Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen warned on Wednesday that a prominent opposition figure who lives in self-imposed exile abroad would risk being arrested if he dares to return to Cambodia as he recently promised.
The prime minister was referring to Sam Rainsy, a former leader of the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which was dissolved by court order last year ahead of a general election in July.
“I’m prepared to handcuff and send to prison the person who is…
American Nissan executive Greg Kelly is released on bail in Japan, but boss Carlos Ghosn is still behind bars
Nissan Motor Company executive Greg Kelly was released from detention in Japan on Tuesday after being granted bail over the alleged under-reporting of his boss Carlos Ghosn’s pay.
The late-night release of Kelly, who is American, followed the Tokyo District Court’s approval earlier in the day of a bail request filed last week by his Japanese lawyer. Kelly was freed on 70 million yen (US$635,600) bail, ending his detention after 37 days.
Television footage captured the bespectacled…
Thailand legalises medical use of marijuana, in ‘new year’s gift’ to the people
Thailand approved marijuana for medical use and research on Tuesday, the first legalisation of the drug in a region with some of the world’s strictest drug laws.
The junta-appointed parliament in Thailand, a country which until the 1930s had a tradition of using marijuana to relieve pain and fatigue, voted to amend the Narcotic Act of 1979 in an extra parliamentary session handling a rush of bills before the new year’s holidays. “This is a new year’s gift from the…
Call to ban ‘buy now, pay later’ alcohol sales in Australia
The sale of alcohol using “buy now, pay later” services such as Afterpay and ZipPay should be banned because they encourage alcohol dependence and unmanageable debt, a health organisation has said.
In its submission to the Senate inquiry examining credit and financial services targeted at Australians at risk of financial hardship, the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (Fare) said the availability of alcohol at reduced upfront prices was concerning. “Buy now, pay…
Mao more than ever: Filipino communists mark a half century of armed struggle
As Christmas arrives in the Philippines, thousands of guerilla fighters are gearing up for a different kind of celebration the day afterward: Mao Zedong’s birthday, and the 50th anniversary of a home-grown resistance group that was inspired by his ideology.
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) – infamous for its jungle raids, assassination squads and fearsome leaders like Kumander Dante – was founded in 1968 in Mao’s honour, and has been engaged in a peoples…
Ex-Nissan boss Ghosn to spend Christmas and New Year’s Eve in jail after detention extended
Former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn will be spending Christmas and the beginning of 2019 behind bars after a Tokyo court on Sunday extended his detention until January 1.
“Today, a decision was made to detain [Ghosn]. The full term of the detention will expire on January 1,” the Tokyo District Court said.
The move by the court came as Tokyo prosecutors continue to grill the automobile tycoon over allegations he shifted a personal investment loss worth more than US$16 million to the…
‘Child of Krakatoa’, the lava bomb-hurling volcano that triggered Indonesia’s latest deadly tsunami
The volcano that apparently triggered a deadly tsunami in Indonesia late Saturday emerged from the sea around the legendary Krakatoa 90 years ago and has been on a high-level eruption watch list for the past decade.
Anak Krakatoa (the “Child of Krakatoa”) has been particularly active since June, occasionally sending massive plumes of ash high into the sky and in October a tour boat was nearly hit by lava bombs from the erupting volcano.
Experts say Anak Krakatoa emerged around 1928…
Philippine lawmaker gunned down at Christmas celebration
A Philippine congressman was gunned down at a Christmas celebration on Saturday, police said, the latest violence in a country notorious for deadly political rivalries.
Rodel Batocabe had just finished handing out presents in the central town of Daraga when the lawmaker and his police bodyguard were shot dead by a gunman hiding in the crowd, said regional police official Arnel Escobel. The motive for the murder was not immediately clear, but authorities said they were looking into whether it…
‘A huge load off our shoulders’: Singapore gay couple open up after landmark adoption case
FRAMED PHOTOGRAPHS LINE the television console of a 1,450 sq ft flat in central Singapore. One shows a large group of family members in a rented villa in Bali several months ago, another is of a beaming couple and a third has the couple and their son.
A two-metre-tall Christmas tree stands on the right, with three bears – two large with a smaller one tucked between them – all sharing a red scarf.
It is Friday in the home of James, Shawn and their five-year-old son Noel. The family…
‘Stateless’ millions in India’s Assam fear for their future as December 31 registration deadline looms
Indian farmer Nur Mohammed can barely sleep for worrying that his wife might soon be made stateless, put in a detention camp and deported.
She is one of four million people left off a draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) published in July in the northeastern state of Assam – provoking accusations of discrimination against Muslim residents and of stoking ethnic tensions.
Those not on the list, who could now face being effectively stripped of their Indian citizenship and rights, can…