Asian Legal Review

ANALYSIS: There is growing pressure on universities to improve how they support students with mental health problems.

A former Buddhist monk who sparked outrage in Thailand over his lavish lifestyle and is already serving time for fraud was sentenced to a further 16 years in prison on Wednesday for abducting and raping a child.
Wirapol Sukphol, formerly known by his monastic name of Luang Pu Nenkham, was sentenced in August to 114 years in prison after a court found him guilty of fraud, money laundering and computer crimes.
Thai police dismiss British tourist’s claim of being raped on popular resort…

ANALYSIS: As UK policymakers and regulators begin to better understand their role in relation to workplace pensions and safeguarding members’ money, the charges and governance regime continues to evolve.

The two Koreas and the US-led United Nations Command held talks on Tuesday on demilitarising a section of the heavily fortified border dividing the peninsula, as a diplomatic thaw gathers pace.
“The three parties examined the progress in removing landmines at the Joint Security Area (JSA) … and discussed other practical matters regarding steps toward disarming the area,” Seoul’s defence ministry said in a statement.
The JSA, also known as the truce village of Panmunjom…

Police in Thailand said on Tuesday that they have dismissed a 19-year-old British tourist’s claim that she was raped on a Thai resort island after their investigation revealed no supporting evidence.
Police said at a news conference that three officers were sent to England to debrief the woman, who had told some news outlets that she was raped on the southern Thai island of Koh Tao in June. They said she was not able to provide key details such as where the alleged rape occurred, a…

Japan on Monday announced a much anticipated sales tax increase in 2019 to address the nation’s huge public debt, despite warnings it could hobble growth in the world’s third-biggest economy.
The point-of-sale tax will rise from eight per cent to 10 per cent from October next year as ageing and heavily indebted Japan battles to finance snowballing social security bills – especially medical fees.
The tax rise was originally planned for October 2015 but was pushed back twice…

Malaysia’s reformist icon Anwar Ibrahim, jailed twice since 1998 in politically charged prosecutions, cemented his return to frontline politics on Monday when he was sworn in as a lawmaker, fresh from a sweeping by-election victory.
The eyes of the country’s commentariat were on parliament proceedings as Anwar took his seat in the legislature’s government benches alongside Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad – who two decades ago had booted him from cabinet over sodomy and…

Prime Minister Imran Khan’s ambition of creating a “New Pakistan” has suffered a series of economic setbacks, forcing his administration to apply to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for an emergency bailout of more than US$8 billion, the largest in the country’s history of indebtedness.
When talks begin in the coming weeks, the country will have to make political compromises, as with its past dealings with the IMF, according to analysts.
IMF managing director…

As the dust settles on the Indonesia 2008 Asian Para Games, there is no shortage of inspiring stories.
For the past week, Jakarta has been plastered with images of triumph over adversity as it celebrated the achievements of 2,762 athletes from 43 countries who had come to compete in 18 sports – breaking records and challenging public perceptions in the process.
Billboards celebrated athletes such as swimmer Jendi Pengabean – who lost his entire left leg aged 12 in a motorcycle…

At least eight climbers from a South Korean expedition have died on Nepal’s Mount Gurja after their camp was devastated by a violent snowstorm, officials said on Saturday.
The bodies of eight climbers – four South Koreans and four Nepali guides – were spotted among the wreckage of their camp by a rescue team early on Saturday morning, but unstable and icy conditions were hampering the search effort.
“We assume the incident happened because of a snowstorm because trees…