People visit a sunflower field in Lopburi, Thailand, on Monday, December 5, 2022. - Reuters
Malaysia:
* PM: Serious lapses detected involving use of RM600bil funds by Muhyiddin's govt
* PM: Cabinet ministers have agreed to take 20% pay cut
* Covid-19 Watch: Cumulative infections in Malaysia surpass five million
* PM Anwar: Malaysia to review plans for 5G network
* Pressing situation needed Anwar to take on finance portfolio, says Rafizi
* Anwar: Perikatan's election partly funded by gambling companies
* Muhyiddin: I’ve never embezzled or misused funds meant to help the people
* Strict adherence to Evidence Act may let off many crooks scot-free, 1MDB trial told
* Rafizi: Govt just wants MACC unfettered, no vendetta on Azam
* NGOs want cops to act on investment scam, claim victims lost over RM3bil
* Bursa Malaysia aims for 300 PLCs to participate in transformation programme by 2025
* 'Stressed-out' motorist leads cops on hazardous 65km car chase
Members of a search and rescue team check the situation at the Kajar Kuning village in Lumajang on Monday, December 5, 2022. - AFP
Singapore:
* Singapore's retail sales grow 10.4 per cent on year in October
* Singapore: Food delivery man and recalcitrant offender sent back to jail for assaulting woman, damaging her eardrum
* Man in S’pore jailed over upskirt videos, including those of another man dressed in women’s clothes
* Singapore keen to play role in stemming nature crisis
* Singapore to see new wave of Covid-19 infections, says health minister
* 31 years’ jail for ‘depraved sexual predator’ in S’pore who preyed on 20 girls
* 352 victims in S’pore duped by fake buyers on Carousell since November
* More Covid cases expected in Singapore
* Christmas Wonderland with 103,000 light bulbs
* Oil prices climb after Opec+ keeps output cut targets, China eases Covid curbs
* Asian shares mixed, oil higher after Russia price cap pact
Indonesia:
* Ambitious plans to build Indonesia brand new capital city are falling apart
* Seven killed after bus plunges into ravine in Indonesia's East Java
* More people flee after eruption of Indonesia's Mount Semeru
* Indonesia's Mt. Semeru eruption buries homes, damages bridge; thousands on alert
* Indonesia central bank says digital rupiah currency can be used in metaverse
* Indonesia set to pass new criminal code that will ban sex outside marriage
* Highest alert status triggered - Indonesia’s Mount Semeru eruption
* Indonesian banks gain from geographic factors
* Indonesian minister Tito lambasts ‘wrong mindset’ in budget policies
Rescuers walk in smoke from hot volcanic materials from the eruption of Mount Semeru at Kajar Kuning village, Lumajang, East Java, Indonesia, Monday, Dec. 5, 2022. Improved weather conditions Monday allowed rescuers to resume evacuation efforts and a search for possible victims after the highest volcano on Indonesia's most densely populated island erupted, triggered by monsoon rains. - AP
Thailand:
* E-shopping platforms in Thailand warned to stamp out ganja sales
* China still Thailand’s largest market, but trade value slumping
* Thai police identifies group believed to be mastermind of the bomb blast on the railway tracks
* Malaysian fugitive businessman to be extradited to China - Beijing police want Tedy Teow over suit filed by 400 investors
* Emerging markets - Most Asian currencies rise on easing of some Covid-19 curbs in China
* Thailand's supreme Sarit secures first Asian Tour title in Indonesia
* Prosecutor dismissed for ‘tampering’ in Red Bull case in Thailand
Philippines:
* Philippines logs 1,141 new Covid-19 cases and 25 deaths on Monday (Dec 5)
* Philippine finance chief says forex reserves enough for wealth fund
* Weakening in global activity and global risks hindering Philippines growth
* Philippine central bank governor voices caution over plans to create US$4.9 billion sovereign fund
* Philippines cuts 2023 GDP growth target to 6.0-7.0%
* Philippines needs to find ways to exploit South China Sea resources, says Marcos
Employees on beanbags in the Atrium lobby inside VNG Corp.'s city campus in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2022. VNG, Vietnam’s answer to Tencent Holdings Ltd. with games, messaging, videos and music among its services, is accelerating its international expansion, co-founder Le Hong Minh said in an interview at its headquarters in Ho Chi Minh City. - Bloomberg
Vietnam:
* Vietnam reports 427 new Covid-19 cases and no death on Monday (Dec 5)
* Vietnam PM orders raising loan quotas for some banks and firms
* Export prices of Vietnamese rice are the world's highest
* Vietnamese firms can gain from trade deal
* Best-kept secret comes alive in Vietnam's tourism push
* Smart city development must be from early stage in Vietnam, says minister
Myanmar:
* Asean chair Indonesia must be firm in dealing with Myanmar crisis, say analysts
* 54 killed and 252 injured in Myanmar highway crashes in 11 months
* 70 Rohingya arrested in Myanmar after truck crash
People shows their inked fingers after casting their votes during the second phase of Gujarat state legislature elections in Ahmedabad, India, Monday, Dec. 5, 2022. The local elections in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state is seen as a barometer of his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's popularity ahead of a general election in 2024. - AP
Cambodia:
* Annual high school graduation examination, country's top exam, kicks off in Cambodia
* Asean launches plan to promote women's security in South-East Asia
* International half marathon kicks off at Angkor Park
Laos:
* Laos is one of Fodor’s Travel's ‘Top places to go in Asia in 2023’
* Inflation in Laos accelerates to 38.46 per cent in November
* Railway turns obscure villages into tourist spots in Laos
Brunei:
* Jeddah among popular destination for Bruneians; Kuala Lumpur also among top destinations for tourists from Brunei
* Brunei to enter rainy season in early December: meteorological agency
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, astronaut Chen Dong waves as he sits outside the re-entry capsule of the Shenzhou-14 manned space mission after it lands successfully at the Dongfeng landing site in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Sunday night, Dec. 4, 2022. Three Chinese astronauts landed in a northern desert on Sunday after six months working to complete construction of the Tiangong station, a symbol of the country's ambitious space program, state TV reported. - AP
AseanPlus:
* China astronauts return after six-month mission from Tiangong space station
* Covid-19 confusion in China as authorities row back curbs
* World Cup interest is so high in Japan that a streamer can’t cope
* Yuan jumps past 7 per dollar as China eases some Covid curbs
* China’s e-commerce market is changing as big players such as Alibaba adjust to thrifty consumers amid leaner times
* Jimmy Lai’s national security trial: Hong Kong court postpones case to December 13 amid coming legal interpretation by Beijing
* India-Australia trade deal could chip away at China’s mineral monopolies, boost wine exports
* Japanese city files criminal complaint against nursery school head for covering up infant abuse
* ‘Scam’ website set up by Hong Kong police attracts nearly 300,000 visits in two weeks
* Chinese snack maker Weilong Delicious aims to raise up to US$141mil in trimmed-down Hong Kong IPO
* GAustralians fear for privacy as hackers steal personal data
* India's capital blanketed in smog; private construction banned
* China services activity shrinks to 6-month lows - Caixin PMI
* New Zealand announces review of its handling of Covid-19 pandemic
* 'We are not your enemy', say South Korean truckers striking for minimum wage protections
* New Zealand plans law to require Facebook, Google to pay for news
* Neymar to play against South Korea, says Tite
* World Cup starts now, says Japan winger Asano
* Foxconn expects Covid-hit China plant back to full output in late Dec-early Jan -source
* Tencent and Alibaba’s AI models understand Chinese better than humans, new rankings show
