Kuala Lumpur

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Police arrested a French climber nicknamed “Spiderman’’ yesterday after he scaled Malaysia’s iconic 88-story Petronas Twin Towers. Alain Robert sneaked past security early yesterday to climb to the top of Tower 2 of the landmark buildings in Kuala Lumpur before he was detained, said city Police Chief Muhammad Sabtu Osman. Robert is being investigated for criminal trespass, which carries a maximum jail term of six months and an $850 fine, he said.

Prosecutors charged Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and two of his allies Tuesday with breaking various laws during a massive street rally to demand electoral fairness. The charges could distract Anwar from preparing for national elections that many speculate will be held by September. The three men were charged in a Kuala Lumpur court with defying a court ban against assembling at a public square in Kuala Lumpur last month and inciting other demonstrators to breach a police barricade.

Malaysian police say they've arrested six suspects linked to the kidnapping of a Dutch boy who was freed after his parents paid a ransom. Twelve-year-old Nayati Moodliar was held for six days this month after being snatched while walking to school in a Kuala Lumpur neighborhood where many expatriates live. Police said in a statement Wednesday that they have arrested five men and a woman in the past two days. They also recovered part of the 300,000 ringgit ($98,000) ransom and are searching for two more suspects.

Malaysian police say they've arrested six suspects linked to the kidnapping of a Dutch boy who was freed after his parents paid a ransom. Twelve-year-old Nayati Moodliar was held for six days this month after being snatched while walking to school in a Kuala Lumpur neighborhood where many expatriates live. Police said in a statement Wednesday that they have arrested five men and a woman in the past two days. They also recovered part of the 300,000 ringgit ($98,000) ransom and are searching for two more suspects.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Dozens of Malaysian Muslims paraded yesterday with the head of a cow, a sacred animal in Hinduism, in a dramatic protest against the proposed construction of a Hindu temple in their neighborhood. The unusual protest by some 50 people in Shah Alam, the capital of Selangor state, raises new fears of racial tensions in this multiethnic Muslim-majority country where Hindus make up about 7 percent of the 27 million population. The demonstrators who marched from a nearby mosque after Friday prayers dumped the cow head outside the gates of...

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Police ordered gay rights activists in Muslim-majority Malaysia yesterday to scrap an annual arts festival aimed at fighting discrimination. The "Sexual Independence" festival has been held under low-key circumstances in Kuala Lumpur since 2008, but growing awareness about the event has led to criticism by politicians and religious leaders. This year's five-day festival - scheduled to start next Wednesday at a private arts center and themed "Queer without Fear" - featured planned musical performances of "queer anthems sung by fierce local singers and...

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Lim Goh Tong, who turned a forested hilltop into a thriving casino-resort, died yesterday, leaving a diverse business empire worth $22 billion. He was 90. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi mourned Mr. Lim's death, describing him as a hard-working entrepreneur who had contributed to the country's economic development. "He is also a well-known philanthropist," Abdullah said. "I believe his death is a loss not only to the nation, but also to the business and entrepreneurial community in the country.

A coroner has ruled out foul play in the death of a man interrogated by Malaysia's anti-corruption watchdog. It is Malaysia's second inquest involving suspicious deaths involving anti-graft officials. The cases have pressured the government to tackle complaints that police and other officers use violence during interrogations. The coroner concluded Monday that customs officer Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamed fell to his death accidentally from a third-floor ledge at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's office in Kuala Lumpur last April.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Azizan Zainul Abidin, chairman of Malaysia's national oil firm Petronas and flagship carrier Malaysia Airlines, died yesterday of a possible heart attack at home. He was 69. Mr. Azizan helped Petronas become a Fortune 500 company with oil and gas investments in more than 30 countries worldwide. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was among scores of dignitaries who paid their final respects to Mr. Azizan, a former civil servant turned corporate leader.

Prosecutors charged Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and two of his allies Tuesday with breaking various laws during a massive street rally to demand electoral fairness. The charges could distract Anwar from preparing for national elections that many speculate will be held by September. The three men were charged in a Kuala Lumpur court with defying a court ban against assembling at a public square in Kuala Lumpur last month and inciting other demonstrators to breach a police barricade.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was acquitted yesterday on sodomy charges, surprising good news not just for him but for the very government he wants to topple. The verdict avoids the public outrage that a conviction might have inspired and it also buttresses Prime Minister Najib Razak's assertions that he does not interfere with the judiciary and that his promises of ensuring civil liberties are serious. After a two-year trial filled with explicit sexual allegations that captivated and polarized the country, a High Court judge took only two...

From China to New York, place your bets! Tie the knot! Make a wish! Yesterday marked the 11th day of the 11th month of 2011. Around the world, people celebrated the triple convergence of 11s with a splash. Some 1,000 ethnic Chinese couples exchanged vows across Malaysia on a date viewed as auspicious and romantic. "The numbers rhyme with one husband, one wife, and one soul in Chinese and signifies a marriage that would last a lifetime," said nurse Pua Kim Giok, 25, who tied the knot with engineer Lee Chin Siong, 27. They were among 460 couples who got married at the popular Thean...

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Police ordered gay rights activists in Muslim-majority Malaysia yesterday to scrap an annual arts festival aimed at fighting discrimination. The "Sexual Independence" festival has been held under low-key circumstances in Kuala Lumpur since 2008, but growing awareness about the event has led to criticism by politicians and religious leaders. This year's five-day festival - scheduled to start next Wednesday at a private arts center and themed "Queer without Fear" - featured planned musical performances of "queer anthems sung by fierce...

A coroner has ruled out foul play in the death of a man interrogated by Malaysia's anti-corruption watchdog. It is Malaysia's second inquest involving suspicious deaths involving anti-graft officials. The cases have pressured the government to tackle complaints that police and other officers use violence during interrogations. The coroner concluded Monday that customs officer Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamed fell to his death accidentally from a third-floor ledge at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's office in Kuala Lumpur last April.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - The Malaysian government has refused to release 10,000 Bibles confiscated for using the word “Allah’’ to refer to God, a banned translation in Christian texts in this Muslim-majority country, an official said yesterday. An official from the Home Ministry’s publications unit said the government rejected pleas by church officials to allow the Bibles, imported from Indonesia, into the country. Christians say the Muslim Malay-dominated government is violating their right to practice their religion freely.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Police arrested a French climber nicknamed “Spiderman’’ yesterday after he scaled Malaysia’s iconic 88-story Petronas Twin Towers. Alain Robert sneaked past security early yesterday to climb to the top of Tower 2 of the landmark buildings in Kuala Lumpur before he was detained, said city Police Chief Muhammad Sabtu Osman. Robert is being investigated for criminal trespass, which carries a maximum jail term of six months and an $850 fine, he said.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - The Malaysian government has refused to release 10,000 Bibles confiscated for using the word “Allah’’ to refer to God, a banned translation in Christian texts in this Muslim-majority country, an official said yesterday. An official from the Home Ministry’s publications unit said the government rejected pleas by church officials to allow the Bibles, imported from Indonesia, into the country. Christians say the Muslim Malay-dominated government is violating their right to practice their religion freely.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was acquitted yesterday on sodomy charges, surprising good news not just for him but for the very government he wants to topple. The verdict avoids the public outrage that a conviction might have inspired and it also buttresses Prime Minister Najib Razak's assertions that he does not interfere with the judiciary and that his promises of ensuring civil liberties are serious. After a two-year trial filled with explicit sexual allegations that captivated and polarized the country, a High Court judge...

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Dozens of Malaysian Muslims paraded yesterday with the head of a cow, a sacred animal in Hinduism, in a dramatic protest against the proposed construction of a Hindu temple in their neighborhood. The unusual protest by some 50 people in Shah Alam, the capital of Selangor state, raises new fears of racial tensions in this multiethnic Muslim-majority country where Hindus make up about 7 percent of the 27 million population. The demonstrators who marched from a nearby mosque after Friday prayers dumped the cow head outside the gates of...