US President Joe Biden announced a $102 million aid plan to develop cooperative relations with ASEAN countries. Analysts assess, Indonesia has the potential to take on the role of a leader in the Southeast Asia region.
Read More »Halloween Trick or Treat Safe Amid the Continuing Pandemic
Officials and medical experts in the US are now encouraging children to enjoy Halloween on October 31, especially outdoors and without crowds. The atmosphere of Halloween this time is different from last year, which was more tense and colored by limited data and the absence of a vaccine against Covid.
Read More »Sudan riots complicate aid delivery
Sudan’s ruling general said Tuesday that the prime minister, who he ousted in a coup, was being held for his safety and would likely be released soon. However, he warned that other members of the dissolved government might be put on trial, while protests against the coup continued in the …
Read More »Germany elects new parliament speaker, Merkel steps down from chancellor
For the first time since last month’s election, the Bundestag, Germany’s lower house of parliament, met Tuesday and elected a new chairman from the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD). Baerbel Bas won to lead the body with 736 members. Bas, 53, from Duisburg, west Germany, has been a member of the …
Read More »FDA Considers Pfizer’s COVID-19 Vaccine for Children
An independent advisory committee of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) met Tuesday (26/10) to consider approving emergency use of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11. Although children are thought to rarely get seriously ill or die from COVID-19, the FDA’s head of vaccines Dr. Peter Marks Tuesday …
Read More »China urges Western countries to help Taliban and lift sanctions
China has pressured the Taliban’s interim government in Afghanistan to “effectively” protect women’s rights and renewed its call to lift international sanctions on the conflict-torn country to help it cope with growing “economic chaos”. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed the issue in two days of talks with Taliban leaders …
Read More »Attending ASEAN Summit, Biden Announces Plans to Enhance US-ASEAN Strategic Partnership
US President Joe Biden on Tuesday (26/10) announced a $102 million initiative to strengthen US relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). A total of $40 million (Rp565 billion) of which was budgeted to help deal with the pandemic and mitigate other pandemics in the future. Biden announced …
Read More »US National Security Adviser Meets Representative of Myanmar’s Shadow Government
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Monday met with representatives of the Government of Myanmar’s National Unity (NUG) set up by opponents of the military rule, the White House said late Monday. During the virtual meeting, Sullivan reaffirmed US support for the pro-democracy movement in Myanmar and discussed ongoing …
Read More »Amnesty International to Close its Hong Kong Offices
Amnesty International said Monday it would close two of its Hong Kong offices, citing concerns about the city’s national security laws. The human rights organization has been present in Hong Kong for more than 40 years. The organization’s mission is to “raise awareness about human rights issues in the city.” …
Read More »Myanmar Absent from ASEAN Summit after Exclusion of Its Military Ruler
Leaders of countries in Southeast Asia began their annual summit without Myanmar’s participation on Tuesday (26/10). The summit comes amid a diplomatic stalemate due to the exclusion of the country’s military leader from the meeting. Myanmar skipped the summit in protest after ASEAN banned its leader general from attending its …
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