JAKARTA – Thick smog has blanketed parts of Indonesia as the vast archipelago battles to contain fires that have burned large swathes of Borneo and Sumatra.

Given the matter-of-fact nature of business, statements can sometimes come off as cold or callous, the argument being that any lack of humanity is in service of the facts rather than an intent to offend.

RECAP: Regional stocks rose on Friday as the dollar declined and pressure on bond yields eased after comments from US Federal Reserve officials tempered fears that it would raise interest rates at its meeting this month.

BENGALURU – An Air India A320 flying from Phuket to New Delhi last month issued a stall warning when seatbelt signs were off, while a rapid pitch up and then down threw passengers and cabin crew against overhead bins and injured 24 people, Indian investigators said.

“Friend-for-hire” services have started taking off in Thailand as the country’s social landscape changes with an aging population and a rise in the number of unmarried people.

A former commissioner of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has urged any party affected by the dispute over the chairman’s qualification to ask the Central Administrative Court to make a definitive ruling on the chairman’s legal status.