KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia's new Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Friday unveiled a cabinet that leaves out key figures from his party who have been accused or found guilty of corruption.

Nearly a week after being sworn in as leader, Ismail Sabri selected a team of 31 ministers with no surprises, retaining much of the previous cabinet led by Muhyiddin Yassin.

Notably absent were powerful members of his United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) such as former Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is appealing convictions on seven graft and

LAHORE, Pakistan -- Pakistan is lobbying four Central Asian nations that, like itself, share a border with Afghanistan in an effort to coordinate a diplomatic approach to the Taliban, the extremist Islamic movement which is solidifying its hold on the war-torn country, Nikkei Asia has learned.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who is on a three-day tour through Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Iran, intends to bring the nations together to pressure the Taliban to form an inclusive and broad-based government now that

BANGKOK -- Thai retail giant Central Group will acquire a controlling stake in sector peer Siam Future Development for 13.3 billion baht ($400 million) as part of its effort to further strengthen its presence in the country's retail market.

Siam Future Development runs 18 projects, including Mega Bangna, which is widely seen as the top mall in suburban Bangkok. The mall started operating in 2012, with IKEA's first outlet in the nation as a key tenant. The

Elina Noor is director, political-security affairs and deputy director, Washington, D.C. office, at the Asia Society Policy Institute.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris' maiden trip to Southeast Asia meant to assuage the region of America's partnership could not have been set more awkwardly against the backdrop of the country's messy withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Addressing this dissonance at the start of her speech in Singapore, Harris underlined the need for the United States to continue pursuing its interests in other regions

TOKYO -- The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games opened on Tuesday, a little over two weeks after the conclusion of the Olympics.

While the COVID-19 pandemic already overshadowed the Olympics, the Paralympics come as Japan struggles with its most serious outbreak yet . The Games are scheduled to run through Sept. 5, with spectators barred from attending the events.

Here are the latest developments:

Thursday, Aug. 26 (Tokyo time)

3:00 p.m. IOC President Thomas Bach leaves

MANILA -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's declaration to run for vice president next year has triggered a flurry of criticism from political opponents, party mates and even his own daughter.

"I will run for vice president," Duterte said in a recorded speech aired early Wednesday. "Then I will continue the crusade. I am worried about the drugs [and] insurgency."

But his spokesman later said the president is willing to back out if Davao Mayor Sara Duterte runs for president, drawing a rebuke from the

KYOTO -- Murata Manufacturing will close a key plant in Japan until at least next week following the outbreak of a COVID cluster, raising concerns about a potential shortage of electronic components that are used in everything from smartphones and appliances to cars and data centers.

The outbreak occurred at a plant in Echizen, Fukui Prefecture, central Japan, forcing the company to shut the plant to prevent further spread of the virus. As of Tuesday, 98 cases had been reported at the factory where 7,000 people work

SINGAPORE -- The high-cost battle to capture Southeast Asia's growing e-wallet market has claimed a major casualty, with Singaporean startup Razer announcing it will shut down a business that had over 1 million users.

Razer, primarily a gaming hardware maker, will stop its Razer Pay e-wallet at the end of September. The withdrawal could make other tech companies rethink their e-wallet strategy and pave the way for industry consolidation.

"The app will no longer be available from October 1, 20

Kavi Chongkittavorn is a senior fellow at the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris launched a mission impossible this week to restore her country's shaky credibility as a trusted ally.

"The reason I am here is because the United States is a global leader, and we take that role seriously," a straight-faced Harris said on her arrival in Singapore. Sidestepping questions about the chaos in Afghanistan, Harris emphasized that the administration was "singularly focused