JAKARTA -- Indonesia's Election Commission (KPU) announced Monday three presidential candidate pairs who will run in the country's 2024 general elections.
"Anies Baswedan and Muhaimin Iskandar, Ganjar Pranowo and Muhammad Mahfud, Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka have been declared eligible as presidential and vice-presidential candidate pairs for the 2024 presidential election," the KPU commissioner, Idham Holik, told a press conference. (Indonesia-2024 Election-Candidate)
- - - -
TOKYO -- A police officer shot a man wielding two knives in Osaka in western Japan on Monday after the man apparently slashed a woman during a dispute at an apartment building.
According to the police, the 58-year-old man, arrested on suspicion of violation of the swords and firearms control law, was conscious when he was taken to hospital after a bullet hit his right flank. (Japan-Osaka-Knife Attack)
- - - -
COLOMBO -- The Sri Lankan government plans to increase the tax revenue by 47.1 percent to 3,820 billion rupees next year, President Ranil Wickremesinghe told parliament on Monday presenting the 2024 budget.
Of the total tax, income tax is expected to increase by 25 percent to 1,080 billion rupees (3.3 billion U.S. dollars) and levies on external trade are to increase by 41.5 percent to 505 billion rupees. (Sri Lanka-Tax Revenue-Budget)
- - - -
SYDNEY -- Australia's big four banks have all registered an increase in their 2023 full-year profits, against the backdrop of interest rate hikes and the still too high inflation.
On Monday, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ) became the last among the four main banks, after the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), Westpac, and National Australia Bank (NAB), to hand down its annual report, recording a full-year cash profit of 7.4 billion Australian dollars (4.7 billion U.S. dollars), an increase of 14 percent year on year. (Australia-Major Banks-Profits)
- - - -
YANGON -- Myanmar's State Administration Council (SAC) has imposed martial law in eight townships of the northeastern Shan state where fightings are fierce in some areas.
The eight townships subjected to martial law are Kunlong, Kutkai, Namhkan, Muse, Lashio, Theinni, Laukkaing and Konkyan, according to a statement issued by the SAC on Sunday night. (Myanmar-Martial Law) ■
