Asian Legal Review

Political leaders like to perform on the global stage and there is no greater “performer” in this regard than US President Donald Trump, who has just been swinging across Asia, doing deals while posing as the best buddy of every national leader he met.
That kind of showmanship may impress people at home and possibly win more political support, but it hijacks the need for genuine diplomacy and international cooperation in both an economic and political sense.
Two cases in point are the most…

Recent rulings highlight how regulatory protections attaching to medicines authorised to be sold in the EU can be stripped and reinstated, impacting pharmaceutical companies’ commercial strategies, according to an expert.

Deaths from air pollution in Southeast Asia could rise by nearly 10 per cent and cost the region more than US$1 trillion by 2050 unless more effective action is taken, a new study has warned.
The research – published in the journal Environment International earlier this month – modelled the potential rise in premature deaths and associated economic losses across three different climate change scenarios, each defined by levels of greenhouse gas emissions.
Findings revealed the region is expected…

The adoption of AI across the built environment sector will require significant levels of investment to change a siloed and heavily fragmented approach to a more integrated, modern, digital and data-driven business model.

Filipino actress-turned-influencer Heart Evangelista has shared a quote about successful people who do not step on others, as she continues to fend off accusations of her being a “nepo-wife” and is exploring legal options against her critics.
The 40-year-old is married to Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, who was ousted as senate president in September after being linked to the country’s 545 billion peso (US$9.3 billion) flood-control corruption scandal.
Since the scandal erupted in July, those…

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi both stressed on Thursday the importance of “forward-looking ties” as they held their first official talks.
Relations have long suffered over issues related to Japan’s brutal 1910-45 occupation of the Korean peninsula, and there have been concerns that ties could worsen under Takaichi.
“In today’s rapidly changing international and trade environment, South Korea and Japan – as neighbouring countries with so many…

As the 47th Asean summit came to a close this week, questions remained over the bloc’s handling of the Myanmar crisis and whether it had done enough to bring peace to the war-torn country.
The three-day summit saw the 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations discuss various issues, including the ongoing clashes between Myanmar’s junta and opposition forces. Several members also signed trade deals with the United States.
“Myanmar was lower on the agenda at the summit compared with other…

A recent ruling from the FWC has reaffirmed that flexible work is not a benefit or ‘favour’ from an employer to an employee, but a protected entitlement that must be treated with fairness, transparency and legal compliance by employers when considering requests.

South Korea and the United States reached a comprehensive trade deal on Wednesday, ranging from tariffs and investment to shipbuilding, at the summit in Gyeongju between President Lee Jae-myung and his American counterpart, Donald Trump.
“We reached a deal. We did a lot of different things. Great session,” Trump said.
The two countries agreed to maintain tariffs at 15 per cent following a preliminary deal reached earlier this year, Chief Presidential Secretary for Policy Kim Yong-beom told…