The pirates tried to hijack the Thai-flagged tanker, which was carrying seven million ringgit ($1.7 million) worth of diesel, off the coast of Terengganu state on peninsular Malaysia in early September.

They succeeded in boarding the vessel but Malaysian coastguard commandos rushed to the vessel’s last known location by helicopter after it disappeared off tracking systems.

The commandos descended by rope onto the vessel, and managed to detain the pirates. Fourteen Thai sailors on the tanker were unharmed.

A Malaysian court on Wednesday jailed the ten pirates who seized the tanker, and an 11th who masterminded the failed operation from land, said prosecutor Nurul Farahah Mohamad Suah.

Seven of the pirates who were aged below 50 were also sentenced to five strokes of the cane, she said.

Nurul told AFP authorities wanted to send “a clear message that we do not tolerate piracy.

“The pirates, who were armed with machetes, planned the robbery and targeted helpless seafarers.”

Meanwhile, Zulkifli Abu Bakar, director-general of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, hailed the court decision as a “good deterrent”.

A report by the International Maritime Bureau said there were three attacks by pirates in Malaysian waters in the first half of this year.

The seven men, aged between 22 and 38, were working as private security guards in and around the capital Kuala Lumpur, said national police chief Mohamad Fuzi Harun.

One had fought Filipino troops and was previously involved in abductions in the southern Philippines. Police did not give details about the other suspects.

The arrests last week bring to 41 the number of foreigners suspected of being “terrorist fighters” who have been detained in Malaysia this year, he said.

Fears have been growing in Malaysia that Muslim militants are ramping up their activities, inspired by the Islamic State group and a conflict in the Philippine city of Marawi between followers of the jihadists and authorities.

“The police will continue to launch operations to detect and catch foreign terrorist elements that infiltrate Malaysia,” Mohamad Fuzi said in a statement.

The men caught in the latest arrests had entered Malaysia via Sabah state on Borneo island in September 2015 before heading to the capital city using fake documents, the police chief said.

Royal Malaysia Police officers hold evidence bags from the suspects during a press conference at Kuala Lumpur Police Headquarters, Malaysia, 16 September 2017.// EPA-EFE

The Abu Sayyaf are Islamist militants engaged mainly in kidnappings for ransom who have operated out of the southern Philippines for years.

They have raided Malaysian parts of Borneo, not far from the southern Philippines, and abducted foreign tourists.

One faction has pledged allegiance to IS and joined militants battling security forces since May in Marawi, the main Muslim city in the mostly Catholic Philippines.

Malaysian police earlier this month said they had arrested 19 suspects including 11 foreigners who had been plotting to disrupt the 2017 Southeast Asian Games and the country’s independence day celebrations.

The social network is a key tool in the information war taking place over violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, which has driven more than 420,000 Rohingya Muslims from the country and sparked UN accusations of military-led “ethnic cleansing”.

Rohingya activists have used the platform to post alleged scenes of brutality from the conflict zone, where humanitarian and media access is severely restricted, while the army and government deliver near-daily updates on the crisis.

A Facebook spokeswoman told AFP late Wednesday it was not requested by the government to bar the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), which remains active on Twitter.

The spokeswoman added that the move was in line with its policy of prohibiting violent groups from its site.

The latest violence in Rahkine erupted after a series of deadly ARSA attacks on military posts in August.

The army has been blamed for launching a crackdown in response that has forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims, along with ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Hindus, into neighbouring Bangladesh.

The spokeswoman said Facebook was aware that Rohingya activists were using the site to draw attention to the violence, and that it intended to allow non-graphic content to remain online.

Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi has played down claims of atrocities and blamed “a huge iceberg of misinformation” for complicating the conflict.

She has faced mounting criticism from global leaders over what the United Nations has called a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing” against Rohingya Muslims.

Britain sent back five Myanmar army officers from a training session this week, “on account of the current situation in Rakhine”, Myanmar’s army said on Facebook late Wednesday.

The move comes amid a mounting diplomatic spat between the two countries, with Britain saying Wednesday it had suspended all educational training courses for the Myanmar military over concerns of rights abuses in Rakhine state.

Rohingyas are widely reviled in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, where they are considered illegal ‘Bengali’ immigrants brought in from modern-day Bangladesh during British colonial rule.

There were an estimated 1.1 million Rohingyas in Rakhine state before the current crisis, though nearly half have fled into Bangladesh where they are cramped into ill-equipped camps.//AFP

The resolution suggests enhancing multinational cooperation to narrow the development gap and ensure sustainable poverty reduction and effective implementation of social welfare.

It calls for considering a common institutional framework for the AEC to be established.

Vietnam also proposed modifications to a resolution from Indonesia on combating marine plastic debris and micro-plastic.

It suggested mentioning the United Nations’ sustainable-development goal of enhancing conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources.

Vietnam urged fellow member-countries’ governments to promote campaigns to wean consumers away from using plastic bags.

France will work with other members of the UN Security Council for a condemnation of “this genocide which is unfolding, this ethnic cleansing”, Macron said in an interview with the French TV channel TMC.

Macron’s use of the word “genocide” marks his strongest verbal attack yet on the military drive against the Rohingya.

More than 420,000 members of the Muslim minority have fled Myanmar for the safety of neighbouring Bangladesh.

“We must condemn the ethnic purification which is under way and act,” Macron said.

“Asking for the violence to end, asking for humanitarian access… progressively enables an escalation” under UN auspices, Macron said.

“When the UN issues a condemnation, there are consequences which can provide a framework for intervention under the UN,” Macron said.

Rohingya, who are predominantly Muslim, are reviled by many in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.

The UN human rights chief has described the systematic attacks against the Rohingya minority by the security forces as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing”.//AFP

Myanmar’s second vice president Henry Van Thio addressed the annual UN General Assembly in the place of leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who a day earlier delivered a speech calling for patience.

Van Thio’s remarks are even less likely than Suu Kyi’s to mollify global concerns as he questioned the reasons for the flight of members of the Rohingya Muslim minority.

“I am happy to inform you that the situation has improved,” Van Thio said in his address, saying there have been no clashes since September 5.

“Accordingly, we are concerned by reports that the numbers of Muslims crossing into Bangladesh remain unabated. We would need to find out the reason for this exodus,” he said.

The United Nations says more than 420,000 Rohingya have fled for safety to Bangladesh in the face of an army campaign that includes the burning of villages and rape.

French President Emmanuel Macron earlier Wednesday described the campaign as genocide.

Van Thio did not use the term Rohingya, referring to them simply as Muslims. The Rohingya are widely reviled in the Buddhist-majority country.

Van Thio noted that the army campaign came in response to a rebel attack and said that non-Muslims have also suffered.

But Myanmar’s third-in-command thanked foreign countries for support, not referring directly to their criticism.

“Humanitarian assistance is our first priority. We are committed to ensuring that aid is received by all those in need, without discrimination,” Van Thio said.

Suu Kyi’s stance has disheartened human rights groups who had campaigned for her freedom during the Nobel Peace Prize winner’s 15 years under house arrest by a military junta.

But analysts say that Suu Kyi, while now the country’s leader, may not be able to curb the army even if she took the political risk of speaking out.//AFP

China tops the list of Asian countries with the maximum proven natural gas resources. The country has 49,45,000 million cubic metres of natural gas, surpassing other Asian countries by a huge margin and claiming the tenth spot globally.

Indonesia, India and Malaysia are the other Asian countries which have large reserves of natural gas. While Indonesia has 28,75,000 million cubic metres,  India and Malaysia have 14,89,000 and 11,83,000 million cubic metres of natural gas, as per the data compiled by the CIA World Factbook.

Indonesia is also at the 13th spot globally when it comes to holding natural gas reserves, while India and Malaysia hold the 22nd and 23rd spot respectively.

Vietnam (6,99,400million cubic metres) Pakistan (6,69,000 million cubic metres) and Brunei (3,90,800 million cubic metres) also have sizeable reserves of natural gas, which can provide energy for heating, electricity generation and can be used as fuel for vehicles.

Other Asian countries like Myanmar, Bangladesh and Thailand have natural gas reserves of 2,83,200 million cubic metres, 2,33,000 million cubic metres and 2,19,500 million cubic metres respectively.

Although the Philippines, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan also have natural gas reserves they are tiny in comparison with the other Asian countries.

Increased use of natural gas can prove useful in dropping the over reliance on coal, which is a leading contributor to air pollution. Natural gas emits much less carbon dioxide and air pollutants compared to coal. It is also useful in almost all sectors of the global economy.

To increase dependence on natural gas, Asian countries need to invest in gas infrastructure as well as liberalise gas markets.

Unison, the country’s second largest trade union, came up with the move as a number of British institutions say they are reviewing or removing honours bestowed on Aung San Suu Kyi during her campaign for democracy under Myanmar’s oppressive military junta, the report said.

This suspension comes as many British institutions say they are reviewing or removing honours bestowed on Aung San Suu Kyi during her campaign for democracy under Myanmar’s oppressive military junta, reports The Guardian.

“The situation facing the Rohingya of Myanmar is appalling,” The Guardian reports quoting Margaret McKee, Unison’s president.

“Aung San Suu Kyi’s honorary membership of Unison has been suspended, and we hope that she responds to international pressure,” McKee added according to the report.

“The university shares the growing concern with the ongoing situation in Myanmar,” a spokesperson for Bristol University said, according to The Guardian.

“In 1998 we awarded an honorary degree of doctor of laws to Dr Aung San Suu Kyi, who at the time was leading the struggle for human rights and democracy in the then Burma.”

“In terms of this award it would be wrong to make any decision at this time to consider revoking such an honour but we will continue to monitor and review the situation as necessary.”

The London School of Economics student union said it would be stripping the former political prisoner of her honorary presidency.

“We will be actively removing Aung San Suu Kyi’s honorary presidency as a symbol of our opposition to her current position and inaction in the face of genocide,” said Mahatir Pasha, the union’s general secretary.

Over the last 3 decades Aung San Suu Kyi has been awarded with honorary degrees from several UK universities including Glasgow, Bath and Cambridge, as well as the freedom of several cities, and other honours.

Oxford councillors announced that they might reconsider the freedom of the city of Oxford awarded to Suu Kyi in 1997 at next month’s council meeting, the report said.

After killing at least nine people in the Caribbean, Maria slammed into Puerto Rico’s southeast coast at daybreak before churning across the US territory which is home to 3.4 million.

As tens of thousands of people hunkered down in shelters in the capital San Juan, Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz broke down in tears as she spoke of the utter devastation she had witnessed.

“Many parts of San Juan are completely flooded,” Yulin Cruz told reporters in one of the shelters whose roof swayed as she spoke.

“Our life as we know it has changed… There is a lot of pain and a lot of devastation.”

Maria made landfall as a Category Four storm on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale, initially packing winds of a little over 150 mph (240 kph) before easing slightly as it powered towards San Juan.

“The wind sounds like a woman screaming at the top of her lungs!” Mike Theiss wrote on Twitter, sheltering in a safe room in the eye of the storm.

“We are getting absolutely hammered right now.”

Imy Rigau, who was riding out the storm in her apartment in San Juan, said water had “cascaded” through her ceiling.

“We are taking refuge in the hallway as there is about a foot of water in my apartment,” she told AFP.

“I boarded up the windows but with all of this, it seems they are going to be blown away. One of them was smashed up, so we are here in the hallway where there are no windows.”

500 shelters

Many of the most vulnerable of Puerto Rico’s residents took cover in the 500 shelters set up around the island, with officials warning of life-threatening floods.

Puerto Rico governor Ricardo Rossello imposed a 6:00 pm to 6:00 am curfew until Saturday and warned of flooding and mudslides from what he called “the most devastating storm in a century.”

“I urge the people of Puerto Rico to commit to peace, understanding, and good judgment during these difficult times for our island,” he said.

Puerto Rico’s most catastrophic hurricane was back in 1928 when Hurricane Okeechobee — also known as San Felipe Segundo — killed 300 people.

Although engineers had managed to restore power to most of the island after the recent Hurricane Irma, Maria caused a new black-out across the island.

“There is no power on the island and there is very little communications,” according to Ricardo Castrodad, a public health official with the US Coast Guard’s San Juan sector.

“As soon as the storm passes and weather conditions are safe, Coast Guard personnel will begin assessments of ports, waterways and port facilities to identify damage and obstructions in the waterways, before they can order the opening of the ports.”

Brock Long, who heads the US federal government’s emergency agency FEMA, warned it could take days for power to be restored on Puerto Rico and the smaller US Virgin Islands which have also been badly hit by Maria.

Dominica devastation

The US and British Virgin Islands — still struggling to recover from the devastation of Irma — are also on alert, along with the Turks and Caicos Islands and parts of the Dominican Republic.

Maria has already torn through several Caribbean islands, leaving at least seven people dead on the island of Dominica.

Communications to Dominica have been largely cut, and its airports and ports have been closed.

But an advisor to Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, who spoke to the premier by satellite phone, painted a picture of devastation on an island that is home to around 73,000 people.

“It’s difficult to determine the level of fatalities but so far seven are confirmed, as a direct result of the hurricane,” Hartley Henry said in a statement.

Reports from rural communities spoke of a “total destruction of homes, some roadways and crops,” added Henry.

“The country is in a daze — no electricity, no running water — as a result of uprooted pipes in most communities and definitely no landline or cellphone services on island, and that will be for quite a while.”

In the French territory of Guadeloupe, one person was killed by a falling tree as Maria hit, while another died on the seafront.

At least two more are missing after their boat sank off the French territory, while some 40 percent of households were without power.

In the US Virgin Islands, locals reported horizontal rain and trees swirling in the wind.

“Very violent and intense right now as we have just begun to experience hurricane force winds,” said 31-year-old Coral Megahy, hunkered down on St Croix island.

There had been fears that Maria could wreak fresh havoc on islands that were already flattened by Category Five hurricane Irma earlier in the month.

Reports suggested St Martin, a French-Dutch island that was among the most severely hit by Irma with 14 dead, had escaped the worst this time around.

Britain, France and the Netherlands had boosted resources in their Caribbean territories ahead of Maria, after heavy criticism of poor preparations for Irma.

All three European countries have increased their troop deployments to the region after complaints of looting and lawlessness after Irma.

On the sidelines of United Nations General Assembly, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday met with his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi, who is active among Asean members to help end the problem.

Wang said the recent violent incidents in Rakhine state in Myanmar were unacceptable but at the same time the Myanmar government’s efforts to maintain social stability were understandable, according to China’s state run Xinhua News Agency.

The Rohingya issue is complex and sensitive and dates back a long time, Wang said.

It is imperative to reduce tensions, avoid harming innocent people, prevent the spread of the humanitarian crisis, and encourage and support Myanmar and Bangladesh in their efforts to find a solution through dialogue and consultations, Wang said.

China is willing to work with the international community to continue to play a constructive role, he said.

Retno said Indonesia, as the largest Muslim nation, is deeply concerned about the situation in Rakhine state and is willing to play a positive role in helping Myanmar and Bangladesh avert deterioration of the situation and find a solution.

More than 420,000 people, mostly Muslim Rohingya, have fled Rakhine state since late last month, after an insurgent attack on a security outpost prompted a “clearance operation” by the Myanmar army.

Suu Kyi, who skipped the UN General Assembly, made a national address in Nay Pyi Taw on Tuesday. Her government has come under severe criticism from the international community, in particular the UN, for lacking substance to deal with what the UN has called “ethnic cleansing” of the minority.

“The military operation must stop, humanitarian access must be guaranteed and the rule of law restored in the face of what we know is ethnic cleansing,” French President Emmanuel Macron told world leaders gathered for the week of high-level diplomacy as reported by Agence France-Presse.

The United States has been careful not to blame Myanmar’s civilian leadership for the attacks because the country’s military retains control of security operations in troubled areas like northern Rakhine. But Secretary of State Rex Tillerson felt impelled to call Suu Kyi.

While Tillerson welcomed the pledge to crack down on abuses, he also urged both the government and the military “to address deeply troubling allegations of human rights abuses and violations” during the telephone conversation, his spokeswoman said.

Macron and Tillerson’s concerns echoed those of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who issued a blunt demand that Myanmar halt military operations. Britain, meanwhile, suspended training courses for the Myanmar military in light of the violence in Rakhine.

“The authorities in Myanmar must end the military operations and allow unhindered humanitarian access,” Guterres told the General Assembly.

“They must also address the grievances of the Rohingya, whose status has been left unresolved for far too long.”

Suu Kyi, who is the State Counsellor, defended her stance, saying she is not too soft on the military for its operation to force the Rohingya out.

In her interview with Radio Free Asia, Suu Kyi insisted that military “clearance operations” had ended on September 5 although the exodus of refugees is continuing.

“The Rakhine situation has not been calm and peaceful long before we came into power. However, now that the world’s attention is focused on it, it has become overly sensitive to handle. People have been criticising and faulting each other. If you just look at it narrowly instead of effectively, instead of solving the problem you can make it worse,” she said in the interview.

“These comments are not good for the country, of course. But we have to find out how much truth there is or what evidence they have,” she said.