Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki spews volcanic materials in East Flores, Indonesia, Friday, March 21, 2025. -- AP Photo
Malaysia:
* PM and govt want to be removed from Mukhriz's RM5mil tax lawsuit
* Sosma disproportionately targets the poor and fails to address serious crimes, says Suhakam commissioner
* Don't use children in social media content, urges Nancy
* PM Anwar urges amicable resolution to temple relocation issue
* PM Anwar announces RM500, RM250 special Aidilfitri aid for civil servants and pensioners
* Recite Rukun Negara at least once a week, Chief Secretary tells govt agencies
* Length of PM's tenure not important if they perform, says Dr M
* Human trafficking ring in Ampang busted, Immigration Dept nabs eight
* Malaysia Airlines buys 30 new planes, with option for 30 more
* Malaysia's inflation slows to 1.5% in Feb
* Flood-hit students not required to attend classes in uniform, says Fadhlina
* Four Malaysia Airlines flights affected by London's Heathrow Airport blackout
* IPCC can do more to dispel claims of inactivity over police misconduct, says forum
* Genting to pay US$10.5mil fine in Nevada gaming settlement
* Malaysians report higher level of happiness than global average, Ipsos index shows
* Flood situation worsens in Sarawak, improves in Sabah as evacuee numbers shift
An Indonesian volcanology agency official takes photos of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki in East Flores, Indonesia Friday, March 21, 2025. -- AP Photo/Ester Narek
Singapore:
* Singapore-based TikToker found guilty of raping woman he met on Tinder
* Chaos for travellers around the world after power outage closes London's Heathrow airport
* Singapore travellers advised to postpone non-essential trips to Johor amid heavy traffic at checkpoints
* Singapore oil trader jailed for facilitating commercial fuel export to N. Korea
* Two men fined more than S$1mil each for skirting duties on 15,820 bottles of alcohol
* SIA flight leaving Singapore for London cancelled after Heathrow Airport closure
* Mediacorp DJ allegedly had sexual communication with minor and committed voyeurism
* Asian stocks slide as growth, tariff worries weigh
* Oil set for second straight weekly gain on Iran sanctions, planned Opec+ cuts
* Experts keep city-state growth forecast at 2.6%
* S’pore resident employment rebounds in 2024 on positive sentiment
Indonesia:
* Wave of layoffs, deflation herald bleak Hari Raya for thousands of Indonesians
* Malaysian Immigration deports 220 Indonesians to Nunukan Island
* Indonesian officials deny marijuana farm cover-up after drone video emerges of cannabis crops
* Alert level raised to highest level now as Indonesia's Mt Lewotobi continues to erupt and ash reaches 8,000 metres
* Prabowo faces investor revolt over Indonesia’s economic path/ * Let the dogs bark: Prabowo shrugs off policy critics
* Flights from Bali cancelled after volcano eruption
* Indonesian lawmaker demands probe into suicide allegedly triggered by police extortion
* Indonesia’s self-inflicted economic wounds multiply
* Soccer - Bahrain World Cup qualifier looms large for Kluivert and Indonesia
A visitor applies gold leaf to a Buddha statue at the Wat Pho Buddhist temple complex in Bangkok. -- Photo by Chanakarn Laosarakham / AFP
Thailand:
* Malaysia ranked among the world's Top 10 retirement destination; Thailand the only other South-East Asian country in list
* China man wanted for kidnap-torture in Cambodia nabbed in Thailand
* Car wash in Chonburi's Si Racha offers bath service for elephants
* Thailand set to relax 53-year-old ban on afternoon alcohol sales
* Hanoi cuts approval times by 60 per cent with a ‘fast lane’ system
* Thailand strengthens laws against online child exploitation
* Emerging Markets: Asian currencies pressured by trade war tensions; Indonesia shares drop
Philippines:
* Philippine rescuers find German and British hikers, another four still missing
* Malacanang Palace welcomes Senate hearing on Duterte arrest
* Two of six missing foreign hikers in Philippines found, search for rest continues
* Philippine military tells election candidates to stop securing permits to campaign from insurgents
* Philippines eyes transforming islands of former US base into military reservation
* Due procedure in Duterte’s arrest, says govt officials
Li, who declined to give her full name, holding a Baby Three doll, with a marking on its cheek that has been claimed to resemble China's so-called nine-dash line in disputed South China Sea, at her home in Hanoi. Seething international tensions over the South China Sea have struck an unlikely victim in Vietnam: popular children's dolls pulled from shops over a facial mark supposedly resembling Beijing's claims in the flashpoint waterway. -- Photo by Nhac NGUYEN / AFP
Vietnam:
* Vietnam investigates Chinese milk tea brand Chagee in another probe over map
* Crackdown on counterfeits as Vietnam authorities battle rising e-commerce fraud
* Foreign ownership at acquirers of weak banks in Vietnam to rise to 49 per cent
* Vietnamese ex-surgeon who dismembered mistress gets death sentence
* Vietnam: BRICS and beef trade on the table with Brazil
* Vietnam lenders wary of invoice rule changes/ Shrimp exports maintain steady growth
Myanmar:
* Myanmar's health ministry issues heat advisory as temperatures soar in country
* Women ‘raped, impregnated’ in Myanmar scam centres seek Thai aid
* Myanmar foreign trade exceeds US$25bil in over 11 months
* With aid cuts looming, Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh face halved rations and misery
Government officials including Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, second from right, take their oath during a hearing on the arrest of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Manila, Philippines. -- AP Photo/Aaron Favila
Cambodia:
* ADB chief backs Cambodia's economic diversification, people-centered development
* Cambodian cue to shine: Pheavy recognised as best female billiards player
* One night only: Dengue Fever – the good kind – returns to Cambodia
* Cambodia receives demining grants of over US$10mil from Japan
Laos:
* Lancang-Mekong countries discuss regional issues; diplomats also seeking ways to tackle global issues
* Lao Finance Ministry seizes over 12.3 billion kip from 50 accounts
* Lao parliament wraps up session with approval of important national documents
Brunei:
* Brunei's Temburong bridge project now benefits local contractors, workers
* Brunei plans to launch national housing scheme in rural areas
* Brunei police bust Macau Scam syndicate
Travellers are waiting as Britain's Heathrow Airport has closed for the full day Friday after an electrical substation fire knocked out its power, disrupting flights for hundreds of thousands of passengers at one of Europe's biggest travel hubs in London, Friday, March 21, 2025.-- AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
AseanPlus:
* China backs Malaysia's Asean leadership
* Over RM1bil in meth bound for Australia seized in Port Klang
* Japanese man arrested on suspicion of murdering niece; girl found encased in concrete
* Kim Soo-hyun's new drama 'Knock-Off' postponed amid actor's underage dating scandal
* Japan households slash cash at record pace as inflation bites
* Ajeo-chic? How middle-age has become cool in the eyes of Korean youth
* Musk to see secret US contingency plan for China war, NYT says
* Forbidden K-pop to centre stage: North Koreans set for music debut
* Man arrested over setting fires at two clothing stores in Hong Kong airport
* Robots to retrieve radioactive sandbags at Fukushima plant
* Two South Korean Air Force pilots suspended for one year for accidental bombing
* South Korean President impeachment verdict likely to follow closely after PM verdict on March 24
* Australian supermarkets grew profit margins as living costs soared, says regulator
* Decades-old weaving businesses near Indian financial capital struggle to survive
* Australian supermarkets grew profit margins as living costs soared, says regulator
* Actors Jeanette Aw, Qi Yuwu played lovers on TV many times, but happiness was elusive
* Better than real life, say women smitten with virtual lover in China
* Hundreds of farmers held as police tear down protest sites in India
* Shanghai’s new plan to lure foreign tourists: mega-events and Peppa Pig
* Tributes pour in for Lee Shau-kee, Hong Kong’s ‘patriotic philanthropist’
* Two-tower Trump World Center to be built in Pune, confirms Trump Organization
* Hong Kong schools urged to avoid high-risk foods on study tours to mainland China
* South Korean court bars NewJeans from independent activities until ruling on Ador dispute
* PM Ishiba orders finalisation of national tourism plan; 60mil visitors to Japan targeted for 2030
* EU moves to curb steel imports to protect military industrial base from China overcapacity
* Cricket - Victorious India team gets US$6.7 million bonus for Champions Trophy win
* Games - India eyes hosting 2030 Commonwealth Games as it bids for 2036 Olympics
* Motor racing - McLaren's Norris tops practice for Chinese Grand Prix ahead of Ferrari's Leclerc
