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
Chinese research ship to make resupply call
The Maldives has granted permission for a controversial Chinese vessel to make a resupply call but it will not undertake any “research”, the Indian Ocean archipelago nation’s foreign ministry said yesterday.
Abandoned Singapore mall becomes unlikely art haven
In Singapore, where graffiti is banned, young creatives have taken over an abandoned mall, spray painting colourful murals and holding art workshops to bring the space back to life
Three Pakistan univs shut over security threats
Three universities affiliated with Pakistan’s military were shut over security threats in the capital Islamabad yesterday, police said.
18 killed in Thai fireworks factory explosion: rescue worker
At least 18 people have died after an explosion at a fireworks factory in central Thailand on Wednesday, a rescue worker said
Malaysia to review migrant labour deals with 15 nations including Bangladesh
Malaysia will review bilateral agreements with 15 nations from which it sources labourers in a bid to address exploitative practices and manpower imbalances that have left thousands of migrant workers stranded without jobs, officials said
Ex-Pak PM Imran sees ‘nexus’ between Nawaz, two umpires
Former Pakistan prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan on Monday alleged that PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif was “playing with the support” of “two umpires” and one of them had recently given a “no-ball” in his favour.
Why Maldives wants Indian troops out
The new Maldives president set a deadline on Sunday of March 15 for its giant neighbour India to withdraw all its troops from the tiny Indian Ocean archipelago nation.
Pak SC strips ex-PM Khan’s party of polls symbol
Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Saturday rejected an attempt by former prime minister Imran Khan’s party to retain its traditional electoral symbol of a cricket bat, in the latest setback for the jailed leader ahead of a general election.
Pakistan ex-PM Sharif to launch polls campaign next week
Pakistan’s former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, whose party is considered a front-runner to win general elections in February, will kick off his campaign next week, aides said, days after the Supreme Court cleared him to run for a fourth term.
Pakistan HC restores ‘bat’ as PTI party symbol
In a major relief ahead of the February 8 general elections in Pakistan, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) yesterday declared “illegal” the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to revoke the PTI’s ‘bat’ electoral symbol and reject its intra-party polls.