South Korea

South Korea to prosecute students cheating with smart glasses

SEOUL: South Korea will file criminal complaints against students caught cheating on a national university entrance exam with smart glasses and toughen penalties for their use, a government official told AFP Friday (Oct 30).

Business

Timely rains cushion El Niño blow to Malaysian palm oil output

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's palm oil output is likely to escape the worst of El Niño, for now, as better-than-expected rainfall limits crop losses, offering a measure of relief from a global cereal and vegetable oil supply squeeze that has fuelled food inflation.

AseanPlus News

Bhutan lake burst sparks flood scare in Bengal; over 10,000 shifted, Sankosh on red alert

THIMPHU: More than 10,000 people have been moved to shelters or safer locations in West Bengal's Alipurduar district following a glacial lake outburst in neighbouring Bhutan, as authorities placed the Sankosh river system on red alert over fears of a sudden flood surge.

Nation

KLIA passengers told to expect traffic congestion during MotoGP

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airlines has advised passengers using Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) between Friday (Oct 30) and Sunday to expect higher traffic congestion during the Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix (MotoGP).

Myanmar

Yangon readies over 600 heat relief shelters amid El Nino concerns

YANGON: Myanmar's Yangon region has prepared more than 600 heat relief shelters with a combined capacity of over 150,000 people to help residents cope with extreme heat amid forecasts of a strong El Nino event, local media reported Thursday (Oct 29).

South Korea

13 airlines hit by check-in disruption at Incheon Airport

SEOUL: A disruption to airline check-in systems at Incheon Airport caused major passenger-processing delays on Friday (Oct 30), effectively halting normal ticketing operations at three Chinese carriers by the afternoon.

Philippines

Philippines raises volcano alert level as blast sends ash skyward

MANILA: One of the Philippines' most active volcanoes fired a dark column of ash thousands of metres into the sky Friday (Oct 30) in a "moderately explosive eruption" that lasted nearly six minutes, the state seismology office said.

Nation

Opposition MPs to receive allocations once Budget 2027 is passed, says PM

KUALA LUMPUR: Allocations for opposition Members of Parliament who signed the Confidence and Supply Agreement (CSA) will be disbursed immediately after the Supply Bill 2027 is passed by Parliament.

Japan

Japan’s Mt. Fuji sees first snowcap of season, seven days earlier based on new system for checking

TOKYO: Mt. Fuji saw its first snowcap of the season on Friday (Oct 30), the Japan Meteorological Agency said on its website.

Nation

Fisherman and girlfriend jailed 30 years, caning for trafficking 173kg of methamphetamine

KUALA LUMPUR: A man and his Vietnamese girlfriend have been sentenced by the High Court to 30 years in jail after they were found guilty of trafficking 173kg of methamphetamine four years ago.

Badminton

Aaron-Roy King stun Indonesian top seeds to check into Hylo Open quarters

PETALING JAYA: Aaron Tai-Yap Roy King continued to make their mark on the international stage as they disposed of top seeds Sabar Karyaman-Moh Reza to reach the Hylo Open quarter-finals on Thursday (Oct 29).

Brunei

Red tide phenomenon persists in Brunei

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: The red tide phenomenon continued to plague the coastal waters of Belait, Tutong, and Brunei-Muara districts as well as the waters of Brunei Bay, including the areas around Tugu, Ujong Sapoh, and Pulau Kaingaran, according to the latest statement issued by the Department of Fisheries under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on Thursday (Oct 29).

Commodities

Gold slips as higher oil, US inflation data bolster Fed hike bets

Gold prices slipped on Friday as higher oil prices and robust US inflation data strengthened the case for another Federal Reserve interest rate hike later this year.

Nation

Over 6,500kg of chicken seized, 12 foreign men arrested in Puchong halal compliance raid

PETALING JAYA: A total of 6,555kg of raw chicken believed to have been processed without complying with halal requirements was seized while 12 foreign men were arrested in a raid on a warehouse in Puchong early Friday (Oct 30).

Thailand

Phuket designates four Karon villages as a flood disaster area

BANGKOK: Phuket Governor Chotinarin Kerdsom has declared four villages in Karon subdistrict, Mueang Phuket district, a flood disaster area following heavy rainfall and strong winds that raised the risk of flash floods, overflowing waterways, runoff and landslides.

World

Yemen's Houthis deny launching drone after coalition reports interception in Mecca region

Oct 30 (Reuters) - ⁠Yemen's Houthis denied launching any ⁠attack towards Saudi Arabia on ‌Friday, after the Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted and destroyed a drone ​launched by the ⁠group over the ⁠Mecca region.

Laos

Proposal to import 500MW of renewable electricity from Laos to Singapore mooted

SINGAPORE: Singapore's plan to beef up its energy security via electricity imports could be strengthened if a proposal to bring in up to 500 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy from Laos comes to fruition.

AI

'Superintelligence' instead? Trump to ban term 'AI' in official docs

US President Donald Trump has announced that the use of the English term "Artificial Intelligence (AI)" will soon be officially banned "in all relevant documents, and everything else, due to its inaccuracy," he wrote on his online platform Truth Social.

Singapore

Singapore Airlines extends Dubai flight cancellations to February 2027

SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines (SIA) has extended the cancellation of its flights between Singapore and Dubai to February 2027.

Indonesia

Fire pollution killed 3,560 people in Indonesia in September: report

JAKARTA: Air pollution from smoke emitted by months of wildfires across Indonesia caused an estimated 3,560 deaths in the vast Southeast Asian archipelago in September alone, according to a scientific study.