7 h. ago Malaysia’s judicial crisis deepens with leaked memo from classified meeting

Malaysia’s judicial crisis deepened over the weekend after a leaked memo revealed serious allegations against Federal Court Judge Terrirudin Salleh, ahead of a lawyers’ march to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s office on Monday to protest against alleged executive interference in the judiciary. Anwar has come under mounting pressure over the scandal, with lawmakers from his own party breaking ranks to demand that he “clear the air”, warning that judicial integrity is now “the biggest issue” facing...

Events

5 d. ago ‘More dangerous’ than Pogos: should Philippines ban online gambling?

At the rehabilitation centres run by Bridges of Hope, a recovery network spread across the Philippines, founder Jon Ty is used to seeing the different faces of addiction. For years, clients came seeking help for their abuse of drugs, alcohol or painkillers. Now, most come for something else. Today, seven in 10 clients treated across the network of centres are battling online gambling addiction – a trend that highlights a deepening crisis in the country, fuelled by a boom in mobile betting apps...

Politics

6 d. ago Hong Kong developer Grand Ming’s crisis deepens with US$611 million loan default

Hong Kong developer Grand Ming Group warned investors that it has yet to repay a HK$4.8 billion (US$611.4 million) loan, with its gearing ratio surging past 200 per cent – another sign of the growing debt crisis among the city’s small and medium developers. In a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday, the company said that it had breached financial covenants under its loan facilities, according to its audited annual results for the year ended March 31. “The group has obtained...

Economics

7 d. ago Malaysia’s judicial crisis: Anwar’s party members want him to ‘clear the air’

Senior Malaysian lawmakers are calling for both a royal inquiry and a parliamentary investigation into Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim over alleged irregularities in judicial appointments, warning that such actions risk plunging the country’s judiciary into scandal once again. Last week, Anwar’s administration declined to extend the tenure of widely respected chief justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat and Court of Appeal president Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim. This leaves the future leadership of the...

Events

1 week ago ‘Something is rotten’: concerns mount over Malaysia’s judicial vacuum

Malaysia’s largest party in the ruling coalition has made a last-minute appeal to extend the tenure of the country’s two top judges as concerns over a leadership vacuum in the judiciary intensify. At midnight on Tuesday, Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat’s tenure as chief justice officially ended as she turned 66, while Court of Appeal President Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim will reach the mandatory retirement age on Wednesday midnight. Although the constitution allows for a six-month extension, none has...

Politics

1 week ago Malaysia faces judicial void as chief justice set to retire without successor

Malaysia’s judiciary faces a leadership vacuum as Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat prepares to step down on Wednesday without a successor named – a gap lawyers warn could undermine judicial independence and public trust. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration has opted not to extend the tenure of Tengku Maimun or Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, the president of the Court of Appeal, both of whom reach the mandatory retirement age of 66 this week. The constitution allows for a six-month...

Politics

1 week ago Thai court suspends PM over leaked phone call as political crisis deepens

Thailand’s Constitutional Court suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on Tuesday pending an investigation into a leaked call with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen – a move analysts say could destabilise the government, heighten divisions within the ruling coalition and embolden opposition forces. The court agreed to hear a petition filed by 36 senators accusing Paetongtarn of dishonesty and breaching ethical standards in violation of the constitution following the leak of the...

Events

2 w. ago Groundhog Day in Thailand as Shinawatra clan faces protests, courts and crisis

Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra is under mounting pressure from protests, court cases, coalition rifts and a spiralling border dispute with Cambodia – a convergence of crises that could determine whether she remains in office. Paetongtarn, 38, is Thailand’s youngest leader and the daughter of Thaksin Shinawatra, whose two-decade power struggle with the royalist establishment has repeatedly thrown the country into political turmoil. The return of Thaksin from self-imposed exile...

Events

3 w. ago World braces for Iran’s response after US attack on nuclear sites

The Middle East crisis dramatically deepened on the weekend after the US launched strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. This marked a major escalation in the ongoing Israel-Iran air war. The US has revealed details of its “Midnight Hammer” operation, a complex strike using B-2 bombers and “bunker buster” bombs for the first time. While US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth maintains the mission is “not about regime change”, President Donald Trump has publicly questioned this stance on social...

Events