Najib Razak: Malaysia's ex-PM starts jail term after final appeal fails
Malaysia's former Prime Minister Najib Razak has been sent to jail to begin serving a 12-year sentence, after the top court rejected his appeal, BBC reported.
The 69-year-old's charges relate to a corruption scandal involving state-owned wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
He was convicted in July 2020, but had been out on bail during the appeal.
The court also denied Najib's request to delay his sentence. He has continued to deny any wrongdoing.
In 2020, a court had found him guilty on seven counts - centred on a total of 42m ringgit ($9.4m; £8m) which was transferred from SRC International - a former unit of 1MDB - into his private accounts.
He was sentenced to 12 years' jail and a fine of 210m ringgit ($46.8m; £39.7m).
They also claimed he was misled by financial advisers, particularly fugitive financier Jho Low - who has been charged in both the US and Malaysia but also maintains his innocence.
In his final push for freedom on Tuesday, Najib's lawyer requested the removal of Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat from the panel presiding over the case - in what was seen as a bid to forestall a final verdict, according to BBC.
They claimed she could be biased as her husband had made a Facebook post in 2018 which was critical of Najib.
However, the chief justice declined the request as she said the post was before the charges were brought against Najib.
In her verdict, the chief justice said the five-judge panel unanimously found that the conviction of Najib on all seven counts was safe and the appeal "devoid of any merits".
The charges addressed on Tuesday make up only the the first of five trials relating to 1MDB.
Najib's wife, Rosmah Mansor, also faces money laundering and tax evasion charges - to which she has pleaded not guilty.
She separately faces corruption charges related to a solar hybrid project, and the High Court is set to deliver her verdict for this case on 1 September, BBC reported.
Ukraine war: Kyiv counts cost of fragile independence
Few know the cost of challenging Russian influence better than Viktor Yushchenko, BBC reported.
The former Ukrainian president was poisoned with a toxic chemical while campaigning in 2004 against a Moscow-preferred candidate. He then led protests against a rigged election before taking office the following year.
Sitting in his timber-framed home on the outskirts of Kyiv, Mr Yushchenko praises the "power of national spirit" as the key to Ukraine's independence.
"Today I can say with confidence that 42 million Ukrainians speak in one voice. And that allows us to face any enemy, including Russia."
You can still see the scarring on the former president's face from when he was poisoned. Ukraine's day of independence falls six months to the day since Vladimir Putin launched an invasion from the north, east and south. In that time, almost 9,000 members of the Ukrainian military have been killed and some 5,500 civilian deaths have been confirmed by the UN.
While few here predicted the war, Mr Yushchenko largely blames what he sees as the West's historic inability to combat Russian aggression: notably the 2008 conflict in Georgia and the annexation of Crimea six years later.
However, he thinks Ukraine's ultimate test has changed its standing in the world.
"Today, when more than 50 countries have expressed solidarity with the ideas of our fight. They're providing all kinds of support - military, financial and humanitarian."
Carpentry now occupies most of the former statesman's time. We are surrounded by dozens of sculptures, and the former president tells me of his absolute belief that Ukraine can carve out a victory in this war, according to BBC.
The more Russia tries to pull Ukraine into its orbit, the stronger its people's sense of national identity becomes.
At a small factory on the left bank of Kyiv's Dnieper river, Nataliia's business used to make hotel uniforms, but now produces Ukrainian flags.
She started getting requests from military checkpoints early on in the invasion, now she gets more than 2,500 orders a month - not just from the army, but businesses too.
"These are very dear colours to us," she tells me over the whirring sound of sewing machines.
"Every Ukrainian feels these colours and we see them in everything - in the sky, in wheat. This gives us pleasure, joy and positive emotions, because our work is useful."
Six months into the war, Ukraine is presented with some uncomfortable realities.
After weeks of talking about it, Ukraine's planned counter-offensive in the south, on the occupied city of Kherson, has yet to materialise.
Yes, there have been longer range missile strikes deeper into Russian-held territory, but this war is now dominated by artillery along an almost static front line, BBC reported.
Nepal to organize ambassadors-level climate change conference
Nepal will be hosting a conference of ambassadors and stakeholders concerned from the mountain countries on the theme of minimization of climate change risk in December. According to Minister for Forests and Environment Pradeep Yadav, the event will be organized on the occasion of the International Mountain Day, 2022 on December 11. Ambassadors and experts on the related field from 20 countries will join the event, aiming to draw global attention towards the impact of climate change on mountain nations. Minister Yadav said that the Ministry has already talked with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in regard with its plan to host the summit and responded positively. Both resident and non-resident ambassadors for Nepal from the mountaineering countries will be participating in the event and it will be in preparations for Mountain Advocacy Summit scheduled to be held in Mustang in March, 2023, focusing on the implications of climate change in the high-hills.
Govt revokes decision not to allow foreign nationals to travel to third countries from Nepal
The government has decided to revoke its earlier decision not to allow foreign nationals to travel to third countries from Nepal except for transit at the airport. The Cabinet meeting held on Monday made 16 decisions including the same. The meeting also decided to form a salary commission under the headship of former Chief Secretary Lilamani Paudel. Information and Communications Minister Gyanendra Bahadur Karki, who is also the government spokesperson, made public the decisions by organizing a press conference at the Communication Ministry.
