13/11/2026

FRIDAY | NOV 13, 2026

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Indonesian VP resigns amid high school diploma scandal

TAIPEI: A woman accused of spying for Beijing during an affair with Nvidia founder Jensen Huang visited Taiwan eight times in 2024 and 2025, a Taiwanese government minister said yesterday. Taiwan, a dominant player in the global semiconductor industry, sits at the centre of strategic competition between the United States and China, which claims the self-ruled island as part of its territory. Jensen, who is US-based chip giant Nvidia CEO, has admitted to having an extramarital affair, reportedly with Singapore-based Megaspeed former executive Alice Huang, who US officials believe was working for Chinese intelligence. Beijing has rejected the spying allegations. Alice, who is also known as Huang Le, used a Hong Kong passport to enter Taiwan “under a standard business visitor status” and there were “no special flags”about her at the time, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Chui-cheng told lawmakers. Chiu made the remarks in Taiwan’s Parliament in response to lawmakers’ questions about Alice’s entries into Taiwan and a New York Times report that the United States had advised Taiwan as early as 2024 to monitor her movements. “At least we at the Mainland Affairs Council did not receive any relevant information. If we had, we definitely would have stepped up our entry screening and border flow management.” He said records show that Alice visited Taiwan three times in 2024 and five times in 2025. The records do not show any entries for this year, he said. The government has said Taiwan’s security agencies are investigating the incident. Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee yesterday said “there is no public information” about whether Alice is “suspected of any criminal offence or on the related investigative procedures”. – AFP Alleged Chinese spy in Nvidia case entered Taiwan 8 times 10 cops, 18 militants killed in Pakistan PESHAWAR: Gunmen attacked police during an operation against illegal gold mining in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing 10 officers, while 18 militants died in the ensuing fighting, an official police statement said. A statement by provincial police in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said officers were returning from a mine in the Gumbat area of Kohat district when militants opened fire on them. Twelve police personnel were also wounded, it said. In the aftermath of the clashes, the Pakistani Taliban, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for a series of attacks across the country, including one on a police convoy in the Gumbat area. Earlier, a senior administrative official in Kohat said militants set two police vehicles on fire during the assault, while two other police vehicles and one private vehicle are missing. Another senior administrative official in the Orakzai area of Kohat said 10 militants belonging to the TTP were killed during a separate operation in the district. A large quantity of weapons was also recovered from the militants, the official added. Security forces are battling an intensifying militancy in the border province they say emanates from Afghanistan, an accusation its Taliban government denies. A spokesperson for a local emergency service earlier on Wednesday said there had been a “firing incident involving police personnel” in Kohat district, adding that rescue workers were treating a dozen wounded officers. Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been fraught since the Taliban authorities took power in 2021, and worsened after deadly border clashes in October last year that led to near-total closure of the border. – AFP

Studies executive director Khairul Fahmi. “Jokowi will retain political influence but Gibran’s departure could reduce his network’s direct access to power. For Prabowo, this creates greater room to consolidate his leadership and pursue his own political agenda.” In a separate development, Indonesian police yesterday said they have enough initial evidence to pursue treason charges against four suspects in a case involving the wiretapping of Prabowo. Police would conduct “intensive” investigations to develop the case further, said national police official Asep Safrudin. They have named four senior police officers as suspects, including former police chief and Prabowo’s chief of staff Listyo Sigit Prabowo. Listyo was known as a loyalist to former president Jokowi. Lawmakers in a hearing yesterday urged police chief Suyudi Ario Seto to investigate who ultimately ordered Listyo to conduct the alleged wiretapping, and the political interests that could be behind it. – AFP

o Exit marks significant political realignment but does not necessarily threaten govt stability: Think tank

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s vice-president resigned yesterday in the midst of a scandal over his high school diploma, the Parliament head said, adding to pressure on a government facing widespread dissatisfaction over the economy, graft and wildfires. Gibran Rakabuming Raka, 39, submitted his resignation to President Prabowo Subianto and Parliament, said Indonesia’s People’s Consultative Assembly speaker. There have been repeated calls for Gibran’s resignation following a Supreme Court ruling last month to annul his high school qualification. Speaker Ahmad Muzani said Gibran met the leaders of Parliament yesterday “to submit his letter of resignation from his position as vice-president of the Republic of Indonesia”. Gibran told them he had submitted the same letter to Prabowo.

Indonesia’s vice-president does not have many constitutionally defined powers apart from acting as the president’s representative at official events and taking over if his boss is incapacitated. Gibran’s downfall comes as thousands have taken to the streets in recent weeks to protest economic hardship, graft, perceived authoritarianism and the government’s handling of months of devastating wildfires emitting a toxic haze that has made thousands ill. His exit is likely to complicate a loose governing alliance between Prabowo and his predecessor Joko Widodo – Gibran’s father – who goes by the moniker Jokowi. The resignation “marks a significant political realignment, but does not necessarily threaten government stability”, according to think tank Institute for Security and Strategic

Filipino activists wearing blonde wigs and protesting against the upcoming visit and participation of Trump ahead of the 49th Asean Summit, outside Trump Tower in Makati City, Metro Manila in the Philippines yesterday. – REUTERSPIC

Asean Summit commences in Philippines MANILA: The Philippines will host at least 19 world and global institution leaders in the upcoming 49th Asean Summit and Related Summits this week, Philippine News Agency reported. community and youth. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr, who chairs the summit, will be joined by the leaders of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam.

Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia, the United Nations and the United States. New Zealand will be represented by its Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister David Seymour while Russia will be represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Marcos will convene the 29th Asean Plus Three Summit and the 21st East Asia Summit on Tuesday, a forum for dialogue and cooperation on strategic, political and economic issues of common concern and interest in the region. He will later hand over the Asean Chairship to Singapore. The day will culminate with the Asean-United States Special Summit to be attended by US President Donald Trump. “The Philippines remains committed to advancing an Asean that is peaceful, resilient and future-ready, with regional cooperation translating into meaningful benefits for its peoples.” – Bernama-PNA

The Foreign Affairs Department on Wednesday said the attendance underscores Asean’s “unique convening power and role as a platform for dialogue and cooperation” with the wider international community. The high-level engagements will commence on Sunday with the summit opening ceremony at the Philippine International Convention Centre, followed by the Plenary and Retreat Sessions, during which Asean leaders will take stock of the Philippines’s chairship achievements. The leaders will discuss ways to strengthen Asean’s collective capacity to address emerging regional and global challenges, including the situation in Myanmar. They will also have interface meetings with Asean parliamentarians, the business

Myanmar will be represented by its Foreign Ministry Asean Affairs Department director-general. The plenary will feature remarks from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. The department said their participation highlights the value of Asean’s engagement with key global partners in pushing for regional economic resilience and is well aligned with the Philippine chairship priorities, particularly its Prosperity Corridors. The Related Summits, or the Plus One Summits, will follow on Monday and Tuesday, and will be co-chaired by the leaders of