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  A Thai appeals court overturns a decision to extradite Ly Tong and declares the Vietnamese dissident a free man. Tong has been held in Thailand since 2000, when he hijacked a plane in Thailand and flew it over Ho Chi Minh City, dropping anti-communist leaflets. The court overturned a September 2006 decision by a lower court, ruling that Tong's act was a political offense and not a security threat, and that Thailand does not extradite people to face trial on political charges. (AP)
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 Polls close in communal elections in Cambodia. About a dozen parties ran more than 100,000 candidates for around 11,000 seats on commune councils. Observers say the vote is a vital test of the democratic process ahead of the 2008 national election.(AFP) Two more people have died from H5N1, officials confirm, bringing Indonesia's bird-flu death toll to 70. The latest victims are a 22-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman. (AFP)- The pilots of Garuda Indonesia Flight 200 were arguing about the aircraft's speed in the moments before it crashed last month at Yogyakarta airport and burst into flames, a senior investigator says. The co-pilot wanted the Boeing 737-400 to turn around. It was the first time the two pilots had flown together. (BBC)
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 Myanmar's military rulers show off their new capital for the first time to the outside world. The new city, called Naypyidaw, or Abode of Kings, is being built about 460km (300 miles) north of the old capital, Rangoon. (BBC) (BBC) Pictures- Thailand's central bank denies it is planning to put a limit on the value of the baht, but has asked banks to avoid pushing the currency any higher. The banks have been asked to return their currency holdings to the position they were in at the end of 2006. The baht hit nine-year highs against the dollar last week but has since fallen back on rumours of intervention. (BBC)
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- Pojaman Shinawatra, wife of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been charged with tax evasion. She was charged, along with her brother and her secretary, at Bangkok Criminal Court before being released on bail. The case relates to the transfer of shares in 1997 in a family telecoms firm, now known as Shin Corp. (BBC)
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- Bangkok's recently decomnissioned airport Don Mueang has reopened to help ease congestion at the new Suvarnabhumi Airport as it undergoes repairs. Don Mueang airport - decommissioned six months ago - is expected to handle about 140 daily domestic flights. (BBC)
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- A former chief of police has been given a seven year jail sentence for detaining a woman for more than two months without charge. It is one of a series of brutality charges facing the former head of Phnom Penh police, Heng Pov. He was cleared of separate kidnapping charges on Wednesday, but is already serving an 18-year jail sentence for ordering a judge's murder, and faces at least two more trials, for murder and attempted murder. (BBC)
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- Prime Minister Soe Win, 73, is being treated at a hospital in Singapore. No details have been given of his illness, except that it is a "serious health matter". The Irrawaddy, a publication run by Burmese journalists in exile, reported last week that the prime minister may be suffering from leukaemia. (BBC)
- Police say they have arrested a number of suspected members of militant Muslim group Jemaah Islamiah (JI). One man was shot as he resisted arrest in Yogyakarta. The suspects are believed to have links to Indonesian militant Abu Dujana, who police say is the current leader of JI. (BBC)
- Three Muslim militants are sentenced to jail for beheading three Christian schoolgirls in Central Sulawesi in 2005. Hasanuddin, 34, was given 20 years for planning the attack, while two accomplices were given 14 years. Hasanuddin had told the court he helped plan the attack but rejected allegations he masterminded it. [(BBC)]
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- The Sidoarjo mud flow temporarily halts for 30 minutes. Engineers have dropped hundreds of giant, chain-linked spheres into the mouth of the hole so far. (BBC)
- Thai police have recommended that former PM Thaksin Shinawatra is charged on three counts of insulting the king. Police chief Sereepisut Taemeeyaves said he was also investigating several possible lese majeste cases, including a recent TV interview of Mr Thaksin. (BBC)
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 The Mekong and Salween rivers are named by the World Wide Fund for Nature among the world's most threatened by pollution and climate change. (AFP)
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- At least three teenage students have been killed in an attack on an Islamic school in southern Thailand. Explosives were thrown into the school in Songkhla province before the assailants opened fire on the sleeping quarters. Seven other students were wounded in the attack late on Saturday. The police have blamed the attack on Muslim separatists, but villagers disputed the police account and later staged a protest. (BBC)
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- Cambodian and international judges have resolved most of their differences over procedures for a planned Khmer Rouge tribunal, court officials say. But a key disagreement about the role of foreign lawyers remains unresolved. The judges have held 10 days of talks in Phnom Penh on rules for the trials, which aim to put surviving leaders of the brutal Maoist regime in the dock. The judges have called a full meeting of legal officials to approve the rules at the end of April. (BBC)
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 Clouded Leopards found on Sumatra and Borneo represent a new species, research by genetic scientists and the conservation group WWF indicates. Until now it had been thought they belonged to the species that is found on mainland southeast Asia. Clouded leopards are the biggest predators on Borneo, and can grow as large as small panthers. WWF, which maintains a large conservation operation on Borneo, estimates there are between 5,000 and 11,000 clouded leopards on the island, with a further 3,000 to 7,000 on Sumatra. (BBC)
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 Police have stormed a courtroom in Taguig City, killing a gunman to end a day-long hostage drama. Hostage-taker Almario Villegas was shot dead during the operation inside the Taguig Hall of Justice. Mr Villegas seized the hostages in a dispute over land ownership. (BBC)- Nine people have been killed in an attack on a minibus in southern Thailand. The incident, which also left one person injured, has been blamed on suspected Muslim insurgents. The minibus was taking people from the province of Yala to Hat Yai in the neighbouring province of Songkhla. (BBC)
- Abbott Laboratories, one of the world's biggest pharmaceutical companies has announced it will stop licensing any new drugs it develops for sale in Thailand. The US-based company said it was responding to the Thai government's decision to break the patent on the anti-HIV/Aids drug Kaletra. Thailand has announced it will either make or import cheap generic versions of three patented drugs. (BBC)
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- Former deputy trade minister Mai Van Dau goes on trial, charged with taking thousands of dollars in bribes from textile companies. Dau, who was arrested in 2004, faces up to 20 years in prison if he is convicted. Twelve other people are standing trial with him, including his son Mai Thanh Hai and several senior officials. (BBC)
- Haze pollution in Northern Thailand becomes so problematic that Thai Airways International cancels flights to Mae Hong Son Province. (Nation)
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- Former Deputy Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, has announced that he is ready to return to active politics in defiance of a legal ban. Mr Anwar says if his People's Justice Party backs him, he will run for its presidency in June despite being barred from political office until April 2008. Mr Anwar served six years in prison for corruption and sodomy. But he was released in September 2004 after the courts overturned the latter charge on appeal. (BBC)
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- A 15-year-old girl from Laos has died from the virulent H5N1 strain of bird flu, becoming the country's first official fatality from the disease. The girl, who lived near the capital Vientiane, died while undergoing treatment at a hospital in neighbouring Thailand. A 42-year-old woman, who also lived close to Vientiane, died of suspected bird flu a few days ago. Tests have yet to confirm whether she died of the H5N1 virus. (BBC)
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- Cambodian and international judges begin talks to prevent the possible collapse of the Khmer Rouge trials. The trials, which aim to put the surviving leaders of the Maoist regime in the dock, have ground to a halt over procedural differences. Foreign judges want full international legal standards, while the Cambodians say local law must take precedence. Trial hearings are theoretically due to start later this year. (BBC)
 Former East Timor interior minister Rogerio Lobato is sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in jail for his role in last year's unrest. Lobato was found guilty of abuse of power and of distributing weapons illegally to militias charged with eliminating government opponents. (BBC)- Garuda Indonesia Flight 200 bursts into flames upon landing at Yogyakarta, killing at least 22 people. Among the passengers are Australian diplomats and journalists covering Foreign Minister Alexander Downer's visit to Indonesia. (AFP) (BBC)
- Thai television station iTV is given a reprieve by Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, who orders the government's Public Relations Department to continue relaying the embattled station's signal, reversing a decision to halt broadcasts. (TNA) (Nation)
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- Malaysian police are investigating claims a senior member of government took more than $1.5m in bribes to release three suspected crime bosses. Deputy Minister for Internal Security Johari Baharom has identified himself as the man at the centre of the allegations but denies any wrongdoing. (BBC)
- A delegation from the Vatican has arrived in Vietnam for the latest round of negotiations on establishing diplomatic ties between the two sides. The visit comes shortly after the detention of a Catholic priest as well as allegation of abuses of believers by local officials in the country. This is the 15th round of talks between Vietnam and the Vatican. (BBC)
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- Australian-led peacekeeping troops have taken control of a town where rebel former army officer Alfredo Reinado and his men have been under siege. The soldiers, backed by helicopters and armoured vehicles, entered the town of Same, 50km (30 miles) south of the capital Dili, under cover of darkness. Four of the rebel force are reported to have been killed but their leader, Major Alfredo Reinado, escaped. (BBC) (BBC)
- Landslides in Flores have killed at least 40 people. Bad weather continues to hamper the rescue efforts with blocked roads preventing the supply of the heavy machinery needed to move debris. (BBC)
- A 42-year-old woman has become the first person to die from bird flu in Laos. Authorities said they were awaiting further tests to see if the woman was infected with the H5N1 strain. The woman lived in a village near Vientiane, where the H5N1 virus has been found in poultry. On Thursday, the country confirmed a 15-year-old girl, also from Vientiane province, had been infected with H5N1. (BBC)
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- Malaysia emerges as the biggest investor in Indonesia in 2006. (Bernama)
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- Indonesia's Vice-President Jusuf Kalla is taking a high-profile train journey to highlight transport safety issues. Mr Kalla is travelling from the capital Jakarta to Yogyakarta in central Java, a journey of around 12 hours. Concerns over the safety of Indonesia's trains, planes and ferries have risen in recent weeks after a series of transport disasters in the country. (BBC)
- Thai Finance Minister Pridiyathorn Devakula has resigned, citing media pressure and rifts in the government. Mr Pridiyathorn, who was appointed after the September 2006 coup, has been under growing pressure in recent weeks. His departure comes just a week after that of another senior economic adviser, Somkid Jatusripitak. (BBC)
- The Vietnamese government has announced that it is to award a prestigious prize to four poets 50 years after they were imprisoned and their works banned. Hoang Cam, Le Dat, Phung Quan and Tran Dan were part of a movement which criticised life under communism but which was crushed in the late 1950s. Of the four, two are now dead. (BBC)
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- Myanmar will allow alleged victims of forced labour to seek redress without fear of persecution, the UN has said. The International Labour Organization said Burmese authorities had acceded to its request as part of efforts to ensure abuse claims were investigated. While only a trial agreement, it will be seen by campaigners as an advance in the fight against the practice. (BBC)
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- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has turned down calls for the remains of thousands of victims of the Khmer Rouge to be cremated. He said it was important for the skulls to stay on display as evidence that millions died during the late 1970s. (BBC)
- Indonesia has closed its border with East Timor after rebels raided an East Timorese police post and seized a large number of automatic weapons. UN forces in East Timor say the attack was carried out by a rebel group led by a renegade army officer. Subsequently, the country's Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta asked the Indonesian government to close its border with East Timor so that government and international forces could track down the rebels. (BBC)
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- Levina I, the ferry on which a fire broke out on 22nd February sinks suddenly, with several safety investigators, police and journalists on board. Medical workers said a TV cameraman had died, two people were seriously hurt and an unknown number are missing. Earlier, the death toll from Thursday's fire rose to 41 after rescuers found 21 bodies drifting at sea. (BBC)
- Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta has formally announced that he will stand for president of East Timor in elections in April. Mr Ramos-Horta has been prime minister since last year, when he was appointed following widespread riots. He had previously served as East Timor's foreign minister. (BBC)
- Two Russian women have been shot dead in their deckchairs on a beach in Pattaya. The tourists from Kemerovo in Siberia were shot several times. Police have offered a 100,000-baht reward for information leading to the arrest of the killer. (BBC)
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- Indonesian engineers have lowered the first series of concrete balls into a mud volcano to try to plug an eruption which has destroyed thousands of homes. At least four of the giant, chain-linked spheres were dropped into the crater, but technical problems halted work at the East Java site. Workers plan to drop 1,500 balls, each weighing up to 250kgs (500lbs). (BBC)
- Dissidents in Vietnam say a Catholic priest who has been prominent in the country's small democracy movement has been arrested. The spokeswoman of the Vietnam Progression Party said that police took away Father Nguyen Van Ly after questioning him in his home for a week. Father Ly has spent 14 years in prison for his opposition to Communist Party rule. He was released in an amnesty in 2005. (BBC)
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- Troops in western Myanmar have captured a base used by separatists from neighbouring India after a week of fighting, a spokesman for the National Socialist Council of Nagaland has said. He said that 12 rebel fighters from India's Nagaland state had been killed. (BBC)
- Three journalists and one protester were detained by police in Burma after a rare public demonstration in Yangon. At least 15 protesters waved placards and chanted slogans calling for lower inflation, better health and education services and stable power supplies. (BBC)
- At least 15 people, including two children, have died after fire broke out on a ferry sailing from Jakarta to Bangka Island. The Levina I, with more than 200 people on board, was 80km (50 miles) from shore when the fire broke out. Transport Minister Hatta Rajasa told el-Shinta radio that 15 bodies had been recovered and that at least 275 people had been rescued. (BBC)
- A film about the 2002 Bali bombings has been banned in Bali. An official from the provincial film board said Long Road to Heaven could "reopen old wounds". It is Indonesia's first film about the atrocity and received its premiere in the capital Jakarta last month. I Gusti Ngurah Gde, head of Bali's film board, said: "We fear people who do not understand it would trigger conflict and direct hatred at a certain group." (BBC)
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- Indonesia has issued a tsunami warning after a powerful earthquake struck off the Maluku Islands in the east of the country. The earthquake, which took place under the sea, struck some 210km (130 miles) from the capital of the Moluccas, Ternate. (BBC)
- Three men have been arrested in connection with several attacks in southern Thailand since Sunday 18th February in which at least eight people died. The detained suspects were reportedly all students at Islamic schools. (BBC)
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| Trials |
[edit] Recently concluded
[edit] Ongoing
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Brunei
Cambodia
East Timor
Indonesia
Laos
Malaysia
Myanmar
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
Vietnam
Andaman and Nicobar Islands (India)
Christmas Island (Australia)
Cocos (Keeling) Islands (Australia)
Hainan Island (PRC)
