30/09/2025

TUESDAY | SEPT 30, 2025

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Typhoon batters Vietnam coast

decision to deny him entry was “political, although I am unsure whether external forces, such as the PRC, are involved, directly or indirectly”, referring to China by the initials of its formal name. Law was one of the student leaders of the 2014 Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong, which Chinese officials saw as a challenge to their rule. He has lived in exile in Britain and the United States since fleeing Hong Kong after Beijing imposed a national security law on the territory. Singapore has refused entry to foreign activists in the past, saying the country cannot be used as a platform for political activities. – AFP kitchens in the programme, 40 had been closed for not meeting standards. The programme has also raised concerns that it may not be fiscally sustainable. A budget of 335 trillion rupiah (RM84 billion) has been allotted for next year, triple the estimated spending of 99 trillion rupiah for this year. Underscoring the sensitivity of the issue, Prabowo’s office temporarily revoked a palace reporting credential for a reporter over the weekend after she asked Prabowo how he planned to deal with the food poisoning cases. – Reuters authorities reported. Among those unaccounted for were nine people whose fishing boats were lost at sea on Sunday night after their vessels were unmoored during strong winds and currents, police said. More than 53,000 people were evacuated to schools and medical centres converted into temporary shelters ahead of Bualoi hitting Vietnam, the Environment Ministry said. Four domestic airports and part of the national highway were closed yesterday. More than 180 flights have been cancelled or delayed, airport authorities said. Parts of Nghe An and the steel producing central province of Ha Tinh were without power, and schools were closed in affected regions. Since making landfall in Vietnam, Bualoi has weakened as it moves towards neighbouring Laos. The storm battered small islands in central Philippines last week, killing at least 11 people and forcing 400,000 to evacuate. In Vietnam, 175 people were killed or went missing due to natural disasters from January to August this year, the General Statistics Office said. Total damage was worth about US$371 million (RM1.5 billion), almost triple the amount of the same period last year, the office said. Typhoon Yagi killed hundreds of people in Vietnam in September last year and caused economic losses worth US$3.3 billion. – AFP

to be safe,” Trinh Thi Le, 71, in central Quang Tri province, was quoted as saying by Tuoi Tre newspaper. At least nine people were killed when a typhoon-related whirlwind swept through northern Ninh Binh province early yesterday, according to the local disaster agency. One person was killed in the province of Hue and another in Thanh Hoa, while about 20 were missing, local and national disaster

Thousands of houses and businesses have been damaged or destroyed, said authorities in three provinces. Images published by AFP showed corrugated metal roofs blown off buildings and household debris strewn across saturated streets in coastal Nghe An province. “The wind blew my roof to the sky and then it fell down, breaking everything. I had to cover my head and rushed to my neighbour’s house

o Four domestic airports closed

HANOI: Typhoon Bualoi ripped roofs from buildings and uprooted electrical poles along Vietnam’s coast, killing at least 11 people. The storm, the 10th to hit Vietnam this year, made landfall late on Sunday.

Thai premier outlines policies BANGKOK: Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul yesterday outlined his government’s policy agenda to parliament, focusing on immediate actions to revive Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy. The policies include measures to reduce living costs, tackle household debt and stimulate domestic tourism, with Thailand now struggling with US tariffs, high household debt, weak consumption and a soaring baht. “With limited time and a budget not prepared by this government, as well as being a minority administration, the government must urgently address the challenges facing the nation,” he told parliament. Among the economic measures, the government will assist with individuals with debt not exceeding 100,000 baht (RM13,071) and provide liquidity of up to 1 million baht for smaller businesses, he said. On Friday, the government also announced plans to launch a 47 billion baht co-payment scheme, in which the government will subsidise up to 60% of the costs of certain food and consumer goods bought by qualified Thai citizens. Other priorities include the peaceful resolution of a dispute with Cambodia, combating illegal gambling and enhancing disaster preparedness, Anutin said. – Reuters Anutin’s policies include measures to reduce living costs. – REUTERSPIC BANGKOK: Thailand’s influential former prime minster Thaksin Shinawatra has submitted a petition for a royal pardon for his one year jail sentence, his lawyer said yesterday. The former premier was jailed earlier this month after the country’s Supreme Court ruled that he did not serve his initial prison sentence after spending six months in a VIP wing of a hospital following his return from 15 years of self-exile in August 2023. Thaksin, 76, was initially sentenced to eight years in jail for conflicts of interest and abuse of power while he was prime minister from 2001 to 2006. His sentence was later commuted to one year by the king. Thaksin’s request for pardon, a process applicable to all prisoners who have completed their legal cases, could lead to reduction of his prison time. “The petition was submitted,” Winyat Chartmontree told reporters, adding, “This is a right of every inmate.” – Reuters Thaksin seeks royal pardon

Cua Lo beach in central Vietnam after Bualoi made a landfall yesterday. – AFPPIC

Singapore denies entry to HK activist SINGAPORE: Home Affairs Ministry here said yesterday it had refused entry to Hong Kong activist Nathan Law (pic) over the weekend as his presence would not be in the city state’s “national interests”. “A visa holder is still subject to further checks at point of entry into the country. That is what happened with Nathan Law.” Law had fled from Hong

Law said he was granted a Singapore visa to attend a “closed-door, invitation-only event” and expected to be allowed in. “I received the visa around three weeks prior to departure ... I submitted all information, including the invitation to the event in the application,” he said.

Kong in 2020, and police issued a warrant of arrest for offences under their National Security Law, it said. Upon arrival in

The activist, who holds a UK refugee travel document, said he had been denied entry when he tried to pass immigration after his plane landed at Changi Airport from San Francisco on Saturday. He said he was sent back on Sunday on a plane to San Francisco. “Law’s entry into and presence in the country would not be in Singapore’s national interests,” the Home Affairs Ministry said in a statement. Subianto yesterday defended his ambitious plan to provide free meals for children after some 6,000 cases of food poisoning, saying the percentage of those affected was small and the programme was still finding its footing. The food poisonings have sparked a public outcry and local non-profit organisations have called for the suspension of the programme. The multibillion dollar initiative, which also offers free meals for pregnant women, has rapidly expanded since its launch in January with around 30 million recipients to

“I attempted to go through immigration, but I was detained, despite having a valid visa to enter the country. “I was not told why I was detained,” he said, adding he spent “roughly 14 hours” in Singapore. He said he thought Singapore’s

Singapore, Law was “referred for questioning, and immigration and security assessment” at the airport, according to the ministry. “Law was then refused entry. He was placed on the earliest flight back to San Francisco on 28 September 2025,” the ministry said.

Prabowo defends free meals programme JAKARTA: President Prabowo date. It aims to reach 83 million by the year’s end.

But a human endeavour of this magnitude has never been undertaken before, I think, in the history of the world. It took Brazil 11 years to reach 40 million recipients,” he said. After a Cabinet meeting over the weekend to discuss ways to prevent food poisoning, Prabowo ordered each kitchen in the programme to be given rapid testing equipment to check food quality, a food tray steriliser, a water filter and CCTV connected to the central government for monitoring. The National Nutrition Agency said last week that of the 9,000

“Yes, there were shortcomings, food poisoning. We counted all the meals served, the deviation, the deficiency, or error represents 0.00017%,” Prabowo said in a speech at a political party event. There have been some 70 incidents. Prabowo said the programme, which aims to prevent childhood stunting, has improved nutrition for many children, created jobs as well as opportunities for farmers and fishermen to sell produce. “This doesn’t mean we’re satisfied.