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In today's bulletin: Political turmoil continues in Malaysia as the country's king asks Dr Mahathir Mohamad to be interim PM, US President Donald Trump announces a $4.2 billion defence deal in India and hints at a possible trade deal, Seoul examines members of an obscure religious sect at the centre of the virus outbreak and more.
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MAHATHIR BACK AT WORK AS INTERIM PM
Dr Mahathir Mohamad returned to work today after being appointed interim Prime Minister by Malaysia's King Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin till a new Premier is appointed and a Cabinet is formed. The role gives him all the authority of a permanent leader. Meanwhile, the King is interviewing all 221 MPs (minus Dr Mahathir) to decide who should form the next government. The interviews continue till tomorrow. With several questions unanswered, rival political parties were meeting in Kuala Lumpur to discuss their next course of action. Meanwhile, ramifications of Dr Mahathir's shock resignation continued to have a bearing in other states of the country. This story is still developing.
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Malaysia's political tumult: Key questions remain
INDIA TO BUY $4 BILLION WORTH OF DEFENCE EQUIPMENT FROM US
US President Donald Trump announced today that India had agreed to buy $4.2 billion worth of military equipment that would include attack helicopters. He also said they were making progress on a big trade deal although India has said that differences on certain issues were still to be resolved. Mr Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and their officials were to hold further talks.
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SEOUL TO TEST MEMBERS OF OBSCURE RELIGIOUS SECT AT CENTRE OF VIRUS OUTBREAK; CHINA BANS WILDLIFE TRADE
South Korean health authorities were preparing to test 200,000 members of the obscure religious sect known as the Shincheonji Church of Jesus that has been at the centre of a surge of new coronavirus cases. Nearly 68 per cent of the country's 893 infections have been linked to the mysterious church. Seoul's move follows pressure from more than 550,000 people who have signed a petition calling for a dissolution of the opaque group. In other developments, Hong Kong said it will bar non-resident arrivals from South Korea while China said it would immediately ban the trade and consumption of wild animals, in a fast-track decision to contain the coronavirus outbreak.
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SINGAPORE AIRLINES FREEZES HIRING
Singapore's national carrier Singapore Airlines moved to freeze hiring and consider other measures to contain costs with concerns about the spread of coronavirus infections still discouraging people from travel. This follows the airline's suspension of 3,000 flights from February to May as a consequence of the outbreak. The outlook is similar for several airlines. According to the International Air Transport Association (Iata), that counts 90 per cent of all global scheduled airlines as members, coronavirus could cut passenger demand for Asia-Pacific carriers by as much as 13 per cent this year.
Read more:
SIA, SilkAir cancel more than 700 flights between February and May due to weak demand
Qantas axes flights across Asia as virus scares off flyers
GOJEK DENIES IT IS IN MERGER TALKS WITH GRAB
Could Southeast Asia's largest ride-hailing and food delivery companies Grab and Gojek be discussing a merger? The likelihood caught the attention of business circles here. However, Gojek has refuted such reports. There's been no comment from Grab, so far.
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IN OTHER NEWS
JOKOWI TO MEET TRUMP: Indonesian President Joko Widodo plans to travel to the United States to meet President Donald Trump, after the US-Asean meeting in Las Vegas in March, coordinating maritime affairs and investment minister Luhut Pandjaitan told a media briefing today. He might bring up Indonesia's plan to move its capital to East Kalimantan, a project which could see American investment and assistance, he said.
JAKARTA HIT BY FLOODING: Torrential rain brought floods to Indonesia's capital today, paralysing large parts of the city as rescue workers used boats to navigate streets turned into murky, brown waterways to get people to safety. Indonesia's weather agency linked the rains to tropical cyclones that brought bad weather to southern parts of the archipelago.
CHINA SENTENCES BOOKSELLER: A Chinese court sentenced Chinese-born Swedish citizen Gui Minhai to 10 years in jail on Monday (Feb 24) for illegally providing intelligence overseas , the Ningbo Intermediate People's Court said in a statement on its website. Gui, the bookseller previously based in Hong Kong who sold books critical of China's political leadership, was detained by mainland police in 2018.
That's it for today. Thanks for reading and we'll be back with you tomorrow.
- Shefali
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