US extends debt relief to Pakistan after floods

The rollover relates to the Paris membership agreement in 04 2020 to support 73 lower income countries during COVID-19, under that the US provided comfort on US$128 million in debt to Pakistan. The agreement to postpone payments on that debt, plus an additional US$4 million, has been rolled once again.Continue Reading

Malaysia parliament must be dissolved soon so that elections can be held this year: UMNO secretary-general

KUALA LUMPUR: The supreme council of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) has agreed that parliament must be dissolved soon so that general elections can be held this year, said party secretary-general Ahmad Maslan on Friday (Sep 30).  In a statement issued after the party’s monthly supreme council meeting atContinue Reading

Nestle to stop sourcing from Indonesian palm oil producer AAL

LONDON: Food giant Nestle plans to stop sourcing through subsidiaries of Astra Agro Lestari (AAL), a major Indonesian palm oil producer accused by environmental groups of land and human legal rights abuses. The move provides multinationals face increased reputational and lawful pressure from customers and governments to clean up theirContinue Reading

Malaysia PM orders misconduct probe into former attorney-general

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Friday (Sep 30) ordered a probe into possible misconduct by a former top prosecutor who had brought corruption cases against several senior members of his ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party. Tommy Thomas, who served as attorney-general between 2018 andContinue Reading

Daily round-up, Sep 30: COVID-19 cases rise in Singapore; property shares fall after cooling measures; South Korea lifts restrictions for inbound travellers

Let’s get you up to speed with the day’s stories. Singapore has recorded a 35 per cent to 40 per cent week-on-week increase in COVID-19 daily cases, translating to 900 to 1,000 more infections every day, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Friday (Sep 30). There has been noContinue Reading

Senior Indonesian officials targeted by spyware last year: Sources

More than a dozen senior Indonesian government and military officials were targeted last year with spy software designed by an Israeli surveillance firm, according to nine people with knowledge of the matter. Six of the individuals told Reuters they were targeted themselves. The targets included Chief Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto,Continue Reading

Japan’s digital minister says he’s ready for a fight

TOKYO: Japan’s media-savvy digital minister said Friday (Sep 30) he’s ready to take an iron-fisted approach to speed up the nation’s slow embrace of online services at government offices and workplaces. Taro Kono – a political heavyweight who has been minister of defence, foreign affairs and COVID-19 vaccines – has alreadyContinue Reading