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
PTI navigates blackouts to keep campaign alive
Former prime minister Imran Khan’s party has redefined election campaigning in Pakistan with its social media rallies and use of AI technology in a bid to sidestep a nationwide crackdown that has followed it online.
UN chief urges return to democracy on Myanmar coup anniversary
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Thursday for an end to violence in Myanmar and a return to democracy, three years to the day since the military seized power in a coup
Junta chief under pressure three years after coup
In mid-January, at a small gathering in a cantonment town in Myanmar, hard line pro-military monk Pauk Kotaw suggested that the country’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing step down and his deputy take over. The crowd cheered in agreement, according to videos of the event posted on social media.
Pakistan election won’t end strife
Pakistan’s preeminent rights activist describes the upcoming election as a messy melodrama staged by an emboldened military, unlikely to bring down the curtain on a cast of crises plaguing the country.
Pakistan, Iran to expand security cooperation
Pakistan and Iran yesterday said that they respected each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and resolved to expand security cooperation, stepping up efforts to mend ties after tit-for-tat missile strikes this month at what they said were militant targets.
Myanmar armed group claims control of port town
Fighters from a Myanmar ethnic minority armed group have seized control of a port town after more than two months of intense clashes with junta troops, they said.
Pakistan has ‘evidence’ to link Indian agents
Pakistan said yesterday it had “credible evidence” linking Indian agents to the killings of two Pakistani citizens on Pakistani soil.
Pakistan to deploy army for security
Pakistan will deploy the army to ensure peace at its general election next month, the prime minister’s office said, amid concerns that recent attacks by Islamist militants could threaten the holding of the February 8 polls.
Myanmar junta arrests six high-ranking military officers
Six high-ranking Myanmar junta officers who handed over a strategic town to ethnic minority fighters and surrendered with hundreds of troops have been taken into custody, a military spokesman and others told AFP yesterday.
Pakistani father kills son over political party flag
A father killed his son after the pair disagreed about which political party flag to display in the lead-up to Pakistan’s general election, police said.