18/06/2026

THURSDAY | JUNE 18, 2026

FOLLOW

ON INSTAGRAM

6

Malaysian Paper

@thesundaily @t

Scam centre leader extradited BEIJING: An alleged leading member of a prominent crime syndicate that operated scam centres in Cambodia has been extradited to China. Cambodia has emerged as a hub for crime syndicates running fake romantic relationship and cryptocurrency investment schemes in which scammers – some willing, others trafficked – defraud internet users. But under pressure from several countries including China, which has called for the eradication of the scam centres, Cambodian authorities say they are cracking down on the industry. China’s Ministry of Public Security (MPS) published a video yesterday showing a man it identified as Liu Ren in handcuffs as security forces lifted a black bag off his head, after he had been escorted off a China Southern plane. “Recently, with the strong support of Cambodian authorities, a task force dispatched by the Ministry of Public Security extradited Liu Ren – a key member of the Chen Zhi criminal syndicate – back to China from Phnom Penh,” the ministry said in a statement. Phnom Penh extradited Prince Group’s China-born founder Chen Zhi in January after his conglomerate was sanctioned by the US and UK governments months earlier over its alleged involvement in cyberscams. The MPS hailed the extradition of Liu as a “success” in law enforcement cooperation with Cambodia. Chen, the MPS said, had directed Liu and others to establish the Jin Bei Group in Cambodia in 2016, with the company operating “telecom fraud parks” in the country and committing “large-scale telecom and online fraud involving massive sums of money”. – AFP Ice cream companies raided over price hike TOKYO: Summer is coming, a boom time for ice cream makers, but Japanese authorities have raided six major firms on suspicion of colluding to raise prices. Among the country’s biggest ice cream firms, the six “are suspected of colluding” to hike prices, a source familiar with the matter told AFP yesterday. Company officials are thought to have sent emails or met up for years to coordinate the timing and size of hikes, the unnamed source said. Officials from the the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) searched the head offices on Tuesday of Meiji Co, Morinaga Milk Industry Co, Lotte Co, Ezaki Glico Co, Morinaga & Co and Akagi Nyugyo Co, according to company officials and the source. Since around 2022, the ice cream companies have raised retail prices every year at around the same time, media reported. The JFTC is also investigating whether the companies took advantage of inflation to raise prices beyond what was justified by a spike in raw ingredient costs, according to Kyodo News. Five of the companies issued statements on Tuesday or yestersday saying their offices had been raided by the JFTC and that they “would cooperate with the investigation”. Natsuyo Suzuki of Akagi Nyugo also confirmed to AFP that the firm would work with investigators following an “on site inspection”. If the JFTC concludes that there was a cartel, the antitrust watchdog will order the firms to improve their business practices and pay a fine. – AFP

Putin hosts Asean leaders

Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump also said Washington will soon be able to reimpose sanctions against Russian oil. “Soon we will be able to do that as the oil is now flowing” through the Strait of Hormuz after the deal with Iran to end the Middle East war, Trump said. Washington had imposed and then extended a sanctions waiver for Russian oil cargoes already at sea, troubling European allies. Putin has repeatedly refused offers for face-to-face talks with Zelensky, insisting that Moscow intends to capture Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region by force. The Russian leader, 73, ordered a full-scale military attack on Ukraine in February 2022, which has since turned into Europe’s worst conflict since WWII. – AFP

humanitarian cooperation”. Facing Western sanctions over its Ukraine offensive, Moscow has reoriented its economy, especially oil exports, towards Asia. Asian countries have been particularly hard hit by the energy crisis triggered by the US-Israel war with Iran. Russia’s economy, on a war footing for four years, is struggling due to high inflation, a labour shortage and high borrowing costs. On the Ukrainian battlefield, the advance of forces has slowed this year. Kyiv has multiplied attacks on Russian soil, including Tatarstan, where the summit will be held. At the G7 in France, US President Donald Trump said Moscow should “make a deal” to end the Ukraine war, as he met Ukrainian leader

Middle East wars its main focus. Representatives of 11 Asean countries arrived in Kazan yesterday, with the main day of the summit set for today. It commemorates 35 years of collaboration between Russia and the Asean countries, the Kremlin said. Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia and Singapore are sending their prime ministers, while the Philippines will be represented by President Ferdinand Marcos. Myanmar, which has close ties to Moscow, will also send a delegation. Moscow said the leaders will “exchange views on global and regional problems” and new aims in Russia-Asean ties in “security, trade, investment and

KAZAN: President Vladimir Putin hosts a summit of Southeast Asian leaders in the central Russian city of Kazan, as the West pressures Moscow to end its Ukraine offensive. Putin has sought to deepen political and economic ties with Asia during Moscow’s more than four-year full-scale offensive against Ukraine. The summit in the capital of Tatarstan, around 700km east of Moscow, comes as the G7 meets in France with ending the Ukraine and o Summit commemorates 35 years of collaboration

SHOWING GRATITUDE ... Balinese Hindus place offerings on tables to celebrate Galungan at a temple in Denpasar, Bali, during which they give thanks for the creation of the Earth and its bounty. – AFPPIC

China calls for more South voices in UN BEIJING: Emerging markets suffer from inadequate representation at the United Nations, its authority increasingly challenged by small, strong or weak, developed or developing, are equal members of the international community,” Wang said, calling for more voices to be heard from the Global South. New challenges in quick rhino events” emerge continually, he said, referring to unexpected events or threats that are ignored despite their visibility.

East and Ukraine conflicts, urging dialogue as it presents itself as a pillar of global stability and an indispensable diplomatic player. It is the biggest buyer of Iranian and Russian oil, including pipeline supplies and seaborne shipments. The white paper aims to build international consensus on effective responses to global challenges, Wang said, and upholding the UN’s authority is fundamental to the success of the initiative. – Reuters

Wang urged efforts to commit firmly to a ceasefire in the Middle East, calling on all parties to work towards laying the foundation of a “sustainable security architecture in the region”, Xinhua news agency said. China routinely tries to cast itself as a peacemaker in both the Middle

escalating political and economic disputes, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said yesterday. The comments came in a rare press briefing in Beijing before the issuing of a white paper outlining ways to make global governance more just and equitable. “Countries, whether large or

succession bring intertwining crises, Wang said, adding, “The ship of civilisation has entered dangerous waters with hidden reefs and violent storms.” The disputes reveal deep-seated conflicts, while “black swan and grey