KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s top court on Friday dismissed a bid by jailed former prime minister Najib Razak to review his corruption conviction over the multi-billion-dollar scandal at state fund 1MDB, ending Najib’s judicial efforts to challenge the guilty verdict.
Najib became the first Malaysian premier to be imprisoned after Malaysia’s Federal Court upheld a guilty verdict and 12-year prison sentence handed down to him by a lower court.
Najib, 69, can no longer challenge the conviction in court, but he has applied for a royal pardon which if successful could see him released without serving the full 12-year term.
Federal Court Judge Vernon Ong said a five-member panel voted 4-1 to dismiss Najib’s application to review the conviction.
There was no miscarriage of justice in the top court’s decision last year, he said, adding that a review was granted only in “very limited and exceptional circumstances.”
“In the final analysis, and having regard to all circumstances, we are constrained to say that the applicant (Najib) was the author of his own misfortunes,” Ong said.
Najib’s lawyer Shafee Abdullah said there was a possibility of another action in court due to the dissenting view of one judge.
“As a result of the minority judgment, there is an avenue that is open,” Shafee told reporters. He declined to say what action his client would pursue.
US and Malaysian investigators have said some $4.5 billion was stolen from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) — co-founded by Najib during his first year as prime minister in 2009 — and that more than $1 billion went to accounts linked to Najib.
Various recipients of the siphoned 1MDB funds used the money to buy luxury assets and real estate, a Picasso painting, a private jet, a superyacht, hotels, jewelry and to finance the 2013 Hollywood film “The Wolf of Wall Street,” investigators have said.
Najib suppressed Malaysian investigations of the wide-ranging 1MDB scandal during his leadership even as global probes continued, but was charged after he lost a general election in 2018.
The British-educated son of Malay nobility held the premiership from 2009 to 2018, when public anger over the graft scandal brought election defeat.
He was found guilty by a high court in 2020 of criminal breach of trust, abuse of power and money laundering for illegally receiving about $10 million from SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB. He lost all his appeals.
Najib faces three other trials related to graft at 1MDB and other government agencies.
The former premier has consistently pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him.
Malaysia’s former PM Najib Razak loses final bid to review graft conviction
https://arab.news/gpj3e
Malaysia’s former PM Najib Razak loses final bid to review graft conviction
- Former leader convicted over the multi-billion-dollar scandal at state fund 1MDB
- Some $4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB and more than $1 billion went to accounts linked to Najib
Driver charged with causing grievous bodily harm after Liverpool soccer parade tragedy
The people injured ranged in age from 9 to 78, with at least 50 treated at hospitals
LONDON: A driver who injured nearly 80 people when his car rammed into a crowd of Liverpool soccer fans celebrating their team’s Premier League championship was charged Thursday with intentionally causing grievous bodily harm and six other serious counts, a prosecutor said.
Paul Doyle, 53, was also charged with dangerous driving and five other counts alleging different variations of causing grievous bodily harm, Prosecutor Sarah Hammond said.
He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.
The people injured ranged in age from 9 to 78, with at least 50 treated at hospitals. Seven people remained in the hospital Thursday in stable condition.
The charges did not indicate how many victims the counts were tied to but Hammond said the investigation was at an early stage as police review a huge volume of evidence, including videos and eyewitness statements.
“It is important to ensure that every victim gets the justice they deserve,” Hammond said.
The city had been celebrating Liverpool’s record-tying 20th title when the driver turned down a street full of fans and joy quickly turned to tragedy.
“We know that Monday’s shocking scenes reverberated around the city of Liverpool, and the entire country, on what should have been a day of celebration for hundreds of thousands of Liverpool FC supporters,” Hammond said.
Doyle remained in custody and faces his first court hearing Friday in Liverpool Magistrates’ Court.
Police had previously said they believed Doyle dodged a road block by tailing an ambulance responding to a report of a person in cardiac arrest.
Video that circulated on social media showed scenes of horror as the car struck and tossed a person in the air who was draped in a Liverpool flag and then swerved into a sea of people packed on the side of the road.
Merseyside Police said the driver was believed to have acted alone and they did not suspect terrorism.
“I fully understand how this incident has left us all shocked and saddened, and I know many will continue to have concerns and questions,” Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims said during a short news conference.
“Our detectives are working tirelessly, with diligence and professionalism to seek the answer to all of those questions.”
France to ban smoking outdoors in most places: minister
- “Tobacco must disappear where there are children,” Catherine Vautrin said
- The freedom to smoke “stops where children’s right to breathe clean air starts“
PARIS: France will ban smoking in all outdoor places that can be frequented by children, like beaches, parks and bus stops, the health and family minister said in an interview published on Thursday.
“Tobacco must disappear where there are children,” Catherine Vautrin said in an interview published by the regional Ouest-France daily on its website.
The freedom to smoke “stops where children’s right to breathe clean air starts,” she said.
The restrictions will enter into force on July 1 and will include all places where children could be, such as “beaches, parks, public gardens, outside of schools, bus stops and sports venues,” she said.
Violators could be fined up to 135 euros ($154), she said.
Cafe terraces will be excluded from the ban, which will also not extend to electronic cigarettes, she said.
Some 75,000 people are estimated to die from tobacco-related complications each year in France.
According to a recent opinion survey, six out of 10 French people (62 percent) favor banning smoking in public places.
Chinese students anxious and angry after Rubio vows to revoke visas
- China is the second-largest country of origin for international students in the US
- This is a “new version of Chinese Exclusion Act,” said Linqin, a Chinese student at Johns Hopkins University
HONG KONG: Chinese students studying in the US are scrambling to figure out their futures after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday that some students would have their visas revoked.
The US will begin revoking the visas of some Chinese students, including those studying in “critical fields,” and “those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party,” according to the announcement.
China is the second-largest country of origin for international students in the United States, behind only India. In the 2023-2024 school year, more than 270,000 international students were from China, making up roughly a quarter of all foreign students in the US
This is a “new version of Chinese Exclusion Act,” said Linqin, a Chinese student at Johns Hopkins University, who asked to be identified only by his first name out of fear of retaliation. He was referring to a 19th-century law that prohibited Chinese from immigrating to the US and banned Chinese people already in the US from getting citizenship. He said Wednesday was the first time he thought about leaving the US after spending one third of his life here.
Chinese international students are point of tension between US and China
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, called the US decision unreasonable.
“Such a politicized and discriminatory action lays bare the US lie that it upholds the so-called freedom and openness,” she said Thursday, adding that China has lodged a protest with the US
The issue of Chinese students studying overseas has long been a point of tension in the bilateral relationship. During Trump’s first term, in 2019, China’s Ministry of Education warned students about visa issues in the US, with rising rejection rates and shortening of visas.
Last year, the Chinese Foreign Ministry protested that a number of Chinese students have been unfairly interrogated and sent home upon arrival at US airports.
Chinese state media has long hyped gun violence in the US and violent protests during the pandemic, and portrayed the US as a dangerous place that wasn’t safe for its citizens. The tense bilateral relationship has also meant that some Chinese students are opting to study in the UK or other countries over the US after the pandemic.
Zou Renge, a 27-year-old public policy master’s student at the University of Chicago, said she had planned to take some time off and work in humanitarian aid programs abroad after graduating at the end of this year.
But now, she will refrain from leaving the US and will look for jobs in the meantime. “In a very uncertain environment, I’ll try my best to find myself a solution,” she said.
Hong Kong seeks to draw in talent amid uncertainty
Some were eager to capitalize on the uncertainty facing international students in the US Hong Kong’s leader John Lee told lawmakers on Thursday that the city would welcome any students who have been discriminated against by American policies to study in the city.
“The students who face unfair treatment can come from different countries beyond the US I think this is an opportunity for Hong Kong,” he said. “We will work with our universities to provide the best support and assistance.”
That followed a widely shared post by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) inviting Harvard students to “continue their academic pursuits” there after Trump said he would revoke the university’s ability to accept international students.
Hong Kong, a former British colony that returned to China in 1997, is a popular destination for mainland Chinese students to pursue their university degrees because of its international image and relative freedoms.
The city launched a new visa scheme in 2022 to counter the exodus of expatriates and local professionals that occurred after Beijing imposed a national security law to quell dissent and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Multiple Hong Kong universities including the Chinese University of Hong Kong, HKUST, and City University of Hong Kong said they would streamline or facilitate applications for international students coming from top universities in the US
Will Kwong, managing director at Hong Kong’s AAS Education Consultancy, said his company was helping students with offers from American universities to apply to other institutions, predominantly in Britain and Australia, so that they had alternative choices.
US was known for diversity and this will hurt it, students say
“Having fewer international exchanges is definitely not good for America’s development,” said Zhang Qi, a postdoctoral fellow in Beijing. “This could be a positive change for China’s development. More talented individuals may choose to stay at Tsinghua or Peking University, or with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other top institutions in China, which would benefit the development of domestic science and technology.”
For many, there is little they can do as they now wait for the fallout from the move.
Chen, an incoming Chinese student at Purdue University who only gave his last name out of concern for retaliation by the Trump administration, has been waiting anxiously for his visa approval. But he was also angry. Currently in China, he said this was the exact opposite of what he thought the US stood for.
“I was expecting freedom and tolerance. The US was known for its diversity which allows international students to fit in, but it is a pity to see such kind of change,” he said.
Russia says no response from Ukraine on Istanbul talks
- Moscow has shown no signs of easing its bombardment of Ukraine while rebuffing calls for an immediate ceasefire
- “We need to wait for a response from the Ukrainian side,” Peskov said
MOSCOW: Russia on Thursday said it was still waiting for Ukraine to say whether it would attend peace talks in Istanbul on Monday, after Kyiv demanded Moscow send its peace terms before agreeing to the meeting.
Diplomatic efforts to end the three-year conflict have gained pace in recent months, but Moscow has shown no signs of easing its bombardment of Ukraine while rebuffing calls for an immediate ceasefire.
Moscow has offered to hold a second round of direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on June 2, where it wants to present a so-called “memorandum” outlining its conditions for a long-term peace settlement.
But Ukraine said the meeting would not yield results unless it saw a copy of the memorandum in advance, a proposal that the Kremlin dismissed.
“As far as I know, no response has been received yet... we need to wait for a response from the Ukrainian side,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, calling Kyiv’s demand that Russia provide peace conditions up front as “non-constructive.”
Ukraine said it had already submitted its peace terms to Russia and demanded Moscow do the same.
Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on Russia and Ukraine not to “shut the door” on dialogue ahead of the anticipated meeting in Istanbul.
The warring sides previously met in Istanbul on May 16, their first direct talks in over three years.
Those talks failed to yield a breakthrough, but the two sides did agree to trade 1,000 prisoners each — their biggest POW swap since the beginning of the conflict.
Erdogan’s foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, who met Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday, was expected to travel to Kyiv on Thursday to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
US President Donald Trump, who has been pushing for a peace deal, has become increasingly frustrated with Moscow’s apparent stalling and warned Wednesday he would determine within “about two weeks” whether Putin was serious about ending the fighting.
Moscow’s offensive, launched in February 2022, has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the destruction of large parts of eastern and southern Ukraine.
Ukraine on Thursday criticized Russia’s refusal to provide the memorandum.
“The Russians’ fear of sending their memorandum to Ukraine suggests that it is likely filled with unrealistic ultimatums,” foreign ministry spokesman Georgiy Tykhy said.
The Kremlin has been grinding forward on the battlefield for over a year while pushing its demands for peace, which include Ukraine abandoning its NATO ambitions and ceding territory it already controls.
Local authorities in Ukraine said Thursday that Russia had fired 90 drones overnight, killing at
least five people across the country.
In southern Ukraine, a drone strike killed two civilians in the Kherson region, while a ballistic missile attack claimed the life of a farm worker in the Mykolaiv region.
In the eastern Donetsk region, shelling killed one civilian, according to a 24-hour tally from the National Police.
A 68-year-old man was killed by a drone strike on his home in the northeastern Sumy region, which borders Russia.
In his comments on Wednesday, Trump told reporters he was “very disappointed” at Russia’s deadly bombardment during the negotiating process, but rebuffed calls to impose more sanctions on Moscow.
Kyiv has accused Russia of deliberately stalling the peace process to pursue its offensive.
Zelensky said Russia was “amassing” more than 50,000 troops on the front line around Sumy, where Moscow’s army has captured a number of settlements as it seeks to establish what Putin has called a “buffer zone” inside Ukrainian territory.
On Thursday, the Russian army said it captured three villages in the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions and had repelled 48 Ukrainian drones, including three over the Moscow region.
A retired Russian commander who led air strikes on the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol died in a blast early Thursday in Stavropol in southern Russia, authorities said, adding that they did not rule out Ukrainian involvement.
US signals it may use administrative process against Harvard
- Harvard has 30 days to respond
- The notice came ahead of a scheduled court hearing
NEW YORK: The Trump administration signaled on Thursday it might back off plans to immediately revoke Harvard University’s ability to enroll foreign students because of several concerns, including its alleged failure to police antisemitism on campus, and would instead employ a lengthier administrative process.
According to a court filing, the US Department of Homeland Security sent Harvard a notice of intent on Wednesday to withdraw the university’s certification under the federal Student and Exchange Visitor Program. Harvard has 30 days to respond.
The notice came ahead of a scheduled court hearing on whether to extend a temporary ban on the revocation announced by US President Donald Trump’s administration last week.
