Asian Legal Review

LinkedIn has agreed to limit the volume and nature of the user data that it will use for training its generative AI (gen-AI) system following an intervention by Ireland’s data protection authority.

When Typhoon Fung-wong roared towards Luzon this weekend, forecasts invoked grim memories of Haiyan, the 2013 superstorm that killed more than 6,000 people in the Philippines. In Metro Manila, residents braced for disaster.
But by dawn on Monday, the capital woke instead to light rain and an uncanny calm. Once again, Luzon’s Sierra Madre mountains – the island’s natural shield – had absorbed the storm’s worst blows.
Scientists and environmentalists hail the range as a silent guardian. But they…

A new discussion paper surrounding foreign investment framework reforms in Australia has been released, proposing an automatic approval process for certain low-risk investments and new conditions to ensure investments are in the national interest.

At Cop30, the first UN climate summit held in the heart of the Amazon, the stage is set for a fundamental reframing of climate diplomacy.
For too long, the Global South has been cast as a passive aid recipient, a problem to be managed rather than a partner in solutions. But as delegates gather in Brazil’s gateway to the world’s largest rainforest, they will confront a different reality: a tropical belt that holds the keys to our climate future and a generation of evidence showing that South-led…

With the Philippines set to succeed Malaysia next year as chair of Asean, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations faces challenges both within and beyond the region. It must remain united and continue to resist taking sides in the great power rivalry.
The 47th Asean summit in Kuala Lumpur was a fitting finale to an exceptional year as the bloc’s profile continued to rise. Adding to this was the admission of East Timor – an important milestone that completes the Asean family and underscores…

Indonesian police found possible explosive powder as they investigated explosions at a mosque in the capital of Jakarta, and the suspected perpetrator was recovering, the police chief said on Saturday.
Explosions that injured nearly 100 people during Friday prayers could have been an attack, officials said, with a 17-year-old student the suspected perpetrator.
“Several pieces of supporting evidence were found,” police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo told a press conference after visiting the victims…

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Philippine Senator Ronald Dela Rosa, who oversaw then-president Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, according to the nation’s ombudsman, although the ICC denied the assertion.
Duterte, in office from 2016 to 2022, was arrested and taken to The Hague in March on a warrant linking him to murders committed during his war on drugs, in which thousands of alleged narcotics peddlers and users were killed.
“The ICC has issued a warrant…

Law firms are under increasing pressure to leverage AI tools, but the legal sector needs better transparency between firms and their clients to move beyond the hype.

A telecoms company has failed to prevent a rival from obtaining enhanced rights to operate telecoms infrastructure on land it owns in England in a case that explored when a claimed intention to redevelop on that land can prevent such rights from being imposed.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s sharp decline in public trust and approval, set against Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio’s steadier numbers, underscores the shifting balance of power between two of the most influential political dynasties in the Philippines.
While both leaders remain broadly popular, analysts say the latest figures suggest Duterte-Carpio’s camp may be regaining momentum as Marcos grapples with scandals, governance missteps and waning confidence in his leadership – deepening a…