Fears grow for hundreds of Rohingya refugees adrift for two weeks

UN warns of possible tragedy unless people are rescued from two boats on Andaman SeaAbout 400 Rohingya refugees have been adrift in two boats on the Andaman Sea for about two weeks, according to the United Nations, which called on regional governments …

UN warns of possible tragedy unless people are rescued from two boats on Andaman Sea

About 400 Rohingya refugees have been adrift in two boats on the Andaman Sea for about two weeks, according to the United Nations, which called on regional governments to help rescue them.

The number of Rohingya Muslims fleeing by boats in a seasonal exodus – usually from squalid, overcrowded refugee camps in Bangladesh – has been rising since last year due to cuts to food rations and an increase in gang violence.

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Gurkha Warrior review – true story of a daring rescue in the Malay jungle

Real-life retired Gurkha Ritesh Chams adds authenticity in the lead role, but the script brims with cliches and sentimentality This tale of heroism and comrades in arms is getting a release in the UK to celebrate the legendarily fearless Gurkha soldier…

Real-life retired Gurkha Ritesh Chams adds authenticity in the lead role, but the script brims with cliches and sentimentality

This tale of heroism and comrades in arms is getting a release in the UK to celebrate the legendarily fearless Gurkha soldiers from Nepal and north-east India, who have been closely allied with the British army. Indeed, lead actor Ritesh Chams is a real-life retired Gurkha who fought and was wounded in Afghanistan, which adds a tang of authenticity to his performance, as it does with several other of the cast who are also former soldiers. That said, director Milan Chams’s script, co-written with Giriraj Ghimire, is chock full of cliches and cornball sentimentality – which will possibly make this reassuringly familiar for its intended audience.

The opening framing has an elderly man in the present day laying flowers on 11 November at a mountaintop monument, paying his respects to ancestors and fallen soldiers. He explains to his grandchild that he’s there to honour those who fought “gallantly and died in the world wars”. That may be a badly translated subtitle or a bit of misdirection, because the conflict we see the younger version of this old man fighting is in fact the Malayan Emergency of 1948-60 in which the Gurkhas fought alongside British soldiers against communist pro-independence insurgents – a whole other ball of wax.

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Malaysia issues ‘kill switch’ order to cut controversial concerts

Measure to ensure foreign artists ‘adhere to the local culture’ follows incident at gig by the 1975 in Kuala LumpurConcert organisers in Malaysia must now have a “kill switch” to cut short performances that break official guidelines, a minister has sai…

Measure to ensure foreign artists ‘adhere to the local culture’ follows incident at gig by the 1975 in Kuala Lumpur

Concert organisers in Malaysia must now have a “kill switch” to cut short performances that break official guidelines, a minister has said.

The measure follows the controversy surrounding a performance in Kuala Lumpur by the 1975, whose frontman Matty Healy criticised Malaysia’s homophobic laws in a profanity-laden speech and kissed a male bandmate on stage. The incident in July led to the cancellation of the weekend festival at which the band was performing.

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Dozens of Malaysians rescued in Peru after being trafficked to commit online fraud

Malaysian foreign ministry says 43 of its citizens were freed in Lima after being forced to take part in ‘Macau scam’More than 40 people from Malaysia have been rescued by police in Peru after they fell victim to a human trafficking syndicate operating…

Malaysian foreign ministry says 43 of its citizens were freed in Lima after being forced to take part in ‘Macau scam’

More than 40 people from Malaysia have been rescued by police in Peru after they fell victim to a human trafficking syndicate operating a telecommunication fraud.

The Malaysians were forced to participate in the so-called “Macau scam”, making calls to companies in Malaysia and Taiwan to demand money while posing as banks, police or justice officials.

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Israel accuses Malaysia PM of ‘rabid antisemitism’ over Paralympics ban

Mahathir Mohamad refuses visas to Israeli athletes due to compete in a qualifying event for Tokyo 2020Israel has accused the Malaysian prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, of “rabid antisemitism” after he banned Israeli athletes from competing in a qualif…

Mahathir Mohamad refuses visas to Israeli athletes due to compete in a qualifying event for Tokyo 2020

Israel has accused the Malaysian prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, of “rabid antisemitism” after he banned Israeli athletes from competing in a qualifying event for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.

Malaysia has refused to grant visas to Israeli athletes scheduled to participate in the event to be held in the state of Sarawak in July, a move designed to demonstrate the country’s solidarity with Palestine.

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