KUALA LUMPUR -- Anwar Ibrahim, a former deputy prime minister, took the oath of office on Thursday to become Malaysia's new prime minister.

Anwar, who heads the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, was seen wearing traditional Malay clothes and pledged to serve the country and people well before Malaysia's King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah at the national palace in a live-live-broadcast. (Malaysia-PM-Swearing-in)

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ISLAMABAD -- Pakistani National Assembly's Standing Committee on Commerce unanimously approved a couple of bills on Wednesday in order to promote the business and trade sectors of the country, Pakistan's Commerce Ministry said.

During the approval of the Trade Dispute Resolution Bill 2022 and Trade Organization (Amendment) Bill 2022, it was informed in the meeting that "due to the absence of a proper trade dispute resolution system, the ranking of Pakistan in the Ease of Doing Business Index of the World Bank was being adversely affected," the ministry said in a statement. (Pakistan-Trade Laws)

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TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday admitted inadequacies in the submission of his campaign expenses related to last year's general elections, local media reported.

According to Japan's public broadcaster NHK, the weekly Shukan Bunshun magazine's online edition reported regarding the prime minister's expenses, that his office had submitted 94 receipts with no addresses or descriptions of the outlays. (Pakistan-Trade Laws)

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DHAKA -- The 22nd meeting of the Council of Ministers (COM) of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) began in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka on Thursday morning.

The COM is preceded by the 24th Meeting of the Committee of Senior Officials (CSO) held on Nov. 22-23 this year. (Bangladesh-IORA Meeting)

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PHNOM PENH -- The Chinese investments have provided tangible benefits to Cambodia's national development in various fields including agriculture, agro-industry, industry, tourism, and infrastructure, a Cambodian senior legislator said.

Speaking at the second China-Cambodia Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum via videoconference on Wednesday, Suos Yara, chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation, Information and Media of the National Assembly of Cambodia, said Cambodia has achieved strong economic growth over the last decades, thanks to its strong economic cooperation with China. (Cambodia-China-Investments)

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MANILA -- The COVID-19 pandemic has partly reversed decades-long gains in reducing poverty in the Philippines, said the latest World Bank study released on Thursday, adding that income inequality remains "very high" in the Southeast Asian country.

Driven by high growth rates and expanding jobs, poverty rate in the Philippines fell to 16.7 percent in 2018, said the report. By 2018, the middle class in the 110-million population country had grown to nearly 12 million people, and the economically secure population had risen to 44 million. (Philippines-Poverty-World Bank)