Cambodia arrests 5 in crackdown on commercial surrogacy

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodian police have arrested five people on charges of providing commercial surrogate services, an official said Saturday. Four Cambodian women and a Chinese man were arrested Thursday in a house in Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital, said Keo Thea, chief of anti-trafficking...

New East Timor government marred by corruption allegations

DILI, East Timor (AP) — East Timor's president has refused to swear in 11 Cabinet ministers because of corruption investigations in a rocky beginning for a new government formed after a protracted political stalemate in the young nation. Former President and independence fighter Jose Maria Vasconcelos,...

Belgian gets life on cocaine smuggling charges in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A Cambodian court sentenced a Belgian man to life in prison on Friday on charges of smuggling cocaine into the country. David Noel Catry was convicted of trafficking 1.03 kilograms (2.27 pounds) of cocaine earlier this year, said Ei Rin, a spokesman for the Phnom Penh Municipal...

Malaysia names new central bank governor

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia has named Nor Shamsiah Mohamad Yunus, an experienced former central bank official, as the new central bank governor. Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said Friday that the king has consented to Nor Shamsiah's appointment to head Bank Negara Malaysia from July 1 for a...

Indonesia court sentences cleric behind attacks to death

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Radical cleric Aman Abdurrahman was sentenced to death by an Indonesian court Friday for ordering Islamic State group-affiliated militants to carry out attacks including the January 2016 suicide bombing at a Starbucks in Jakarta. Abdurrahman, who police and prosecutors say is a...

AP FACT CHECK: Trump falsely claims progress on NKorea nukes

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is trumpeting results of his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that get ahead of reality. He is declaring that North Korea has already begun ridding itself fully of nuclear weapons following an agreement with Kim in Singapore earlier this month, even...

Indonesian court sentences radical cleric who instigated 2016 suicide bombing at a Starbucks, other attacks to death

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian court sentences radical cleric who instigated 2016 suicide bombing at a Starbucks, other attacks to death.

Vietnam arrests 4 more oil execs in corruption crackdown

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnamese police have arrested four more former senior oil executives for allegedly abusing their power to appropriate property as the communist authorities step up their toughest crackdown on corruption in years. The four arrested Thursday were former general directors or chief...

Suu Kyi says outside hate narratives driving Myanmar tension

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — A social media account run by the office of Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi quotes her as saying that "hate narratives from outside the country" have fueled tensions between Muslim Rohingya and Buddhist Rakhine communities in the country's west. The Facebook page of the State...

Woman in Bali murder gives up claim to mother's estate

CHICAGO (AP) — A Chicago woman imprisoned in Indonesia for killing her mother in 2014 in Bali has given up her claim to her mother's estate. The Chicago Tribune reports that court records show 22-year-old Heather Mack won't receive "any property, benefit, or other interest" from Sheila von Wiese-Mack's...