Xinhua Asia-Pacific news summary at 1600 GMT, May 27

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN — Sultan of Brunei Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah is in good health, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a press release on Tuesday evening.
According to the office, the Brunei leader is in Malaysia to attend the 46th ASEAN Summit and Related Meetings on Monday and Tuesday. (Brunei-Sultan-Health)
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KUALA LUMPUR — Enhancing inter-regional collaboration and building resilience to navigate an increasingly complex global landscape marked by economic uncertainty and geopolitical challenges will be high on the agenda of the 2nd ASEAN-GCC Summit, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said here on Tuesday.
In his remarks at the opening of the summit, Anwar said the two parties had made rapid strides forward on their three key pillars of cooperation — political-security, economic, and socio-cultural — since its inaugural summit two years ago, but this must now be strengthened to face new developments in global affairs. (Malaysia-ASEAN-GCC-Summit)
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DHAKA — The shutdown of USAID-funded 55 out of 59 programs in Bangladesh has led to job losses in the development sector, estimated at over 50,000 people.
Zinat Ara Afroze, convener of the Association of Unemployed Development Professionals (AUDP), revealed the information at a press conference in Dhaka on Tuesday. (Bangladesh-US-Aid)
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HONG KONG — Four scientists won the Shaw Prize this year for their outstanding work in the prize’s three categories, the Shaw Prize Foundation announced on Tuesday.
The Astronomy prize is awarded in equal shares to John Richard Bond, a professor from the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, and George Efstathiou, an astrophysics professor from the University of Cambridge, for their pioneering research in cosmology, leading to precise determinations of the age, geometry, and mass-energy content of the universe. (HK-Science-Shaw Prize)
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SUVA — Samoa will go into an early election after the Legislative Assembly voted against the national budget 2025-2026 on Tuesday, local media reported.
According to the local newspaper Samoa Observer, 16 members of parliament voted in favor of the budget, with 34 voting against, marking the first time in 40 years that a government budget failed to secure a majority in parliament. (Samoa-Early Election) Enditem