Southeast Asia
Malaysia’s minimum wage to go up to 1,700 ringgit from Feb 1
The Malaysian government has agreed to increase the minimum wage rate from RM1,500 currently to RM1,700, with effect from February 1, 2025, said Anwar Ibrahim
Gunmen kill 7 in southwest Pakistan
Gunmen killed seven workers in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan late on Saturday, police said.
Vietnam jails journalist for seven years on 'propaganda' charge
A Vietnam court Tuesday sentenced a journalist who wrote about issues including corruption, land rights and the environment to seven years in jail, his sister said, the latest government critic to be put behind bars.
Malaysia charges ex-PM Muhyiddin with sedition over alleged remarks on royalty, lawyer says
Malaysia has charged opposition leader and former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin with sedition for allegedly insulting the country's former king, his lawyer said on Tuesday
PRESIDENTIAL POLLS / Lanka’s Rajapaksa scion enters race
Sri Lanka’s ruling party nominated a scion of the controversial Rajapaksa family yesterday to challenge the incumbent president in next month’s polls, the first since the country’s unprecedented economic meltdown.
Oli takes oath as Nepal’s fifth PM in five years
Veteran communist politician K P Sharma Oli was sworn in as Nepal’s prime minister yesterday, the fifth in five years, hoping to ensure political stability in the impoverished Himalayan nation that badly needs to woo investors and create jobs.
KP Sharma Oli Nepal’s new PM
Nepal’s president appointed Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli as prime minister for a fourth time yesterday, after his communist party forged a coalition government with the centre-left Nepali Congress.
Eleven dead in Vietnam after landslide buries van
A landslide triggered by heavy rains buried and killed at least 11 people who were travelling in a van in northern Vietnam, the country's disaster management authority said on Saturday
34m Afghans in poverty under Taliban rule: UN
The number of Afghans in poverty nearly doubled to 34 million as the nation was racked by the collapse of the US-backed government and the Taliban takeover, the UN said yesterday.
Landslide in Pakistan buries trucks, kills at least 2 people
A landslide during a thunder and lightning storm on the main road through northwest Pakistan's Khyber Pass buried more than 20 trucks on Tuesday, killing at least two people, with dozens more feared trapped, officials said.
Japan PM unhurt, resumes campaigning
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was evacuated unhurt after a suspect threw what appeared to be a smoke bomb at an outdoor speech in western Japan yesterday.
G7 foreign ministers meet in Japan
G7 allies met yesterday for two days of “difficult” climate talks in northern Japan, facing pressure to show progress on key fossil fuel commitments in an example to other major economies including China.
Asean 'strongly condemns' Myanmar air strike that killed dozens
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), criticised for its inaction over the deepening Myanmar crisis, yesterday strongly condemned air strikes that reportedly killed dozens of people
Killing of dozens in sagaing: Outrage as Myanmar confirms deadly air strike
Myanmar’s ruling junta has confirmed that it carried out an air strike on a village in which dozens of people were reported killed, drawing condemnation from the United Nations and Western powers.
Sri Lanka again delays local polls
Sri Lanka again postponed local polls yesterday in defiance of a court order, delaying a de facto referendum on President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s efforts to restore the bankrupt island nation’s finances.
‘Irresponsible’
Pakistan yesterday condemned India’s decision to hold Group of 20 meetings in the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir next month, calling the move “irresponsible”.
Thaksin’s daughter named PM candidate
Thailand’s main opposition Pheu Thai party yesterday confirmed the daughter of billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra as one of its candidates to be prime minister in the kingdom’s upcoming election.
Pakistan SC orders provincial votes
Pakistan’s Supreme Court yesterday ordered that elections in two provinces should go ahead by May 15 despite government reluctance to hold the votes now as it struggles with an economic crisis and a political challenge from the opposition.