Malaysia

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Anger in Malaysia over shoes bearing logo resembling Arabic word for God. Company head apologizes

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A Malaysian shoe company has apologized and stopped selling some of its footwear after some Muslims said the logo resembled the Arabic writing for the word God.

https://apnews.com/article/malaysia-religion-allah-shoes-886b6807bad6ee91674957b257abd834?

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2 Malaysian military helicopters collide and crash while training, killing all 10 crew

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Two Malaysian military helicopters collided midair and crashed during a training session on Tuesday, killing all 10 people on board and injuring a swimmer in a pool, authorities said.

https://apnews.com/article/malaysia-military-helicopters-collide-accident-training-56a91b623360e1b4e6a816df794cdfd9?

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Malaysia Rejects US Rubbish

Malaysia cracked down yesterday on plastic waste imports, raising concerns about where the US—especially California—will send its growing mounds of trash. The new policy bans plastic waste from countries that don’t abide by the Basel Convention, a global treaty regulating hazardous waste. The US signed the pact in 1990 but never ratified it. Last year, the US exported nearly 80 million pounds of plastic to Malaysia, with over 10 million coming from California.      Since China barred imports in 2018 over environmental and health concerns, Malaysia has become a key destination for the world’s plastic, whose production has more than doubled to roughly one trillion pounds over the past two decades as recycling systems lag. US recycling rates remain below 10% largely due to contamination and mixed materials that make the process costly. Much of what lands in Malaysia is either burned—releasing toxic pollutants—or dumped into overfilled landfills.   Thailand and Indonesia, which also saw a rise in imports after China’s ban, announced similar bans on plastic waste earlier this year.

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East Timor joins ASEAN in bloc’s first expansion since the 1990s

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — The Association of Southeast Asian Nations welcomed East Timor as its newest member Sunday, which its prime minister said was a “dream realized” for the tiny nation. Meanwhile, Cambodia and Thailand signed an agreement expanding a ceasefire on their borders with the hope it will lead to a lasting peace.

https://apnews.com/article/east-timor-asean-first-expansion-fbc05e88d80a998a5ea542806437a76c?