Among the first jobs for Normah Ishak will be what to do about the 65 Isis militants due to return to Malaysia from Syria.

Jakarta will not allow 689 Indonesians who had joined the Isis movement in Syria and Iraq to return to their home country, with experts saying they carry ‘the virus of a dangerous ideology’.

Animals from cats to bats to snakes and monkeys are bludgeoned, torched and served to tourists at Indonesia’s ‘Tomohon Extreme Market’. Experts say in the wake of the coronavirus, it’s a hazard waiting to happen.

Hundreds of citizens have been extracted from Chinese city of Wuhan but countries must now also address the challenge of screening and quarantine.

Jakarta is under pressure to step up defences against the virus, but an abrupt change could damage diplomatic relations, minister warns.

Analysts say Najib’s alleged request of Abu Dhabi’s crown prince to help cover up the 1MDB scandal is expected to complicate bilateral relations.

Politics in the country is currently polarising and creating ‘extreme views’, says Ahmad El-Muhammady of International Islamic University Malaysia.

Malaysia’s attorney general has withdrawn a criminal defamation charge against journalist Tashny Sukumaran, who had tweeted about inappropriate physical contact during a medical exam.

A significant number of Isis members are scheduled to be released from prison this month, underlining the situation’s critical nature.

In op-eds carried by several media outlets, China’s ambassador Bai Tian has denounced ‘Western’ reports of abuses in Xinjiang – causing outrage online and among leading intellectuals.

Anies Baswedan fuels speculation he plans tilt at the presidency by speaking at a rally by the 212 Islamist group that helped orchestrate the fall of his Christian predecessor Ahok.

Proposed constitutional changes would empower upper house of parliament to elect the country’s leader, echoing the system of the Suharto era.

Ma’ruf Amin, a senior Muslim cleric, is seen as a figure who has the Islamic credentials to take on the country’s hardliners.

Malaysia’s home affairs minister says Islamic State may move operations after the death of its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, with foreign fighters seeking forged or stolen passports to return home.

Indonesian police have arrested 85 Chinese on suspicion of running a ‘fake cop’ scam in the latest of a string of cases in the region.

The US has seen a rise of Isis-inspired plans, including suicide blasts, in the region, says the US State Department’s top counterterrorism official.

Sophisticated operation in Cyberjaya duped victims in China offering fast returns on investments made via WeChat Pay or Chinese banks.

The United States will be ‘very concerned’ at the release of Yazid Sufaat, who served a string of jail sentences for work with both Islamic State and al-Qaeda, expert says.

Investigators found Ika Puspitasari, who is serving jail time, met the wife of the suspected bomber, but had no other involvement in the blast that injured six.

Indonesia plans to shift its capital from Jakarta to Kalimantan on Borneo island, home to two Malaysian territories, creating potential complications.

While there were no details on whether they were involved in the blast, their arrests raised fresh concerns over the threat posed by returnees from Syria

One ministry has banned staff from wearing the full-face veil to work and another will scrap schoolbooks deemed to contain extremist material, as the world’s most populous Muslim nation combats intolerance and the spread of hardline ideology.

The case of a woman who gave birth in secret and then hid her son in a washing machine has thrown a spotlight on the stigma faced by unwed mothers in Indonesia.

The former special forces general Prabowo Subianto is barred from the US due to claims he was involved in rights abuses during the Suharto era. But with China and Russia ready to do business with him, the US may need to rethink.

Tito Karnavian has been a leading figure in the country’s fight against terrorism for almost two decades, but analysts are confident Indonesia has the right systems and personnel in place to handle terror threats.

Security agencies in the region are bracing for possible retaliatory attacks following the US’ killing of the terror group leader, and say the threat will remain as long as the ideology keeps spreading.

The president raised eyebrows by naming his rival as defence minister, but he has also appointed Fachrul Razi – who dismissed Prabowo from the army 21 years ago – as religious affairs minister. Analysts say this is also part of an bid to curb rising radicalism in the world’s most populous Muslim country.

President Joko Widodo vowed to develop the country’s human resources, overhaul the inefficient bureaucracy and move out of the middle-income trap by 2045.

The terror network is shifting its focus to fake news as a cheap and easy method of undermining trust in the region’s secular governments.

At least 36 suspected militants have been arrested ahead of President Joko Widodo’s inauguration on Sunday, including two former policewomen, one of whom was thought to be planning a suicide bomb attack.