Draconian new laws have spread unease rather than outright panic in a population that is used to finding ways around legislation
A day after it became legally possible to be stoned to death for having gay sex in Brunei, 21-year-old Zain* got a bitter taste of the new reality.
Walking down the street in skinny jeans and high-heeled boots, a flamboyant anomaly in the conservative sultanate, the university student became a target.
Continue reading...Protests outside Dorchester hotel in London after Brunei regime passes ‘death by stoning’ law for gay sex
The RAF and Royal Navy are under pressure to cut links with the sultan of Brunei amid a global backlash against his country’s decision to introduce death by stoning as punishment for homosexuality.
The calls came after crowds protesting against the country’s new draconian penal code surged through barriers outside the Brunei-owned Dorchester Hotel yesterday afternoon, forcing the police to stand in front of its doors.
Continue reading...Dozens of protesters descended on the Dorchester Hotel in central London on Saturday to demonstrate against Brunei's anti-LGBT laws. The protest comes amid a global backlash against Brunei's decision to introduce death by stoning as a punishment for homosexuality. The hotel is one among many owned by the Sultan of Brunei Haji Hassanal Bolkiah.
Continue reading...Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, who formed the Future Forward party, faces nine years in jail if found guilty
The leader of a new party that has challenged Thailand’s military government has been charged on Saturday with sedition, the latest legal action facing the rising star after a disputed March election.
The sedition charge, which was filed by the junta, was the second criminal case opened against Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, 40, since he formed the progressive, youth-oriented Future Forward party last year.
Continue reading...One Indonesian captive survives, one drowns and a Malaysian shot dead during military rescue attempt
An Indonesian hostage held by Islamist militants in the southern Philippines has swum his way to freedom but another drowned, while a Malaysian captive was shot in the back while escaping.
The two Indonesians and the Malaysian separately escaped while Philippine marines were attempting to rescue them on Simusa island in southern Sulu province in the past two days, regional military spokesman Lt Col Gerry Besana said.
Continue reading...Children, aged between one and six, are all Australian citizens and are separated from at least one of their parents
At least five Australian children are trapped in China, unable to return home because of the Chinese government’s crackdown on Uighur Muslims, the Guardian can reveal.
The children, who range in age from one to six, are all Australian citizens and come from three different families. They have been stuck in China for up to two years, and are all separated from at least one of their parents.
Continue reading...Businesses including Financial Times cancel events at London landmark as backlash grows
High-profile events and awards shows have been cancelled at the Dorchester in London in protest at the decision of Brunei, the hotel’s ultimate owner, to make gay sex and adultery punishable by stoning to death.
The boycott against businesses owned by the Brunei state has continued to grow in recent days, following an outcry from LGBT campaigners including Sir Elton John over the introduction of the new rules, ordered by the sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah.
Continue reading...Brunei’s introduction of new laws allowing stoning for adultery and sex between men has sparked international outrage. Elton John and George Clooney’s calls for a boycott of luxury hotels owned by the tiny south-east Asian kingdom have grabbed the spotlight. The United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet has condemned the “cruel and inhuman” measures, as have the EU, Australia and others.
The punishment is only one of many horrifying changes in a penal code which also covers apostasy, amputation as a punishment for theft and flogging for abortions. Lesbian sex is punishable by 40 strokes of the cane as well as jail. In some cases children who have reached puberty are subject to the same penalties as adults; younger ones may be flogged. The sharia code was first introduced in 2013, and was supposed to be enacted gradually; following an outcry the government did not bring forward its harshest elements until now. Many suspect that the impact of declining oil revenues on public spending has left Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, one of the longest-ruling absolute monarchs, keen to bolster support among conservative elements.
Continue reading...Former Nissan chairman says prosecutors are trying to ‘break him’ with latest move
Carlos Ghosn has been put back under arrest over allegations he misused company funds, prompting the former Nissan chairman to angrily denounce his detention as “outrageous and arbitrary”.
Japanese TV showed prosecutors arriving at Ghosn’s apartment in Tokyo, less than a month after he was freed on bail following more than 100 days in detention.
Continue reading...Indonesian authorities take action to protect endangered species after reports dozens had been sold on Facebook
Tourists will be banned from Komodo Island, the home of the ancient Komodo dragon, from January 2020 to allow for conservation efforts, after a smuggling case involving the endangered animal.
The island, in Maggarai Barat Indonesia, has been a major tourist destination, with many making the trip to see the lizard, which has a poisonous bite, can grow up to three metres long and weigh 50kg.
Continue reading...As elections loom in one of south-east Asia’s only true democracies, some wonder whether the president has done enough
Five years ago he was south-east Asia’s democratic poster boy, Indonesia’s Obama. His face plastered across Time magazine with three words: A New Hope.
When Joko Widodo, or “Jokowi”, was elected president of one of the only true remaining democracies in the region it was a moment of triumphant vindication – proof that outliers could trump an entrenched oligarchy, that an ordinary Indonesian could make it.
Continue reading...Government agrees to sell 300ft yacht to casino operator Genting Malaysia
Malaysia has sold a luxury superyacht allegedly bought with funds stolen from the nation’s 1M sovereign wealth fund for $126m (£95.5m).
The 300ft (91.5-metre) yacht Equanimity was seized from the fugitive financier Jho Low off the coast of Bali last year as part of a global investigation into the 1MDB scandal.
Continue reading...Exclusive: western donors urged to ‘put children before politics’ in face of food shortfall
The head of the UN World Food Programme has called for the White House and other western donors to put children’s lives before politics and fund a major injection of aid to North Korea despite the failure of Donald Trump’s summit with Kim Jong-un.
David Beasley, a former Republican governor of South Carolina who backed Trump’s campaign for the US presidency, said he had heard concerns that responding to an appeal from Pyongyang would prop up the Kim regime.
Continue reading...Some workers view special 10-day break with horror, worrying how to fill the time and concerned that tourist sites will be overcrowded
An enforced, extra-long holiday is the stuff that most tired out employees dream of. But in Japan the prospect of an uninterrupted break to mark the emperor’s abdication later this month has been met with a mixture of horror and consternation.
Japan will begin the unprecedented holiday on 27 April, days before Emperor Akihito abdicates to make way for his eldest son, Naruhito, whose Reiwa reign will begin on 1 May. The holiday will finally end on 6 May.
Continue reading...Court dismisses solicitor general’s claim that national security could be undermined
The Philippine supreme court on Tuesday ordered the release of police documents on the killing of thousands of suspects during the president’s drug crackdown, in a ruling that could shed light on allegations of extrajudicial punishment.
Supreme court spokesman Brian Keith Hosaka said the court ordered the solicitor general to hand the police reports to two rights groups which had sought them. The 15-member court, whose justices are meeting in northern Baguio city, has yet to rule on a separate petition to declare President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drug campaign unconstitutional.
Continue reading...As the new process for bringing sick refugees to Australia faces unexplained delays, others who have come are being held under guard in hotels
More than a month after the medevac bill passed the Australian parliament, just one person is believed to have been transferred under the law.
The Department of Home Affairs and Australian Border Force refuse to say how many transfers have occurred, but according to advocates and detainees only one of more than 25 people brought to Australia for treatment in recent weeks has been under the new law.
Continue reading...Australia’s global leadership on whale conservation will be tested as Japanese hunters move to a different hemisphere
Japan’s whaling fleet arrived back at the port of Shimonoseki on the weekend with a barbaric tally of 333 dead whales that are no longer swimming freely in the Southern Ocean.
If the work of the Japanese whalers is anything like last year, more than 100 pregnant females and 50 or so juveniles will have been killed. But from now on, things are different.
Continue reading...Hundreds of people attempted to get hold of special edition newspapers at a station in central Tokyo after the name of Japan's new imperial era was announced on Monday. The government announced the era, beginning when Crown Prince Naruhito becomes emperor on 1 May, will be called Reiwa, which can be loosely translated to 'fortunate harmony'
Continue reading...Penal code that imposes death by stoning for gay sex is serious setback for rights, says commissioner
The United Nations has condemned “cruel and inhuman” laws set to take effect in Brunei this week that impose death by stoning for gay sex and adultery, and amputations for theft.
“I appeal to the government to stop the entry into force of this draconian new penal code, which would mark a serious setback for human rights protections for the people of Brunei if implemented,” the UN high commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, said in a statement.
Continue reading...Japan’s sakura (cherry blossom) season has officially begun, with crowds flocking to parks to photograph the early blooms
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