INTERNATIONAL

PHILIP HEIJMANS / AL JAZEERA

The corruption of Myanmar's jade trade ‘heist’

New report identifies key players in the industry who have obtained billions worth of the precious gem in the last year

October 23, 2015 10:13AM ET

by Philip Heijmans

YANGON, Myanmar – Myanmar's vast jade industry is being used as a slush fund by a network of military elites, drug lords and crony companies who illegally exploit the valuable resource for tens of billions of dollars a year, according to a report released on Friday by Global Witness.

Burma signs ceasefire deal with eight rebel factions

Myanmar's government and eight smaller ethnic rebel armies signed a ceasefire agreement to end more than six decades of fighting, but other more powerful groups refused to come on board, signaling that peace will remain elusive.

Thousands flee as deadly Typhoon Koppu hits northern Philippines

Powerful Typhoon Koppu wrecked houses, tore down trees and unleashed landslides and floods, killing at least 16 people and forcing thousands to flee as it pummeled the northern Philippines on Sunday, officials said.

Officials fear the death toll may rise after Typhoon Koppu tore through the main island of Luzon leaving several remote towns and villages isolated due to flash floods and toppled trees and boulders blocking roads. Power was down in many areas.

INTERNATIONAL

JIM WATSON / AFP / GETTY IMAGES

US, 11 Pacific Rim nations reach agreement on landmark trade pact

Controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership would cover some 40 percent of the world economy

October 5, 2015 8:41AM ET

Pacific trade ministers have reached a deal on the most sweeping — and to many the most controversial — trade liberalization pact in a generation, in a move that will cut trade barriers and set common standards across the bloc, but potentially at a cost to consumers and employees, say public health advocates, environmentalists and labor groups.

INTERNATIONAL

NICOLAS ASFOURI / AFP / GETTY IMAGES

To be or not to be: The great firewall of Thailand

As one nation hatches a government plan to control the Internet, advocacy groups in Bangkok voice opposition

October 7, 2015 5:00AM ET

by Adam Ramsey

BANGKOK, Thailand — Tucked away in a coffee shop near Central Bangkok, Phannee Naksuk rushed behind her counter, sprinkling cinnamon on the foam of an iced latte that was beginning to wilt. All around, her dozen customers were stuck on smartphones or laptops, their faces illuminated in faint blue light inside the shady shop.

North Korea says it has restarted nuclear bomb fuel plant

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North Korea confirmed Tuesday that the nuclear reactor seen as the country's main source of weapons-grade plutonium had resumed normal operations.

In an interview with the North's official KCNA news agency, the institutes's director said all facilities at the Yongbyon nuclear complex – including a five-megawatt reactor – had "started normal operations".

North Korea mothballed the Yongbyon reactor in 2007 under an aid-for-disarmament accord, but began renovating it after its last nuclear test in 2013.

Since then, satellite imagery analysis has suggested the partial and intermittent restart of the reactor which, when fully operational, is capable of producing around six kilos (13 pounds) of plutonium a year – enough for one nuclear bomb, experts say.

The AEI director, who was not named, said scientists and technicians had been "steadily improving" both the quality and quantity of the North's nuclear deterrent and issued a by-now standard warning to the United States.

"If the US and other hostile forces persistently seek their reckless hostile policy ... (North Korea) is fully ready to cope with them with nuclear weapons any time," he said.

The warning followed strong hints from Pyongyang that it is considering a satellite rocket launch to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers' Party on October 10.

The North insists its rocket launches are intended to put peaceful satellites into orbit, while the United States and its allies see them as disguised ballistic missile tests.

(AFP)

INTERNATIONAL

WILLIAM WEST / AFP / GETTY IMAGES

Malcolm Turnbull sworn in as Australia's new PM

Turnbull, the nation's fourth leader two years, assured the country that his government remained strong

September 15, 2015 2:15AM ET

Australia's former communications minister, Malcolm Turnbull, was sworn in as prime minister on Tuesday, assuring the country that his government remained strong despite an internal party revolt that made him the nation's fourth leader in little more than two years.

Australia Prime Minister Tony Abbott ousted 2:04

Al Jazeera America News | September 14, 2015

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Turnbull became Australia's 29th prime minister after a surprise ballot of his conservative Liberal Party colleagues voted 54-44 on Monday night to replace Prime Minister Tony Abbott only two years after he was elected. Turnbull's elevation has cemented a culture of disposable leaders as the new norm in Australian politics since the 11-year tenure of Prime Minister John Howard ended in 2007.

"There's been a change of prime minister, but we are a very, very strong government, a very strong country with a great potential and we will realize that potential working very hard together," Turnbull told reporters as he left his Canberra apartment on Tuesday morning.

"I'm filled with optimism and we will be setting out in the weeks ahead ... more of those foundations that will ensure our prosperity in the years ahead," Turnbull added.

Shortly before Turnbull was sworn in, a grim-faced Abbott spoke for the first time since his sudden ouster, warning that the persistent volatility in Australia's government could hurt the nation's standing on the global stage.

"Australia has a role to play in the struggles of the wider world: the cauldron of the Middle East and security in the South China Sea and elsewhere," Abbott told reporters. "I fear that none of this will be helped if the leadership instability that's plagued other countries continues to taint us."

Abbott did not say during his speech whether he will quit politics. He did say he would not destabilize the new prime minister. "There will be no wrecking, no undermining, and no sniping," Abbott told reporters.

Turnbull, a 60-year-old former journalist, lawyer and merchant banker known for his moderate views, was party leader for two years before Abbott ousted him by a single vote in a similar leadership ballot.

The Liberals were elected in 2013 as a stable alternative to the then-Labor government. Labor came to power under Kevin Rudd at elections in 2007, only to dump him for his deputy Julia Gillard in 2010 months ahead of elections. The bitterly divided and chaotic government then dumped Gillard for Rudd just months before the 2013 election.

Successive opinion polls showed that the government was likely to lose in next September's elections under Abbott's leadership. Opinion polls show that Turnbull is more popular than Abbott, but his support for environmental steps against carbon alienated some on the party's right.

In Myanmar, Muslim minority is targeted for hate, not for votes

Nationalist monks celebrate new repressive laws as Rohingya candidates are culled from general election ballots

September 20, 2015 5:30AM ET

by Hanna Hindstrom   

Buddhist monks look at posters showing images of violence attributed to Muslims around the world during a celebration led by the Ma Ba Tha nationalist monks at a monastery in Yangon.

Ye Aung Thu / AFP / Getty Images

YANGON, Myanmar — The celebrations began shortly after dawn. A cluster of monks in saffron robes gathered beneath this city’s historic golden Shwedagon Pagoda to murmur prayers and chants. A procession of vans then took the men to a monastery on the outskirts of Yangon, where groups of monks, nuns and civilians huddled under umbrellas before a large stage lined with senior abbots and emblazoned with Buddhist insignia.

INTERNATIONAL

MOHD RASFAN / AFP / GETTY IMAGES

US corruption investigation targets Malaysian leader, NY Times reports

New York Times says DOJ probing corruption allegations against PM Najib Razak, who faces rising political pressure

September 22, 2015 10:37AM ET

A U.S. federal grand jury is examining allegations of corruption involving Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and individuals close to him, The New York Times reported. The development that could add to the domestic political pressure on the troubled administration, and three Malaysian opposition parties announced Tuesday that they’re forming a new alliance.

Thai military-backed council rejects new constitution

Thailand's military-backed legislature on Sunday rejected an unpopular draft of a new constitution, delaying a return to democracy following a coup last year.

The junta-picked drafters had hoped the proposed charter would move the Southeast Asian countrypast almost a decade of political conflicts, but it was met with strong opposition on almost all sides of political divide.

The legislature appointed by the junta, known as the National Reform Council, voted 135 against vs. 105 in favor with seven abstentions. The rejection, although welcomed by many, still sets back a tentative plan for Thailand's transition to electoral democracy, with the military retaining substantial powers until a new constitution is drafted.