Malaysia’s Alliance of Hope-led (Pakatan Harapan) government turns one today, and like most one-year-olds, there have been a few falls and bumps.Euphoria swept through the country after the coalition led by former prime minister Mahathir Mohamed shocked the nation on 9 May last year, finally handing Malaysia its first new government after 61 years of independence.
Investigations are underway in the Philippines of establishments and other businesses that not only cater solely to Chinese nationals, but are also rejecting local Filipino customers. Just recently on 6 May, presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo told the press that Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III will be asked to begin a probe on the matter.“We have to investigate that, if that is true. We cannot allow that to happen. They cannot be discriminating against Filipinos.
North Korea is once again pressing the boundaries of what it can get away with, returning to missile tests this week in violation of international sanctions championed by United States (US) President Donald Trump.
President Donald Trump declared China’s leaders “broke the deal” he was negotiating with them on trade, ratcheting up his rhetoric ahead of fresh negotiations that were already clouded by imminent tariff increases and China’s threats of retaliation.“They broke the deal!” Trump said at a campaign rally Wednesday night in Panama City Beach, Florida, leading him to raise tariffs. The president noted that top Chinese trade negotiator Liu He was traveling to Washington for further talks.
Singapore's parliament Wednesday passed laws to combat "fake news" that will allow authorities to order the removal of online content despite fierce criticism from tech giants and rights groups.They give government ministers powers to order social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to put warnings next to posts authorities deem to be false, and in extreme cases get them taken down.If an action is judged to be malicious and damaging to Singapore's interests, companies co
Millions of Philippine voters are headed to midterm elections on 13 May to vote for new lawmakers who will determine the fate of President Rodrigo Duterte’s pitch to revamp the political and tax systems.Duterte has put forward a controversial plan to shift his nation’s government system from unitary to federal, in a bid to spread wealth in one of Asia’s fastest-growing economies. He also wants to cut corporate tax rates to attract more investments.
Two Reuters journalists jailed for their reporting on the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar walked out of prison on Tuesday, freed in a presidential amnesty after a vigorous global campaign – and backroom diplomacy – for their release.Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were mobbed by media as they stepped out of Yangon's notorious Insein prison after more than 16 months in detention.Their December 2017 arrests made them an international cause celebre and a sign of Myanmar's deteriorating press freedo
Thailand’s official election results due this week are set to boost a push by a pro-military party to form a governing coalition, unless an imminent court ruling complicates the picture.The party, Palang Pracharath, is a proxy for the military government and is duelling for power with an anti-junta alliance.
Former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker Roger Ng is in plea talks to avoid a United States (US) trial on charges that he broke American anti-bribery laws and conspired to launder money embezzled from Malaysia’s state investment fund, 1MDB.Ng arrived in New York from Malaysia early Monday and appeared in federal court in Brooklyn, where he entered a not guilty plea.
In the Philippines – where 76 million Internet users stay online the longest in the world – just a handful of people spend a few hours each day to fight fake news about the upcoming midterm elections.The Commission on Elections has formed a team of 10 government workers to spot and report misleading online posts to Facebook Inc., with whom the poll body has an agreement to quickly take down false information.
Brunei's sultan said Sunday a moratorium on capital punishment will also extend to sharia laws that include stoning to death for gay sex and adultery, after a furious backlash against the punishments.It was the first time Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah had commented publicly on the new penal code since it fully entered force last month, and his remarks appeared aimed at assuaging worldwide criticism.The laws, which also include amputation of hands and feet for thieves in the tiny sultanate on B
To the boom of cannons, pipes and chants, King Maha Vajiralongkorn was crowned Saturday in a ceremony governed by centuries-old rituals, vowing a righteous reign and calling for "national security" and "happiness" in a remarkable display of royal power.Starting at the auspicious time of 10:09 am (0309 GMT), the public was granted a rare window into the cloistered halls of Thai royalty as the three-day coronation began.King Vajiralongkorn is the tenth monarch of the Chakri
