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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia’s toppled leader Najib Razak will go on trial this week over an extraordinary financial scandal that contributed to the downfall of his long-ruling coalition and reverberated around the world. The former prime minister and his cronies are accused of stealing $4.5 billion from Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB in a mind-boggling fraud that stretched from Switzerland to the Seychelles. The money was purportedly used to fund a global […]
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — A refugee footballer fighting an extradition request pleaded for his freedom Monday, saying “please don’t send me to Bahrain” as he arrived in shackles at a Bangkok court, which extended his detention by another two months. Hakeem al-Araibi, a Bahraini refugee and Australian resident, fears torture and even death if he is returned to his homeland. Araibi, who has been held in Thai custody since November following Bahrain’s extradition request, arrived […]
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AFP) — Bangladesh will Wednesday file a lawsuit in New York against a Philippine bank over its involvement in one of the biggest-ever cyber heists, the country’s central bank governor said. Unidentified hackers stole $81 million from the Bangladesh central bank’s account with the US Federal Reserve in New York in February 2016. The money was then transferred to a Manila branch of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC), swiftly withdrawn and laundered […]
The European Union Delegation issues the following statement in agreement with the EU Heads of Mission in the Philippines: The EU Delegation wishes to congratulate the Philippine Government, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Commission on Elections for the generally peaceful conduct of the Bangsamoro Organic Law plebiscite on 21 January 2019 before the second phase to be held on 6 February 2019. The creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao is […]
MAKASSAR, Indonesia (AFP) — The death toll from flash floods and landslides in Indonesia jumped to 26, a disaster agency official said Thursday, as rescuers race to find still-missing victims. Thousands have been evacuated from their homes as heavy rain and strong winds pounded the southern part of Sulawesi island, swelling rivers that burst their banks and inundating dozens of communities in nine southern districts. Parts of the provincial capital Makassar have also been affected. […]
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia’s royal families will elect a king Thursday after the last monarch abdicated following his reported marriage to a Russian ex-beauty queen, with a sports-loving sultan in pole position for the role. The previous king, Sultan Muhammad V, stepped aside this month following just two years on the throne after reports surfaced he had married the former Miss Moscow while on medical leave. There was great shock across Malaysia at […]
by Poornima WEERASEKARA Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — China has promised four billion yuan ($588 million) in aid to Cambodia, the Southeast Asian country’s Prime Minister Hun Sen said Tuesday on a visit to Beijing. The largest investor in Cambodia, China has pumped billions of yuan into the economy and has written off debt while sweeping aside questions over Phnom Penh’s abysmal rights record. The four billion yuan grant will run from 2019 […]
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — A strong 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck off the Indonesian coast early Tuesday, but no tsunami warning was issued and there were no immediate reports of damage. The quake hit at a depth of 31 kilometers (19 miles) off Sumba island, some 150 kilometers west southwest of the city of Waingapu, according to the United States Geological Survey. It was followed by a weaker quake in the same area with an initial reading […]
UNITED NATION, United States (AFP) — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday criticized as “too slow” Myanmar’s efforts to allow the return of Rohingya Muslim refugees, describing the lack of progress as a source of “enormous frustration.” More than 720,000 Rohingya are living in camps in Bangladesh after they were driven out of Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state during a military campaign in 2017 that the United Nations has described as ethnic cleansing. Myanmar has agreed […]
SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — A Singaporean woman was found guilty Friday of abusing her Myanmar maid, including forcing her to pour hot water onto herself and to drink water laced with floor cleaner. The abuse of the maid, Phyu Phyu Mar, happened from August to October 2016 at the house of the Singaporean married couple who employed her, according to court documents. The abuses detailed in six charges against the wife — Linda Seah — […]
SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — Singapore has chosen the F-35 warplane to replace its ageing fighter jets, opting for the US aircraft over European and Chinese models, the defense ministry said Friday. The affluent city-state, which has one of Asia’s best equipped militaries, had earlier said it was evaluating Lockheed Martin’s F-35 along with Europe’s Eurofighter Typhoon and Chinese-made stealth warplanes. “The F-16s will have to retire soon after 2030 and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter […]
MINAHASA, Indonesia (AFP) — An Indonesian woman has been mauled to death by a huge pet crocodile on the island of Sulawesi, officials said Wednesday. Deasy Tuwo, the head of a laboratory at a pearl farm in Minahasa in North Sulawesi, was killed by the 4.4-metre (14-foot) reptile last Thursday, authorities said. The 44-year old’s badly mauled body was found by colleagues the following morning, Hendrik Rundengan, from the local conservation agency, told AFP. “The […]
