These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
Get up to speed with what’s happening in the fastest growing region in the world.
1MDB trial: Request for court to adjourn earlier due to Najib's back problem rejected
Najib Razak who has been sitting in the dock almost daily since April requested for his 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) trial to be adjourned early due to health reasons.
However, High Court Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah did not budge, stating that he could only consider allowing periodical breaks if needed.
Najib, through his lead counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, requested the court to adjourn at 4.30pm daily after hearings. – New Straits Times
Hong Kong democracy activists Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow arrested ahead of weekend protests
Prominent Hong Kong democracy activists Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow were arrested on Friday (30 Aug) ahead of another weekend of planned protests in the Chinese-ruled city which is grappling with its biggest political crisis since its handover to Beijing more than two decades ago.
Mr Wong, 22, the face of Hong Kong's push for full democracy during protests in 2014 that paralysed parts of the city for 79 days, was released from jail in June after serving a five-week term for contempt of court.
"He was suddenly pushed into a private car on the street," Mr Wong's political party Demosisto, which advocates for greater democracy in Hong Kong, said on its official Twitter account. – Straits Times
Slavery fears rise for migrant workers
When Leng Lyda swapped Cambodia for a fishing town in Thailand hoping to find a job in the seafood industry, he was ready for hard work. But he wasn't prepared for the delay, or the debt.
The 22-year-old landed a job as soon as he arrived earlier this year, but without the right to work, he spent three months living rough on the docks and racking up debts while his employer processed the papers to hire him as a migrant worker.
"All I can do is wait," Lyda said, sitting in a ramshackle cafe as Cambodians dragged giant nets onto trawlers behind him. – Bangkok Post
Why Myanmar should sign the new Singapore Mediation Convention
46 countries have already signed the new Singapore Mediation Convention (Convention), including the US, South Korea, China, Malaysia, India and Singapore itself. I would encourage Myanmar to also sign. This would provide another welcome alternative to the conventional court system for the resolution of international commercial disputes. – Myanmar Times
Xi rejects PH win in South China Sea as Duterte insists ‘binding’ arbitral ruling
In his bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday night, President Rodrigo Duterte insisted that the 2016 Hague ruling on the South China Sea was “final, binding and not subject to appeal,” but the Chinese leader rejected the Philippines’ legal victory.
In a statement early Friday, presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Duterte was “steadfast in raising with President Xi concerns central to the Philippines’ claim in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), which include the ruling held by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague.” – Philippine Daily Inquirer