Five years ago, investigators with the US Navy knocked on the door of a San Diego hotel suite, waiting for the Malaysian businessman inside to answer – and in the process launch what has become the worst corruption scandal for the navy in decades.
Since the arrest of businessman Leonard Glenn “Fat Leonard” Francis that day, US federal prosecutors in San Diego have methodically filed charges or secured indictments against 32 defendants, including 27 US Navy officials, for their…
Three Indonesian men freed after being kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf militants and held in Philippine hideouts
Muslim militants have freed three Indonesian men they kidnapped at sea early last year off Malaysia then brought them to their jungle hideouts in the southern Philippines, officials said on Sunday.
The Indonesians were freed on Friday with the help of the Moro National Liberation Front, a rebel group that signed a peace deal with the Philippine government, in Indanan town in Sulu province, police said.
The released hostages, Hamdam Salim, Subandi Sattuh and Sudarlan Samansung, were to be handed…
How Islamists stigmatise Indonesia’s transgender waria
Indonesia’s LGBTI community could be forgiven for thinking their search for equality is going backwards. During the pre-Islamic, Hindu-Buddhist period of Indonesian history, waria (third gender people) were not only accepted – they were respected and revered. Now, they are more likely to be hounded out of town, as Yulianus Rettoblaut – better known as Mama Yuli – can attest. She runs a shelter in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta that has helped more than 4,500…
Tiny Himalayan nation of Bhutan votes in third ever election as India and China tussle for influence
Voters in Bhutan, “Land of the Thunder Dragon”, went to the polls Saturday in the first round of only the third election in the small Himalayan nation wedged between rivals India and China.
The two parties with the most votes will contest a run-off on October 18, with Harvard-educated Tshering Tobgay, 52, hoping for a second consecutive term as prime minister.
But the keen mountain-biker’s People’s Democratic Party (PDP) faces a tough challenge from the Druk Phuensum…
Shops threatened with legal action over book about fugitive Malaysian businessman Jho Low
London-based libel lawyers representing a playboy financier have sent threatening letters to bookshops around the world in an attempt to block distribution of a new book detailing his alleged involvement in one of the biggest financial scandals in history.
Free speech campaigners said the decision to threaten a book’s distributors rather than the publisher or author could be seen as an attempt to “short-circuit the legal process” around libel law and risks setting a precedent…
Court of Appeal: subsequent deceit claim was not abuse of process
It was not an abuse of process for a casino to bring a further claim for deceit against a bank which had successfully defended a professional negligence claim against it, as significant new evidence had become available to the casino during the course of the original trial.
Tax tribunal: referees were self-employed for tax purposes
A group of English football referees were self-employed and not employed by Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the first-tier tribunal has found.
Human rights court rules on UK’s mass interception of communications
It is possible for intelligence agencies and law enforcement bodies to engage in the mass interception of communications to protect national security without breaching human rights, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has said.
South Korea launches its first missile-capable submarine
South Korea launched its first ever missile-capable attack submarine on Friday, despite a recent diplomatic thaw with the nuclear-armed North.
The US$700 million, 3,000-tonne Dosan Ahn Chang-ho submarine is capable of firing both cruise and ballistic missiles and the first of three planned diesel-electric boats to go into service in the next five years. It represents a “leap forward” in the country’s defence industry, President Moon Jae-in told a launch ceremony at the Daewoo…
Bangkok fire department rarely attends fires – but there’s a 24-hour hotline for catching snakes
A fire department in northern Bangkok has not received a call for a fire since June. But for trapping a slithery foe? There is a 24-hour hotline.
“The work [catching snakes] is quite a lot,” said Suraphong Suepchai, a 46-year-old firefighter working in the Thai capital’s Lat Yao district. “For firefighting, we have none.”
Snakes are a common sight in Bangkok, a bustling city built on once swampy land, and it is not unusual to see them slithering across public…