“It’s time for a rebalance”, “we’re too close to China”, “let’s learn from Malaysia’s Mahathir Mohamad”.Those were some of the views on the future of Sino-Thai ties coming from pro-democracy Thai politicians and foreign policy watchers ahead of next week’s election – the country’s first since the May 2014 coup.Analysts in Beijing were more optimistic, expecting the domestic political status quo to remain and bilateral ties to stay on an even keel.As young Thais look to the future, does Thaksin…
No more coups: in fight to reform Thai military, millennials are a secret weapon
If Thailand’s pro-democracy parties had a “moon shot” – besides overcoming severe handicaps to form government after the March 24 elections – it would be pushing through military reform when they come to power.The sheer audacity of such a plan was revealed last month. Upon hearing the Pheu Thai Party’s plan to cut the country’s military budget by 10 per cent to fund job-creation initiatives, army chief Apirat Kongsompong reacted with fury.Those behind the proposal, the Royal Thai Army commander…
Lords call for enhancements of ‘gold standard’ Bribery Act
The UK’s 2010 Bribery Act has created “an international gold standard for anti-bribery and corruption legislation”, with little need for major improvements, according to a House of Lords select committee.
Court dismisses Civil Aviation Authority legal advice privilege claim
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) cannot claim legal advice privilege over early drafts of a letter dated before its in-house lawyers were consulted, the High Court has ruled.
Tribunal considers ICO’s information notice powers under new Act
Businesses that are subject to criminal investigations may not need to comply with information notices served on them by the UK’s data protection regulator, but UK law does not prohibit the information commissioner from sending the notices in such circumstances, a tribunal has ruled.
New Zealand shooting: Christchurch on indefinite lockdown after mosque worshippers are brutally killed in ‘unprecedented act of violence’
A mass shooting in New Zealand has left the city of Christchurch in indefinite lockdown, after a gunman with an automatic rifle attacked a mosque on Friday, causing “a number of fatalities”, said police.One person was in custody, police said, but they believed there were more offenders involved in the deadly slaying that has shocked a nation where mass shootings are virtually unheard of.Authorities did not identify the suspect in custody, but a man who claimed responsibility for the shootings…
As 20 Malaysians remain in Syria’s crumbling Islamic State caliphate, others are seeking to return home
As what remains of the self-proclaimed Islamic State caliphate in Syria crumbles under a sustained final assault by US-backed forces, an estimated 20 Malaysians are still holed up among the rubble, according to one fellow national who has fled the fighting.Lidia, 29, scrambled out of IS territory last month together with her two sons aged two and four, as bombs started falling around her home in Mayadin in the eastern province of Deir-ez-Zor.The Malay-Muslim laboratory technician, who can also…
Competition reforms needed for digital markets, says panel
A new digital markets unit should be established in the UK and given powers to force businesses with large datasets to share that information with rivals, a report prepared for the UK government has said.
Kim Jong-nam murder trial: Vietnamese suspect Doan Thi Huong will continue trial after prosecutors reject her request for release
A Vietnamese woman will continue her trial for the murder of Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korea’s leader, after Malaysian prosecutors rejected a request from Vietnam to free her on Thursday.The Vietnamese government had made the call after 30-year-old Doan Thi Huong’s co-accused, Indonesian woman Siti Aisyah, was released on Monday.Huong and Indonesian national Siti Aisyah were charged with killing Kim by smearing his face with VX poison, a banned chemical weapon, at Kuala Lumpur…
Malaysia shuts 111 schools after hundreds of children are poisoned by hazardous fumes emitted by toxic waste dumped in river
More than 100 schools in Malaysia have been closed a week after toxic waste was dumped into a nearby river, causing hundreds of people including scores of schoolchildren to fall ill, authorities said.A truck is believed to have dumped the waste in the south of Johor state last week, sending hazardous fumes across a wide area and causing those affected to display symptoms of poisoning such as nausea and vomiting.Some 500 people, many of them school pupils, have received medical treatment after…