Huge protest against South Korean leader

SEOUL • South Korean protesters marched on President Park Geun Hye's office yesterday, beating drums and chanting slogans, as lawmakers mulled over a bid to impeach Ms Park over an influence-peddling scandal.

Organisers expected the crowd of protesters to swell to as many as two million in central Seoul in one of the biggest demonstrations in the country's history.

BLOOMBERG

Malaysian political cartoonist Zunar arrested

KUALA LUMPUR • Malaysian political cartoonist Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque, or Zunar as he is popularly known, was arrested yesterday under the Sedition Act for cartoons said to insult Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Mr Zunar, 54, would be held for a day to facilitate investigations. Other than the Sedition Act, the cartoonist will also be probed under the penal code for humiliating a person with intention, Bernama reported.

REUTERS

Militants under siege in remote Philippine town

MANILA • Up to 100 Islamist militants from a group behind a deadly bombing in Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's home city were under siege in a remote mountain town yesterday, officials said.

Residents of Butig, which has a population of 17,000, have fled after the ISIS-linked militants holed themselves up in an abandoned government building, Philippine military spokesman Brigadier-General Restituto Padilla said.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

One dead in quake on China-Tajikistan border

SHANGHAI • A 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck China's north-western border with Tajikistan killing at least one person, destroying houses and severing a railway line in the sparsely populated region, state news agency Xinhua reported yesterday. The China Earthquake Administration has activated a level III emergency response.

Rescue teams in the Xinjiang region have been sent to help isolated communities in Akto county, which sits on China's mountainous border with Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

REUTERS

Pakistan's new military chief a surprise pick

ISLAMABAD • Pakistan yesterday appointed General Qamar Javed Bajwa as its new military chief, the Prime Minister's Office said, in a surprise pick for arguably the most powerful role in the country.

Gen Bajwa will take over from the hugely popular General Raheel Sharif, who won the hearts of millions with his bruising campaign against Islamic militants and for improving security.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE