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Myanmar’s new president Min Aung Hlaing faces genocide complaint in Indonesia

A criminal case against Myanmar’s newly-elected President Min Aung Hlaing was filed in Indonesia on Monday by a group of civil society organisations, accusing the leader of acts of genocide against the Rohingya ethnic group. Myanmar is a member of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), but relations have come under strain since a 2021 coup led by Min Aung Hlaing, leading to civil war and a humanitarian crisis, with large numbers of Rohingya Muslims displaced and forced into refugee settlements. Indonesia, which hosts ASEAN’s headquarters, is the biggest Muslim-majority country in the world, and is among the destinations for Rohingya people fleeing Myanmar or the refugee camps by boat. Myanmar’s armed forces, under thenjunta chief Min Aung Hlaing, launched an offensive in 2017 that forced at least 730,000 Rohingya from their homes and into neighbouring Bangladesh, where they recounted killings, mass rape and arson. The complaint to Indonesia’s Attorney General’s offi...
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Representatives from Pakistan’s fan industry seek policy interventions during meeting with finmin

ISLAMABAD: The country’s fan industry on Monday sought policy interventions to reduce the export of its raw materials for balanced value addition, greater quality exports and energy-efficient fans in the country. They also recommended interventions that could enable financing and energy efficiency initiatives during a virtual meeting with Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb. The group of representatives from the electric fan industry was led by members of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) and the Pakistan Electric Fan Manufacturers Association (PEFMA). The group highlighted sectoral challenges, export potential, and avenues for policy support. According to an official statement from the finance ministry, Aurangzeb reiterated the government’s commitment to undertaking focused consultations with individual sectors to better understand their operational landscape and support their growth. The group provided an overview of the structure and econo...
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Pakistan, Turkiye sign MoU in bid to enhance judicial cooperation

The Supreme Court on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on judicial cooperation with Turkiye’s Constitutional Court. On Sunday, the SC said it will be hosting a high-level delegation from Turkiye’s Constitutional Court from April 6 to 9, led by its president Kadir Özkaya, for the signing of an MoU. The agreement was signed at a ceremony held at the Supreme Court in Islamabad attended by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi and Özkaya. Addressing the ceremony before the signing, CJP Afridi expressed hope that the agreement will “provide a forward-looking framework for collaboration between the two judiciaries”. “One that emphasises the exchange of judicial knowledge and best practices, the promotion of comparative constitutional jurisprudence, strengthening of institutional linkages and the advancement of capacity building through joint programmes, research, and judicial exchanges,” CJP Afridi said. He noted that under the MoU, a joint working group compr...
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Bangladesh says suspected measles outbreak kills about 100 children

Bangladesh said it suspected measles killed at least 98 children in the past three weeks, official data showed on Sunday, with Dhaka ramping up vaccination efforts in the worst-affected areas. Last week, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman directed two senior ministers to travel across the South Asian nation of 170 million people in an effort to assess the scale of the crisis to help coordinate a response. Health ministry data released on Sunday showed that children aged between six months and five years old with suspected measles symptoms soared to 6,476. “Compared with past years, the number of affected children is higher, and the death toll is higher too,” Halimur Rashid, director at the Communicable Disease Control, told AFP, referring to the number in suspected cases. The largest number of suspected cases on record was in 2005 at 25,934, according to World Health Organisation (WHO) data, though that number had significantly declined until this year. Rashid attributed the potential...
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Sindh CM secures fare freeze after talks with transporters amid fuel price hike

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Sunday announced that the government had secured a province-wide fare freeze after successful negotiations with transporters. Following increases in petroleum prices due to the ongoing global oil crisis, provinces have announced a host of relief measures for the public. In Sindh and Punjab, these steps include subsidies for motorcyclists, transporters and small-scale farmers. Addressing a high-level press conference at CM House, CM Murad said that following a series of consultations, transporters operating both inter-city and intra-city routes have agreed not to increase fares and to maintain rates as of Feb 28, 2026. The Sindh CM was flanked by provincial ministers, transporters’ representatives and top government officers. A press release issued by CM House quoted Murad as saying that the government had worked out a comprehensive strategy to protect citizens — particularly low-income commuters — from rising transportation costs triggered b...
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Middle East war hits Britain’s fish and chip shops

Before war erupted in the Middle East, fisherman Peter Bruce spent about £5,000 ($6,600) on diesel to trawl the North Sea for haddock and cod, the main species used in fish and chips. “Now, the last trip we spent about £10,000,” he told AFP , despite his crew reducing the speed of the boat to save fuel. Bruce, whose boat, Budding Rose, is based in the Scottish port of Peterhead, estimates the extra costs over a year could exceed £100,000. It was not yet clear whether the rise in energy prices would have an immediate effect on the price of fish, Bruce said. But he is worried that the hike in fuel prices will hit customer demand for the classic British meal that was already facing challenges on numerous fronts. Bruce’s catch is sold at auction in Peterhead before being transported around Britain and abroad. He fears that customers “will stop buying so much fish and chips and they’ll stop going out for meals so much”. Classic dish The classic recipe for fish and chips — white fish d...
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Pakistan Navy inducts second Milgem-class corvette into fleet

The Pakistan Navy on Saturday inducted the second Milgem-class corvette into its fleet, said a statement from the service’s public relations department. The warship is the second of four Milgem class corvettes, the contract for which was signed with ASFAT Inc, a Turkish state-owned defence contractor firm in 2018 . Under this contract, two ships were to be constructed in Turkiye and the remaining two ships in Pakistan. At the induction ceremony of the warship PNS Khaibar, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf highlighted that Pakistan’s strategic location along vital maritime trade and energy corridors demands a potent naval force to safeguard national interests and ensure secure sea lines of communication (SLOCs). The naval chief maintained that during last year’s war with India , the navy was “poised to sink” the Indian Navy’s aircraft carrier, which forced the warship and its escorts to retreat to their “perceived safe havens”. “The mastery and conduct of naval ope...
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