It was an anticlimactic and – to many minds – entirely predictable outcome: on July 30 the Philippines announced it would, after all, retain a long-standing military pact with the United States.During a meeting in Manila with his American counterpart Lloyd Austin, Philippine defence secretary Delfin Lorenzana said President Rodrigo Duterte had decided to renew, not scrap, the 23-year-old Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).It was a 180-degree turn for Duterte, who in an outburst in February last…
ICO consults on new agreement for data transfers outside the UK
Multinational businesses will welcome a UK regulator’s move to draft a UK-specific contractual addendum that they will be able bolt on to EU standard contractual clauses (SCCs) concerning the international transfer of personal data, a data protection law expert has said.
Vietnam signs contract for third PPP section of north-south expressway
Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport (MoT) has signed a build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract for the third section of the north-south expressway under a public-private partnership (PPP) model.
Australia updates its electricity rules to support investment in transmission infrastructure
The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) has issued a new rule which is intended to attract more developers and investors to invest in transmission infrastructure by making it easier to share transmission assets and connection costs.
Hongkongers think twice as Malaysia changes migration rules amid Covid-19, political instability
Malaysia’s decision to significantly raise the income criteria for its migration scheme for wealthy foreigners may lead Hongkongers to look elsewhere, according to visa agents, who said applicants were also wary of the Southeast Asian country’s political instability. The Malaysia My Second Home Scheme (MM2H) will reopen from October after a hiatus of one year, but with stricter criteria to ensure the applicants contribute to an economy hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, the home affairs…
Coronavirus: Philippines extends travel ban on India and 9 other countries; Sydney poised to tighten lockdown
The Philippines will extend a ban on travellers from India and nine other countries to the end of August because of concerns posed by the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus, the presidential spokesperson said on Friday.Authorities in the Philippines have been scrambling to contain a jump in coronavirus cases to a four-month high, with infections staying above the 12,000 mark for a second straight day on Thursday, and hospitals in some areas nearing capacity.The travel ban, which…
UK appeal court clarifies ‘doctrine of merger’
A recent decision by the English Court of Appeal confirms the scope of the ‘doctrine of merger’, which is designed to prevent an abuse of court process by preventing parties from bringing multiple claims in respect of the same cause of action.
Indonesia apologises after Nigerian diplomat assaulted by immigration officials
Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry apologised Thursday for the manhandling of a Nigerian diplomat and announced it had launched a formal investigation of the incident.Nigeria earlier this week recalled its ambassador to Jakarta and summoned Indonesia’s ambassador in Abuja for talks after a leaked video of Saturday’s incident went viral on social media and prompted outrage.The video shows three Indonesian immigration officials pinning the diplomat, whose name has not been released, into the back seat…
Israel embassy in Singapore slams social media posts comparing Covid-19 policies to Holocaust
The embassy of Israel in Singapore on Thursday said it condemns social media posts comparing the city state’s Covid-19 vaccinations to the Nazi Holocaust that killed 6 million Jews, days after an opposition figure made such an analogy on Facebook and Instagram.Progress Singapore Party (PSP) member Brad Bowyer’s post lambasting vaccinations mirrors similar sentiment being aired within the tiny but vocal anti-vaxxer movement in the island nation.With 72 per cent of its 5.7 million people fully…
India’s scrapping of controversial retrospective tax law given cautious welcome
India’s move to abolish a controversial law that allowed it to tax foreign investments retrospectively has been cheered by analysts, though they remain cautious about how the decision will boost its image as a business-friendly destination.The decision, made by the lower house of parliament last week and approved by the upper house late on Monday, paves the way for Asia’s third-largest economy to settle as many as 17 long-standing tax disputes with foreign investors.The 2012 law had led to…