It is the fourth most lucrative illegal trade in the world and Malaysia is among its thriving hubs. The global black market for wildlife and wildlife products is estimated to be about US$20 billion, ranking below drug smuggling, human trafficking and the illegal arms trade. Over the past four decades, more than 50 percent of the world’s wildlife has been …

Donald Trump’s big win in Nevada, with Marco Rubio pulling even with or just ahead of Ted Cruz, fuels the conventional wisdom that the Republican presidential contest is now down to a two-man race. However, this year the conventional wisdom has been consistently wrong. Next Tuesday will test that two-man theory. Ted Cruz, despite third-place finish in South Carolina and …

International attention has once again closed in on the South China Sea over claims that China has deployed HQ-9 surface-to-air missile batteries to Woody Island. Reports suggest that US intelligence sources have confirmed the presence of these mobile batteries, whereas satellite images of Woody Island earlier this month showed no such batteries. China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, has downplayed concerns …