Singapore jails Fujian native in US$2.2 billion money laundering case’s first conviction
Su Wenqiang, 32, pleaded guilty during a court hearing on Tuesday. He was sentenced to 13 months in jail, to be backdated to his arrest in August.
Bloomberg in asian news
Malaysia’s king marks end of ‘honeymoon’ with sweet gift to anti-corruption chief: ‘go catch the bees’
The monarch gifted the honey to Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief Azam Baki on Monday, during a 30-minute meeting at the national palace, according to the king’s Facebook post.
Japanese lawmaker says US Steel deal would help counter China dominance
Nippon Steel Corp’s acquisition of United States Steel Corp would strengthen economic security ties between the US and Japan and help counter China’s dominance in steelmaking, according to a senior Japanese ruling party lawmaker.
Former Australia PM Scott Morrison says China can be a democracy; Chinese people ‘care just as much about freedom as we do’
“Not with their government,” Morrison said in reference to Beijing. “It potentially could be values-based with their people.”
New Zealand hopes to avoid China economic blowback as it mulls joining Aukus
“I do not expect economic coercion from stating what they promised me we had a right to do – state our own independent foreign policy,” he said in an interview late Wednesday in Wellington. “We’ve got a commitment out of them that they respect that. My response to China is you say you respect it and I trust you to respect it.”
Thailand passes bill to legalise same-sex marriage
The 500-member House of Representatives voted to pass the so-called “marriage equality” bill, technically an amendment to the Civil and Commercial Code, in a final reading on Wednesday. As many as 400 lawmakers backed the legislation, while 10 opposed it and five members either abstained or didn’t vote after a nearly four-hour debate.
Malaysia bakes under worsening heatwave as temperatures near 40 degrees
Almost half of Peninsular Malaysia has been experiencing peaks of at least 35 degrees for three straight days, according to the latest data from the Meteorological Department, which expects the hot and dry spell to last until mid-April.
Mahathir ‘the primary suspect’ in Malaysia’s anti-corruption probe, sons say
“My father is the primary suspect,” Mokhzani Mahathir, 63, said in an interview in Kuala Lumpur. “We are witnesses to whatever it is that they’re investigating.”