior Minister Lee Sang-min told reporters.
Seoul and its surrounding province of Gyeonggi would host almost half the scouts, with the rest fanning out to six other areas, Lee said. Police cars and helicopters will escort the convoys to safety, he added.
South Korean organisers are keen to minimise any further problems at the jamboree, the first global gathering of scouts since the pandemic. Since the event began last week, hundreds of participants have fallen ill due to a heatwave, triggering criticism from the public and parents about a lack of preparation.
The British scout contingent, the event's biggest, also left early, citing poor sanitation and food quality, among other concerns. The U.S. scout group followed.
"This is the first time in more than 100 years of World Scout Jamborees that we have had to face such compounded challenges," Ahmad Alhendawi, Secretary General of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, said in a statement.
At the sprawling campsite, scouts dismantled tents and folded up ground sheets, before carrying their backpacks to board nearby buses.
Typhoon Khanun, which has already wreaked havoc in southern Japan, is moving toward South Korea bringing heavy rain and winds of up to 125 kph (78 mph) as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the weather agency.
Khanun is expected to hit southern regions of South Korea on Wednesday afternoon before tracking up the peninsula, prompting the government to raise its typhoon alert to the highest level and close some roads, mountain trails and beaches.
President Yoon Suk Yeol called for thorough preparations for the typhoon, warning of further damage especially in areas struck by last month's torrential rain. He also ordered the scouts to be evacuated without a glitch.
"We will make every effort to ensure their safety until the end of the event, so that young people from all over the world can return home with good memories," Yoon told an emergency meeting held for the typhoon.
Poland is due to host the next World Scout Jamboree in 2027, but President Andrzej Duda cancelled plans to attend this year's closing ceremony due to the typhoon, an official at the Polish Embassy in Seoul said.
A closing ceremony, to be followed by a K-pop concert, will now be held on Saturday at the Seoul World Cup Stadium, the culture ministry said.
South Korea has successfully hosted several major events including the summer and winter Olympic Games, as well as jointly hosting the soccer World Cup with Japan. The port city of Busan is currently bidding to host the Expo in 2030. (Reuters)
August
Philippines continues to assert sovereignty, rights in South China Sea
Written by Nur Yasmin
Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Monday the country continues to assert its sovereignty and territorial rights despite challenges in the South China Sea.
The Philippines on Sunday accused China's coast guard of blocking and water-cannoning a Philippine military supply boat in the South China Sea. (Reuters)
August
Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi returns to parliament after reinstatement
Written by Nur Yasmin
Rahul Gandhi returned to India's parliament on Monday after a Supreme Court ruling, boosting the profile of his Congress party and its opposition allies ahead of a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.
The vote is not expected to affect the popularity of Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which enjoys a strong majority.
However, the return of Gandhi, the scion of one of India's most renowned political dynasties, to parliament is expected to strengthen the voice of the newly formed, 26-party opposition alliance led by Congress.
Lawmakers are expected to debate, and then vote, on the government's performance from Tuesday to Thursday.
Gandhi, whose father, grandmother and great-grandfather were prime ministers, was convicted in March in a case brought by a BJP lawmaker over 2019 comments deemed insulting to Modi and others with the same name, including the lawmaker.
Upon his conviction, Gandhi, 53, lost his parliamentary seat and was jailed for two years but granted bail.
The Supreme Court last week suspended the conviction, allowing Gandhi to return to parliament and contest next year's elections.
On Monday, Gandhi entered the parliament building after showing respect to the statue of freedom movement leader Mahatma Gandhi in the complex. He did not speak to reporters.
"I have returned to parliament after paying my respects to Bapu," Gandhi later posted on Facebook, referring endearingly to Mahatma Gandhi as father.
JUBILANT OPPOSITION
Lawmakers from Congress and other opposition parties gathered outside the parliament's entrance to cheer Gandhi and their new alliance called INDIA, or the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance.
The alliance is making plans to run against the BJP in national elections due by May 2024.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the decision to reinstate Gandhi "brings relief to the people of India, and especially to Wayanad", his constituency in the southern state of Kerala.
BJP has said the Supreme Court has only suspended Gandhi's conviction and had not overturned it.
Gandhi's disqualification from parliament galvanised India's splintered opposition to form the INDIA alliance to jointly take on BJP.
Leaders of the alliance, which has less than half of BJP's 301 members in the lower house of parliament, have held two meetings since June and are due to meet again on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 to name a convenor and a co-ordination panel.
Ghanshyam Tiwari, spokesperson for the Samajwadi Party, a key member of the INDIA alliance, said Gandhi had "emerged as a formidable architect and leader" of the alliance.
"A strong Congress party with the rising stature of Rahul Gandhi and determined leadership of Kharge will make the alliance the leading force in every state," he told Reuters.
Analysts, however, cautioned that Gandhi taking centre stage again risked overshadowing the national ambitions of regional party leaders in the alliance and could destabilise it.
"It is very likely that any strident attempts by Congress to project Gandhi as their PM candidate would scupper the goal of broad opposition unity heralded by the INDIA alliance," political analyst Asim Ali wrote in the Times of India newspaper on Monday. (Reuters)
August
Bangladesh to tone down law critics accuse of crushing dissent
Written by Nur Yasmin
Bangladesh will tone down its Digital Security Act, criticised by many as a draconian curb on dissent, to allow bail for suspects and halt the jailing of journalists for defamation, the law minister said on Monday.
Journalists and rights activists have long demanded the repeal of the act to protect press freedom.
"Many sections of this act will be incorporated in the new Cyber Security Act. Major amendments will be brought in some clauses," Law Minister Anisul Huq told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
Huq told parliament in June that there had been 7,001 cases filed under the act across the country since the enactment of the law in October 2018 until January this year.
The act combines the colonial-era Official Secrets Act with tough provisions such as allowing police to make arrests without warrants.
"I don't know whether the government is just (playing) a trump card under severe pressure both at home and abroad," said a journalist, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisals.
"I hope it will not be old wine in a new bottle."
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has maintained tight control since coming to power in 2009 and has been accused by opposition groups cracking down on free speech, suppressing dissent and jailing critics. Her government has denied the charges.
Western governments and rights groups have also criticised the government for cracking down on anti-government protests.
Opposition groups have held large protest rallies calling on Hasina to step down and for the next election, due in January, to be held under a neutral caretaker government.
In May, Washington said it would restrict visas for Bangladeshis who undermine the democratic process at home, after accusations of vote-rigging and suppressing the opposition marred elections in 2014 and 2018. (Reuters)
August
Hindus, Muslims clash in India's Haryana as trouble spreads
Written by Nur Yasmin
Hindus and Muslims have clashed in the Indian state of Haryana a week after violence erupted during a Hindu procession in a Muslim neighbourhood, with a tomb and several vehicles torched and shops ransacked, police said on Monday.
At least seven people have been killed in the clashes, including the cleric of a mosque set on fire last week in the district of Gurugram.
The violence has been spreading with the latest beginning on Sunday and continuing into early Monday when several people set fire to a Muslim tomb, police officials said.
No one was hurt, they said.
"There have been three incidents of shops being vandalised in the district. Six people have been arrested," said Mayank Mishra, assistant superintendent of police in Panipat district, 200 km away from where the trouble began last week.
Tension between members of India's majority Hindu community and minority Muslims has periodically flared into deadly violence for generations.
The latest trouble comes as some members of the Muslim community say they are unfairly treated by the government of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The government rejects the accusations.
Despite the latest trouble, the district magistrate of business hub of Gurugram lifted prohibitory orders in place since last week, saying that "normalcy has returned".
But for many Muslims the clashes have brought fear.
Some have left towns to return to their villages or have gone to live with friends and relatives in other areas, media has reported.
Some Muslims in Gurugram say men have been coming to their communities and threatening them with violence unless they leave.
"They told us to get out of our house or they'll burn it down. We are leaving because we're afraid," resident Amuta Sarkar, told the ANI news agency, in which Reuters has a minority stake.
In a related development, the Punjab and Haryana High Court stepped in on Monday to block the demolition of a community of several hundred dwellings in the district of Nuh, where the violence began last week, legal news website LiveLaw reported.
Police said the people who attacked the Hindu procession came from the settlement of "illegal" structures.
"The demolition campaign has been stopped," the Nuh administration said in a statement. (Reuters)