ANALYSIS: The recent announcement by the UK’s Export Control Organisation (ECO) of a six-figure compound penalty for unlicensed exports signifies an increase in both export control enforcement and in the penalties being imposed.
French court upholds literal interpretation of investment treaty
ANALYSIS: A recent decision under the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) by France’s highest court appears to signal a return to a literal interpretation by the French courts of international treaties.
This Australian ‘punk turtle’ can breath through its genitals, once walked with dinosaurs and now risks extinction
Australia’s Mary River Turtle – with its green Mohican-style hair and ability to breathe through its genitals – is one of the world’s most distinctive reptiles.
It is also now officially among the most endangered.
The “punk turtle” was this week ranked 29th on the Zoological Society of London’s Evolutionary Distinct and Globally Endangered list, triggering calls for better protection of the reptile found in a remote part of Australia’s east coast…
Singapore to test facial recognition on lamp posts, stoking privacy fears
In the not too distant future, surveillance cameras sitting atop more than 100,000 lamp posts in Singapore could help authorities recognise faces in crowds across the city state.
The plan to install the cameras, which will be linked to facial recognition software, is raising privacy fears among security experts and rights groups. The government said the system would allow it to “perform crowd analytics” and support anti-terror operations.
GovTech, the Singapore government agency in…
China-Philippines oil and gas exploration deal for South China Sea ‘near’
The Philippines and China are forging ahead with plans for joint oil and gas exploration in the disputed South China Sea, even as both sides recognise and accept each other’s firm “red lines” in protecting their sovereignty claims.
In an exclusive interview with the South China Morning Post, the Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said a firm guarantee from Beijing that it would not build new installations on Scarborough Shoal – a rocky outcrop claimed by…
Heavy digital focus to new UK consumer and competition law plans
The UK government is to consider whether the powers that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has at its disposal are fit for the digital age as part of a major review of the UK’s competition law framework.
‘No one is accepting me’: Syrian man stranded in Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur airport for 37 days with no solution in sight
A Syrian man said he has been stranded at Malaysia’s main airport for more than a month after being denied entry to several countries, and begged for help to escape.
Hassan al-Kontar has posted videos on YouTube describing his plight, which began when he arrived at the budget terminal of Kuala Lumpur International Airport 37 days ago.
He had planned to travel from Malaysia to Ecuador, where he hoped he would be allowed in without a visa, but was turned away from the flight to the South…
Expect increase in director disqualifications for competition law breaches, says Lougher
Senior executives of companies that breach UK competition law are at increasing risk of being disqualified from serving as directors at UK businesses, an expert in competition law has said.
South Korea, Japan vow to cooperate on resolving issues with the North, but remain divided on ‘comfort women’
South Korea and Japan on Wednesday vowed to work closely together on North Korea ahead of the looming inter-Korea summit, but their foreign ministers remained divided over long-standing issues of Japan’s wartime crimes and disputed islands.
Japanese foreign minister Taro Kono made a rare visit to Seoul armed with a list of issues Tokyo wants to push onto the agenda of the April 27 summit between North and South Korea.
At a time of frenetic diplomatic activity in northeast Asia – the…
Malaysia declares May 9 election day a holiday after outcry from opposition
The Malaysian prime minister on Wednesday declared voting day on May 9 a public holiday after a decision to hold elections on a workday triggered complaints that it would deter mainly opposition supporters.
The surprise move is seen as a bid to ease public anger a day after the Election Commission announced that voting will be held on a Wednesday, departing from the norm of having it on a weekend.
The weekday vote triggered a flurry of complains that it would deter thousands of Malaysians from…