SINGAPORE - MALAYSIA opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim vowed on Monday to put up a strong defence against sodomy charges, saying it would not be easy to convict him of the offence for a second time.

KUALA LUMPUR - AN INFLUENTIAL figure from Malaysia's Islamist opposition who is running for a top party post vowed on Monday to distance his party from the country's ruling coalition.

Mr Husam Musa, vice-president of the Pan Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), is to run as deputy president of the party in elections early next month, in what has been billed as a battle between reformers and conservatives in the religious party.

PHNOM PENH - CAMBODIA has an 'urgent' need to invest in education and health to further grow its economy and reduce poverty, a United Nations economist said at the launch of a report on Monday.

'Cambodia has a serious lack of qualified workers and this is something that needs urgent priority,' UN Development Programme (UNDP) economist Brooks Evans told reporters.