Malaysian Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Nur Jazlan Mohamed has opposed a recent announcement of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) turning the country into a “destination” for refugees, instead of a “transit point”.

Tourism chiefs of the 10 ASEAN member countries have approved a declaration manifesting their common desire to boost tourism growth and align regional ecotourism destinations during a roundtable in Champasak, Laos on June 22 as part of the first-ever ASEAN Ecotourism Forum. 

The two powerful ethnic armed groups based in the Wa and Mongla autonomous zones of Myanmar have reportedly accepted invitations to participate in the government’s peace process, according to a member of the government negotiating team. 

VOV.VN -New strikes called by labor unions will take place on June 23, inflicting social instability and economic damage on France.

Indonesia plans to sink at least 30 foreign vessels caught by the authorities while conducting illegal fishing in its waters, Minister of Maritime and Fisheries Susi Pudjiastuti announced on June 21.

The European Union's Brussels envoys agreed on June 21 to extend until the end of January the energy, financial and defense sanctions on Russia over the conflict in Ukraine, but formal approval is still pending, diplomatic sources said.

Taliban fighters in the southern Afghan province of Helmand stopped vehicles and detained at least 25 people, officials said on June 21, as the insurgents continued a series of abductions on Afghanistan's highways over the past few weeks.

President Barack Obama's nominee to lead the U.S. military in Africa on June 21 backed the idea of gaining greater power to strike Islamic State, including in Libya, which he described as the group's Plan B as it loses territory in Iraq and Syria.

Thailand and Cambodia will maintain close ties and deepen existing cooperation, especially on issues of border affairs and labour, Thailand’s Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai and his Cambodian counterpart Prak Sokhonn agreed at a meeting in Bangkok on June 20. 

More than 20 people were killed in separate bomb attacks in Afghanistan on June 20, including at least 14 who died when a suicide bomber struck a minibus carrying Nepali security guards working at the Canadian embassy in Kabul, officials said.