Thai polls close with army-backed PM tipped for defeat

VOTE counting got underway in Thailand’s general election today with pro-democracy opposition parties tipped to defeat the conservative military-backed government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha after almost a decade in power. Opinion surveys pointed to a resounding defeat for ex-army chief and coup leader Prayut after a campaign that played out as a clash between […]

Saifuddin says convention proves govt is solid, stable, functional

THE National Unity Government Convention 2023 is proof that the unity government is solid, stable and functional, Pakatan Harapan secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said. He said nearly six months after the government was formed, all parties in the government did not look back but continued to move forward and together build the nation.

Hill tribes, Spider-Man and elephants, Thailand votes

FROM Hmong hill people voting in the shadow of mist-cloaked jungle mountains to Spider-Man cosplayers on Bangkok’s scorching streets, millions turned out to cast their ballots in Thailand’s election today. Voters are tipped to deliver a resounding defeat to incumbent Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-Cha after a campaign that has played out as a clash between […]

‘We all missed democracy,’ Erdogan rival says after voting

TURKISH President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main challenger pledged today to restore democracy, after casting his ballot in the country’s most important election of modern times. “We all missed democracy,” secular leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu told reporters in Turkey’s capital Ankara. “You will see, God willing, spring will come to this country.”

Colombia’s Petro proposes regional ceasefire to ELN guerrillas

COLOMBIA’S President Gustavo Petro urged a guerrilla group yesterday to agree to a regional ceasefire aimed at ending decades of conflict after the two sides failed to ink a nationwide deal this month. “I propose that we work seriously on a ceasefire, that they stop killing each other and that we stop killing each other,” […]

Anwar’s triumphant return to Dewan Merdeka, 25 years later

ANWAR Ibrahim’s return to Dewan Merdeka, World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur (WTCKL) today, making his speech as Malaysia’s 10th prime minister at the National Unity Government National Convention, is a momentous occasion in itself. The last time Anwar spoke publicly here was during the Umno general assembly in 1997 – a full quarter of a century before […]