MALAYSIA
Voters go to the polls in six Malaysian states today after two weeks of intense campaigning. Nearly 9.7 million voters are called to pick 245 members of state assemblies in Selangor, Penang, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu. According to opinion polls, things are expected to remain unchanged, with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's Pakatan Harapan coalition and his unity government ally Barisan Nasional retaining power in Selangor, Penang and Negeri Sembilan while the opposition alliance Perikatan Nasional should hold on to Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu.
MYANMAR
The president of a Mandalay-based charity has been re-arrested by Myanmar's military regime after she was released from prison about two months ago under an amnesty. Shwe Mahar Nwe leads several associations, including one of blood donors. She spent about two years in prison after she was arrested while raising funds for refugee camps and orphanages. Her family said they did not know her whereabouts nor had received any information from her.
CHINA
Country Garden, one of China's biggest property developers, warned it could lose as much as US$ 7.6 billion in the first six months of the year. This is the latest sign of economic distress for China after official data showed this week that the economy has slipped into deflation for the first time in more than two years. Country Garden Holdings shares fell more than 5 per cent in Hong Kong trading yesterday.
INDIA
The Indian government has introduced three bills in the lower house of parliament aimed at revising some colonial-era criminal laws, ranging from sedition to boosting the protection of women and children. Critics argue that the criminal process will become more complex, while those in favour of the changes argue that a debate on reform and a new level of transparency in criminal codes are needed.
HIMALAYA
A Norwegian mount climber has been accused of failing to rescue a dying sherpa during her ascent to the top of the K2 last July. Kristin Harila, 37, climbed all the world's 14 highest peaks in 92 days, less than half the time of the previous record. Some drone footage posted online suggests that she and her team stepped over the motionless body of Pakistani sherpa Mohammed Hassan.
RUSSIA
The Higher School of Economics in Moscow offered one of its founders in 1993, renowned economist Prof Igor Lipsits, a contract as an accountant and dishwasher, which he refused. In the 1990s he was the author of various management and marketing manuals, now considered too liberal. In 2019 they were dropped from the list of admitted textbooks because they “do not contribute to love for the Motherland."
KYRGYZSTAN
The chairman of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Robert Menendez, called on to Kyrgyzstan to uphold international sanctions against Russia, which it has refused to do. Unlike other Central Asian countries, it is allowing the re-export of goods from China, the EU, Turkey, and other countries to Russia despite the risk of secondary sanctions. For Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, the letter constitutes “unacceptable pressure".
