Top 5 At 5: Myanmar's Health Crisis Battles For Survival

The stories we covered today:

1. Our top story: The worrying state of Myanmar's public health systems, following the extreme escalation of conflict following the Myanmar millitary coup. We speak about this with Shinjiro Murata, general director of Médecins Sans Frontiéres.

2. Perikatan Nasional chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is being investigated for Sedition, after a clip of him appearing to question why the Sultan of Pahang, the then Yang diPertuan Agong, did not invite him to the palace to be sworn in as prime minister, at the conclusion of the 15th general elections. This has resulted in an onslaught of criticisms, police reports, and the Pahang royal household's ire. We hear from former deputy law minister Mohamed Hanipa Maidin, who is not in favor of the Sedition Act being used in this case.

3. A boat carrying 20 passengers capsized in Sungai Kayan, Kuching, and while 17 were rescued, three unfortunately drowned. Following this, there have been increased calls to expedite the construction of a bridge and roads so residents do not need to rely on precarious river transport. We hear comment from Meneng Biris, who is PKR’s Women's Wing Chief for Mas Gading.

4. There are tentative plans to bring back the Butterworth-Bangkok train service, which was stopped back in 2016. We speak to Nigel Wong, the honorary treasurer and spokesperson of the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents, on how this will impact tourism between Thailand and Malaysia. We also hear thoughts from Ooi Geok Ling, former managing director of Penang Global Tourism.

5. Two astronauts are now stranded on the International Space Station, after the Boeing Starliner spacecraft encountered issues while they were there. But the question most people would have, is how our body responds to spending that amount of time in space. We hear insights from Dr Rihana Bokhari, space physiologist and Acting Chief Scientific Officer at the Translational Research Institute for Space Health.

Image credit: Hafiz Johari, Shutterstock