16/05/2026

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Malaysian Paper

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Child gambling risk rising in Jakarta

o Minister calls on religious leaders, community leaders, communities and families to become main line of defence

Separately, Indonesian lawmaker Rudianto Lallo, who serves on the House of Representatives’ Commission III, which oversees legal and security affairs, pressed for the government to treat online gambling as a national enemy following the findings. He emphasised that President Prabowo Subianto has stressed that there should be no place in Indonesia for perpetrators of online gambling crimes. He also said police action against 320 foreign nationals linked to an online gambling syndicate recently should be pursued further to dismantle the networks completely.

banks and digital platforms. She called on religious leaders, community leaders, communities and families to become the main line of defence against the spread of online gambling in their surroundings, Bernama reported. Meutya highlighted the increasing presence of online gambling advertisements on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube, adding that the government has urged the platforms to take down related content more aggressively. “Online gambling is prohibited in Indonesia. All parties must share the same moral and legal responsibility.”

online gambling cannot rely solely on blocking access and law enforcement, but must also involve stronger digital literacy and education at the family and community levels. “We are not only shutting down access or carrying out takedowns. The most important thing is reaching the wider public with these facts so that awareness grows from within families and communities.” She said the Communication and Digital Affairs Ministry continues to block online gambling sites and content, but also stressed that enforcement efforts must be supported by stronger cooperation involving police, financial authorities,

JAKARTA: Nearly 200,000 children in Indonesia have been exposed to online gambling, including around 80,000 under the age of 10, raising concerns over the growing social impact of the illegal activity on the country’s young generation. Indonesian Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid described the figures as a warning for

the future of Indonesian children, urging stronger public awareness and cross-sector cooperation to address the issue. “Online gambling is a scam with a system designed to ensure players almost always lose in the long run,” she said in Medan on Thursday, according to Antara News Agency. Meutya said efforts to address

Casualties from storms in India climb to 111 NEW DEHLI: Powerful storms that swept across India’s northern Uttar Pradesh state this week have killed at least 111 people, government officials said, raising an earlier death toll as more districts reported casualties. Gales, lightning and torrential rain battered the state on Wednesday, ripping tin roofs from buildings and uprooting trees that blocked roads, footage broadcast on television showed. Uttar Pradesh, home to more than 240 million people, is frequently hit by storms during the summer months ahead of the monsoon rains, with lightning strikes a regular cause of death. The Relief Commissioner’s office, the state aid agency, initially said on Wednesday 89 people had been killed and 72 injured, with more than 200 homes damaged. It later updated the toll to 111 dead as more reports came in, according to published information in The Hindu newspaper yesterday. “Reports of 111 deaths were received,“ it said, adding that 72 people were injured. The Times of India reported the toll at 117 but AFP was not able to immediately confirm the figure. One video, widely shared by Indian media, appeared to show a man hurled high into the air in the state’s Bareilly district as a building roof was torn off. AFP was unable to immediately verify the video but the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency spoke to a survivor in hospital who said he was the man seen in the video. Nanhe Ansari, a labourer, said he was trying to secure a tin roof with a rope when an intense gust lifted the sheet metal and he clung on. “The tin sheet started shaking due to strong winds, so I asked them to bring a rope to tie it down,“ he told PTI from his hospital bed. “While some of us were holding it and one person was tying it, a very strong gust of wind came. My grip did not loosen and I was lifted nearly 15m into the air along with the tin sheet and thrown about 25m away. “The sheet fell first and then I fell into a maize field filled with water. I thought I would not survive but I did.” India’s weather office has in recent years warned of an increase in extreme weather events, including intense thunderstorms and lightning, which experts link to rising temperatures and changing climate patterns. The statement said officials have been instructed to distribute financial aid to the affected families. The violent weather that tore across Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday was part of widespread pre-monsoon thunderstorm activity triggered by unstable atmospheric conditions. – AFP

Kuan (six, left) posing for a photo at the unveiling of the Anping-class catamaran patrol ship CG615 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan yesterday. – REUTERSPIC

Taiwan unveils new missile-carrying ships KAOHSIUNG: Taiwan’s coast guard yesterday unveiled the last of its 12 new high-tech ships that can carry missiles in the event of war, underscoring what the minister in charge of the service said was the changing nature of its mission in facing down China. law enforcement duties. “They are safeguarding sovereignty and protecting our homeland. In recent years, the international situation has changed rapidly and the challenges faced in the waters surrounding the Taiwan Strait have continued to intensify.”

WHO has recommended a 42-day quarantine for all passengers and health experts have urged calm, adding that the virus is far less contagious than Covid-19 and poses little risk to the public. The hantavirus is primarily spread by rodents but can in rare cases be transmitted between people. It typically begins with flu-like symptoms, such as fatigue and fever, one to eight weeks after exposure, according to WHO. – Reuters Chinese President Xi Jinping told US President Donald Trump in Beijing on Thursday that mishandling the countries’ disagreements over Taiwan could push China-US relations to a “dangerous place”. Kuan did not directly comment on the Trump-Xi meeting, saying only that “the leaders of major powers are currently holding meetings”, Reuters reported. Taiwan’s coast guard is at the front lines of dealing with what the government calls China’s “grey zone” harassment, including actions such as regularly sending warships and warplanes near Taiwan that stop short of combat but are designed to test and wear out Taiwan’s defences. During China’s regular war games around Taiwan, the coast guard is sent out with the navy to shadow and warn off Chinese vessels.

The Anping-class catamaran patrol ships are based on the navy’s Tuo Chiang-class fast attack warships, highly manoeuvrable stealth vessels designed to take out larger warships while operating close to Taiwan’s shores. The coast guard version has space at the back to fit anti-ship missiles to be used as a backup to the navy. Speaking at the naming ceremony in southern Taiwan’s Kaohsiung for the 12th vessel, named Donggang , Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling said the coast guard no longer performs solely traditional

The Anping-class of ship was born in response to the needs of the new era, added Kuan, who runs the coast guard. “Once the situation escalates, through the wartime transition mechanism, it can quickly connect with the overall defence system, be incorporated into the order of battle and become an important force in the maritime defence line.” China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, over the objections of Taipei’s government.

Australians from hantavirus ship arrive home SYDNEY: Australian citizens who were on a Dutch-flagged luxury cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak returned home yesterday and will be isolated for at least three weeks at a quarantine facility. said all members of the group had tested negative and did not display symptoms of the virus before they boarded the flight in the Netherlands.

“They will be transported immediately to the quarantine facility that is effectively next door and they will be tested again.“ Eleven passengers on the MV Hondius have contracted the virus and three have died, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Local media reported that four Australian citizens, a permanent resident and one resident of New Zealand landed at an Australian air force base near Perth in Western Australia on a government-chartered flight. Federal Health Minister Mark Butler