KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim unveiled an expansionary budget for 2025 on Friday, the biggest in the country's history, aimed at boosting economic growth and facilitating its ambition of transforming into a regional economic powerhouse.

The budget allocates 421 billion ringgit (97.81 billion U.S. dollars), aiming to fund initiatives that focus on attracting high-quality investments, stimulating business opportunities as well as undertaking projects for the well being of the people and relieving the burden of cost of living while ensuring their access to affordable essential goods and services, Anwar said in his speech to parliament. (Malaysia-Budget)

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MANILA -- An American man was reportedly shot and abducted by gunmen Thursday evening in Zamboanga del Norte province in the southern Philippines, local police said Friday.

Brigadier General Bowenn Joey Masauding of the Philippine National Police in the Zamboanga Peninsula regional office identified the victim as Elliot Onil Eastman, 26, a native of Vermont State in the United States. (Philippines-U.S. National-Kidnapping)

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TOKYO -- Japan's core consumer prices rose 2.4 percent in September from a year earlier, as climbing prices for energy and food continue to weigh on households despite government efforts to slow their rises, official data showed Friday.

The pace of increase in the nationwide core consumer price index (CPI), excluding volatile fresh food, slowed from 2.8 percent in August, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. (Japan-Consumer-Inflation)

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SEOUL -- South Korea's finance ministry saw a continued economic recovery for the sixth straight month on Friday thanks to robust export and manufacturing production.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance said in its monthly report, called Green Book, that the South Korean economy recently maintained a trend of recovery on the back of solid export and manufacturing production as well as a modest recovery in domestic demand and facility investment amid the stable inflation. (South Korea-Economic Recovery) Enditem

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