Uber to resume Philippine service ‘soon’ after agreeing multimillion dollar fine

Uber said on Saturday it expects to resume operations in the Philippines “soon” after regulators agreed to lift a ban slapped against the American ride-sharing giant in exchange for a fine.
The government meted Uber a one-month suspension on August 14 following a tussle over driver permits, sparking public outrage as some 66,000 vehicles were forced off the streets.
Hundreds of thousands of Manila commuters find Uber and its ride-sharing rivals welcome alternatives to the country…

Will BRICS summit stoke behind-the-scenes talks on China-India border dispute?

The leaders of China and India are expected to meet on the sidelines of an emerging markets summit next month, but simmering border tensions mean the talks will be low key, observers say. The BRICS summit – involving leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – in the coastal Chinese city of Xiamen from September 3-5 could give President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a chance for some behind-the-scenes interaction amid the two countries…

Slain Philippine teen’s family files murder complaint against police

The parents and lawyers of a Philippine high school student shot dead last week filed a murder complaint on Friday against three anti-narcotics policemen amid rare public outrage about the country’s war on drugs. The death of 17-year-old Kian Loyd Delos Santos on August 16 in a rundown area of Manila has drawn huge domestic attention to allegations by activists that police have been systematically executing suspected users and dealers, a charge the authorities deny. The head of the…

US should fine Chinese banks that support Pyongyang, former US official says

The US could impose billions of dollars in regulatory fines against large Chinese banks that fail to limit alleged financial ties with North Korea and its nuclear and missile programmes, a former US Treasury official said on Thursday.
The US would use the fines as a bargaining chip to press Beijing to do more on its own to halt Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions, instead of enacting economic sanctions to freeze the banks’ assets or cut them off from the American market – moves that…

Commission led by former UN chief calls on Myanmar to end Rohingya restrictions or risk extremist dangers

Myanmar must scrap restrictions on movement and citizenship for its Rohingya minority if it wants to avoid fuelling extremism and bring peace to Rakhine state, a commission led by former UN chief Kofi Annan said Thursday.
Rights groups hailed the report as a milestone for the persecuted Rohingya community because the government of Aung San Suu Kyi has previously vowed to abide by its findings.
The western state, one of the country’s poorest, has long been a sectarian tinderbox and mainly…

Chinese firms dodge sanctions to trade with North Korea, says security analyst

Asian security analyst Dr John Park speaks quickly, his rapid dialogue conveying the urgency of his subject. He was in Hong Kong this month to discuss the North Korean nuclear crisis. It was a pressing issue when he planned his trip a couple of months ago. Two days before he arrived, it became even more critical – North Korea tested an intercontinental ballistic missile that experts said would be capable of reaching the west coast of the United States. It has since said it is…