Malaysia's disgraced ex-leader Najib Razak pleaded not guilty to all charges against him as he went on trial Wednesday over a multi-billion-dollar fraud, almost a year after his shock election loss.The 65-year-old faced the first of several trials over his alleged involvement in the looting of sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, a state investment vehicle established to develop the economy of the Southeast Asian nation.The former premier and his cronies are accused of plundering billions of doll

A super-wealthy construction scion who ran a pro-marijuana platform ahead of Thailand’s election has emerged as a highly courted candidate as two main parties need his allegiance – and party seats – after the disputed vote.The Bhumjaithai Party – meaning "Thai Pride" – is fronted by mega-wealthy Anutin Charnvirakul, an amateur pilot, son of a construction tycoon and unlikely proponent of the medical benefits of marijuana.Thailand held its first election since a 2014 coup last month,

The Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) marked its third anniversary last week with the announcement that China’s trade with the five Mekong member countries – Cambodia, Lao, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam – has reached over US$260 billion for the period, highlighting the overarching role China plays in these five countries’ economies.A sub-regional cooperation mechanism connecting the six countries along the Mekong river, which is known as Lancang in China, the LMC was formed in March 2016 and h

Brunei today introduces harsh new sharia laws – including death by stoning for adultery and gay sex – despite a storm of global criticism from rights groups. Although most Muslim nations incorporate elements of sharia law in their legal systems, very few carry out the harsher punishments – known as hudud – which even Muslim scholars disagree on.Here are some facts about sharia law and how it is interpreted around the world:What Is Sharia Law?Sharia is a religious law forming

The United Nations (UN) decried Monday new "cruel and inhuman" laws set to take effect in Brunei this week which impose death by stoning for gay sex and adultery, and amputations for theft."I appeal to the government to stop the entry into force of this draconian new penal code, which would mark a serious setback for human rights protections for the people of Brunei if implemented," UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet said in a statement.Brunei, an absolute monarchy ruled fo

The spectacular assassination of the North Korean leader's half-brother – smeared in the face with a banned nerve agent – made headlines around the world but two years later its organisers have escaped accountability, analysts say.Malaysian prosecutors dropped a murder charge Monday against the Vietnamese woman who was the only remaining suspect in the 2017 killing of Kim Jong Nam at Kuala Lumpur's international airport.Doan Thi Huong is expected to walk free next month after she ad

A Vietnamese woman accused of assassinating the North Korean leader's half-brother accepted a lesser charge Monday and will walk free in May, after her Indonesian co-accused was released last month.Doan Thi Huong smiled and said "I'm happy" after prosecutors presented the new charge in a Malaysian court, where she has been on trial since 2017 for the murder of Kim Jong Nam with a nerve agent in a Cold War-style hit.Huong's new sentence is three years and four months i

A coup leader triumphs as a civilian prime minister, an alliance of parties unite to stop him, or a parliamentary deadlock forces another political crisis – the outcome of Thailand's disputed election remains undecided a week after the poll.So, what next?

American actor George Clooney has called for a boycott of nine Brunei-owned hotels over the sultanate's imposition of the death penalty for gay sex and adultery."Every single time we stay at or take meetings at or dine at any of these nine hotels, we are putting money directly into the pockets of men who choose to stone and whip to death their own citizens for being gay or accused of adultery," Clooney wrote on the website Deadline Hollywood."I've learned over years o

The King of Thailand has revoked the royal decorations of billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, citing his conviction and "extremely inappropriate" flight from the country, according to an announcement published Saturday.The statement in the Royal Gazette from King Maha Vajiralongkorn comes almost a week after the country held its first election since a military coup in 2014 installed a royalist junta.Pheu Thai, a political party linked to Thaksin, is now jostling with the junt