Southeast Asia
Japan quake toll rises to 55
A powerful earthquake that hit Japan on New Year’s Day killed at least 55 people, with rescue teams struggling in freezing temperatures yesterday to reach isolated areas where many people are feared trapped under toppled buildings.
Pakistan election subject to ‘pre-poll rigging’
Jailed former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan’s party is being targeted by “systematic dismemberment” and “pre-poll rigging”, a rights watchdog said yesterday, casting doubt on fairness of upcoming elections.
Death toll at Indonesia smelter fire rises to 18, operation halted
The death toll from a fire at an Indonesian nickel smelter has risen to 18 as of Tuesday from 13 on Sunday, local police said, while operations at the smelter remain suspended as authorities investigate the cause of the incident
13 dead, 38 injured in explosion at nickel plant in Indonesia
At least 13 people were killed and 38 injured in eastern Indonesia on Sunday in an explosion at a Chinese-funded nickel-processing plant, the owner of the industrial park that hosts the facility said
Thai MP jailed for six years on royal insult charges
A Thai court on Wednesday sentenced a lawmaker from the progressive Move Forward Party to six years in jail on royal insult charges, the party's leader said
'Bangladeshi man' among two arrested for selling fake permits in Malaysia
A foreign couple was arrested by the Johor Immigration Department for operating a fake working permit renewal syndicate at an apartment here
About 400 Rohingya land in Indonesia, adds to surge of recent arrivals
Dilapidated boats carrying an estimated 400 ethnic Rohingya arrived in Indonesia's Aceh province on Sunday, chief of a provincial fishing community has confirmed, adding to a recent surge of Myanmar's Muslim minority arriving in the country
Nepal urges Russia not to recruit its citizens into army
Nepal said it has asked Moscow not to recruit its citizens into the Russian army and immediately send back any Nepali soldier commissioned there back to Himalayan nation after revealing six soldiers serving Russia’s military had been killed.
Junta calls for political solution with rebel groups
Myanmar’s junta chief has called on ethnic armed groups battling the military across the country to find a political solution, state media reported yesterday.
14 killed as Thai bus smashes into tree
A double-decker coach smashed into a tree in southern Thailand, killing at least 14 people and injuring 32, police said Tuesday
Imran Khan replaced as PTI head
Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan, currently in jail facing myriad charges he says are rigged to keep him from contesting elections next year, was replaced yesterday as head of the party he founded, officials said.
139 Rohingya refugees land in Indonesia: officials
More than 100 Rohingya refugees including women and children landed in Indonesia's westernmost province on Saturday, officials said, but locals were threatening to push them back to sea
7 killed in attack on Shia clerics
At least seven people were killed yesterday when unidentified gunmen opened fire on a rickshaw carrying two Shia clerics in western Afghanistan, an official and residents said.
3 Bangladeshis killed in Malaysia building collapse; 4 still missing
Rescuers are still searching for four missing workers believed to be pinned under the rubble where a building under construction had collapsed at about 9:45pm (local time)
Pakistan court sends Imran on judicial remand
An accountability court in Pakistan yesterday turned down the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) request for an extension of former prime minister Imran Khan’s physical remand, and instead sent him on judicial remand in a corruption case.
Myanmar armed group seizes China-Myanmar border crossing
An ethnic minority armed group in Myanmar has seized control from the country's ruling junta of a lucrative border crossing to China, local media and a security source said Sunday
New Maldives leader faces rift
Maldives ex-president Abdulla Yameen will form a new political party, his lawyer said, splitting from his successor’s ruling party and posing the new president a major setback ahead of parliamentary polls.
11 killed in Pakistan mall fire
At least 11 people were killed and 35 injured yesterday by a fire at a shopping mall in Pakistan’s commercial capital of Karachi, officials said.
