Top News Headlines In Indonesia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand & Vietnam: May 24, 2025
The government is moving at full speed to prepare for the launch of President Prabowo Subianto's flagship education initiative, Sekolah Rakyat (community school), which aims to provide free boarding school education to underprivileged children from elementary to secondary levels.
1.GOVERNMENT RACES AGAINST TIME TO LAUNCH SEKOLAH RAKYAT -- THE JAKARTA POST
Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia dismissed claims that Shell's sale of its entire fuel retail network in Indonesia reflects a worsening investment climate in the country's energy sector. Shell confirmed the sale of about 200 gas stations, including 160 company-owned sites, to a joint venture between Citadel Pacific Limited and Indonesia's Sefas Group.
2.SHELL'S EXIT FROM INDONESIA FUEL RETAIL NOT A SIGN OF ENERGY SECTOR DECLINE, SAYS MINISTER -- JAKARTA GLOBE
1.ELECTRONIC VOTING FOR ERROR-FREE POLLS -- THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR
Electronic voting machines will be deployed to reduce electoral errors during the planned election at the end of this year. Electronic voting is necessary to hold a multiparty democratic general election. After the elections, regional and state legislative bodies will be elected.
2.INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ON BIOSECURITY -- THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR
Russia-Myanmar held talks on biosecurity cooperation in Moscow. Officials discussed global and Asia-Pacific regional efforts to lessen biological threats and infectious diseases rising from humans, animals, plants, genetically modified crops and biological products.
SINGAPORE
1.NEW GOVT'S TOP PRIORITY IS TO SECURE FOR SINGAPORE AN ASSURED PLACE IN A CHANGED WORLD: PM WONG -- THE STRAITS TIMES
The new Government's first priority is to secure for Singapore an assured place in a changed world, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
2.PM WONG'S NEW GOVERNMENT TO PRIORITISE SECURING SINGAPORE'S PLACE IN A 'CHANGED WORLD' -- CNA
Securing Singapore an assured place in a 'changed world' is a key priority for the country's next term of government, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Friday (May 23) as his new Cabinet was sworn in.
THAILAND
1. DTAM APPROVES LIMITS ON CANNABIS FLOWER SALES TO PRESCRIPTIONS -- THE NATION
The Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine (DTAM) has approved revised cannabis regulations, permitting the sale of cannabis flowers strictly for medical use with a valid prescription.
2. CASINO BILL SEEN AS 'TOP PRIORITY' -- BANGKOK POST
The government's casino-entertainment complex bill will top the agenda when parliament convenes in July, Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat said.
VIETNAM
1.AIR TRANSPORT SECTOR SEES STRONG GROWTH -- VIETNAMPLUS
Vietnam's air transport segment has grown significantly over the past decade. The International Air Transport Association said Vietnam rose from the 11th largest air passenger market in the Asia-Pacific region in 2014 to the eighth largest in 2024.
2.PEPPER EXPORTERS TOLD TO PENETRATE GLOBAL MARKET -- VIETNAMPLUS
Vietnam's pepper exporters have been told to tap into the global market as there is a shortage and rising demand for high-quality farm products. Increasing volume, strengthening brand identity and offering value-added products are important to capture global market share.
-- BERNAMA
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Malay Mail
4 hours ago
- Malay Mail
UK to unveil major defence review to confront ‘new era of threat' amid rising Russian aggression
LONDON, June 2 — Britain is set to publish on Monday a major review of its defence strategy and armed forces as the government warned of 'growing' Russian aggression and the changing nature of modern warfare. Prime Minister Keir Starmer cautioned on Sunday that the UK was being 'directly threatened' by hostile states as his government announced a raft of new defence measures. 'We will restore Britain's war-fighting readiness as the central purpose of our armed forces,' Starmer wrote in a statement published by The Sun. The UK has been racing to rearm in the face of the threat from Russia and fears that US President Donald Trump will no longer help protect Europe. On Monday, the Labour government will publish its Strategic Defence Review, a document that will assess threats facing the UK and make recommendations. The review warns that Britain is entering 'a new era of threat' as drones and artificial intelligence transform modern warfare, The Guardian newspaper reported over the weekend. Starmer said it would serve as 'a blueprint for strength and security for decades to come'. His government pledged in February to lift defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027 in the 'largest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War'. And despite budget constraints, it aims for spending to rise to 3 per cent in the next parliamentary term, due in 2029. The Labour government has said it will cut UK overseas aid to help fund the spending. 'Daily' attacks The last such defence review was commissioned in 2021 by the previous Conservative government, and was revised in 2023 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Based on the recommendations of the review, which is led by former Nato secretary general George Robertson, Starmer announced measures to boost stockpiles and weapons production capacity, which could be scaled up if needed. This includes £1.5 billion (RM8.6 billion) for building 'at least six munitions and energetics factories', procuring 7,000 domestically built long-range weapons, and spending £6 billion on munitions over the current parliamentary term. The government also said it would build 12 new attack submarines as part of its AUKUS military alliance with Australia and the United States, and invest £15 billion in its nuclear warhead programme. The defence ministry last week pledged £1 billion for the creation of a 'cyber command' to help on the battlefield. 'We're in a world that is changing now... and it is a world of growing threats,' Defence Secretary John Healey told the BBC in an interview Sunday. 'It's growing Russian aggression. It's those daily cyberattacks, it's new nuclear risks, and it's increasing tension in other parts of the world as well,' he said. 'Sophisticated challenge' While launching the review, Robertson said it would tackle with threats from Russia, China, Iran and North Korea, calling them a 'deadly quartet'. But in his op-ed in The Sun, Starmer did not mention China, while warning that 'The Kremlin is working hand in hand with its cronies in Iran and North Korea.' The softer rhetoric on China is in line with the Labour government's efforts to thaw relations with Beijing, which reached new lows under former prime minister Rishi Sunak's Conservative government. The review describes Russia as an 'immediate and pressing' threat, but calls China a 'sophisticated and persistent challenge', according to The Guardian. At a time when Washington is demanding that its Nato allies bolster their own defences, Britain is considering strengthening its deterrent by buying nuclear-missile capable aircrafts from the United States, The Sunday Times reported. Without confirming or denying, Healey said Sunday that 'strong deterrence is absolutely essential in order to keep Britain and the British people safe'. — AFP
Malay Mail
6 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Ukraine claims US$7b blow to Russian bombers in bold drone strike ahead of ceasefire talks
KYIV, June 2 — Ukraine said Sunday it destroyed Russian bombers worth billions of dollars in a 'large-scale' drone assault on enemy soil as it geared up for talks with Moscow counterparts to explore prospects for a ceasefire. In a spectacular claim, Ukraine said it damaged US$7 billion (RM30 billion) worth of Russian aircraft parked at four airbases thousands of kilometres (miles) away, with unverified video footage showing aicraft engulfed in flames and black smoke. A source in the Ukrainian security services said the drones were concealed in the ceilings of shipping containers which were opened up to release them for the assault. The long-planned operation came at a delicate moment three years into Russia's invasion. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that he was sending a delegation to Istanbul led by his Defence Minister Rustem Umerov for talks on Monday with Russian officials. Turkey is hosting the meeting, which was spurred by US President Donald Trump's push for a quick deal to end the three-year war. Zelensky, who previously voiced scepticism about whether Russia was serious in proposing Monday's meeting, said he had defined the Ukrainian delegation's position going into it. Priorities included 'a complete and unconditional ceasefire' and the return of prisoners and abducted children, he said on social media. Russia has rejected previous ceasefire demands. It said it has formulated its own peace terms but refused to divulge them in advance. Russian President Vladimir Putin ruled out a Turkish proposal for the countries' leaders to attend the meeting. Russian news agencies said the Russian delegation was headed to Istanbul on Sunday for the talks. Drone attacks inside Russia A source in Ukraine's SBU security service said the coordinated attacks inside Russia were 'aimed at destroying enemy bombers far from the front'. Rybar, an account on the Telegram message platform that is close to the Russian military, called it a 'very heavy blow' for Moscow and pointed to what it called 'serious errors' by Russian intelligence. The SBU source said strikes targeted Russian airbases in the eastern Siberian city of Belaya, in Olenya, in the Arctic near Finland, and in Ivanovo and Dyagilevo, both east of Moscow. More than 40 aircraft had been hit at the Belaya base and a fire had broken out there, the source said, showing a video in which several aircraft could be seen in flames and black smoke rising. AFP was not able to independently verify the claims or the video images. The SBU claimed in a social media post to have hit Russian military planes worth a combined US$7 billion in a 'special operation'. Russia's defence ministry confirmed on Telegram that several of its military aircraft 'caught fire', adding that there were no casualties and that several 'participants' had been arrested. Igor Kobzev, Governor of Russia's Irkutsk region, which hosts the targeted Belaya airbase, said it was 'the first attack of this sort in Siberia'. He called on the population not to panic and posted an amateur video apparently showing a drone flying in the sky and a large cloud of grey smoke. The governor of the Murmansk region where the Olenya base was located, Andrey Chibis, also said 'enemy drones' were flying overhead, and anti-aircraft defences were operating. Russia has been announcing Ukrainian drone attacks on a near-daily basis, usually saying they had all been shot down. But it was rare for such drone strikes to be reported so deep within its territory. At the same time, Russia has been carrying out constant attacks on Ukraine. On Sunday, Ukraine's air force said it was hit by 472 Russian drones and seven missiles overnight — a record since the beginning of the invasion. In a rare admission of its military losses, the Ukraine army said Russia's 'missile strike on the location of one of the training units' had killed a dozen soldiers, most of whom had been in shelters during the attack, and wounded more than 60. The attack led Ukrainian ground forces commander Mykhailo Drapaty to announce his resignation, saying he felt 'responsibility' for the soldiers' deaths. Blasts fell bridges Separately on Sunday, the Russian army said it had captured another village in Ukraine's northern Sumy region, where Kyiv fears Moscow could mount a fresh ground assault. Russia claims to have captured several settlements in the region in recent weeks, and has massed more than 50,000 soldiers on the other side of the border, according to Zelensky. Authorities in the region have evacuated more than 200 villages amid intensified shelling. In Russia, officials said a blast brought down a road bridge in the Bryansk region bordering Ukraine on Saturday, derailing a passenger train heading to Moscow and killing seven people. A separate rail bridge in the neighbouring Kursk region was blown up hours later in the early hours of Sunday, derailing a freight train and injuring the driver. Authorities did not say who was behind the explosions, but investigators said a criminal inquiry was underway. — AFP
Free Malaysia Today
16 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Myanmar junta extends ceasefire again following quake
The late March earthquake has left tens of thousands of people homeless in Myanmar. (AP pic) YANGON : Myanmar's junta has extended a post-earthquake truce, after the expiry of a previous humanitarian ceasefire it was accused of flouting with a continued campaign of air strikes. The junta initially declared a truce in the many-sided civil war after a huge quake in late March killed nearly 3,800 people and left tens of thousands homeless. The truce has been extended before, although conflict monitors say fighting has continued, including regular air strikes. A statement from the junta information team yesterday said there would be an extension of the armistice – which expired May 31 – until June 30. This would 'facilitate rehabilitation and reconstruction activities in earthquake-affected areas', it said in the statement. It added that the state was 'intensively engaging in reconstruction of damaged government offices and departments, public residences and transport facilities'. The ceasefire would also allow the country to hold 'a free and fair multi-party democracy general election', according to the statement. The country's junta chief said earlier this year that a long-promised election will be held by January, the first in the war-torn nation since the military staged a coup in 2021. In the statement, the military also warned it would still strike back against any offensives by the array of ethnic armed groups and anti-coup fighters. The announcement comes after Malaysian foreign minister Mohamad Hasan used a regional meeting last week to call for the extension and expansion of a ceasefire 'beyond the currently affected zones'. Malaysia currently holds the rotating chairmanship of the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). The bloc has led so far fruitless diplomatic efforts to end Myanmar's conflict since the junta deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.
