MULTAN – A Pakistani woman who gave her husband poisoned milk ended up killing him and 12 of his family when the tainted liquid was turned into a yoghurt drink and served to him and his relatives, police said.

The woman, who was forced by her family into an arranged marriage in September, has been arrested and charged with murder along with her alleged lover, senior police official Owais Ahmad told reporters in central Pakistan’s Muzaffargarh district on Monday.

Police said Asiya Bibi mixed poison into her husband’s milk last week but he initially failed to drink it and it was instead blended into a batch of yoghurt-based lassi and served to the man’s family.

Thirteen people have so far died, including the husband, while a further 14 have been hospitalised, Ahmad said.

“Police have arrested Asiya Bibi, a man and his aunt for being accomplices and charged them with murder,” Ahmad said.

He said the man was allegedly Bibi’s lover and that his aunt helped hatch the murder plot.

Forced and under-age marriages are common in deeply conservative Pakistan, particularly in rural and impoverished regions, where women have fought for their rights for decades.

Ride-sharing apps like Grab were made to make travelling convenient and safer for anyone. But after the carnapping and murder of their driver Gerardo Maquidato Jr., Grab is improving their security measures by asking for passengers’ valid IDs.

In a statement, Grab said that their driver-partners may ask you to show your identification before the trip starts. This will be done especially during “night shift hours,” which is around 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

“We assure you that all information shown to our driver-partners will be kept confidential and will only be used for verification purposes,” Grab said. This can be helpful for drivers since the Grab app doesn’t show the photo of the passengers.

They also reminded passengers to input the exact pick-up and drop-off points when booking a ride. “Our driver-partners will only bring you to the indicated booking destinations.”

Last Oct. 26, Gerardo’s reportedly picked up a lone passenger in Pasay City. The passenger then shot him, threw him out, and drove off with the car. As of writing, the suspect is still at large.

“We are currently discussing tech solutions that would decrease, if not completely hamper, the chances of carnapping incidents involving Transport Network Vehicle Services (TNVS),” Grab said. “We are also working closely with the Philippine National Police – Highway Patrol Group to ensure that justice will be served and perpetrators will be put behind bars.”

So next time you book a ride, make sure that you comply with these rules. Stay safe out there.

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia is reviewing its ties with North Korea and is prepared to sever all connections to the state as international concern mounts over the state’s nuclear and ballistic missile testing.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Malaysia is already considering closing its embassy in Pyongyang, North Korea and instead relegating its service to the Malaysian embassy in Beijing, China.

“Among the issues discussed in my meeting with US President Donald Trump was the situation in the Korean Peninsula, where both nations raised concerns over the peace and security of the Asia Pacific region which is under threat following the nuclear and ballistic missile testing going on in North Korea.

“Malaysia has taken steps to abide by all United Nations resolutions relating to the North Korea threat, including sending back the North Korean diplomatic officers in Malaysia, and we are reviewing our links to North Korea including diplomatic, political and economic relations.

Ahmad had asked about the issues discussed during Najib’s meeting with Trump in Washington DC, United States last month.

Previously, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman had said that Malaysia has no plans to send an ambassador to Pyongyang again, after the last one was recalled earlier this year.

Malaysia and North Korea were embroiled in a diplomatic crisis over the investigation and possession of the body of Kim Jong-nam, the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who was killed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 in February.

Hong Kong will become the first Asian city to host the Gay Games in 2022 with rights campaigners celebrating the winning bid for a city often criticised for lagging on LGBT rights.

Hong Kong beat Mexico’s Guadalajara and Washington DC to host the 11th edition of the event, with the jubilant bid team saying it would attract 15,000 participants and bring HK$1 billion into the local economy.

Organised by the LGBT community, the Gay Games features a range of sports and is open to all participants, “without regard to sexual orientation, and there are no qualifying standards”, the Hong Kong bid team said in a statement.

Competitors come from many countries, including those where homosexuality remains illegal, it added.

The Gay Games was founded by former Olympic decathlete Tom Waddell and first held in San Francisco in 1982. The next edition will be held in Paris in August next year, featuring 36 sports, from mountain biking to fencing and athletics.

Hong Kong’s Pink Alliance, which promotes equal rights for the LGBT community, said the games would “help to bring a wider understanding and acceptance of our community”, not only in the southern Chinese city but throughout the region.

When the constitutional court in neighbouring Taiwan ruled in favour of allowing gay marriage in May, campaigners in socially conservative Hong Kong highlighted the city’s lack of progress on equality issues.

Hong Kong does not recognise gay marriage and only decriminalised homosexuality in 1991.

But a landmark court decision in September that granted a British lesbian in Hong Kong – known as “QT” – the right to live and work in the city as a dependant of her long-term partner was hailed as a decision that could reduce more hurdles for same-sex couples.

QT had previously been denied a dependant visa by immigration authorities, forcing her instead to stay in Hong Kong on a visitor visa, which did not allow her to work.

Hong Kong’s Gay Games bid chair Dennis Philipse said there was a “spirit and passion for increased inclusion and diversity” in Hong Kong.

However, the campaign for LGBT rights continues to elicit fury from anti-gay campaigners.

Last year, banking giant HSBC placed a pair of rainbow-painted lions in front of its landmark building in the heart of the city to promote support of gay rights, a move slammed as “disgusting” by opponents who rallied in protest.