Southeast Asia
Rohingya crimes: ICC prosecutor seeks arrest warrant for junta chief
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) yesterday said he would seek an arrest warrant for Myanmar’s military leader Min Aung Hlaing for crimes against humanity in the alleged persecution of the Rohingyas.
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.
Lanka seeks 10-yr debt moratorium
Cash-strapped Sri Lanka is seeking a 10-year moratorium on its foreign debt, President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office said yesterday on the eve of a desperately needed $2.9 billion IMF bailout.
Dozens of Imran’s supporters arrested
Police in Pakistan have arrested dozens of supporters and aides of former prime minister Imran Khan in raids in two cities as part of a crackdown on those involved in recent clashes with the security forces, Khan’s party and police said yesterday.
Xi eyes to play peacemaker’s role
President Xi Jinping heads to Russia today hoping to deliver a breakthrough on Ukraine as China seeks to position itself as a peacemaker.
North Korea says 800,000 people enlist to fight ‘US imperialists’
More than 800,000 young North Koreans have volunteered to join the army to fight “US imperialists”, state media said Saturday, days after Pyongyang test-fired its most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile.
At least 22 people killed in suspected massacre at Myanmar monastery
At least 22 people, including three Buddhist monks, were shot dead at close range in central Myanmar last week, according to a doctor's post-mortem report, in what opponents of military rule say was a massacre of civilians conducted by the army.
Pakistan Taliban kill two policemen
Two Pakistani policemen were killed while guarding teams collecting census data in separate attacks claimed by the local Taliban, police said yesterday.
Japanese man, 87, granted retrial
Tokyo’s High Court yesterday ordered a retrial for an 87-year-old former boxer, dubbed the world’s longest-serving death row inmate, nearly six decades after he was convicted of murder.
Myanmar rebels, junta trade blame
Myanmar’s junta and anti-coup fighters yesterday traded accusations over the killing of around 30 people who were sheltering in a monastery.
China’s Xi spotlights nat’l security
China’s Xi Jinping yesterday emphasised the need to strengthen national security, in his first address since being handed a historic third term as the country’s president.
Intensify drills for a ‘real war’
Kim Jong Un ordered North Korea’s military to intensify drills for a “real war”, state media reported yesterday, as the leader oversaw a fire assault drill with his daughter in tow.