Philippine senator wanted by ICC flees from Senate

A Philippine senator wanted by the International Criminal Court for an alleged crime against humanity has fled from the Senate, where he sought refuge to evade arrest, officials said on Thursday.
Senator Ronald dela Rosa’s exit from the heavily guarded Senate came after volleys of gunshots were fired on Wednesday night by the building’s security personnel during an argument with a government agent, sparking chaos that apparently helped the senator to slip out.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr made…

Why US is backing Philippine airport at former Sangley Point naval base

A proposed airport on a former US naval base in the Philippines near the entrance to Manila Bay is drawing fresh strategic attention after Washington agreed to fund a feasibility study, a move analysts say fits into US efforts to strengthen logistics, access and interoperability with the country in the South China Sea.
Experts said the proposed Sangley Point International Airport in Cavite could become more than a commercial aviation project because of its access to the South China Sea and the…

South Asia must make water a top priority

Summer hit South Asia early this year. April saw above average temperatures and the mercury is expected to reach unbearable highs this month. We are also bracing for a “super El Nino”, where a combination of increased heatwaves and highly variable weather patterns are expected to push urban zones, agricultural systems and public health to their limits.
South Asia, especially parts of Pakistan, India and Nepal, is likely to receive below average monsoon rainfall during the summer months of…

Gunshots fired in stand-off at Philippine Senate over ICC suspect

Gunshots broke out at the Philippine Senate on Wednesday and people ran for cover after a top politician wanted by the International Criminal Court said his arrest was imminent and security forces entered the building.
There were no immediate reports of casualties, however, Senate Secretary Mark Llandro Mendoza told reporters following the chaos at the legislature in the capital Manila.
Senator Ronald dela Rosa, a former police chief who was the main enforcer of former Philippine president…

Dela Rosa’s flight turns Philippine Senate into battleground for ICC accountability

A clip of Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa running through the Senate halls to evade an International Criminal Court arrest warrant has become one of the most startling images in recent Philippine politics.
By Tuesday, the former national police chief was still inside the Senate under protective custody, turning the chamber into the centre of a legal and political stand-off over whether one of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s closest allies could be handed over to The Hague.
But Monday’s chase…

Police raids reveal Indonesia as new hub for scam syndicates

Indonesia’s latest wave of police raids has exposed signs that online gambling and scam syndicates, squeezed out of traditional hubs such as Cambodia and Myanmar, are trying to turn Southeast Asia’s biggest economy into a new base.
Analysts warned that Indonesia’s porous visa regime, weak law enforcement and welcoming attitude towards foreigners had made it an attractive destination for syndicates looking to avoid scrutiny.
Authorities have arrested hundreds of foreign nationals in Jakarta,…

Philippine lawmaker holes up in Senate as ICC confirms drug war warrant

A sitting Philippine senator wanted by the International Criminal Court for his role in former president Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war took refuge inside the Senate on Monday to avoid arrest by government agents.
Senator Ronald Dela Rosa, the country’s one-time police chief, was under the Senate’s protection “in accordance with our rules and Philippine laws”, newly elected Senate President and Duterte ally Alan Peter Cayetano told reporters.
“We will allow an arrest under the condition that it is a…