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.
Pak bans airing of Imran’s speeches
Pakistan TV stations have been banned from broadcasting speeches by former prime minister Imran Khan, the state media watchdog said, the latest hurdle facing the politician as he campaigns for early elections.
Pak police attempt to arrest Imran Khan
Police in Pakistan said officers yesterday attempted to arrest former prime minister Imran Khan, who is battling several legal cases as he pressures the government for early elections.
Indonesia to relocate residents or move fuel facility after fire
Indonesia will relocate residents living near a fuel-storage fire that killed 16 people or remove the depot owned by state energy company Pertamina to a safer location, President Joko Widodo said on Sunday..The decision will rest with State-Owned Enterprise Minister Erick Thohir, Pertamina
Pakistan bans Women’s Day march
Authorities in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore have refused permission for a rally to mark International Women’s Day, which regularly meets a fierce backlash in the conservative, patriarchal country.
Fire at Indonesian fuel storage station kills 17
At least 17 people were killed when a fire broke out on Friday at a fuel storage station operated by Indonesia's state energy company Pertamina in the capital Jakarta, an official at the city's main firefighting unit said
Myanmar junta at war with its own people: UN
Myanmar’s military rulers now see civilians as their adversaries and are making war on the country’s own people, harming even the basic ability to live, the United Nations said yesterday.
Myanmar military has caused perpetual human rights crisis: UN report
A report published by the United Nations on Friday accused Myanmar's military of creating "a perpetual human rights crisis" in the southeast Asian country and called for an immediate end to violence there.
Four killed, 14 hurt in Pak market blast
At least four people were killed and 14 wounded in an explosion inside the Rakhni market in Balochistan’s Barkhan yesterday morning, police and health officials said.
Marcos, son of ex-dictator, seeks unity, reconciliation
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr called for reconciliation and unity yesterday as the Southeast Asian nation marked the 37th anniversary of the “people power” revolution that toppled his dictator father.
Adani invests in crisis-hit Sri Lanka
Crisis-hit Sri Lanka yesterday announced its first major foreign investment since it declared bankruptcy, approving a $442 million wind power project by India’s scandal-hit Adani group.