Indonesian chief security minister Wiranto’s wounds from a stabbing attack last week went so deep that he required surgery on his intestines, a senior government adviser has revealed.Mahfud MD, who sits on the steering committee of a government agency promoting Indonesia’s secular ideology Pancasila – that stresses national unity despite ethnic and religious diversity – said these details were given to him by Dr Terawan Agus Putranto, the head of the Gatot Soebroto Army Hospital, where Wiranto…
Duterte’s spokesman takes three-hour commute to work after accepting public transport dare
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesman, Salvador Panelo, took three-and-a-half hours to get to work on Friday morning after he accepted a dare to commute the way millions in Manila do daily, but seemed to brush off the whole episode as a boyish stunt.“I really fooled you,” Panelo told the press after taking four jeepneys – passenger trucks – and a motorcycle ride to reach the presidential palace in Metro Manila.Asked what it felt like being a commuter for 210 minutes, Panelo said “it…
New Philippines military chief sees no ‘shooting war’ in South China Sea despite disputes
The new head of the Armed Forces of the Philippines has said he does not expect a “shooting war” to occur in the South China Sea, despite Manila’s diplomatic protests against China’s intrusions into its territorial waters.“I don’t think it’s going to the point that there is going to be an actual conflict, meaning a shooting war. I think there are enough mechanisms in place to prevent this from happening,” Lieutenant General Noel Clement said in a briefing with foreign correspondents on Thursday…
Malaysia’s Sultan Muhammad V ‘did not abandon’ Russian beauty queen wife Oksana Voevodina
Malaysia’s Sultan Muhammad V has denied claims by his ex-wife, Russian beauty queen Oksana Voevodina, that he abandoned her and did not offer help towards the end of her difficult pregnancy when she was in need of cash.The clarifications, made by the Kelantan Sultan’s Singapore-based lawyer Koh Tien Hua, came after the news website MailOnline ran a report on Monday in which Oksana claimed she had pawned her £203,000 (US$250,000) wedding ring to cover medical bills when she was “at risk of…
For India, diplomacy with China flows through the barrel of a gun
As Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi prepare for their second informal summit in the southeastern coastal town of Mamallapuram this weekend, the Indian Army has begun a massive military exercise 100km from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) – the de facto border between India and China – in India’s northeast.Code-named “Him Vijay”, this multiphase exercise will test the battle-readiness of the Indian Army’s newly minted Mountain Strike Corps (MSC) at an altitude…
Indonesian security minister Wiranto injured in stabbing by suspected IS radical: police
Indonesia’s security minister was stabbed on Thursday after being attacked by a knife-wielding man with suspected links to a domestic radical group aligned with Islamic State.The noontime incident happened when Wiranto, who goes by one name, emerged from his car after officiating at a ceremony to open a new building at a university in Pandeglang, West Java.Wiranto was about to walk to a helipad to catch a helicopter to return to Jakarta after the event.“The incident occurred very quickly…
Three scientists win Nobel Chemistry prize for lithium-ion battery
Three researchers on Wednesday won the 2019 Nobel Chemistry Prize for the development of lithium-ion batteries, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said.John Goodenough of the United States – who at 97 is the oldest person to be awarded a Nobel Prize – Britain’s Stanley Whittingham, and Japan’s Akira Yoshino will share the prize sum of nine million Swedish kronor (US$914,000) equally.“This lightweight, rechargeable and powerful battery is now used in everything from mobile phones to laptops…
Umno-linked Utusan Malaysia newspaper shuts down after 80 years
Utusan Malaysia, the 80-year-old Malay-language newspaper with close ties to the country’s former ruling party, on Wednesday said it was immediately ceasing operations after failing to find a way out of its financial problems. The newspaper’s shutdown has been the subject of speculation for months as its troubles rapidly mounted following the fall of its political benefactor, the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), in last year’s watershed general election. The closure of the Utusan…
Singapore poets have a few choice words as minister Ong Ye Kung criticises Alfian Sa’at
Singapore’s education minister Ong Ye Kung is facing criticism from the city state’s arts and literary community – and even a leading establishment figure – after quoting a poem by Alfian Sa’at to suggest the playwright was disloyal to the Lion City.Ong, during a speech in parliament on Monday, quoted parts of Alfian’s 1998 poem Singapore You Are Not My Country – filled with wry and withering observations about life in Singapore – and suggested the playwright continued “this attitude…
The Philippines has 7,000 islands. So why is it not attracting more cruise ships?
The Philippines, a country of 7,000 islands where you’re rarely more than a few miles from the sea, wants a bigger slice of Asia’s growing cruise tourism industry.For years the Southeast Asian nation has lagged behind its neighbours in attracting cruise visitors, partly because of spotty infrastructure. That is bound to change as more ports are built and officials look at cruise tourism as a key source of arrivals.With the economy in danger of notching its slowest expansion since 2011, tourism…