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
Myanmar junta 'trying to destroy country': UN special rapporteur
Myanmar's junta appears to be "trying to destroy a country it cannot control", the UN special rapporteur to the country warned on Thursday
11 dead, 19 missing in Indonesia landslide
At least 11 people are dead and 19 more are missing after heavy rains caused a landslide near an illegal gold mine on Indonesia's central island of Sulawesi, an official said Monday
Japanese official among 11 arrested for price gouging
Myanmar arrested four executives of supermarket chains, including an official of a Japanese joint venture, for selling rice at inflated prices, state media said yesterday, as the war-torn country’s ruling junta struggles to stabilise its economy.
Central bank denies UN report on weapons transactions
Myanmar’s central bank denied a UN report that the military government can still access money and weapons for its war against anti-coup forces, saying financial institutions under bank’s supervision followed prescribed procedures.
Rohingya genocide: Argentine prosecutor petitions court seeking arrest warrants for perpetrators
An Argentine prosecutor petitioned to an Argentine Court seeking multiple arrest warrants against the perpetrators of Rohingya genocide in Rakhine State
First junta conscripts to begin duty at end of month
A first batch of 5,000 conscripts called up by Myanmar’s junta will begin duty at the end of this month, military sources told AFP yesterday, as the generals struggle to crush opposition to their coup.
Rohingya have 'nowhere to flee' in western Myanmar fighting: UN rights chief
Tens of thousands of Muslim-minority Rohingya, who were feared to be trapped amid fighting in western Myanmar, had nowhere to flee, the United Nations human rights chief said on Tuesday
Animals killed as fire rips through Bangkok pet market
A fire ripped through pet shops next to Bangkok's famed Chatuchak market early Tuesday, killing caged dogs, cats, birds and snakes, and damaging more than 100 stalls, police said
Rare elephant twins born in dramatic birth in Thailand
An elephant in Thailand has delivered a rare set of twins in a dramatic birth that left a carer injured after he tried to rescue one of the newborns
Singapore Airlines offers $10,000 to passengers hurt by turbulence
Singapore Airlines said Tuesday it has offered $10,000 compensation to passengers who suffered minor injuries on a flight hit by violent turbulence last month and will discuss higher payouts with those more badly hurt