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East Timor deported an Interpol-wanted Filipino murder suspect on Thursday whose case the government has linked to its aspirations to join the regional ASEAN bloc, after more than two years of political wrangling.Former Philippines congressman Arnolfo Teves allegedly masterminded a March 2023 attack that killed then-provincial governor Roel Degamo and nine others.AFP journalists saw him boarding a turboprop plane with Philippine Air Force markings that then took off from Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport.Teves was detained at a driving range in the capital Dili last year, but a Timorese court blocked his extradition. The Philippines justice secretary suggested the decision may have been bought, saying it was “obvious that some people are making money out of this”.In an abrupt turnaround, East Timor announced Teves’ impending deportation late on Wednesday, saying his continued presence represented a security risk.”The Government hereby informs that Arnolfo Teves Jr. will be deported from Timor-Leste,” it said in a statement, using the country’s alternate name.It added that East Timor’s “imminent full accession” to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) had reinforced its responsibility to collaborate regionally on legal matters.On Thursday, the Philippines’ Department of Justice said it was preparing a team to facilitate Teves’ repatriation based on deportation documents from East Timor.Ex-lawmaker Teves is the prime suspect in the murder of Degamo, the former governor of Negros Oriental province.Degamo had been distributing aid at his home in Pamplona when six people carrying rifles and dressed in military fatigues entered the compound and opened fire on March 4, 2023.The killings came months after Degamo was declared winner of a disputed vote, unseating Henry Teves, the ex-lawmaker’s brother.Arnolfo Teves was expelled from the House of Representatives after refusing to return to the Philippines to face murder charges. On Wednesday, Teves’ son Axl posted videos on social media of his father being dragged away by Timorese police, claiming he had been “kidnapped”.Degamo’s widow Janice, meanwhile, called the arrest a “significant step toward justice”.

French President Emmanuel Macron bestowed Indonesia’s leader with France’s top award during a visit to a military base on Thursday, before a trip to the world’s largest Buddhist temple.Macron’s visit to Indonesia is the second stop of a three-nation, six-day tour of Southeast Asia that began with Vietnam and concludes in Singapore.After meeting for talks in the capital Jakarta, Macron and his counterpart Prabowo Subianto flew by helicopter on Thursday from Javan city Yogyakarta to a military academy in Magelang, a city in Central Java surrounded by mountains.The pair attended a military parade and Macron gave Prabowo the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, France’s highest military or civil award.Prabowo is an ex-general accused of rights abuses under dictator Suharto’s rule in the late 1990s. He was discharged from the military over his role in the abductions of democracy activists but denied the allegations and was never charged.Macron rode in a jeep driven by Prabowo with the pair welcomed by a marching band and hundreds of students waving Indonesian flags.Macron will later visit the Borobudur, a Buddhist temple built in the 9th century that is the world’s largest. He will also give a speech on cultural ties with Prabowo before departing for Singapore.He will deliver the opening address Friday at the Shangri-la Dialogue, Asia’s premier security forum.On Wednesday, the pair called for progress on “mutual recognition” between Israel and the Palestinians at a key meeting next month as Macron brought the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation into his diplomatic efforts.”Indonesia has stated that once Israel recognises Palestine, Indonesia is ready to recognise Israel and open the diplomatic relationship,” said Prabowo.Indonesia has no formal ties with Israel and support for the Palestinian cause among Indonesians runs high.The nations also signed a series of agreements on cooperation in a range of fields including defence, trade, agriculture, disaster management, culture and transport.

Bangladesh waved off its first consignment of mangoes to China on Wednesday, a largely symbolic export as Beijing sweetens ties after relations soured between Dhaka and former ally and neighbour India.Bangladesh, still reeling from the political fallout of a 2024 uprising that ended the autocratic rule of Sheikh Hasina — who fled by helicopter to New Delhi — has since been courted by Beijing, India’s rival.”It is such a great pleasure to jointly witness this historic moment, as the first consignment of Bangladesh’s premium mangoes sets off for China,” China’s ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen said, alongside government officials.Bangladesh, largely encircled by land by India, has seen relations with New Delhi turn icy.Interim Bangladeshi leader Muhammad Yunus’s first state visit was to China, while Bangladesh has also moved closer to Pakistan, India’s arch-enemy.”President Xi Jinping has emphasised on several occasions that China’s door of opening up will not close, but will only open wider,” Yao said, at a small ceremony at the airport alongside Bangladeshi ministers.”I am confident that the export of Bangladeshi mangoes to China is just the beginning,” he added.In China, the fruit has a particular historic diplomatic resonance — including the curious cult of the mango.After Chairman Mao Zedong was pictured gifting a mango to a group of workers in 1968, during the mania of the Cultural Revolution, the fruit became an object of veneration.Those mangoes were reportedly a gift from the foreign minister of Pakistan — and at that time, in 1968, Bangladesh had yet to win its independence from Islamabad.Export levels are small so far, just 50 tonnes in an initial phase, but both Bangladesh and China said they hoped to increase that.In the past year, China has sponsored several tours for Dhaka’s political party leaders, and has begun hosting Bangladeshi patients in its hospitals.India has long been wary of China’s growing regional clout and the world’s two most populous countries compete for influence in South Asia, despite a recent diplomatic thaw.

Protests have become part of daily life in Bangladesh’s capital, with residents either taking part as political parties jostle for power after an uprising last year — or avoiding them.The South Asian nation of around 170 million people has been in political turmoil since former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted in August 2024, fleeing by helicopter as crowds stormed her palace.Hasina’s 15-year-long authoritarian rule contained protests like a pressure cooker, until the student-led movement spearheaded a revolt that toppled her from power.On Wednesday, at least half a dozen demonstrations were held in the sprawling megacity of Dhaka, home to more than 20 million people. This was a typical day, with the demonstrations ranging from political rallies and counter-protests, to worker strikes and celebrations at the release of an Islamist leader from death row.”I got released this morning after being imprisoned for 14 years,” A.T.M. Azharul Islam said, waving at thousands of supporters of the country’s main Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami.The tight-packed crowd cheered as the senior leader was released from a prison hospital in central Dhaka, a day after the Supreme Court overturned his death sentence and acquitted him of war crimes.”There was no justice in the past… we expect the court will ensure that the people get justice in the coming days,” Islam said.Leftist parties say they will demonstrate in opposition to his release.Across Ramna Park in the neighbourhood of Naya Paltan, thousands choked the streets as part of a rally in support of the Bangladesh National Party (BNP).Political parties are readying for hugely anticipated elections which the interim government has vowed will take place by June 2026 at the latest.- ‘Unpredictable’ -While tens of thousands gather at major intersections across Dhaka with their demands, others spend hours navigating their way through traffic-snarled streets.”All the major roads are blocked during the day,” chicken seller Zakir Hossain said Wednesday.”We’ve had to shift our schedules. I start work at midnight now, even though the law and order situation is worsening every day, and muggings have become common.”It worries many, remembering the violence last year when police tried — and failed — to crush the protests that toppled Hasina.”The situation is unpredictable — the protests can turn violent at any moment,” said a 43-year-old housewife, asking not to be identified as her husband is a government employee.”I never used to call my husband much, but now I do. If he is even a little late coming home from the office, all sorts of bad thoughts come to my mind.”Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus, the 84-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner who is leading the caretaker government as its chief adviser until elections are held, has called for parties to build unity and calm intense political power struggles.The government warned on Saturday that “unreasonable demands” and obstruction had been “continuously obstructing” its work.- ‘A balance’ -Yunus has said polls could be held as early as December but that having them later would give the government more time for reform.Rallies organised by the powerful BNP are calling for the government to set an election date, as well as a raft of other demands, including the sacking of multiple members of Yunus’s cabinet.In other protests, tax authority workers, angered at an overhaul of the body that would place it under the finance ministry’s control, held a two-week partial strike.That escalated on Sunday when security forces surrounded the national tax headquarters, before the government later backtracked on its reform.Civil servants this week also demonstrated at the main government ministry complex to rally against orders changing employment rules — which the government then said it will reconsider.On the streets, the protests continue.”Customers rarely come to the bank when they see the roads blocked,” said bank manager Muhammed Sazzad. While he supported the right to assemble, he suggested the government “could designate a specific area for protests”.Rakib Hasan Anik, a lecturer at the Bangladesh University of Professionals, said that “academic discipline is suffering”, with students stuck in traffic and missing class.”There needs to be a balance,” he said. “We can only hope all sides reach a consensus that prioritises the public.”

Virat Kohli can fulfil his dream of finally winning the Indian Premier League when the playoffs begin this week, desperate to banish the “heartbreak” of losing the final as captain nine years ago.Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bengaluru face table-toppers Punjab Kings on Thursday in Mullanpur after securing second place by chasing 228 to beat Lucknow Super Giants on Tuesday. The winners go straight into the final in Ahmedabad on June 3.But even if Bengaluru lose that encounter, they will have another chance to reach the final against the winners of Friday’s “eliminator” between Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians. The 36-year-old Kohli recently retired from Tests having already walked away from T20 internationals after India’s World Cup triumph last year.But the hunger to lift the IPL trophy still burns bright for the two-time World Cup winner, who played a leading part in India’s 50-over Champions Trophy victory earlier this year.”I had two heartbreaks in my life in 2016,” Kohli told Indian broadcaster JioStar. “First was the World T20 and then the IPL final.”Affectionately known as “King Kohli”, he has scored more runs than anyone in IPL history and is the only player to have spent all 18 seasons of the league with one team since its inception in 2008.He has been on the losing side in the final three times, in 2009, 2011 and 2016, but fans believe that it is an omen that Kohli wears number 18 on his shirt — and that it will be 18th time lucky this year.He has been in vintage form as he pursues his goal: his 54 on Tuesday that set up victory against Lucknow was his eighth half-century of a season in which he has made 602 runs at an average of 60.20.- Hazlewood return -A delay to the season caused by the conflict with Pakistan means some overseas players will be missing from the playoffs including Gujarat’s Jos Buttler, who has international commitments with England.But Australia pace bowler Josh Hazlewood returned to the Bengaluru squad on Sunday and is expected to play on Thursday, having left when the IPL was suspended on May 9.There had been doubts over his return because of a shoulder niggle and the playoffs clashing with preparations for Australia’s World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord’s on June 11.Punjab will be without left-arm quick bowler Marco Jansen, who has left to join South Africa’s training camp ahead of the Test showpiece.”Every team’s missing players,” Punjab head coach Ricky Ponting said. “We’d like to think we’ve got good depth, and be able to cover for Marco, despite it being a big miss.”Five-time champions Mumbai, led by Hardik Pandya, seem to have been the worst hit by the extended schedule overlapping with the international calendar.They have lost England’s Will Jacks and the South African duo of Ryan Rickelton and Corbin Bosch for their eliminator against Gujarat.The Titans, IPL champions on their debut in 2022, have a formidable batting line-up even without Buttler.Skipper Shubman Gill, who has taken over from the retired Rohit Sharma as Test captain, and fellow opener Sai Sudharsan are the top two on this season’s batting charts, with 679 and 649 runs respectively.Gill will take charge of India for the first time when they embark on a five-Test tour of England, starting at Headingley, Leeds, on June 20.

At least 10 people were killed and 43 injured as strong winds and thunderstorms triggered flash floods and destroyed homes in central and northern parts of Pakistan, officials said Wednesday.Four women and a man died in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and three in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the State Disaster Management Authority said, while other officials said two died in Punjab.”One person is still missing,” Haroon Rasheed, a senior government official in Pakistan administered Kashmir told AFP, adding that 12 houses and a mosque were destroyed in one village.Storms on Saturday killed at least 14 people and injured over 100 more across the country, which is grappling with increasingly frequent extreme weather events blamed on climate change.Stormy weather is expected to continue in northern and central parts of the country until Saturday, according to the National Disaster Management Authority.Soaring temperatures in April and May are becoming more common in Pakistan, which usually sees summer begin in early June.Temperatures reached near-record levels in April — as high as 46.5 Celsius (116 Fahrenheit) in parts of Punjab.Schools in Punjab and southwestern Balochistan provinces have closed early for summer vacations because of the heat.strs-sam/stm/fox

Skipper Jitesh Sharma hammered an unbeaten 85 and Virat Kohli hit 54 as Royal Challengers Bengaluru stormed into qualifier 1 of the IPL playoffs with a six-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants on Tuesday.Bengaluru chased down 228 to go second in the 10-team table in the last league match of this season and set up a meeting with table-toppers Punjab Kings on Thursday.The result pushed Gujarat Titans into third spot. They will face Mumbai Indians in the eliminator on Friday.The winners of qualifier 1 go straight to the final on June 3 but the losers have a second chance of joining them as they will face the winner of the eliminator in qualifier 2 to decide who will head to Ahmedabad. Lucknow skipper Rishabh Pant signed off with an unbeaten 118 off 61 balls in his team’s 227-3, but Bengaluru knocked off the target with eight balls to spare.Kohli set up the chase with his 30-ball knock and after his departure stand-in-skipper Jitesh put on an unbeaten stand of 107 with Mayank Agarwal, who hit 41, to trump Lucknow, who were already out of the playoffs.”I will not be able to express my thoughts, I can’t believe I played that knock,” said player of the match Jitesh. “When Virat bhai (brother) was out, I was just thinking of taking it deep.”The 36-year-old Kohli, who earlier this month announced his Test retirement alongside Rohit Sharma, went past 9,000 runs for Bengaluru — the most by a batsman for one team in men’s T20 cricket. The next is Rohit’s 6,060 for Mumbai.- Pant in vain  -Kohli put on 61 with opening partner Phil Salt, who made 30, but the chase wobbled after Lucknow hit back with wickets, New Zealand quick Will O’Rourke taking two in two balls.O’Rourke sent back regular skipper and impact substitute Rajat Patidar, for 14, and next ball had Liam Livingstone, leg before for a golden duck.Jitesh turned things around with his first IPL fifty. He hit eight fours and six sixes, including the winning hit over the fence, in his 33-ball knock.Earlier Pant, who struggled for runs after being brought by Lucknow for a record $3.21 million in the auction, saved his best for last as he hit his season-best score.But it was not enough and he said, “Eventually you’ve got to play 40 overs of good cricket. Twenty overs aren’t going to save you.”Wicketkeeper-batsman Pant, a swashbuckling left-hander, reached his 100 in 54 balls and celebrated with a somersault. He had scored only 151 runs from 12 previous innings and averaged just 13.72.Pant led the charge in a 152-run second-wicket stand with Mitchell Marsh, who hit 67 off 37 balls, after the captain promoted himself to number three in the batting order.Pant, who hit 11 fours and eight sixes in his 61-ball knock, went past his previous best of 63 this season but Bengaluru and Kohli had the last laugh as they hunt for their first IPL title.

Between jabs at Donald Trump’s US trade tariffs and criticism of Beijing’s assertiveness in the South China Sea, French President Emmanuel Macron warned Vietnamese students Tuesday that “on the impulse of a superpower, everything can change”.Macron was in Vietnam as part of a six-day Southeast Asian tour, as he tries to pitch his offer of a “third way” between the United States and China to a region caught up in a confrontation between the two.He left Hanoi and arrived in Indonesia on Tuesday evening, the next stop on his trip which also includes Singapore.Earlier he spoke to a group of around 150 students at the University of Science and Technology in Hanoi, who listened through translation headsets.”The conflict between China and the United States of America is a geopolitical fact that casts the shadow of risk of a much larger conflict in this important region,” he told them.China would do well to remember that “freedom of navigation, maritime freedom is important for the South China Sea”, he said, adding that what is happening there “worries everyone”.Macron quickly moved on to a swipe at the United States, which he described as “imposing tariffs according to the side of the bed on which he woke up”, before presenting France as a reliable alternative.His address came a day after he visited a Hanoi war memorial to those who fought against French colonial occupation, which ended in 1954 following a bloody uprising by Vietnamese pro-independence forces.Vietnam has been careful to follow a balancing act between China and the United States.It shares concerns about Beijing’s increasing assertiveness in the contested waterway, but it has close economic ties with its giant neighbour.Communist-run Vietnam has also been threatened with a hefty 46 percent tariff by US President Donald Trump as part of his global trade blitz.France’s “Indo-Pacific strategy” could offer a “path of freedom” and “sovereignty”, Macron told the students.More than 100 other students who were unable to fit into the university hall where he spoke tuned in via video link from a side room, often clapping as he spoke.Some seemed convinced, seeing an opportunity in France to avoid the chaos that many international students in the United States are enduring after Trump attempted to block Harvard University from enrolling foreigners.”Given the context in the US where visa issues for international students are quite risky, I will prioritise studying in France because it is more stable,” 21-year-old Nguyen Quang Bach told AFP.Nguyen Thi Thuy Linh, 21, who chatted to Macron ahead of the speech, called the president “friendly and approachable”.During the speech, Macron also urged the students, a few of whom spoke French, not to fall into the “world of fools” that prevails on social media, where people are free to criticise with short messages “those whose thoughts you do not understand”.”I do not believe all words are equal. I think there are people who know (things) and people who know less,” he said.

Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah was admitted to a hospital in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday due to fatigue, though his office insisted the world’s longest-serving monarch was in “good health”. The sultan is in Kuala Lumpur with other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders, who on Tuesday met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and dignitaries from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).A Malaysian government source told AFP the sultan “was hospitalised in between the ASEAN-GCC and ASEAN-GCC-China summit” for fatigue.A statement from the Brunei prime minister’s office — a position held by the sultan — said he was in “good health”.”He has been feeling tired and on the advice of the host’s health experts, has decided to rest for a few days at the National Heart Institute,” it said.Asked earlier at a news conference whether the sultan had been hospitalised, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said: “Well he’s feeling a bit tired, so he’s resting at the (National Heart Institute).”The hospital is the designated one for VIPs during the ASEAN summit, AFP’s source said.The National Heart Institute said it could not comment.- Busy schedule -The 78-year-old sultan touched down in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, according to footage from Malaysia’s national news agency.He was the last leader to arrive at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) on Monday morning for the 46th ASEAN summit, but appeared in good spirits, smiling and stopping for a prolonged chat before heading into the venue with Anwar.The busy schedule saw the leaders address US tariffs, the Myanmar conflict, and East Timor’s application to join the bloc among other topics.After a quick costume change into matching traditional batik shirts, the leaders returned to the KLCC for a lavish gala dinner, joined by Premier Li and dignitaries from the GCC — a regional bloc made up of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.Tuesday saw ASEAN meet first with the GCC in the morning, before the two blocs were joined by China at 3pm local time (0700 GMT).Footage taken by AFP around midday showed the sultan walking briskly but looking weary, surrounded by his entourage.Sultan Hassanal ascended the throne in 1967.He is one of the richest people on the planet, and comes from a family that has ruled Brunei, a small Muslim nation perched on the north of the tropical island of Borneo, for more than 600 years.His decades ruling Brunei have seen the country gain full independence from Britain and living standards soar to among the highest globally.But his reign has also been marked by controversies including the introduction of tough Islamic laws legislating penalties such as severing of limbs and death by stoning.

India’s defence minister approved on Tuesday a programme to develop an advanced fighter jet prototype, the latest push to boost local arms production, nearly three weeks after a conflict with arch-rival Pakistan.India, one of the world’s largest arms importers, has made the modernisation of its forces a top priority in the face of tensions with nuclear-armed Pakistan and China.Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved the prototype of a 5th generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), the ministry said in a statement, calling it a “significant push towards enhancing India’s indigenous defence capabilities”.India’s Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) — a government agency under the Ministry of Defence responsible for aircraft design —  is “set to execute the programme through industry partnership”, it added.”This is an important step…which will be a major milestone towards aatmanirbharta (“self-reliance”) in the aerospace sector”.India’s arms purchases have steadily risen to account for nearly 10 percent of all imports globally in 2019-23, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said last year.The world’s most populous nation has deepened defence cooperation with Western countries in recent years, including the Quad alliance with the United States, Japan and Australia, as it slowly shifts away from its longstanding reliance on Russian military hardware.India signed in April a multi-billion-dollar deal to purchase 26 Rafale fighter jets from France’s Dassault Aviation, adding to 36 already acquired, and replacing Russian MiG-29K jets.But Singh has also promised at least $100 billion in fresh domestic military hardware contracts by 2033 to spur local arms production. – Warships, missiles, planes -This decade India has opened an expansive new helicopter factory, launched its first homemade aircraft carrier, warships and submarines, and conducted a successful long-range hypersonic missile test.New Delhi eyes threats from multiple nations, especially Islamabad.India and Pakistan were engaged in a four-day conflict this month, their worst standoff since 1999, before a ceasefire was agreed on May 10.More than 70 people were killed in missile, drone and artillery fire on both sides.Pakistan claimed its Chinese-supplied jets had shot down six Indian aircraft — including three French-made Rafale fighters.India has not officially confirmed any of its aircraft were lost, although a senior security source told AFP three jets had crashed on home soil without giving the make or cause.The fighting was triggered by an April 22 attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi accused Islamabad of backing — a charge Pakistan denies.India is also wary of northern neighbour China, especially since a deadly 2020 clash between their troops.