“THE SULTAN PAID MICHAEL JACKSON $16M TO PERFORM AT HIS BIRTHDAY PARTY”
A large crowd gathers outside the Dorchester Hotel. They are waving rainbow lags triumphantly in celebration of the announcement that — for now — the death penalty will not be enforced against gay men in Brunei. To this jubilant group, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah’s decision to backtrack on sharia law seems like a victory.