A fatal accident involving a bus filled with Indian pilgrims killed at least 45 people near Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Medina, Indian police said on Monday, one of the deadliest crashes in the Gulf kingdom in years. “The tragic bus accident involving Indian pilgrims in Saudi Arabia is deeply distressing,” V.C. Sajjanar, police commissioner for the city of Hyderabad, where many of the Indian citizens were reported to have come from, told reporters. “According to preliminary information, 46...

The new speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives has pledged to push through a long-stalled law banning political dynasties – despite hailing from one of the country’s most prominent clans and sharing the chamber with multiple relatives. Faustino “Bojie” Dy III, elected speaker in September with near-unanimous support, told lawmakers on November 11 that he would prioritise legislation to finally implement the constitution’s ban on dynasties. Observers say the move could address public...

A 26-year-old Australian man who rushed at Wicked star Ariana Grande during a premiere in Singapore was sentenced to nine days’ jail on Monday for public nuisance. In delivering the sentence, District Judge Christopher Goh told Johnson Wen that he was “attention-seeking” and had wrongly assumed his actions in Singapore would escape consequence. Wen, who has been remanded since November 14, pleaded guilty to one charge of causing annoyance to the public by causing a commotion during the Singapore...

A Bangladesh tribunal sentenced ousted former leader Sheikh Hasina to death in absentia on Monday, ruling she should be hanged for crimes against humanity committed during a crackdown on student-led protests that triggered the downfall of her 15-year regime. She was also given a life sentence on charges including incitement, ordering, and failure to prevent atrocities. Hasina, 78, who has lived in self-exile in India since fleeing Bangladesh on August 5, 2024, was found guilty of three counts...

A US-led crackdown on online scams may hand Southeast Asia an opportunity to combat the scourge, analysts say, as Washington and Beijing find common purpose in dismantling criminal networks that exploit lax governance and human trafficking. The United States launched its “Scam Centre Strike Force” last week to counter cryptocurrency fraud linked to Southeast Asia, estimating that such crimes defraud Americans of nearly US$10 billion a year. Many of these schemes, dubbed “pig butchering” scams,...