ADDS Somalia by Anuj Chopra with AFP bureaus Muslims around the world began marking a sombre Eid al-Fitr Sunday, many under coronavirus lockdown, but lax restrictions offered respite to worshippers in some countries despite fears of skyrocketing infections. The three-day festival, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, is traditionally celebrated with […]

ADDS details on family feuds Stanley Ho, the Hong Kong-born tycoon who made billions transforming neighbouring Macau from a sleepy Portuguese outpost into the world’s biggest gambling hub, died on Tuesday at the age of 98, his family said. Known as the “godfather” of Macau’s casinos, Ho was instrumental in turning the semi-autonomous city on […]

An Indonesian badminton legend has claimed the Southeast Asian nation’s sports ministry is full of corrupt “rats”, after admitting his own role in a bribery case. “No matter who the minister is, it’ll be the same,” retired Olympic gold medallist Taufik Hidayat said in a YouTube interview this week. “Half the building should be destroyed […]

A former South Korean coast guard chief was indicted in mid-February 2020 for allegedly bungling rescue operations at one of the country’s deadliest maritime disasters, when more than 300 people were killed, most of them schoolchildren. The 6,825-tonne Sewol capsized off the south coast on 16th April 2014, and many of the students — who were […]

Malaysia’s government apologised Tuesday after its advice for women to wear make-up and not nag their husbands during the country’s coronavirus lockdown sparked online anger and mockery. Like many countries, the Southeast Asian nation has ordered all citizens to stay at home to stem the spread of the virus, which has killed over 30,000 people […]

Indonesia’s coronavirus crisis is far worse than being officially reported and the government’s response is “in tatters”, the country’s doctors association warned Friday as the death toll climbed to 87. The world’s fourth-most populous country only reported its first confirmed infection this month but the number had ballooned to over 1,000 by Friday. Indonesia’s 87 […]

Malaysia’s new prime minister insisted Monday he was no “traitor” after taking power without an election and with support from a scandal-tainted party, following political heavyweight Mahathir Mohamad’s shock resignation. “I know there are those who are angry with me — I am not a traitor,” Muhyiddin Yassin said in a televised address — his […]

Muhyiddin Yassin, who is set to become Malaysia’s next prime minister, is a low-profile political insider and former stalwart of the establishment Muslim party that led the country for decades. As Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim engaged in a power struggle following the collapse of their two-year-old coalition, the unassuming 72-year-old emerged as an unexpected […]

by Sam Reeves / Patrick Lee A staunch Muslim nationalist backed by a scandal-mired party was sworn in as Malaysia’s premier Sunday after a reformist government’s collapse, but ex-leader Mahathir Mohamad, 94, slammed the move as illegal. The Southeast Asian nation was plunged into turmoil after Mahathir’s “Pact of Hope” alliance, which stormed to a […]

by Sam Reeves / M. Jegathesan Malaysia’s government has collapsed after the resignation of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, which followed a failed bid by rivals to form a new coalition aimed at stopping leader-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim from succeeding him. Mahathir, 94, the world’s oldest leader, has been appointed interim leader while intense political jockeying is […]

by Thanaporn Promyamyai / Dene Chen A Thai soldier who killed at least 26 people before being shot dead in a mall by commandos went on the rampage because of a debt dispute, the kingdom’s premier said Sunday, offering the first official motive for the “unprecedented” shooting spree. Sharp-shooters brought an end to a 17-hour-ordeal […]

by Michael Mathes Millennial White House candidate Pete Buttigieg is no creature of Washington. He was a virtual unknown before 2019, when he served as mayor of a mid-size Midwestern US city. He eschews the overt theatrics so ingrained in today’s presidential politics. As a technocrat who rarely raises his voice, Buttigieg deploys calm and […]

Qatar’s ruler appointed a new prime minister on Tuesday, the state news agency reported, replacing veteran regime insider Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al-Thani.  No reason was given for the change and it is unclear if Sheikh Abdullah remains the interior minister after stepping down as prime minister. New Prime Minister Sheikh Khalid bin […]

Malaysia banned visitors from the Chinese city of Wuhan and its surrounding Hubei province on Monday, in a bid to contain the spread of a deadly virus. A statement by the prime minister’s office said the authorities will temporarily halt all issuance of visas for Chinese citizens from the area with immediate effect. “The government has […]

Fears over the global economic impact of a deadly new SARS-like virus sent oil prices plunging more than two percent on Monday to extend last week’s sell-off, while safe-haven assets including the yen and gold rallied. As the death toll from the Chinese epidemic jumped to 80 with those affected worldwide approaching 3,000, analysts said […]

by Sébastien Ricci China on Sunday expanded drastic travel restrictions to contain a viral contagion that President Xi Jinping said posed a “grave” threat, as the death toll reached 56 and Shanghai reported its first fatality. China has locked down the worst-hit province of Hubei in the country’s centre in a massive quarantine affecting tens […]

Malaysian authorities have confirmed that the parents of a 2 year-old Chinese national, suspected to have been infected with Wuhan coronavirus (2019-nCoV) has avoided being quarantined despite instructions from the hospital, by taking their baby away from the quarantine area of the hospital. Straits Herald has sighted a police report that was filed by a doctor […]

Hong Kong on Saturday declared a mystery virus outbreak as an “emergency” — the city’s highest warning tier — as authorities ramped up measures aimed at reducing the risk of further infections spreading. “Today I declare the lifting of the response level to emergency,” chief executive Carrie Lam told reporters. Lam held emergency meetings with […]

A SARS-like virus that has claimed 41 lives since emerging in a market in the Chinese city of Wuhan has spread around the world. Here are the places that have confirmed cases of 2019 Novel Coronavirus: China As of Saturday, almost 1,300 people have been infected across China, the bulk of them in and around […]

Malaysia Airports has prepared mitigation plans in close collaboration with Ministry of Health. Malaysia Airports is stepping up its efforts to combat the outbreak of the deadly SARS-like Coronavirus. This comes after Malaysia announced the confirmed first three cases of this disease. Read: Malaysia’s first cases of the deadly coronavirus is working closely with the […]

A 65-year-old women, and her grandsons (11, and 2) are the first three confirmed positive cases of the deadly SARS-like, Coronavirus. The Malaysian Health Minister confirmed. The three entered Malaysia from the southern state of Johor, via Singapore. According to Malaysia’s Health Ministry, when the three entered Johor, they did not display any signs of […]

by Helen Roxburgh As China locks down the city at the epicentre of a new viral outbreak, countries around the world are scrambling to prevent the spread of the deadly disease. Here’s what we know so far about the illness that has killed 17 people and infected at least 570, most in Wuhan: It’s entirely […]

Malaysia’s leader-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim will not face charges over claims he sexually assaulted a male former aide, prosecutors said Tuesday, the latest such scandal to tarnish the veteran politician’s career. Muhammed Yusoff Rawther last month accused Anwar of trying to force him to have sex and filed a police complaint, but officials said there was […]