Mongolian sumo champions involved in brutal drunken brawl
Police in Japan have launched an inquiry into claims sumo grand champion Harumafuji assaulted fellow Mongolian competitor Takanoiwa during a drunken brawl in October that left the victim with serious injuries and unable to compete. Harumafuji was drinking with about 10 other sumo wrestlers in Tottori, western Japan, when he hit Takanoiwa with a beer bottle for looking at his smartphone while he was being scolded for his behaviour….
Supreme Court backs HMRC in dispute over film partnership tax losses
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) was entitled to open an inquiry into claims for relief from income tax made by two investors in film partnership schemes, the Supreme Court has ruled.
Former Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad takes aim at Najib Razak and says current government ‘must go’
The man who led Malaysia through the final two decades of the 20th century and has waded back into its politics in recent months said Thursday the country’s current government is deeply problematic and “must go.”
“We are facing a lot of difficulties with a government that ignores the rule of law,” Mahathir Mohamad told an audience in Thailand at a forum about Southeast Asia.
“These kinds of people must go,” he said of current Prime Minister Najib Razak…
‘Death of democracy in Cambodia’: supreme court dissolves opposition party and imposes five-year ban
Cambodia’s Supreme Court dissolved the country’s main opposition party and banned more than 100 of its politicians from office for five years on Thursday, in a ruling blasted by a rights groups as the “death” of the nation’s democracy.
The verdict was widely expected of a justice system warped by the influence of premier Hun Sen, whose is accused of ruthlessly targeting rivals ahead of 2018 polls.
It nevertheless delivers a crushing blow to the Cambodia National…
New ‘digital’ pills pose data protection and cybersecurity challenges for drugs manufacturers and health bodies, says expert
The regulatory approval of a new ‘digital pill’ in the US is an exciting development that highlights the potential of connected technologies in health care, an expert in life sciences has said.
Indonesian policeman shot dead near giant Freeport-McMoRan mine, a perennial flashpoint in battle over resources
An Indonesian policeman was shot dead and another was seriously wounded near a giant US-owned copper and gold mine on Wednesday, authorities said, the latest in a string of shootings in restive Papua province.
The killing occurred with police and armed separatists locked in a stand-off near Freeport-McMoRan’s mine, one of the world’s biggest, with both sides blaming each other for what police have claimed was a hostage crisis.
Local authorities said unidentified gunman opened fire…
Labour MP’s leasehold reform plans risk penalising freeholders, expert warns
Leasehold reform plans put forward by a Labour MP risk penalising pension funds and other investors who, in good faith, have invested in ground rent income streams, an expert has warned.
Rex Tillerson claims sanctions won’t solve Myanmar’s Rohingya crisis as Aung San Suu Kyi rejects accusations of complicity
Washington’s top diplomat on Wednesday said he would not yet push for sanctions against Myanmar over the Rohingya refugee crisis, but he called for a independent investigation into “credible” allegations that soldiers were committing atrocities against the Muslim minority.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was speaking after a one-day stop in Naypyidaw, as global outrage builds over impunity for a military accused of waging an ethnic cleansing campaign against the Rohingya.
His…
Richest 1 per cent own half the world’s wealth, study finds
The globe’s richest 1 per cent own half the world’s wealth, according to a new report highlighting the growing gap between the super-rich and everyone else.
The world’s richest people have seen their share of the globe’s total wealth increase from 42.5 per cent at the height of the 2008 financial crisis to 50.1 per cent in 2017, or US$140 trillion, according to Credit Suisse’s global wealth report published on Tuesday.
“The share of the top 1 per cent has…
EU chief Brexit negotiator says UK decision on business regulation is about ‘fundamental societal choices’
EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has said that the UK’s decision on whether to adopt business regulation similar to the EU’s is a fundamental societal choice.