Nation

Negri Sembilan DKU seeks contempt proceedings against Mentri Besar, 16 others

KUALA LUMPUR: The Negri Sembilan Dewan Keadilan dan Undang (DKU) and its secretary wants to cite the Mentri Besar, 10 former exco members and six others for contempt.

Nation

Women account for 39.4% of top civil service management, Parliament hears

KUALA LUMPUR: Women accounted for 39.4% of the top management group in the public service as of December 2025, the Dewan Rakyat was told.

Laos

Laos, Thailand strengthen cooperation to combat online scams, money laundering

VIENTIANE: Laos and Thailand are strengthening cooperation to combat online scams, money laundering and transnational criminal networks through closer coordination between law enforcement agencies, financial institutions and judicial authorities in both countries.

Entertainment

HK actor Peter Pang faces financial strain amid cancer treatment

He reportedly spends between RM10,402 and RM15,604 a month on cancer treatment and health supplements.

Myanmar

Music brings Myanmar, Chinese communities together

YANGON: Melodies of Chinese songs and graceful dance performances filled the National Theatre in Yangon on Saturday (Oct 17), as the Myanmar Chinese Song Competition 2026 held its award ceremony, bringing together Chinese song enthusiasts from across Myanmar.

Vietnam

Vietnam's central bank urges rate cuts by commercial banks

HANOI: The State Bank of Vietnam has instructed commercial banks to cut deposit interest rates by at least 0.5 percentage points, local news outlet Dan Tri reported Sunday (Oct 18).

Markets

Indonesia Stock Exchange cuts share price decline limit to 7%

JAKARTA: The Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) has lowered the auto-rejection limit for share price declines to seven per cent from 15 per cent to curb market volatility and maintain orderly, fair and efficient trading.

Badminton

Chong Wei hails memorable week for Malaysian badminton

PETALING JAYA: Badminton legend Datuk Seri Lee Chong Wei has hailed a memorable week for Malaysian badminton after Low Zi Yu-Genevie Lim and Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah delivered two historic titles.

Philippines

The chilling reward and quota system of Rodrigo Duterte's 'war on drugs': Editorial

MANILA: What made the Duterte administration's so-called "war on drugs" so lethally effective that it ended up with 6,000 Filipinos dead according to official police records, and perhaps up to 30,000 according to independent human rights watchdogs?

Nation

Government steps up support for M40 amid rising cost of living, says Liew Chin Tong

KUALA LUMPUR: The government is stepping up support for the M40 as rising living costs continue to squeeze middle-income households, says Deputy Finance Minister Liew Chin Tong.

AI

DeepSeek pushes out updated AI model it says is faster, leaner

DeepSeek released an update of its AI model that it says is faster and leaner, ramping up the Chinese company's challenge to Silicon Valley rivals Anthropic PBC and OpenAI.

Indonesia

Indonesia, UN hold talks on strategic issues, multilateral cooperation

JAKARTA: United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed appreciation for Indonesia's foreign policy leadership and efforts to promote global peace and assist Palestinians.

Nation

27 areas record unhealthy API readings as of 10am

KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 27 areas nationwide recorded unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) readings as of 10am on Monday (Oct 19), with Johan Setia in Selangor recording the highest reading at 172.

Economy

China's Q3 GDP growth accelerates to 4.5%, beating forecast

BEIJING: China's economic growth rebounded to 4.5% year-on-year in the third quarter, beating expectations and easing the pressure on policymakers for delivering more aggressive stimulus measures to meet the annual target.

Living

Nepal mourns: 'It hurts when the grandchildren ask for their parents'

After the massive destruction and deaths caused by the Aug 26 flash floods in Nepal and Tibet, the communities are in dire need of long-term help. 

Thailand

IMF official says China makes proactive efforts for maintaining multilateral, rules-based trading system

BANGKOK: China makes proactive efforts for maintaining a multilateral and rules-based trading system, and Chinese companies can play an important role in the diffusion of new technologies and in supporting their application through outbound investment, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) official has said.

Nation

Education Ministry extends marks entry deadlines following haze disruptions

PUTRAJAYA: The Education Ministry has extended the deadline for entering marks for several school assessments in its Integrated Education Management System following disruptions to school sessions and assessment activities due to haze in several parts of the country.

Singapore

Singapore to host BTS THE CITY ARIRANG, first and only stop of city-wide fan experience in South-East Asia

SINGAPORE: BTS may be playing only four nights in Singapore, but fans will get to enjoy a month-long series of activities from Dec 1-31.

Forex

Ringgit opens mostly higher as GDP growth beats forecasts

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened mostly higher against a basket of major currencies on Monday after Malaysia's advance estimate of third-quarter 2026 gross domestic product (GDP) growth came in stronger than expected at 5.3 per cent.

Markets

FBM KLCI falls as foreign selling continues

KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI fell on Monday amid persistent foreign selling and continued global uncertainties.