World
Malaysia charges two with ‘wounding religious feelings’ in now-banned film
Mentega Terbang, about a teenager exploring religion in the face of her mother’s terminal illness, was banned in September after criticism from conservative Muslim groups.
Two Malaysian filmmakers have appeared in court charged with deliberately “wounding the religious feelings of others” with their now-banned independent film Mentega Terbang (Butterfly).
Director Khairi Anwar and producer Tan Meng Kheng pleaded not guilty to the charge, which carries a jail term of as long as one year as well as a possible fine, when they appeared in separate courts in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, according to Malaysian online media.
Magistrates Noorelynna Hanim Abd Halim and Aina Azahra Arifin allowed the two men conditional bail and imposed a gag order to prevent them from speaking about the case.
Mentega Terbang was released on streaming channels in 2021 and is a coming-of-age story about a Malay Muslim teenage girl who begins to explore religion and the question of the afterlife as her mother battles a terminal illness.
The government banned the film last September amid complaints from conservative Muslim groups and after the Islamic affairs department said some scenes went against Islamic teachings in Malaysia.
Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said the prosecution was taking place under a “vague and arbitrary statute” and urged Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his government to direct prosecutors to drop the case.
“[Anwar’s government is] fundamentally failing to protect freedom of expression, and pursuing criminal cases for political motivations,” Robertson said in emailed comments. “This sort of crude political pandering at the expense of human rights is precisely the sort of thing that Anwar accused previous governments of doing when he was in the opposition – but now he’s hypocritically changed his tune after assuming power, and is using the same censorship and persecution.”
Anwar came to power promising reforms after a hotly-contested election in November 2022.
Robertson urged the government to lift the ban on the film.
Malay Muslims make up just over half the Malaysian population, but there are also large communities of ethnic Chinese and Indians as well as Indigenous people who follow other religions.
Khairi and Tan have said the decision to ban their film was “irrational” and a breach of their constitutional rights to freedom of speech.
Last month, they filed an application to commence a legal challenge against the government over its decision to ban the film, according to Free Malaysia Today.
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By James McManagan, Paul Sonne, Malachy Browne and Jackeline Luna
June 19, 2026
World
Man charged with attempted murder, released after allegedly forcing toddler into crocodile enclosure at zoo
Man FORCES child into crocodile enclosure
A British man has been arrested after allegedly forcing a 3-year-old boy into a crocodile enclosure at a zoo. The child suffered critical injuries, and authorities say the suspect did not know the boy as the investigation continues.
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A man was released from custody on Friday after he was charged with attempted murder for allegedly forcing a 3-year-old boy into a crocodile enclosure at a zoo.
Cambridgeshire police said that the man, who remains unidentified, wasn’t fit to be interviewed.
The boy suffered critical injuries in the incident at Johnsons of Old Hurst, a farm and zoo in Huntingdon, England, north of London.
The 30-year-old man will remain on bail until Sept. 30, pending further inquiries.
GEORGIA MOM’S WALMART TRIP DEVOLVES INTO ‘TUG-OF-WARRING’ IN DESPERATE ATTEMPT TO SAVE HER SON
A crocodile rests inside an enclosure at Johnsons of Old Hurst, a farm and zoo in Old Hurst, Cambridgeshire, Britain, on April 14, 2026. (Dorota Dee Trajdos/Reuters)
“The man, who is not known to the victim, was assessed as not being fit for interview,” police said in a statement.
The boy is in stable condition, after reportedly suffering a broken arm and pelvis.
He was saved from the crocodile by Tracey Johnson, the wife of the zoo’s owner.
MOTHER JUMPS INTO WATER TO SAVE 4-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER WHO FELL BETWEEN CRUISE SHIP AND DOCK
“I know Tracey very well and she’s a lovely lady and it’s nothing more than I’d expect from her,” a local told BBC News. “She’d always put her own life at risk to save someone else. She’s an extraordinary lady and very brave.
The villager added that Johnson put herself in “immense danger” during the rescue.
The owners said their tropical house would remain closed until further notice.
Crocodiles rest inside an enclosure at Johnsons of Old Hurst farm and zoo in Old Hurst, Cambridgeshire, Britain, on April 14, 2026. (Dorota Dee Trajdos/Reuters)
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the boy and his family following the incident that occurred today,” the owners wrote on social media.
Johnsons of Old Hurst is a farm and zoo north of London in Huntingdon, England. (Google Maps)
Huntingdonshire district councillor Charlotte Lowe said she couldn’t “fathom how it’s happened because they’ve got all the right protection and safety equipment, for want of a better word, in there,” The Guardian reported.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the Cambridgeshire Constabulary for comment.
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US President Donald Trump has doubled down on his comments on Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, saying she asked him “over and over” for a photo when the pair met at the G7 summit in France earlier this week.
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Following the summit, Trump told an Italian journalist that he “felt sorry for Meloni” after she “begged me to take a picture with her”.
Meloni hit back in a video posted to social media, branding Trump’s claims as “completely made up” and insisting that neither she nor Italy begs anyone for anything.
The once close pair’s relationship has grown increasingly fractious in recent months, particularly since Rome refused to provide the US support for its operations in Iran and after Meloni defended Pope Leo XIV, who was criticised by the Trump administration over his remarks on the war and the US’s immigration policies.
“Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni asked, over and over, for a picture with me during the G-7 meeting in France,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account on Saturday. “She is doing poorly in Italy with her level of popularity, possibly because she turned down the United States of America, a Country that truly loves and protects Italy, when it came to denying Iran from obtaining or developing a Nuclear Weapon”.
“Now, after the United States defeated Iran militarily, she wants to be friends again in order to get her “numbers up.” No thanks!!!” Trump added.
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