MALAYSIA
Anwar back in court
Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was back in court yesterday over a government appeal against his sodomy acquittal. The 66-year-old politician, who was acquitted in 2012, slammed the appeal, saying it was a political ploy to tarnish his image ahead of a by-election set for March 23. Analysts expect him to win the contested seat in Selangor state, and become the state’s chief minister.
LIBYA
Al-Saadi Qaddafi returned
Niger yesterday extradited one of former leader Muammar Qaddafi’s sons, al-Saadi, to Tripoli. He had been under house arrest in the West African nation since fleeing Tripoli in 2011. The authorities said al-Saadi will be treated “in accordance with international law.” He has been taken to a prison in the capital. Al-Saadi, who is wanted for his role in curbing protests against his father’s rule and the killing of protesters, is known for his love of professional soccer and a playboy lifestyle.
THAILAND
Indian fights deportation
A prominent member of the kingdom’s Indian community is fighting efforts to force him out the country for joining anti-government protests and appealed yesterday to King Bhumibol Adulyadej for help in finding justice. Publishing company owner Satish Sehgal was born in what is now Pakistan in 1943 and moved to the kingdom when he was five years old. However, he has never taken citizenship. Sehgal is an ardent royalist, and says it was his appreciation for what the king has done for the people that drew him into the protests aimed at ousting Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. He denies any political affiliation.
SAUDI ARABIA
Envoys pulled from Qatar
Riyadh, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar on Wednesday in an unprecedented public split between Gulf Arab allies. Qatar’s Cabinet voiced “regret and surprise” at the decision, but said Doha would not pull out its own envoys and that it remained committed to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) security and stability. The trio said they had acted because Qatar failed to honor a council agreement signed on Nov. 23 last year not to back “anyone threatening the security and stability of the GCC whether as groups or individuals — via direct security work or through political influence, and not to support hostile media.”
CANADA
Harper softening on pot
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is open to softening laws against recreational marijuana use, Attorney General Peter MacKay said on Wednesday. Under a proposed law, police would be allowed to fine pot smokers for possession of small amounts of cannabis, instead of laying criminal charges. “We have not arrived on the exact mechanism in which that could be done,” MacKay said, adding: “It’s not decriminalization. It’s not legalization.” Meanwhile, Quebec Premier Pauline Marois dissolved the province’s legislature on Wednesday and called snap elections for April 7.
SINGAPORE
Trader’s death probed
The 28-year-old US boss of a bitcoin exchange was found dead at the base of an apartment block, police and reports said yesterday. Police said they were investigating the “unnatural” death of Autumn Radtke, chief executive of First Meta, on Feb. 26, but that no foul play was suspected.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed