Category: Asia

Critics suspect ruling pro-Hindu party is moving to silence dissent by scrubbing millions of voters’ names from lists before May poll Millions of socially underprivileged Dalit and Muslim people are missing from India’s electoral rolls as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pro-Hindu party seeks a second term in the upcoming national elections. Activists from both groups suspect they are […]

DHAKA (AFP) – A Bangladeshi mother has stunned doctors by giving birth to healthy twins 26 days after a first child was born prematurely. Arifa Sultana, 20, gave birth to a baby boy last month through normal delivery, but doctors missed the presence of a second uterus. “She didn’t realise she was still pregnant with […]

JAKARTA: A senior Indonesian minister warned on Wednesday Southeast Asia’s biggest economy could consider exiting the Paris climate deal if the European Union goes ahead with a plan to phase out palm oil in renewable transportation fuel. Indonesia, the world’s biggest palm oil producer, has lashed out at the EU after the bloc classified palm […]

KUALA LUMPUR: Adultery and gay sex in Brunei will be subject to death by stoning from next week, authorities said, under a strict Sharia law that has been on hold for four years amid heavy criticism. Rights groups reacted in horror Wednesday to the latest hardline move from the resource-rich nation on Borneo, which practises […]

India’s political parties have been told to eliminate hate speech and misinformation from their social media accounts. However, experts warn that enforcing an ethics code will be difficult. Murali Krishnan reports. Last week, the Election Commission of India met with representatives of top social media companies, including Facebook, WhatsApp, Google, TikTok and Twitter, to discuss […]

NEW DELHI (AFP) – Indian authorities have seized more than US$70 million (S$94.58 million) worth of cash, booze and illegal drugs under special laws designed to curb vote buying during the world’s biggest election, officials said on Tuesday (March 26). Around 900 million Indians are eligible to vote in the mammoth polls, which start on April […]

An Indonesian theme park has covered the bare breasts on two statues to respect “Eastern values”. Ancol Dreamland in the capital city Jakarta placed golden chest wraps on the mermaid figures, which have been at the park for the last 15 years. The move has confused many in the city and prompted questions about whether […]

Millions of women and homeless people will be barred from voting in India’s elections because of biases and difficulties in getting identification papers, human rights groups said on Tuesday, warning this would increase their marginalisation. Every Indian who is 18 years or older has a right to vote in polls due to start on April […]

Turkish defense products have left visitors in awe as the 2019 Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) Exhibition kicked off on Tuesday in Malaysia. Turkish Defense Industry President Ismail Demir, Deputy Minister of National Defense Muhsin Dere, Turkish ambassador to Kuala Lampur Merve Safa Kavakçı and various top level officials are among the attendees. Representatives […]

Hundreds of protesters, Tibetans and Uyghurs refugees in France, met Monday in Paris to call on Emmanuel Macron to denounce the oppression they endure on Chinese territory. “Justice for the Uyghurs”, “Stop the genocide”: Several hundred representatives of minorities demonstrated Monday in Paris in the hope of putting human rights on the menu of Chinese […]