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by Sam Reeves / with Lillian Ding in Beijing Agence France Presse RAUB, Malaysia (AFP) — Soaring demand for durians in China is being blamed for a new wave of deforestation in Malaysia with environmentalists warning vast amounts of jungle is being cleared to make way for massive plantations of the spiky, pungent fruit. Grown across tropical Southeast Asia, the durian is hailed as the “king of fruits” by fans, who liken its creamy texture […]
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia on Thursday installed a new king, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, after the last monarch abdicated in a historic first following his reported marriage to a Russian ex-beauty queen. In a ceremony steeped in pomp and centuries of tradition, the sports-loving sultan, dressed in aqua blue formal wear, took the oath of office at the national palace in Kuala Lumpur. The ceremony was televised nationally and attended by Prime […]
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia’s royal families will elect a king Thursday after the last monarch abdicated following his reported marriage to a Russian ex-beauty queen, with a sports-loving sultan in pole position for the role. The previous king, Sultan Muhammad V, stepped aside this month following just two years on the throne after reports surfaced he had married the former Miss Moscow while on medical leave. There was great shock across Malaysia at […]
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Three people have been arrested in Malaysia for allegedly insulting the former king on social media after his shock abdication, sparking anger Thursday from activists at the use of “draconian” laws. Sultan Muhammad V stepped aside at the weekend after just two years on the throne. No official reason was given, but it came after he reportedly married a Russian ex-beauty queen while on medical leave. It was the […]
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia’s royals prepared Monday to pick a new king to replace Sultan Muhammad V, who abdicated in a historic first after reportedly marrying a Russian former beauty queen, holding a special gathering at the national palace. The king stepped aside Sunday following intense speculation about his future after reports surfaced in recent weeks that he had taken medical leave, and then wed the former Miss Moscow. As the country […]
by Sam Reeves Agence France Presse KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia’s king abdicated Sunday in a historic first for the country that ended weeks of speculation about his future after he took medical leave and reportedly married a Russian ex-beauty queen. Sultan Muhammad V’s decision marks the first time a king has stepped aside during his five-year term in the Muslim-majority country. The national palace confirmed the resignation with immediate effect of the 49-year-old, […]
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia on Monday filed criminal charges against Wall Street titan Goldman Sachs and two of its former employees over the scandal surrounding state fund 1MDB, authorities said. Charges were filed against subsidiaries of Goldman Sachs and former employees Tim Leissner and Ng Chong Hwa, said a statement from Malaysia’s attorney-general Tommy Thomas. Low Taek Jho, a Malaysian financier who allegedly masterminded the theft of billions of dollars from the sovereign […]
DENPASAR, Indonesia (AFP) — Five foreigners have been arrested in Bali for drug trafficking, authorities said Thursday, with a German and Peruvian possibly facing execution if convicted under Indonesia’s strict drug laws. The accused smugglers — also including a Chinese, a Malaysian and a Briton — were arrested separately over the past two weeks, Bali police said. The arrests come less than a month after the first member of the Bali Nine heroin-trafficking gang […]
PORT DICKSON, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia on Thursday torched nearly three tonnes of seized scales of endangered pangolins worth $9 million in a bid to deter illegal wildlife trafficking from Africa. The Southeast Asian nation is battling to clamp down on rife trafficking through its borders of the ant-eating mammals, whose scales are highly valued in traditional Chinese medicine. “Such a huge seizure and torching of it is definitely a blow to smuggling syndicates,” Abdul […]
PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (AFP) — Relatives of those on board Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 Friday handed over new-found debris believed to be from the ill-fated plane, hoping it could help shed light on the jet’s mysterious disappearance four years ago. The Boeing 777 jet with 239 people on board vanished on March 8, 2014 during a routine flight from Kuala Lumpur in the world’s greatest aviation mystery. An official report released in July following a […]
SINGAPORE (AFP) — A convicted Malaysian drug trafficker was hanged in Singapore on Friday, officials said, after the city-state rejected last minute efforts to save him. The Malaysian government — which decided earlier this month to abolish the death penalty — had asked neighbouring Singapore to spare the 31-year-old man from the gallows on humanitarian grounds. But Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement late Friday that Prabu N Pathmanathan was executed in […]
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Rosmah Mansor, the luxury-loving wife of Malaysia’s former prime minister, was Thursday charged with money laundering linked to a multi-billion-dollar scandal that helped bring down his government. The 66-year-old pleaded not guilty to 17 charges of money laundering at a court complex where her husband Najib Razak was also making a separate appearance in connection with the alleged plunder of state funds. Prosecutors sought a 10 million ringgit ($2.4 million) bail […]
