KUALA LUMPUR - A JAPANESE foundation said on Tuesday it would contribute US$9 million (S$13 million) towards ensuring safety on the Malacca Strait, through which thousands of Japanese vessels pass annually.
JAKARTA - INDONESIA votes on Wednesday in only its second direct presidential election since the fall of the Suharto dictatorship, with incumbent Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono expected to win another five-year term.
The liberal ex-general is hoping to avoid a run-off in September by beating opposition leader Megawati Sukarnoputri and outgoing Vice President Jusuf Kalla with a clear majority in the first round.
KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIA'S opposition said it will mount a rally of thousands of black-clad supporters on Wednesday outside the court where leader Anwar Ibrahim is to go on trial for sodomy.
Shamsul Iskandar Mohammad Akin, youth chief of Mr Anwar's Keadilan party, said he was aiming to gather 5,000 supporters for a march to the court complex, despite warnings from the government against creating a disturbance.
BANGKOK - THAILAND'S health authorities on Tuesday reported two more deaths from H1N1 flu, raising the country's total to nine.
An eight-year-old girl in Phetchaburi province and a 58-year-old man in Bangkok were the latest people confirmed as succumbing to the A(H1N1) virus, deputy public health minister Manit Nopamornbodi told AFP.
