Asean News Headlines at 10pm on Monday (Nov 17, 2025)

A 4.5-year-old Bengal tiger named Jelita looks after her cub in an enclosure at Bandung Zoo, which has been ordered to close by the city for three months due to internal management problems, putting its 710 animals at risk, in Bandung, West Java, on Monday, November 17, 2025. -- Photo by Timur Matahari / AFP

Malaysia:

* Malaysia-US trade deal will protect exports, jobs and sovereignty, says govt

* GRS says Sabah is on track to realise 40% revenue entitlement under MA63

* Ewon demands clarity from Loke on Sabah’s rights concerns

* Sabah, Federal Government begin talks on 40% revenue entitlement review

* Anwar to visit Ethiopia, South Africa and Kenya to deepen ties, trade

* Two men charged with murdering saleswoman

* EPF records 11% jump in 9M25 investment income to RM63.99bil

* EC begins process of issuing postal ballot papers for Sabah polls

* Religious teacher jailed seven years for sexually assaulting student

* Malaysia to establish transportation safety board by next year

* High Court denies Najib, son's appeal to halt bankruptcy proceedings

* Malaysia among countries with cheapest internet per gigabyte, says Fahmi

* Abu Bakar Jais temporarily assumes duties as Chief Judge of Malaya

* Fadillah says contractor flaws and weather cause Sabah project delays

* Abang Johari ready to enter negotiations on increasing Parliament seats for Sarawak, Sabah

* EPF on track for higher dividend payout after strong Sept 2025 investment income

* SAR operation for capsized migrant boat in Langkawi called off after nine days

The Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS) on Monday, Nov 17, 2025, rescues a victim of a landslide after a recovery programmme in Cilacap, Indonesia. (BASARNAS via AP)

Singapore:

* Singapore orders access to MalaysiaNow to be blocked after website fails to comply with Pofma direction

* Heavy traffic expected at Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints during year-end school holidays; more checks against smuggling of e-vaporisers

* Jail for Singaporean man who failed to report his girlfriend’s death in 2024 after discovering her body 

* Man who rushed at Ariana Grande gets nine days jail

* 23-year-old charged with murder of elderly man at Singapore condo

* Lee Hsien Yang objects to Govt’s plan to gazette 38 Oxley Road as a national monument

* Two Singaporean men charged over alleged links with Cambodia-based scam syndicate

* Oil falls after loadings resume at key Russian export hub

Indonesia:

* Jakarta to allow US firms to sell energy to Indonesia without competitive bidding

* Indonesia disposes 5.7 tonnes of shrimp contaminated with Caesium 137

* Landslides in Indonesia's Central Java kill at least 18; dozens missing

* Indonesian man jailed three years for possessing almost RM14,000 in fake currency

* Aceh authorities clear 18.5 hectares of illegal palm oil

* Indonesia plans taxes of up to 15% on gold exports from 2026

Members of the religious sect Iglesia ni Cristo raise clenched fists as they shout slogans during an anti-corruption protest at a park in Manila on Monday, November 17, 2025. -- Photo by Ted ALJIBE / AFP

Thailand:

* Sri Lanka probes claims of cruelty to elephants gifted by Thailand 

* China seeks to enhance maritime cooperation with Asean, says Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia

* Thailand's economy expected to grow above 2% this year, the finance minister says

* Thai Q3 GDP grows 1.2% y/y, slowest pace in four years

* Thai family completes 600km trek to pay final respects to Queen Sirikit

* Thai A-G's office reverses course, to appeal Thaksin’s lese majeste acquittal despite earlier 8–2 vote

Philippines:

* Two Marcos Cabinet ministers quit amid Philippine graft scandal

* Philippines eyes completion of South China Sea code as Asean chair next year

* Sara Duterte slams Marcos as anti-graft rally goes on

* Thousands of anti-graft protesters take to streets of Philippines capital for second day

* Philippines to see new round of oil price hikes on Nov 18

A handout photo provided by the Kuwaiti news agency KUNA shows Emir of Kuwait Meshal al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah (right) meeting Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at Kuwait international airport in Kuwait City on Monday, November 17, 2025. -- Photo by HANDOUT / KUNA / AFP

Vietnam:

* Heavy rain persists in Vietnam as landslide strikes bus on mountain pass in Vietnam, killing six people

* Five strategic pillars to boost Vietnam's aviation industry

* Vietnam exporters wary as Philippines extends rice import ban

* Landslide kills 6 bus passengers in central Vietnam

* English to be mandatory in all Vietnamese schools by 2035

Myanmar:

* Plenty of love even in times of hardship: Myanmar couples wed amid many challenges in the country

* Myanmar Rohingya migrant shipwreck leaves 36 dead as Malaysia ends search

* Acting Myanmar president accuses some ethnic armed groups of aiding illegal trade

* Myanmar cook stabbed to death in fatal dispute over food at restaurant

Buddhist monks and tourists visit Thung Bua Tong (Mexican sunflower) fields at Doi Mae U Kho, one of the tourist destinations in Mae Hong Son province, northern Thailand. Photo: REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Cambodia:

* South Korean student in Cambodia was tortured to death, autopsy confirms

* Cambodian police probing alleged rape of returning worker by Thai troops

* Conservationists celebrate as Cambodia records first dolphin death-free year in over two decades

* The border issue - Trump says Cambodia and Thailand ‘will be fine’

Laos:

* Laos moves to overhaul national school system by 2028 and extend primary schooling years for children

* Lao govt lauds business leaders’ role in development at chamber of commerce awards

* Laos kicks off National Games with great fanfare

Brunei:

* Royal Brunei Airlines wins the 2026 Apex Four-Star Major Airline award

* Six foreigners arrested in Brunei immigration raids

* Students empowered through Brunei coding workshop

A male lion is seen in its enclosure at Bandung Zoo, which has been ordered to close by the city for three months due to internal management problems, putting its 710 animals at risk, in Bandung, West Java, on Monday, November 17, 2025. -- Photo by Timur Matahari / AFP

AseanPlus:

* LRT3 set to begin operations on Dec 31, says Loke

* Kuala Lumpur welcomes new mayor: Datuk Fadlun Mak Ujud begins tenure

* Chinese AI firms ramp up expansion into Asean

* 91 arrested in major drug bust in Kota Samarahan

* How AI and social media contribute to ‘brain rot’

* India Delhi deadly car bomb accused appears in court

* AirAsia X enters Türkiye with launch of KL–Istanbul route

* Malaysia aims to move up E&E value chain, says Amir Hamzah

* Malaysians suggest upgrades for Unesco sites nationwide

* China’s homegrown luxury boom offers lessons for the global fashion scene

* Cash vouchers for newlyweds as China tries to boost marriages

* Bangladesh's ousted PM Hasina sentenced to death for students crackdown

* Death verdict against me biased, politically motivated, Bangladesh ex-PM Hasina says

* Bear found near school killed in Japan’s Yamagata prefecture

* Japan tourism, retail stocks plunge after China travel warning

* Cheap AI tools fuel teen-driven rise in deepfake sex crimes in South Korea

* Asbestos contamination forces schools in Australia, New Zealand to close

* Japan's economy contracts for first time in six quarters on tariff hit

* Australia rules out co-hosting climate summit with Turkey

* China escalates Japan spat with threats of economic reprisal

* ‘Not enthusiastic’: Why China finds Trump’s ‘G2’ talk too costly in geopolitics

* China food vendor gains fame for resembling famous Japan animator and offering free meals to needy

* As more of China becomes ‘moderately aged’, how will its economy change?

* Labubu movie reportedly in the works for the big screen after Sony Pictures closed deal

* South Korea's new president, injured as a child labourer, cracks down on 'workplaces of death'

* Australia spy boss warns of foreign assassination plots by agents of at least three nations

* S. Korean police to probe e-scooter firms after crash involving teenager leaves woman in coma

* Anthropic says Chinese hackers used its AI in online attack, a claim refuted by China

* F4 singer Ken Chu cries during solo concert in China

* HK celeb couple Liza Wang & Law Kar-ying fulfil wish of having a wedding photoshoot after 16yrs

* South Korea reports another case of highly contagious bird flu at chicken farm in southern province

* HK action star Donnie Yen once borrowed money from loan sharks to survive, had only RM53 in bank account

* Cricket - South Africa coach lauds Bavuma as one of the best in the world

* Badminton - Japan in hand, Pearly-Thinaah now eye China's stronghold at Finals

* Maybank Championship winner Miyu Yamashita becomes the third Japanese to win the US LPGA Rookie of the Year award 

* Golf - Indeed a Swede day as Linn Grant wins second LPGA title at The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican

* E-Sports - Brazil's Team Furia triumph in epic grand final to claim Blast Premier Rivals title in historic Hong Kong event