KUALA LUMPUR  –  Malaysia’s appeals court has granted a bid by jailed ex-premier Najib Razak to see a document he said should allow him to serve his sentence at home, in a rare win for a disgraced former leader at the heart of the country’s biggest scandal.

A three-member bench ruled 2-1 on Monday to grant Najib’s appeal to use the decree to argue his case before the High Court.

“Given the fact that there is no challenge [of the existence of the decree], there is no justification that the order has not been complied with,” said Mohamad Firuz Jaffril, one of the three Court of Appeal judges.

The 71-year-old Najib, who was jailed over the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal, had appealed a lower court decision last July that dismissed his bid to confirm the existence of and execute a royal order that he said entitled him to house arrest.

Malaysia’s pardons board, at the time chaired by then-King Al-Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah, agreed in February last year to halve Najib’s jail sentence to six years from 12 and reduce fines imposed on him, prompting public uproar.

But Najib maintained that an “addendum order” on house arrest was issued by the former king alongside the decision and was never executed by authorities.

Following the court ruling on Monday, Malaysia’s home minister said the prisons department had not received any notification about Najib’s possible home detention last year.

The home ministry received no communication on the issue from Malaysia’s former king, who chaired the pardons board, minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail told a press conference. “The government will fully implement royal orders if received,” he said.

According to the constitution, the monarch, who changes every five years under Malaysia’s unique system of monarchy, has authority to take decisions on granting pardons, upon the advice of the pardons board.

Following Monday’s ruling, “Najib was happy,” his lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah told a news conference. “[He is] very relieved that finally they recognised some element of injustice that has been placed against him.”

Najib was found guilty in 2020 of criminal breach of trust and abuse of power for illegally receiving funds misappropriated from a unit of state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad.

Najib remains on trial for corruption in several other 1MDB-linked cases. He has consistently denied wrongdoing.

Malaysian and United States investigators estimate $4.5bn was stolen from 1MDB and more than $1bn channelled to accounts linked to Najib. (Al Jazeera)

Photo: Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Najib Razak. (EPA)

PARIS  –  French President Emmanuel Macron has called Iran the main “strategic and security challenge” for Europeans in the Middle East, raising concern over Tehran’s nuclear programme.

Speaking to French ambassadors posted around the world on Monday, the French president also criticised Iran over backing for what he called “dangerous groups” across the Middle East and supporting Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine.

“The acceleration of the nuclear programme brings us close to the point of no return,” Macron said.

France is party to the 2015 nuclear deal that saw Iran curb its nuclear programme in exchange for lifting international sanctions against its economy – a deal that was nixed by the United States in 2018.

After withdrawing from the agreement, the US reapplied sanctions on the Iranian economy and imposed more penalties.

In response, Iran began enriching uranium at higher levels, shortening the time it needs to acquire the material for a nuclear weapon from months to weeks.

Iranian leaders have repeatedly denied seeking nuclear weapons. But the country and its allies – including Lebanon’s Hezbollah – were dealt painful blows by Israel in recent months, raising concerns that Tehran may make a push for a nuclear bomb to restore regional deterrence.

He also ordered the assassination of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in 2020, bringing the two countries to the verge of all-out war.

While presenting himself as an antiwar politician, Trump has appointed several foreign policy hawks who favour regime change in Iran to key positions in his incoming cabinet.

On Monday, Macron said France would engage with the new US administration on the “Iranian question”.

The French president also addressed the war in Ukraine, saying that the US should help “convince Russia to come to the negotiating table”.

He warned that “capitulation by Ukraine cannot be good for Europeans and Americans”, saying that the credibility of Western countries would be “shattered” if they agreed to compromise on Ukraine because of “fatigue”.

The US and its Western allies have provided Ukraine with tens of billions of dollars in military and monetary aid since Russia launched its invasion of the country in 2022.

Still, Macron said Ukrainians needed to have “realistic discussions on territorial issues”.

Ukraine has said it will fight to reclaim all territories occupied by Russia, including Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014. (Al Jazeera/Reuters)

KURSK  –  Fierce fighting is under way for a second day in Russia’s Kursk region after Ukraine launched a counter-attack last Sunday. Moscow said it had met the attack with artillery and air power, and on Monday stated that Russian troops thwarted a breakthrough attempt by Ukraine. The BBC was not immediately able to verify the Russian claims. Ukraine has not yet officially commented on its operations in Kursk. However, last Sunday the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Andriy Yermak, said there “was good news from Kursk Region” and that Russia was “getting what it deserves”.

Ukrainian forces entered the region of Kursk in August, seizing a chunk of territory. Russian forces have pushed them back in some areas without managing to eject them entirely. According to the Russian defense ministry, a Ukrainian assault detachment consisting of two tanks, one military engineering vehicle and 12 armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) attacked near the village of Berdin around 09:00 (06:00 GMT) last Sunday. Russian forces hit back, it said, destroying both tanks, the military engineering vehicle and seven armoured fighting vehicles. Fighting continued, it added. Aerial video of a column of armour moving through snow-covered countryside in daylight and coming under fire, with vehicles taking hits, was published by Russian state news agency Ria.

Ukraine’s top counter-disinformation official Andriy Kovalenko said in a Telegram post: “The Russians in Kursk are experiencing great anxiety because they were attacked from several directions and it came as a surprise to them.” Oner Russian blogger, Yury Podolyaka, suggested the operation might have been diversionary, while another, Alexander Kots, did not rule out that the main attack could be launched somewhere else. Kyiv’s forces are reportedly suffering from manpower shortages and have been losing ground in the east of Ukraine in recent months, as Russian troops advance.

In November, Ukraine reported its troops had engaged in combat with North Korean troops in the Kursk region. The reported appearance of North Korean soldiers was in response to a surprise attack launched across the border by Ukrainian troops in August, advancing up to 18 miles (30km) into Russian land. Moscow evacuated almost 200,000 people from areas along the border and President Vladimir Putin condemned the Ukrainian offensive as a “major provocation”. After a fortnight, Ukraine’s top commander claimed to control more than 1,200 sq km of Russian territory and 93 villages. Some of that territory has been regained by Russia. (BBC/Getty Images)