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
8 killed in Pak air strikes on Afghanistan
Afghanistan’s Taliban said yesterday that Pakistan carried out two air strikes on its territory, killing five women and three children, and it fired heavy weapons at Pakistani forces along the border in retaliation.
60 Afghans killed by weeks of snow, rain
At least 60 people have been killed by heavy rain and snow in Afghanistan over the past three weeks, the government’s disaster ministry said Wednesday.
Pak cabinet tasked with ending crisis
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the key members of his cabinet, tasking them with leading the country out of a crippling economic crisis fuelled by debt, spiralling inflation and a feeble rupee.
Indian troops begin Maldives pullout after quit order
India has begun withdrawing military personnel operating surveillance aircraft in the Maldives after the new pro-China president ordered them to leave, local media reported Tuesday
No Indian troops in Maldives after May 10
Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu yesterday declared that Indian military personnel will not be present in the island nation after May 10.
Nepal PM ends alliance with Nepali Congress
Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal named three ministers, including one each from two opposition parties, in a new coalition yesterday, dumping the centrist Nepali Congress party which had dominated his previous government.
Shehbaz Sharif takes oath as Pakistan’s PM
Pakistan’s Shehbaz Sharif took the oath yesterday to officially become prime minister for a second time, nearly four weeks after an uncertain national election caused delays in the formation of a coalition government.
Singapore tightens rules for hiring foreign professionals
Singapore will raise the salary criteria for foreign executives and professionals that companies can hire starting next year, the government announced today
Pakistan’s PM of compromise
Shehbaz Sharif, who was elected Pakistan’s prime minister for a second time yesterday, has stepped to the fore as a compromise candidate suited to turbulent times.
Malaysia reinstates charges against ex-PM Muhyiddin
A Malaysian appeal court yesterday reinstated charges of abuse of power against opposition leader and former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, state news agency Bernama reported.