Malaysia’s former deputy PM detained for alleged graft
AP, Putrajaya
Malaysia’s anti-graft agency says it has detained former Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in a case linked to misappropriation of funds in his family-run welfare group.
Zahid, who now heads the opposition Malay party, is the latest notable person after former Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife to face graft charges following the shocking ouster of their coalition in May elections.
Lebanon govt will form ‘very soon’
Reuters, Beirut
Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun said on Thursday a government would be formed “very soon”. Political stalemate has prevented the country’s leaders from forming a government, more than five months after parliamentary elections.
Asked by journalists if there would be a government, Aoun replied: “Yes, the government will be very soon or sooner.”
Mongolia invites Kim to visit
AFP, Ulaanbaatar
Mongolia has invited Kim Jong Un to visit the nation’s capital, which once hoped to host the historic summit between the North Korean leader and US President Donald Trump, an official said Tuesday.
The invitation comes amid expectations that Kim and Trump, who met in Singapore in June, will hold a second summit – a time and location for which have yet to be determined.
Peru court orders Keiko Fujimori release
AFP, Lima
A Peruvian appeals court Wednesday ordered the release of opposition leader Keiko Fujimori, who has been detained for a week after being accused by prosecutors of receiving money from Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht, a judge announced.
The court “provides for the immediate release of the detained suspects” in the case, including the daughter of former president Alberto Fujimori, said chief magistrate Octavio Sahuanay.
India cyclone death toll rises to 57
Xinhua, New Delhi
The death toll from severe cyclone Titli in India’s eastern state of Odisha has risen to 57, local government officials said Thursday. The cyclone inflicted an estimated loss of 300 million U.S. dollars, a local government spokesman said.
