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November
EU preparing new Russia sanctions package, von der Leyen says
Written by Nur Yasmin
The European Union is pressing ahead with a ninth sanctions package on Russia in response to Moscow's attack on Ukraine, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said during a visit to Finland on Thursday.
"We are working hard to hit Russia where it hurts to blunt even further its capacity to wage war on Ukraine and I can announce today that we are working full speed on a ninth sanctions package," von der Leyen told a news conference.
"And I'm confident that we will very soon approve a global price cap on Russian oil with the G7 and other major partners. We will not rest until Ukraine has prevailed over Putin and his unlawful and barbaric war," she said.
Von der Leyen did not provide details of what measures a new round of EU sanctions could contain.
The union last month gave a final approval to its eighth batch of sanctions over the invasion, including more restrictions on trade in steel and tech products.
At a joint news conference with the prime ministers of Finland and Estonia, and the deputy prime minister of Sweden, von der Leyen said Russia's attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure such as power supply amounted to war crimes.
"I also know our Ukranian friends will overcome this strategy because they are strong and their cause is just and we, the EU, stand here by them in these very difficult times as long as it takes," she said.
The European Parliament on Wednesday designated Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, arguing that its military strikes on Ukrainian civilian targets such as energy infrastructure, hospitals, schools and shelters violated international law.
Russia denies deliberately targeting civilians in Ukraine but acknowledges a campaign of strikes against electric power and other infrastructure, which Moscow suggests are aimed at reducing Kyiv's ability to fight and pushing it to negotiate. (Reuters)
November
Malaysia's Anwar becomes prime minister, ending decades-long wait
Written by Nur Yasmin
Malaysia's Anwar Ibrahim was sworn in as prime minister on Thursday, capping a three-decade political journey from a protege of veteran leader Mahathir Mohamad to protest leader, a prisoner convicted of sodomy and opposition leader.
His appointment ends five days of unprecedented post-election crisis, but could usher in a new instability with his rival, former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, challenging him to prove his majority in parliament.
Both men failed to win a majority in a Saturday election, but the constitutional monarch, King Al-Sultan Abdullah, appointed Anwar after speaking to several lawmakers.
Anwar takes over at a challenging time: the economy is slowing and the country is divided after a tight election that pitted Anwar's progressive coalition against Muhyiddin's mostly conservative ethnic-Malay, Muslim alliance.
Markets surged upon the end of the political deadlock. The ringgit currency posted its best day in two weeks and equities (.KLSE) rose 3%.
The 75-year-old Anwar has time and again been denied the premiership despite getting within striking distance over the years: he was deputy prime minister in the 1990s and the official prime minister-in-waiting in 2018.
In between, he spent nearly a decade in jail for sodomy and corruption in what he says were politically motivated charges aimed at ending his career.
The uncertainty over the election threatened to prolong political instability in the Southeast Asian country, which has had three prime ministers in as many years, and risks delaying policy decisions needed to foster economic recovery.
Anwar's supporters expressed hope that his government would head off a return to historic tension between the ethnic Malay, Muslim majority and ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities.
"All we want is moderation for Malaysia and Anwar represents that," said a communications manager in Kuala Lumpur, who asked to be identified by her surname Tang.
"We can't have a country that is divided by race and religion as that will set us back another 10 years."
Anwar told Reuters in an interview before the election that he would seek "to emphasize governance and anti-corruption, and rid this country of racism and religious bigotry" if appointed premier.
His coalition, known as Pakatan Harapan, won the most seats in Saturday's vote with 82, while Muhyiddin's Perikatan Nasional bloc won 73. They needed 112 - a simple majority - to form a government.
The long-ruling Barisan bloc won only 30 seats - the worst electoral performance for a coalition that had dominated politics since independence in 1957.
Barisan said on Thursday it would not support a government led by Muhyiddin, though it did not make any reference to Anwar.
Muhyiddin, after Anwar's appointment, asked Anwar to prove his majority in parliament.
POLICE STEP UP SECURITY
Muhyiddin's bloc includes the Islamist party PAS, whose electoral gains raised concern among members of the ethnic Chinese and ethnic Indian communities, most of whom follow other faiths.
Authorities warned after the weekend vote of a rise in ethnic tension on social media and short video platform TikTok said it was on high alert for content that violated its guidelines.
Social media users reported numerous TikTok posts since the election that mentioned a riot in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, on May 13, 1969, in which about 200 people were killed, days after opposition parties supported by ethnic Chinese voters made inroads in an election.
Police told social media users to refrain from "provocative" posts and said they were setting up 24-hour check-points on roads throughout the country to ensure public peace and safety.
The decision on the prime minister came down to King Al-Sultan Abdullah, after both Anwar and Muhyiddin missed his Tuesday afternoon deadline to put together a ruling alliance.
The constitutional monarch plays a largely ceremonial role but can appoint a premier he believes will command a majority in parliament.
Malaysia has a unique constitutional monarchy in which kings are chosen in turn from the royal families of nine states to reign for a five-year term.
As premier, Anwar will have to address soaring inflation and slowing growth as the economy recovers from the coronavirus pandemic, while calming ethnic tensions.
The most immediate issue will be the budget for next year, which was tabled before the election was called but has yet to be passed.
Anwar will also have to negotiate agreements with lawmakers from other blocs to ensure he can retain majority support in parliament.
"Anwar is appointed at a critical juncture in Malaysian history, where politics is most fractured, recovering from a depressed economy and a bitter COVID memory," said James Chai, visiting fellow at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.
"Always regarded as the man who could unite all warring factions, it is fitting that Anwar emerged during a divisive time." (Reuters)
November
Philippines to cut tariffs on electric vehicles, parts
Written by Nur Yasmin
A Philippine inter-agency panel chaired by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Thursday approved removing tariffs on electric vehicles (EVs) to spur demand amid high fuel costs.
Marcos will issue an executive order cutting to 0% the most favoured nation tariff on EVs like passengers cars, buses, vans, trucks, motorcycles, and bicycles, and their parts for five years. Current import duties range from 5% to 30%.
"The executive order aims to expand market sources and encourage consumers to consider acquiring EVs, improve energy security by reducing dependence on imported fuel, and promote the growth of the domestic EV industry ecosystem," Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan told a news conference.
Consumers in the Philippines currently need to shell out $21,000 to $49,000 for an EV, versus the $19,000 to $26,000 price for conventional vehicles.
Tariff rates on hybrid vehicles will not change.
Of the country's more than five million registered automotives, only 9,000 are electric, mostly passenger vehicles, government data show. Personal EVs account for just 1% of the market, and are mostly owned by the extremely wealthy, data from the United States' International Trade Administration show.
The Southeast Asian nation's automotive sector relies mostly on imported fuel. It also buys oil and coal abroad for its energy generation needs, making it vulnerable to price volatility. (Reuters)
November
Anwar Ibrahim's long road to prime minister of Malaysia
Written by Nur Yasmin
Malaysia will swear in long-time opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister at 5 p.m. (0900 GMT) on Thursday, after he was appointed by the king, bringing an end to five days of political uncertainty following an unprecedented hung parliament.
Here is a brief history of Anwar's three-decade-long political journey:
EARLY LIFE AND POLITICAL RISE:
** Born on Aug. 10, 1947, Anwar made his name as an Islamic youth leader with anti-government demonstrations highlighting impoverished conditions in northern Malaysia in the mid-1970s.
** He had a meteoric political rise under Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who invited him to join the ruling coalition, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), in 1982.
** Finance minister from 1991 and deputy prime minister from 1993, the long-celebrated heir apparent to Mahathir fell out with his mentor in 1998.
FALL-OUT AND JAIL:
** Mahathir sacked his deputy in September 1998, calling him unfit to be leader. Anwar was arrested that month after leading 30,000 protesters through the capital and charged with sodomy and corruption.
** Anwar was jailed for six years in April 1999 for abuse of power and received a second, consecutive nine-year term in August 2000 on a sodomy charge.
** Though freed in September 2004 after Malaysia's Federal Court quashed the sodomy charges, he was still banned from seeking office until April 2008.
RETURN TO POLITICS, FRESH CHARGES:
** After historic gains in the March 2008 general election by his People's Justice Party and its allies, Anwar returned to parliament as leader of the opposition.
** Just three months after being allowed to run for office again, he faced fresh sodomy charges on June 29 and sought refuge in the Turkish embassy, saying he feared for his life.
SECOND SODOMY CONVICTION AND JAIL TIME:
** In 2008, accused of sodomy by a male aide, Anwar said the accusations aimed at removing him from his post of leader of the opposition.
** During the term of Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2015, Anwar was jailed for sodomy for the second time.
REUNITED WITH MAHATHIR AND 2018 POLLS:
** Anwar and Mahathir buried the hatchet in 2018 and came together to defeat Barisan Nasional for the first time in Malaysia's history, amid public anger at the government over the multi-billion-dollar 1MDB scandal.
** Mahathir promises to seek a royal pardon for Anwar and hand him the prime minister's job if the coalition succeeds.
** Anwar is pardoned and released within a week after Mahathir leads the opposition coalition to an unprecedented victory in a general election.
** Their alliance collapsed less than two years later because of infighting over Mahathir's promise to hand power to Anwar.
2022 POLLS LEAD TO TOP JOB:
** Anwar's Pakatan Harapan coalition was forecast to get the largest share of seats, or 35%, in a closely fought election, a survey by British research firm YouGov showed on Nov. 16.
** But the election led to an unprecedented hung parliament over the weekend. Anwar's coalition won 82, or 36.9%, of the seats, short of the 112 required for a majority.
** Anwar and former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin each said they could form a government with support from other parties.
** Malaysia's king appointed Anwar as prime minister after a special meeting of his fellow hereditary sultans. (Reuters)
November
South Korea's Yoon looks to boost arms exports, develop defence tech
Written by Nur Yasmin
South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol pledged on Thursday to step up efforts to boost weapons exports and secure cutting-edge defence technologies as he aims to build the country's weapons industry into the world's fourth-largest arms exporter.
Yoon hosted a meeting on promoting defence exports for the first time since taking office in May, designed to explore ways to shift the mainstay of the industry to exports from domestic supplies.
"The defence industry is a new future growth engine and the pivot of the high-tech industry," Yoon told the meeting held at Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd (047810.KS), South Korea's sole warplane developer located in the southeastern city of Sacheon.
"With the intensifying competition for technological supremacy, we need to secure technological competitiveness to develop game-changing weapon systems for future wars."
To that end, he called for improving the conditions for research and investment by defence contractors, and building an ecosystem that can grow autonomously by fostering a more export-oriented industry structure.
The meeting came four months after South Korea clinched its biggest ever arms deal with Poland, estimated at up to 20 trillion won ($15 billion), including exports of tanks and howitzers.
In August, Yoon unveiled a goal of nurturing the country's defence industry into the world's fourth-largest, after the United States, Russia and France.
A growing number of countries, including Australia and Norway, are seeking to ramp up defence cooperation, which would help bolster South Korea's capability to counter North Korea's threats while contributing to peace and stability in the international community, Yoon said.
"Some say that there might be a vacuum in our military force due to defence exports as part of their political offensive, but the government will maintain thorough military readiness posture while actively supporting those exports," Yoon said. (Reuters)
November
Erdogan says Turkey to attack Kurdish militants with tanks, soldiers
Written by Nur Yasmin
Turkey will attack militants with tanks and soldiers soon, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday, signalling a possible ground offensive against a Kurdish militia in Syria after retaliatory strikes escalated along the Syrian border.
His comments came as Turkish artillery kept up bombardment of Kurdish bases and other targets near the Syrian towns of Tal Rifaat and Kobani, two Syrian military sources told Reuters.
"We have been bearing down on terrorists for a few days with our planes, cannons and guns," Erdogan said in a speech in northeastern Turkey. "God willing, we will root out all of them as soon as possible, together with our tanks, our soldiers."
He said previously that operations would not be limited to an air campaign and may involve ground forces. Turkey has mounted several major military operations against the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia and Islamic State militants in northern Syria in recent years.
On Monday, Turkey said the YPG killed two people in mortar attacks from northern Syria, following Turkish air operations against the militia at the weekend and a deadly bomb attack in Istanbul a week earlier.
The YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said 15 civilians and fighters were killed in Turkish strikes in recent days.
Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar vowed to keep up operations against the militants, renewing calls for NATO ally Washington to stop backing the Syrian Kurdish forces that Ankara calls a wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
"We tell all our partners, notably the United States, at every level, that the YPG equals the PKK and persist with our demand that they halt every kind of support for terrorists," Akar told a parliamentary commission in a speech.
A child and a teacher were killed and six people were hurt on Monday when mortar bombs hit a border area in Turkey's Gaziantep province. Its armed forces responded with jets again hitting targets in Syria, a senior security official said.
'SERIOUS CONCERNS'
A U.S. State Department spokesperson said Washington had communicated its serious concerns to Ankara about the impact of escalation on the goal of fighting Islamic State.
"We have urged Turkey against such operations, just as we have urged our Syrian partners against attacks or escalation," the spokesperson said in emailed responses to questions.
A spokesperson for U.S. National Security Agency told Reuters on background that the U.S. government opposed any military action that destabilized the situation in Syria.
The United States has allied with the YPG-led SDF in the fight against Islamic State in Syria, causing a deep rift with Turkey.
Moscow, which is allied with Damascus, also called on Turkey to show restraint in its use of "excessive" military force in Syria and keep tension from escalating, Russian news agencies cited a Russian envoy to Syria as saying.
During an official visit to Turkey on Tuesday, Germany's Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told journalists Berlin stood firmly on the side of Ankara when it comes to the fight against terrorism, but warned that the reaction should be reasonable.
"We stand by Turkey in the investigation of this terrorist attack and in the fight against terrorism. (...) but we also think that the reaction must be reasonable and in accordance with the people's rights and not harm civilians."
Turkey said its warplanes destroyed 89 targets in Syria and Iraq on Sunday, with 184 militants killed in operations targeting the YPG and PKK on Sunday and Monday.
Ankara said its weekend operation was retaliation for a bomb attack in an Istanbul last week that killed six people, and which authorities blamed on the militants. Nobody has claimed responsibility and the PKK and SDF have denied involvement.
The bombing evoked memories of violence ahead of tense 2015 elections, and could lead to another security-focused campaign for Erdogan, ahead of tight elections next June.
An SDF spokesman said the weekend Turkish strikes killed 11 civilians, an SDF fighter and two guards.
More than 40,000 people have been killed in fighting between the PKK and the Turkish state which began in 1984. Turkey, the United States and the European Union designate the PKK as a terrorist group. (Reuters)
November
Erdogan says Turkey will launch Syria land operation when convenient
Written by Nur Yasmin
President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey's air operations against a Kurdish militia in northern Syria were only the beginning and it would launch a land operation when convenient after an escalation in retaliatory strikes.
He said Turkey was more determined than ever to secure its southern border with a "security corridor", while ensuring the territorial integrity of both Syria and Iraq, where it has also been conducting operations against Kurdish militants.
"We are continuing the air operation and will come down hard on the terrorists from land at the most convenient time for us," Erdogan told his AK Party's lawmakers in a speech in parliament.
"We have formed part of this corridor (and) will take care of it starting with places such as Tel Rifat, Manbij and Ain al-Arab (Kobani), which are the sources of trouble," he added.
Turkey and its Syrian rebel proxies took control of the border areas to the west and east of the Kobani region in previous military incursions.
Russia has asked Turkey to refrain from a full-scale ground offensive in Syria, senior Russian negotiator Alexander Lavrentyev said on Wednesday after a fresh round of talks about Syria with Turkish and Iranian delegations in Kazakhstan.
Meanwhile, the United States has conveyed serious concerns to Turkey, a NATO ally, about the impact of escalation on the goal of fighting Islamic State militants in Syria.
Turkey has previously launched military incursions in Syria against the Kurdish YPG militia, regarding it as a wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which Turkey, the United States and the European Union designate as a terrorist group.
Ankara launched air operations at the weekend in retaliation for an Istanbul bomb attack a week earlier that killed six people, and which it blamed on the YPG. Nobody has claimed responsibility and the PKK and YPG have denied involvement.
KOBANI SEEN AS TARGET
Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said the army had hit 471 targets in Syria and Iraq since the weekend. His ministry cited him as saying 254 militants had been "neutralised", a term generally used to be mean killed.
YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander Mazloum Abdi said in an interview with Al-Monitor news website that his home city of Kobani would be the "true target" of any ground offensive, being of strategic importance for Turkey in connecting areas in Syria that it already controls.
He criticised a "weak response" by Russia and Washington to the Turkish airstrikes.
The United States has allied with the SDF in the fight against IS in Syria, causing a deep rift with Turkey. (Reuters)
November
Iran official says 50 police killed in protests
Written by Nur Yasmin
Around 50 police have been killed in the protests shaking Iran since September, the deputy foreign minister said on Thursday, giving a first official death toll amid an intensified crackdown on Kurdish areas in recent days.
Iranian security forces have clashed with protesters across the country, with the U.N. rights commission saying more than 300 demonstrators have been killed since the death in custody of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini on Sept. 16.
U.N. rights chief Volker Turk said on Thursday Iran faced a "full fledged human rights crisis" with 14,000 people arrested so far, including children. He was speaking ahead of a special session in Geneva with a possible vote on setting up a fact-finding mission.
"Around 50 police officers were killed during the protests and hundreds were injured," said Iran's deputy foreign minister Ali Bagheri Kani, who is also Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, in an interview on Indian television.
He gave no figure for the number of protesters killed but said the Interior Ministry had formed a panel to investigate the deaths. Iranian state media reported last month that 46 security forces had been killed but without citing officials.
The protests triggered by Amini's death after she was detained by morality police for attire deemed inappropriate under Iran's strict Islamic dress code quickly spread all over Iran. Anger has focused on women's rights but protesters have also called for the fall of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran's clerical rulers have recently hardened the crackdown in Kurdish areas, with the U.N. Commissioner for Human Rights spokesperson Jeremy Laurence saying on Tuesday there were reports of more than 40 killed there over the past week.
A parliament member from the mainly Kurdish city of Mahabad said he had been issued repeated summons by the judiciary for his stance in support of protesters.
"The judiciary has raised a complaint against me as a representative of the mourning people instead of conserving the legal rights of the protesting people and the families of victims in Mahabad and Kurdish cities," Jalal Mahmoudzadeh tweeted on Wednesday.
Prominent Sunni Muslim cleric Molavi Abdulhamid, who has been outspoken in criticising the treatment of Iran's mostly Sunni ethnic minorities by the mainly Shi'ite ruling elite, tweeted on Wednesday against the crackdown in Kurdish areas.
"The dear Kurds of Iran have endured many sufferings such as severe ethnic discrimination, severe religious pressure, poverty and economic hardships. Is it just to respond to their protest with war bullets?" tweeted Molavi.
The United States has sanctioned three Iranian security officials over the crackdown in Kurdish-majority areas, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday. (Reuters)
November
Lebanon's economy still contracting but at slower pace, World Bank says
Written by Nur Yasmin
Lebanon's economy, hit by one of the world's most severe crises, continues to contract although the pace of that contraction has somewhat slowed, the World Bank said in a report published Wednesday.
Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - a measure of the total value of a country's economy - in the tiny Mediterranean nation is set to contract by 5.4% in 2022 amid political paralysis and delays in implementing an economic recovery plan.
The World Bank said it had revised its estimate for Lebanon's economic contraction in 2021 to 7% from a previous estimate of 10.4%.
Its estimate for 2020 remained unchanged at 21.4%.
Lebanon currently has no president and no fully-empowered government, an unprecedented institutional void that observers say could take months to resolve.
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has said that the country could still finalise a deal with the International Monetary Fund for a $3 billion programme via parliament.
But the World Bank said such a deal remained unlikely some seven months after Beirut reached a staff-level agreement with the lender of last resort.
"An IMF programme remains elusive... A fragmented parliament, coupled with governmental and presidential vacuum casts further doubt on the ability to complete prior actions and secure a final agreement in the next few months." (Reuters)
November
Pentagon chief raises concern about Beijing's 'dangerous' behavior with Chinese counterpart
Written by Nur Yasmin
U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday emphasized the need to improve crisis communications during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart while raising concern about "increasingly dangerous" behavior by Chinese military aircraft.
The roughly 90-minute meeting in Cambodia, described as "productive and professional" by a U.S. official, was the pair's first since a visit to Taiwan by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in August enraged China, which regards the island as its territory.
In his second face-to-face meeting with Chinese Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe this year, Austin discussed the importance of "substantive dialogue on reducing strategic risk and enhancing operational safety," Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder said in a statement after the meeting.
"He (Austin) raised concerns about the increasingly dangerous behavior demonstrated by PLA (China's People's Liberation Army) aircraft in the Indo-Pacific region that increases the risk of an accident," Ryder said.
In June, a Chinese fighter aircraft dangerously intercepted an Australian military surveillance plane in the South China Sea region in May, Australia's defence department said.
Australia has said that the Chinese jet flew very close in front of the RAAF aircraft and released a "bundle of chaff" containing small pieces of aluminium that were ingested into the Australian aircraft's engine.
Tuesday's meeting of the defence ministers took place on the sidelines of an ASEAN gathering in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
After Pelosi's visit, China announced it was halting dialogue with the United States in a number of areas, including between theater-level military commanders.
A senior U.S. defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Austin and Wei had a "lengthy" discussion about Taiwan and also talked about restarting in the coming months some of the mechanisms that had been cancelled after Pelosi's visit.
"There's an expectation that there will be some restart of some of the mechanisms that have been frozen for the last six months," the official said.
Tuesday's talks come after a three-hour meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping last week on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia, aimed at preventing strained ties from spilling into a new Cold War.
Despite tensions between the United States and China, U.S. military officials have long sought to maintain open lines of communication with their Chinese counterparts to mitigate the risk of potential flare-ups or deal with any accidents.
After Austin and Wei's first meeting this year in Singapore in June, the Pentagon chief said his talks with his Chinese counterpart were an important step in efforts to develop those means of communication.
Relations between China and the United States have been tense, with friction between the world's two largest economies over everything from Taiwan and China's human rights record to its military activity in the South China Sea.
Pelosi's Taiwan trip infuriated China, which saw it as a U.S. attempt to interfere in its internal affairs. China subsequently launched military drills near the island.
The United States has no formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan but is bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself. (Reuters)