ASEAN

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is prioritizing strategic interests over human rights by inviting a pair of internationally criticized leaders from Southeast Asia, where the U.S. is vying with China for influence. The White House said rights concerns in the Philippines and Thailand may be aired in private.

BANGKOK — Rights groups say foreign governments should refuse to recognize Cambodia's next elections and consider sanctions on its leaders if the main opposition party is dissolved.

(Chiang Mai City News)

UNITED NATIONS — U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley is urging the international community "to stand together" and call on Myanmar's government to cooperate with a U.N. mission charged with probing alleged abuses by military and security forces, including against the minority Rohingya Muslim community.

MANILA — A Philippine court found former first lady Imelda Marcos guilty of graft and ordered her arrest Friday in a rare conviction among...

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian authorities are investigating the marriage between an 11-year-old Thai girl and a 41-year-old Malaysian Muslim that has sparked public outrage and calls for child brides to be banned.

(The Phuket News)

(Chiang Rai Times)

PHNOM PENH — A Cambodian court has sentenced a Belgian man to life in prison for smuggling cocaine into the country.

DPA

PATTANI — Two soldiers were killed and five wounded today when a bomb exploded on a road in the violence-plagued, deep south of Thailand, police said.