ANALYSIS: The collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008 and the ensuing financial crisis prompted major changes to the global banking and payments markets, both in terms of regulation and innovation, but an even more dramatic set of circumstances is set to impact industry over the next year.
Indonesia counterterrorism police shoot and kill suspected militant linked to Surabaya church bombings, arrest 13
Indonesian police fatally shot a militant and arrested 13 others on Tuesday suspected of links to suicide bombings carried out by two families in the country’s second-largest city.
Surabaya police spokesman Frans Barung Mangera said the militant died in a shoot-out in a Surabaya neighbourhood with counterterrorism police, who had tried to arrest him over possible involvement in the attacks that killed at least 13 people.
He said the arrests of suspected militants were made in raids in…
UK agency warns Brexit could lead to rise in organised crime
The UK body charged with fighting serious and organised crime has warned that the country’s impending withdrawal from the EU could lead to a rise in money laundering, bribery and other corporate offences.
Malaysian PM Mahathir begins big government clean up, but is his ruling coalition in a mess?
Malaysian Prime Minister Mohamad on Monday said he will replace the country’s attorney general and anti-corruption chief, as officials stepped up a probe into alleged widespread graft in the Barisan Nasional government defeated in last week’s general election.
Mahathir said attorney general Apandi Ali, appointed by ex-premier Najib Razak, would be put on indefinite leave as his tenure was assessed, with solicitor general Engku Nor Faizah Engku Atek standing in for him….
JAD: the extremist group that recruits families to spread terror in Indonesia
A wave of deadly suicide bombings that have rocked Indonesia’s second biggest city Surabaya are linked to local extremist network Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), which has pledged allegiance to Islamic State (IS). Here are some questions and answers about JAD. What is JAD?
Formed in 2015, JAD gained notoriety in January 2016 for a gun and suicide attack in the capital Jakarta that left four attackers and four civilians dead.
It is made up of almost two dozen Indonesian extremist groups…
Pompeo: US will need to give North Korea security assurances
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday that the US will need to “provide security assurances” to North Korea’s Kim Jong-un if the adversaries are to reach a nuclear deal.
Pompeo met Kim last week in North Korea, helping set the stage for President Donald Trump’s summit with Kim in Singapore on June 12.
Trump’s goal is to have North Korea get rid of its nuclear weapons in a permanent and verifiable way. In return, the US is willing to help the impoverished…
AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes apologises for ‘foolish’ Malaysia election stunt
AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes on Sunday apologised for a controversial stunt endorsing scandal-tainted prime minister at the time Najib Razak before Malaysia’s general election, in which he suffered a stunning defeat.
Fernandes said he came under pressure from Najib’s government before the May 9 vote, causing him to issue a video enthusiastically crediting its policies for the success of the home-grown low-cost carrier.
But the Barisan Nasional coalition, which had ruled Malaysia for…
Pakistan bars US diplomat from escaping in military plane after fatal crash
Pakistani authorities have barred a US diplomat involved in a fatal traffic accident from leaving the country, forcing an American military aircraft flown in for his departure to leave without him, local media reported on Saturday.
The move came a day after Pakistan said it would restrict the movements of all American diplomats in the country in response to Washington’s similar restrictions on Pakistani embassy diplomats.
Pakistan will probe Peshawar school attack that killed more than…
Malaysian police raid flats linked to ex-PM Najib Razak to ensure ‘sensitive documents’ remain in country
Police have raided a deluxe Kuala Lumpur block of flats that houses relatives of ousted Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in a search for sensitive documents that the new government fears may be taken out of the country, two senior police officers said.
The Saturday swoop came as the new prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, said he had stopped his predecessor from leaving the country because of suspected wrongdoing in connection with a multibillion-dollar scandal at state fund 1MDB.
Hong Kong…
Japan is trying to arrange talks between Shinzo Abe and Donald Trump before the US-North Korea summit in Singapore
The Japanese government is making arrangements for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to meet US President Donald Trump ahead of a landmark US-North Korea summit in Singapore on June 12, government sources said Friday.
As leaders from the Group of Seven industrialised nations are expected to gather in Canada on June 8 and 9, Abe hopes to hold talks with Trump on the fringes of the summit and coordinate efforts toward resolving issues related to Pyongyang, the sources said.
Good vibes for Trump, Xi, Moon…