A lawyer representing a Khmer Rouge leader who was sentenced to life imprisonment last month is threatening to seek up to US$1 million in damages over his dismissal by the international tribunal that handed down the sentence.
Victor Koppe was dismissed on Thursday on the advice of Cambodia’s bar association, which said that the Dutch national had not been a member of the bar in the Netherlands for nearly three years and should not therefore be practising law in Cambodia. He nonetheless…
Dozens injured after explosion at restaurant in northern Japan
Japanese police say more than 40 people have been injured in an explosion at a restaurant in northern Japan.
The blast occurred in Toyohira Ward in Sapporo, the capital city of Japan’s northern main island of Hokkaido. Police say 41 people were injured, most of them mildly, though one is in serious condition. They are being treated at nearby hospitals.
Television pictures showed the restaurant in flames.
There was no immediate word on the cause of the blast, which local media said caused…
Malaysia’s Mahathir: countries have no right to recognise Jerusalem as Israeli capital
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Sunday criticised Australia’s move to recognise West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, saying countries had “no rights” to do so. At the same time, Israel complained that Canberra’s move was “a mistake”, insisting the whole of the city belongs to the Jewish state.
Australia’s move follows US President Donald Trump’s decision to relocate the US embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv in May, which…
Sri Lanka’s disputed Prime Minister Rajapaksa resigns
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was controversially appointed to the post in October, stepped down Saturday to end the island’s political crisis.
“Since I have no intention of remaining as prime minister without a general election being held, and in order to not hamper the president in any way, I will resign from the position of prime minister and make way for the president to form a new government,” Rajapaksa said in a statement.
The move comes a day after…
Joy as US-seized bells return to Philippine church
A sleepy central Philippine town erupted in joy on Saturday as bells looted from its church more than a century ago by vengeful United States troops were to be returned to the community.
Children waving bell-shaped signs and tearful residents in Balangiga gathered to welcome home the three bells that are a deep local source of pride, and which the US flew to Manila this week after decades of urging by the Philippines.
US troops carted away the bronze objects as trophies, after razing the town…
Lawyer for Khmer Rouge’s Nuon Chea was practising illegally, says Cambodian bar association, casting mistrial risk over historic verdict
The defence lawyer for Nuon Chea, Pol Pot’s infamous “Brother No 2” in Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge regime, may have been working without proper legal authority for years, adding yet another layer of uncertainty to the United Nations-backed tribunal that has dragged on for nine years.
The disclosure, found in a document issued by the Cambodian Bar Association (BAKC) on December 11 and seen by the South China Morning Post, cast in doubt the proceedings of the highly publicised…
UK-to-UK data transfers impacted by ‘no deal’ Brexit
UK businesses that outsource the processing of personal data to UK supplier or which send data to other UK-based businesses in their group may need to update their contracts in the event of a ‘no deal’ Brexit to allow those data transfers to continue, a data protection law expert has said.
ICO provides guidance on selecting data processors
The UK’s data protection watchdog has issued a checklist to help businesses select data processors in a way which complies with the law.
Pension schemes urged to take urgent advice on ‘master trusts’
Pension schemes have been urged to take urgent legal advice to ensure they do not fall foul of new UK laws on ‘master trusts’, following a warning by the Pensions Regulator (TPR).
‘Brazen’ US$150 million oil heist at Shell’s Singapore refinery much bigger than reported
Around US$150 million worth of oil was stolen from Shell’s biggest global refinery over several years, Singapore court documents reviewed by Reuters show, far more than reported when police first revealed the heist earlier this year.
Almost a year on from raids that led to over a dozen arrests, including of several former employees of the local unit of Royal Dutch Shell, charge sheets state that around 340,000 tonnes of gas oil were stolen from the oil company’s Pulau Bukom site in…