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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

An Indonesian student described as Britain’s most prolific rapist was jailed for life on Monday for a catalogue of sex offences on unsuspecting men he drugged and assaulted. Manchester Crown Court in northwest England was told Reynhard Sinaga may have attacked as many as 195 men, luring them into his flat with the offer of […]

Malaysian ex-leader Najib Razak swore in a packed mosque Friday he did not order the killing of a Mongolian woman linked to a major defence deal, rejecting an allegation from his ex-bodyguard. Altantuya Shaariibuu was shot dead and her body blown up with military-grade plastic explosives in 2006. Her death was linked to a scandal […]

Malaysia’s 94-year-old Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad again raised the prospect on Saturday that he could stay in office beyond 2020, declining to give a definitive pledge to step down. Mahathir returned to power last year after dealing a historic election defeat to the corruption-plagued coalition that he once led and which had been in power […]

The Ministry of Health of Malaysia yesterday announced a case of polio in Tuaran District in Sabah state, Malaysia. Testing has confirmed that the virus is genetically linked to poliovirus currently circulating in the southern Philippines. The patient, a 3-month-old male child, developed fever and paralysis on 26 October. On 6 December, testing conducted by […]

Malaysia has reported its first polio case in 27 years, health authorities said Sunday, announcing a three-month-old baby had been diagnosed on Borneo island. The Malaysian health ministry’s director-general, Noor Hisham Abdullah, said the baby from Tuaran in eastern Sabah state had been admitted into intensive care after experiencing fever and muscle weakness. “The patient […]

Google has banned political ads in Singapore ahead of elections, an opposition party said Wednesday, sparking accusations the tech giant was “kowtowing” to the tightly-controlled city’s government. The ban was imposed under controversial new rules aimed at fighting disinformation in the city-state, which critics fear could be used to stifle dissent. General elections are widely […]

Britain has agreed to take back 42 containers of plastic waste illegally exported to Malaysia, officials said Monday, as several Asian nations push back against becoming the world’s trash dump. Southeast Asia has been flooded with plastic from more developed nations such as the US and Australia since last year when China — which boasted […]

Jakarta’s ex-governor, who was jailed for nearly two years on controversial blasphemy charges, was tapped Friday to oversee executives at Indonesian energy firm Pertamina, media reports said, after it was hit by graft scandals. Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, better known as Ahok, will reportedly serve as head of state-owned Pertamina’s six-member board of commissioners. The appointment […]

by Danny Kemp Investigators looking into the downing of flight MH17 over Ukraine released intercepted phone calls on Thursday showing close links between “high-ranking” Russian officials and rebel suspects facing trial over the crash. The international probe said the communications raised questions about the possible involvement of top officials in Moscow in the deployment of […]

by M. Jegathesan Malaysian ex-leader Najib Razak’s first trial linked to the 1MDB scandal will proceed after a judge ruled Monday prosecutors had made a sufficient case, boosting efforts to bring him to justice over the mammoth fraud. The former prime minister will take the stand next month when his defence begins, in the case […]

An offer by the United States to host a Pacific rim summit in America in 2020 after Chile abruptly cancelled this year’s event was “not a good idea”, Malaysia’s foreign minister said Thursday. The sharp retort comes days after most southeast Asian leaders snubbed a meeting with US officials in Thailand when President Donald Trump […]