30/09/2026

WEDNESDAY | SEPT 30, 2026

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Vietnam arrests three on terrorism charges

21 Myanmar citizens held over donations YANGON: Myanmar has arrested 21 people it said had transferred money to an online fundraising platform linked to the opposition National Unity Government (NUG), the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported. It said authorities had identified the details of more than 2,700 people who allegedly provided financial support to the People’s Revolution Supply Family (PRF) website, which was established by the NUG. The arrested individuals live in townships in Myanmar and will face legal action. The report said investigations will continue, while financial accounts linked to the funding will be closed and confiscated. The National Unity Government, Myanmar’s parallel civilian administration formed by remnants of Aung San Suu Kyi’s party and other groups, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Opposition groups have long used unofficial payment channels, online fundraising, cryptocurrency and bond sales to raise funds. Diaspora communities play a major role in supporting opposition groups, providing financial support through overseas transfers and alternative payment channels. In Kyauktaw, two local aid workers said yesterday the death toll from an airstrike in west Myanmar rose to 50. Witnesses said aircraft bombed the riverside commercial hub in Kyauktaw town, Rakhine state, around midday on Monday. “The death toll has reached 50, and 58 people were injured,” said aid worker Wai Hun Aung. – Reuters/AFP development challenges in Papua are part of a policy that systematically violates human rights, saying credible allegations of abuses are taken seriously by national institutions. Its Foreign Ministry said such allegations are addressed through mechanisms such as the independent National Commission on Human Rights, and stressed that discussions on Papua should reflect the situation in its entirety. The statement followed concerns raised by Solomon Islands and Vanuatu over alleged human rights violations in Papua, Indonesia’s easternmost region, with Jakarta exercising its right of reply during the 81st UN General Assembly on Monday. The ministry said Indonesia would continue to engage constructively through relevant mechanisms and promote dialogue and cooperation based on facts. – Bernama MAN IN THE DOCK OVER FAKE CROCODILE PHOTO SINGAPORE: Police here charged a man yesterday with posting a fake AI-generated picture of a crocodile at reservoir that sparked public concern and an intensive search. Ye Lin, 30, from Myanmar, was charged with “communicating a false message” and obstructing the course of justice. Police alleged that Ye created the picture of the saltwater crocodile using artificial intelligence last month before sending it to a colleague. Authorities were then alerted of the possible presence of a deadly predator at Pandan Reservoir. They “discovered that the photograph was fake”. Ye told a court yesterday he intended to plead guilty, the Straits Times reported. Ye could face a prison term of up to three years, or a S$10,000 (RM31,901) fine or both if found guilty. He also faces an additional seven-year sentence or a fine, or both, on an obstruction of justice charge. – AFP INDONESIA DENIES PAPUA RIGHTS ALLEGATIONS JAKARTA: Indonesia has rejected allegations that security and

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prosecuted in accordance with the law. The ministry said the three men “confessed” to being Viet Tan members and “carrying forged documents to illegally enter Vietnam to conduct terrorist and sabotage activities”. The terrorism charge carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in jail. Viet Tan’s US-based executive director Duy Hoang told AFP Thuan and Hiep had no intention of entering Vietnam. “Essentially, they’re being charged with belonging to Viet Tan,” Hoang said. More than 160 political prisoners are detained in Vietnam, according to Human Rights Watch. Campaigners say previous cases of “transnational repression” by Vietnam include the 2017 kidnapping of fugitive Vietnamese executive Trinh Xuan Thanh from a Berlin park, and the 2023 abduction of Vietnamese blogger and government critic Duong Van Thai in Thailand. Both men were seeking asylum outside Vietnam but were ultimately returned and jailed. Hoang said he believed the recent detentions were the first of a person with non-Vietnamese citizenship being “abducted outside of Vietnam because of that person’s political activities”. – Reuters/AFP

carrying an Australian passport. It did not provide further information about Son’s nationality, but said he was born in 1980. Viet Tan said in a statement that Thuan and Huy (also known as Tran Hiep) had been abducted in Cambodia and forcibly taken to Vietnam. It said they disappeared in Cambodia on Sept 18 while travelling to Kaoh Andaet, an area in the south of the country near the Vietnamese border. Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters in Adelaide that the government was providing consular assistance to Huy and his family. The Norwegian embassy in Hanoi referred Reuters’ queries to the government in Oslo. A Cambodian government spokesperson said he had no information about the arrests. “Viet Tan strongly condemns the abduction of two of its members in Cambodia and the fabricated charges,” the group said. Viet Tan called on the governments of Norway and Australia, as well as international human rights organisations, to press Hanoi for the men’s immediate and unconditional release. Vietnamese authorities said the investigation was continuing and that they would be

HANOI: Vietnam police have arrested three people, including a Norwegian citizen and an Australian national of Vietnamese origin, accusing them of terrorism, in an operation that a pro-democracy group says was conducted in Cambodia. The three men were identified by Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security as Nguyen Duc Thuan, Ho Pham Hiep Huy and Thai Cong Truong Son. It said they were arrested on Sept 18 trying to cross illegally from Cambodia into Vietnam. The ministry said the men had admitted to being members of Viet Tan, a US-based pro democracy group that Vietnam’s Communist government designates as a terrorist organisation. The three were “illegally entering Vietnam to conduct terrorist and sabotage activities”, the ministry said. They are also accused of forging seals and documents, according to the ministry. It said Thuan, born in 1974, was carrying a Norwegian passport and Huy, born in 1975, was o Pro-democracy group says trio abducted in Cambodia

Thai Airways battles baggage chaos BANGKOK: Thai Airways struggled to resume regular services yesterday following heavy rain, though the government said floodwater in the capital Bangkok was expected to recede within three days if no more rain fell. over two to three days last week, nearly as much as the sprawling low-lying city usually gets in the whole of September. Passengers queue to claim baggage from Thai Airways flights at Suvarnabhumi Airport. – REUTERSPIC

remain stranded at the airport, but these would be cleared within 72 hours, according to Chai. Thailand’s Cabinet has approved over 4 billion baht (RM485.9 million) to address the impact of the floods, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said, adding that another long term drainage project costing 160 billion baht had also been given the go-ahead. Some 1,267 businesses across 40 provinces have been affected by flooding, including 52 factories and 1,162 small and medium enterprises, according to Industry Minister Varawut Silpa-archa. Nationwide, economic damage caused by the flooding was estimated at over US$320 million (RM1.3 billion). – Reuters

At least 23 people have been killed across Thailand, including four in Bangkok, due to heavy rains and floods in 42 provinces since Sept 16, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. Although Bangkok’s main airports kept running through the weekend rain and flooding, some baggage handling operations at Suvarnabhumi Airport were severely affected, with 69 Thai Air Force personnel called in on Monday to support ground operations of Thai Airways. Around 5,600 bags from Thai Airways flights

Thai Airways plans to cut about 30 flights, about 30% of its planned departures from Bangkok, its Chief Executive Chai Eamsiri told reporters. The reduction in flights from Bangkok will last for at least three days, he said. “Almost 100% of flights over the past two days were delayed, with fewer than 3% on schedule as operational capacity could not be sustained,” he said. Bangkok received around 320mm of rain