The fugitive Malaysian financier at the centre of a multi-billion-dollar corruption scandal insisted he had not led the plundering of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) fund, a report said Monday.Low Taek Jho - commonly known as Jho Low - has been charged in Malaysia and the US for allegedly playing a major role in the theft of billions of dollars from sovereign wealth fund 1MDB.Looted money was used to buy everything from a super-yacht to art, in a fraud that allegedly involved former l

A court in Vietnam sentenced a former communications minister to life in prison Saturday for receiving millions of dollars in bribes, as the hardline administration presses its anti-graft drive against once-powerful figures in the communist state.Nguyen Bac Son was charged alongside his then-deputy Truong Minh Tuan with receiving US$3.2 million in bribes to approve the 2015 purchase of a TV firm that would have lost state-run telecommunications firm Mobifone US$300 million.The two-week trial

The Philippines banned two US senators and threatened to introduce visa restrictions for Americans entering the country, the president's spokesman said Friday, if Washington pushes ahead with sanctions against Filipino officials involved in jailing a leading opposition leader.Senators Richard Durbin and Patrick Leahy were banned from entering the country after introducing a provision in the 2020 US budget that would prevent officials involved in the incarceration of Senator Leila de Lima

A Thai court on Wednesday said it would rule on a complaint to dissolve an upstart opposition party over alleged plots to overthrow the constitutional monarchy, a decision that could test the stability of the new government.The accusations against the Future Forward Party link its upside-down triangle logo to the supposed symbol of the Illuminati, which many conspiracy theorists - without offering serious evidence - claim is a secret society pursuing world domination.On 21 January, judges of

The masterminds of the Philippines' worst political massacre were found guilty Thursday of murder a decade after they led the killings of 58 people, rare convictions of powerful figures in a country notorious for its culture of impunity.However, with dozens of other accused gunmen acquitted, and 80 suspects never having been caught, relatives of the victims as well as rights groups gave a mixed response to the verdicts.Leaders of the powerful Ampatuan family dynasty orchestrated the 23 N

Google has banned political ads in Singapore ahead of elections, an opposition party said Wednesday, sparking accusations the tech giant was "kowtowing" to the tightly-controlled city's government.The ban was imposed under controversial new rules aimed at fighting disinformation in the city-state, which critics fear could be used to stifle dissent.General elections are widely expected within months and weak opposition parties are relying on social media to reach voters in a cou

Former Malaysian leader Najib Razak will take the stand to defend his conduct in the 1MDB scandal Tuesday, as the first of several trials linked to the multi-billion-dollar fraud enters a crucial stage.Huge sums were stolen from sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad, allegedly by the ex-prime minister and his cronies, and spent on everything from high-end real estate to artwork.His coalition was ousted at the polls last year after six decades in power, largely due to public anger

Philippine police were ordered Wednesday to arrest anyone caught vaping in public, just hours after Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced he would ban e-cigarettes.The abrupt prohibition, revealed by Duterte late Tuesday adds to a growing global backlash against a product once promoted as less harmful than tobacco smoking.Duterte, a former smoker, called the devices "toxic" and said vaping introduced "chemicals" into the user's body.He ordered the arrest of a

President Xi Jinping has warned that any attempts to split China would result in "bodies smashed and bones ground to powder", amid four months of anti-Beijing unrest in Hong Kong.Xi issued the dire message during a weekend visit to Nepal, according to a foreign ministry statement released on Sunday."Anyone who attempts to split any region from China will perish, with their bodies smashed and bones ground to powder," Xi said, according to the ministry."Any external for

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China's President Xi Jinping will meet in the Indian city of Chennai from Friday in a bid to ease strained bilateral ties.The leaders of the world's two most populous nations will tackle "over-arching issues", according to India's announcement of the meeting.