The petition on www.change.org, started by an individual named Karim Yasin nine months ago, has obtained 46,244 signatures as at 5.15pm on Monday (April 1).

It specified six reasons why Najib’s trial for seven corruption charges linked to the RM42mil funds belonging to SRC International Sdn Bhd – a former subsidiary of the troubled 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) – should be aired live.

Among others, it stated that this case was of public interest and it would help ensure all proceedings in court would remain transparent.

The petition said airing the trial live would also help avoid “fake news and information twisting by his supporters” and could “proceed without disturbance and interruption by supporters and media”.

On Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said that it was up to the courts to decide whether to broadcast the trial.

“We understand the people want to know the process of the trial, but we don’t want to make it a circus… let the law take its course” said Dr Wan Azizah.

Najib said that he was in favour of a live broadcast.

“I will support the ‘live’ broadcast because it will help transparency and ensure the rule of law is followed.

“The rakyat have the right to know the truth,” Najib wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday.

Datuk Param Cumaraswamy, the former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers from 1994 to 2003 said that a live telecast of Najib’s trial would negate the principles of equality before the law.

“Neither his personality as a former prime minister nor the magnitude of amount involved should be criteria for making an exception to these fundamentals. Public interest in the calls for a live telecast should not be an exception,” he said.

He added that if the trial was broadcast, those involved – the accused, trial judge, lawyers and prosecutors – would seen to be performing as actors.

Lawyer Syahredzan Johan also disagreed, saying that airing the trial live was a bad idea.

“The proceedings will turn into a farce and a media circus. I can foresee the clicking of cameras in Court, grandstanding lawyers and pressured witnesses, who give evidence knowing that the whole country is watching. All recipes for disaster,” Syahredzan wrote on his Facebook page on Monday.

However, he said he could accept it if video recordings of court proceedings were made public after trial each day.

“But the point is this – Court proceedings are open to public. The media will have access.

“The media will report it. Nothing that goes on inside will escape the media,” he said.

Syahredzan said some of the court reporters covering the trial were very experienced and would be able to accurately report on the proceedings.

The juicy three-kilogram (six-pound) whopper, painstakingly prepared by chefs at the swanky Oak Door steakhouse in Tokyo’s Roppongi district went on sale Monday.

It measures 25 centimetres (10 inches) in diameter and is topped with foie gras, slices of Japanese beef and freshly shaved black truffles.

“We wanted to do something to celebrate the new emperor and a new era for Japan,” head chef Patrick Shimada told AFP at a private unveiling.

“Doing this through an American-style burger using Japanese ingredients — it’s kind of like myself in a bun.”

The Golden Giant Burger, which commemorates the coronation of Crown Prince Naruhito on May 1 and marks the ushering in of Japan’s new Reiwa Era, will stay on the menu until the end of June — although it costs a king’s ransom.

The super-sized feast, which is sprinkled with gold flakes, will set hungry diners back a meaty 100,000 yen ($903) — but comes with a bottle of wine to help soften the blow.

Japan’s current Emperor Akihito will abdicate at the end of April, becoming the first living monarch to step down in 200 years, relinquishing the Chrysanthemum Throne to his son.

Japan revealed the name of its new imperial epoch on Monday after 31 years of the Heisei Era.

As chefs get busy grilling their giant burgers, in mediaeval times cooking meat — particularly beef — would have landed them in hot water.

A 1,200-year ban on the consumption of meat in Japan — first decreed in the seventh century on a seasonal basis — saw people severely punished for defying the law and was only ended by the Emperor Meiji in 1872.

Modern Japan, famous for its sushi and rich array of seafood dishes, has whole-heartedly embraced American burger culture since the end of World War II.

“There are so many burger places in Japan these days,” said Shimada. “Walk down the street and you can get a burger almost anywhere. Things catch on — and when they catch on in Japan, they kind of blow up.”

Doan Thi Huong welcomed the “fair sentence” after the judge handed down the verdict in a Malaysian court, where she has been on trial for the murder of Kim Jong Nam with a nerve agent.

Huong was sentenced her to three years and four months in jail from her arrest in February 2017. But her legal team said that with usual sentence reductions, she would be released next month.

“In the first week of May, she will go home,” lawyer Hisyam Teh Poh Teik told reporters in the Shah Alam High Court, outside Kuala Lumpur.

    The decision came after authorities last month rejected a request for her murder charge to be dropped — a shock decision after the attorney-general agreed to withdraw the charge against her Indonesian co-defendant, Siti Aisyah.

Both women had always denied murder, saying they were tricked by North Korean spies into carrying out the assassination that shocked the world, and believed it was a prank for a reality TV show.

Huong then pleaded guilty to a new charge which said she had “purposely caused injury” to Kim by employing “dangerous means” in attacking him with VX at Kuala Lumpur airport, rather than the original murder charge which carries a mandatory death penalty.

– Scapegoats –

Huong told reporters: “I’m happy, this is a fair sentence.”

“This is a fair judgement, I thank the Malaysian government and the Vietnamese government,” she added.

When she is released, it will mean that no one is facing murder charges for the February 2017 killing of Kim Jong Un’s estranged relative, who was once considered heir apparent to the North Korean leadership until he fell out of favour.

South Korea accuses the North of ordering the hit, a claim vehemently denied by Pyongyang.

The women’s lawyers presented them as scapegoats and said the real masterminds were four North Koreans accused alongside them, who fled Malaysia shortly after the assassination.

There were dramatic scenes when Huong’s initial bid for immediate release was rejected last month — she sobbed in the dock and had to be helped out of court by two police officers.

Vietnam reacted angrily to the decision, and started stepping up pressure on Malaysia to free Huong.

A murder conviction carries a mandatory penalty of death by hanging in Malaysia. The government vowed last year to scrap capital punishment but recently indicated that it might backtrack.

    The new imperial name consists of two characters: “Rei”, which can mean “order” but also “auspicious” and “Wa”, usually translated as “peace” or “harmony.”

After weeks of fevered speculation and top-secret discussions, the two “kanji” characters were unveiled to reveal a name that will last as long as new emperor Naruhito’s rule.

The 85-year-old Emperor Akihito will become the first Japanese monarch to abdicate in around two centuries when he steps down on April 30 in favour of Crown Prince Naruhito, who will take the throne the next day.

    Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the term “Reiwa” came from the “Manyoshu”, an anthology of Japanese poems dating back 1,200 years that “symbolises our nation’s profound public culture and long tradition.”

“Just like amazing plum flowers in full bloom that signal the arrival of spring after bitter cold, each and every Japanese person can hope for the future and make their own flowers blossom,” added the prime minister.

“It is the first time it comes from a Japanese text” rather than Chinese, noted Abe, often considered a nationalist.

Crowds gathered around Japan to watch live broadcasts of the announcement, many cheering as the chief cabinet secretary held up a board with the name inked in stylised black calligraphy.

“It has a nice sound and you get a good feeling when you read it. It’s a very good choice I think,” said 24-year-old Shun Fujimoto as he joined a chaotic scrum for a special edition of the papers at Tokyo’s busy Shimbashi station.

Eight-year-old Manato Nagayama also managed to get his hands on a copy of the extra edition but admitted “I cannot yet write those two kanji.”

His father told AFP it was a “historic” moment. “That’s why I brought my son here so he could get a special edition. It’s an experience that only comes along very rarely. He is only eight and is already seeing two eras.”

– ‘Emperor burger’ –

It may appear esoteric to outsiders, but the announcement of a new era name is a massive event in Japan, marked with calligraphy shows and public festivities.

Although the Gregorian calendar is widely used in the world’s third-largest economy, Japan is the only country still using Chinese-style imperial calendars for private and public documents as well as computer records.

The new name therefore has a huge impact on daily life and people tend to recall major events in public and private life by when they fell in a certain era.

A highly secretive nine-member panel including a Nobel Prize winner whittled down various options for the new name in closed-door talks.

The era name must adhere to strict guidelines.

It should consist of only two “kanji” or characters, be easy to read and write, and not employ common names or the first character of any of the last four eras: Heisei, Showa, Taisho and Meiji.

Company names are excluded as well as the most popular choices in private guessing competitions, amid widespread speculation online as to what the new name could be.

To prevent leaks, the panel were locked away in a special room in the prime minister’s office, swept for bugs, and their phones confiscated.

No official translation was immediately available but Ryan Shaldjian Morrison, a lecturer at Nagoya University of Foreign Studies and Japanese literature expert, told AFP: “To my mind, ‘venerable harmony’ is the most appropriate English translation.”

Japan is marking the announcement of the new era in a wide variety of ways, some less serious than others.

A sake company offered a vintage bottle from the first year of the Heisei era (1989) to anyone who correctly guessed the new name, while a grand hotel is marking the occasion with a three-kilogram wagyu beef burger served between gold-dusted buns for an eye-watering $900.

– ‘Gengo-‘ –

Japan has had nearly 250 eras or “gengo” since adopting the system in the 7th century, and in recent times, one era has run the entire length of a monarch’s rule.

But the announcement of a new era is a real headache for calendar publishers featuring both Western and imperial dates, while central and local governments must scramble to change dates on official documents.

The tech sector is also bracing for the transition, amid fears there could be a computer glitch similar to the “Y2K” bug that sparked concerns ahead of the year 2000.

Others view the change in era name as a bonanza.

For example, companies that manufacture private ink seals — commonly used in Japan to sign official documents — are expected to benefit and they have already reported brisk advance orders.

The finance ministry said it will dispatch guidelines to all state agencies to follow the new rules going forward. It said that if fine dust alarms and warnings are issued and overall conditions require action to reduce the inconvenience of people, state organizations that have placed construction orders can stop work. Under such circumstances, builders will not be required to pay indemnities for any delays such actions can bring.

(Yonhap)

The ministry then said that state organization are required to make certain that builders follow all rules related to reducing fine dust levels and take precautions to protect construction workers, according to Yonhap.

“The changes will contribute to countrywide efforts to deal with fine dust as well as protect the health of construction workers,” it said.

South Korea in recent years has been struggling with fine dust pollution, with the government taking flak for not coming up with effective means to counter the situation.

Fine dust particles can penetrate deep into the lungs compared to other pollutants, with ultra-fine particles being absorbed directly into the blood stream, posing serious health risks.

“I commend my friend, #GeorgeClooney, for taking a stand against the anti-gay discrimination and bigotry taking place in the nation of #Brunei – a place where gay people are brutalized, or worse – by boycotting the Sultan’s hotels,” the Rocket Man singer wrote on his Twitter page late Saturday.

The 72-year-old, a veteran gay rights campaigner, said his “heart went out” to staff at the hotels, but that “we must send a message, however we can, that such treatment is unacceptable.”

The nine hotels mentioned by Clooney are located in the US, Britain, France and Italy.

They include London’s exclusive Dorchester and the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles. The Dorchester was not available for immediate comment on the boycott.

Clooney called for the boycott earlier this week, saying “every single time we stay at or take meetings at or dine at any of these nine hotels, we are putting money directly into the pockets of men who choose to stone and whip to death their own citizens for being gay or accused of adultery.”

Brunei is an absolute monarchy, which has been ruled for 51 years by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.

It will implement the harsh new penal code — which also mandates amputation of a hand and foot for theft — starting next Wednesday.

Homosexuality is already illegal in the sultanate, but it will now become a capital offence. The law only applies to Muslims.

Brunei first announced the measures in 2013, but implementation has been delayed as officials worked out the practical details, and in the face of opposition by rights groups.

Rights activists said Rumana Akter, 20, was the first Rohingya woman to be killed in a clampdown by Bangladesh authorities against the narcotics trade.

She was one of three alleged smugglers killed in two separate incidents in Teknaf, which is close to refugee camps housing about one million Muslim Rohingya who have fled from Myanmar.

Teknaf is a hub for dealing in “yaba” — a methamphetamine-based stimulant that translates in Thai as “crazy medicine” — which has become popular in Bangladesh.

    More than 300 people — including nearly 20 Rohingya — have been killed in the clampdown launched in May last year.

Impoverished Rohingya refugees are used by dealers to transport the drug from Myanmar, officials say. A military crackdown against the Rohingya in August 2017 sparked an exodus of 740,000 refugees to flee the country and join some 300,000 refugees already in camps in Bangladesh.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) said the Rohingya woman was killed during a gunfight between security forces and armed smugglers on the Naf river, which acts as a border between Bangladesh and Myanmar.

BGB spokesman Shariful Islam told reporters the woman’s body was found after a 15-minute gunbattle “along with 10,000 pieces of yaba and three sharp knives in her bag”. Akter came from a refugee camp in Teknaf.

Rights activists questioned the death, saying the woman’s name was not on a list of known drug traders kept by Bangladeshi law agencies.

Two alleged drug traders were killed by police in a separate incident in Teknaf late Saturday. Police said 10,000 pieces of yaba, six guns and 18 rounds of ammunition were found.

As part of clampdown Bangladesh authorities in October made yaba a class-A banned substance and parliament passed a law allowing the death penalty for dealing in the drug.

Yonhap reported that exports of Choco Pie snacks reached 332 billion won, with numbers for the dumplings and instant noodles hitting 342 billion won and 310 billion won, respectively.

Compared with the previous year dumpling sales surged 42.5 percent, with Choco Pie and Shin Ramen numbers gaining 9 percent and 17 percent, respectively.

Bibigoo dumplings, CJ Cheiljedang

CJ Cheiljedang, one of South Korea’s leading food producers, said since Bibigoo dumplings’ overseas launch in 2015, demand has been high, with sales reaching 124 billion won in its first year, and 240 billion in 2017. It said sales have been good in places, like the United States and China, with the company aiming for overseas sales of 700 billion won in 2020.

“The aim is to make products that best meets the taste buds of each country,” a corporate source said.

Orion Corp.’s Choco pie snack

Choco pie, whose sales first exceeded 300 billion won in 2012, did suffer some setbacks in 2017, in the Chinese market, although things have improved since then.

Orion first built a production line in China in 1997, followed by plants in Vietnam and Russia in 2006.

The company also said it has been making snacks that best reflect the demands of each market.

Nongshim said that its spicy noodle that had been popular in Japan and China for some time, have become established in the large U.S. market, which has helped growth.

It said Shin Ramen is now sold in Walmart, Costco and Kroger outlets across the North American country.

The market share of the easy-to-eat noodle in the US stood at 15 percent last year, up from just 2 percent a decade earlier. This placed it third after two Japanese brands.

“In the near future, total overseas sales of Shin Ramen will exceed those for the home market, where it has remained at the top of the pile,” a company representative said.