ASEAN News

Thailand – According to Thailand’s narcotics board, cannabis would be removed off the drugs list of the country which in turn resulted to clearing the door for individuals to cultivate the plant in their own homes. Thailand became the very first nation in the Southeast Asia region to legalize marijuana for medicinal use as well as for scientific purposes. People may …

South Korea – Today, the daily total number of new coronavirus cases in South Korea surpassed 8,000 for the first time, as the highly infectious Omicron strain spreads swiftly despite the recent expansion of tight social-distancing measures to reduce infection. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) recorded 8,571 cases yesterday, surpassing the previous high of 7,848 in mid-December. The …

Singapore – Community members lined a huge canal in Upper Bukit Timah, where their bodies were believed to have been recovered, with candles and flowers a day after word of their deaths came. “May your spirits rest in peace and offer your family closure. No one deserves this, and we are all in mourning.” One sign said, scribbled on a …

Afghanistan – Two staff members stated that the Taliban’s religious police had threatened to kill women NGO employees in a northern district of Afghanistan if they did not wear the all-covering burqa. Since the Taliban retook control in August after deposing the US-backed government, Afghans‘ rights, particularly those of women and children, have been significantly restricted. Women are being pushed …

Singapore – After having conducted several investigations with the aim to seek and get an e-vaporiser distribution network that operated on Telegram arrested, the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) finally announced the seizure of over S$200,000 (RM622,009) worth of electronic vaporisers and related components. HSA seized the distributor of the network as well as the residence of the peddlers during a 24-hour …

Myanmar – Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said he would engage with other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) officials in the next two weeks to identify methods to ameliorate the suffering of the people of Myanmar. In a statement on Sunday, Locsin decried the four-year prison sentence imposed to Myanmar’s deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi by …

Malaysia – On January 27, the Defense Ministers of Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines will meet to discuss steps to reinforce the Trilateral Cooperative Arrangement (TCA) in order to improve security in the Sulu Sea, Sulawesi, and Sabah’s east coast. Senior Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said he had previously indicated to his counterparts in Indonesia and the Philippines …

Afghanistan – At the weekend, Taliban forces marched through a northwest Afghan city in a show of force, days after reinforcements were dispatched to quiet protests after the imprisonment of a popular leader. After an Uzbek Taliban leader was jailed for apparent connections to an abduction scheme, wave of protests started last week in Maymana, the capital of Faryab province. Fears …

Singapore – The impending Omicron wave in Singapore might reach 15,000 cases per day, which is many times higher than the Delta wave, which peaked at roughly 5,000 cases per day last year. At a press conference on Wednesday (Jan 5), Associate Professor Kenneth Mak, director of medical services at the Ministry of Health (MOH), said that this is comparable …

South Korea – As worry grows over the development of the extremely contagious Omicron variant, South Korea will begin treating coronavirus patients with Pfizer‘s antiviral medicines on Friday, according to health officials. As stated by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), at least 21,000 Paxlovid pills will be arriving on Thursday and to be distributed to a total of 280 pharmacies and 90 residential …