Asian Legal Review

Can a dose of old-fashioned matchmaking sell a destination?
Singapore’s tourism board is betting it might, inviting US-based singles to be paired by “aunties” for a chance to win a four-night trip in a campaign marketers see as an attempt to soften the city state’s reputation for efficiency and order with a touch of warmth and human connection.
Comedian Atsuko Okatsuka, Singaporean actress Tan Kheng Hua and astrologer-matchmaker Aliza Kelly have been chosen to front the “Aunties, Not Algorithms”…

Garbage-choked streets, overloaded landfills and the fear of trash avalanches haunt Indonesia’s capital region, as the world’s most populous metropolis grapples with a waste crisis.
Jakarta and its satellite cities, known collectively as Jabodetabek, are home to 42 million people and produce up to an estimated 14,000 tonnes of waste daily.
That has placed increasing strain on the eight or so landfill sites that serve the region, which are now all close to or entirely full, according to local…

Bringing AI chatbots within the scope of the UK’s Online Safety Act would likely require tailored rules that would add further complexity to legislation that is already too prescriptive, a technology law expert has said.

As Western pressure tightens on traditional buyers of Russian crude, analysts say Indonesia’s status as a fast-growing net oil importer with limited fiscal headroom could position it as a potential new market for Moscow’s discounted supplies.
But any shift towards Russian barrels would carry diplomatic risks, they add, particularly as Jakarta seeks to conclude sensitive trade negotiations with Washington and avoid complicating ties with the US and its allies.
Indonesia has already come under…

Hundreds of black-clad Malaysians gathered in the capital on Sunday, calling for the arrest of anti-corruption chief Azam Baki after reports alleged he had improper shareholdings and that abuse of power took place in the commission he leads.
The crowd of mainly young people waved black flags and placards as they assembled outside a shopping centre in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, with a major road temporarily shut to accommodate the demonstration.
“We are gathering because the dignity of the law…

Indonesia’s capital is now officially the world’s most populous city, but for many among the 42 million people who call the greater Jakarta metropolitan area their home, the ranking is less a badge of honour than a symbol of endurance.
Jakarta overtook Tokyo late last year under new UN criteria that also factor in the city’s wider metropolitan area, moving it to the top of the global rankings by population.
For its residents, the title reflects the harsh realities of daily life – perpetually…

Two sitting Philippine senators have been identified as “co-perpetrators” in former president Rodrigo Duterte’s crimes against humanity trial at the International Criminal Court, documents released by prosecutors show.
Senators Ronald Dela Rosa and Christopher Go are among eight current and former officials named in a document posted to the court’s website on Friday.
ICC prosecutors have charged Duterte with three counts of crimes against humanity, alleging his involvement in at least 76 murders…

The United Arab Emirates is rapidly eclipsing Hong Kong and emerging as a credible rival to Singapore as Asia’s most dynamic trading hub, thanks to an ambitious post-pandemic campaign of economic diplomacy.
Defying global headwinds from war and instability across its own region, the UAE’s non-oil trade almost doubled between 2021 and 2025 to reach 3.8 trillion dirhams (US$1.03 trillion), Prime Minister Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum announced on January 31.
That surge – powered by an aggressive…

The posh, three-storey house in Malaysia’s capital of Kuala Lumpur was occupied by foreign prostitutes who provide their services for fees of up to 3,500 ringgit (US$900).
The “romps”, which were either a 45-minute or 90-minute session, were offered by a syndicate that supplied women from countries such as China and Japan.
The syndicate had been operating from the detached house in the upscale residential area of Desa Pahlawan for about six months.
However, their illicit activities came to an…

Businesses generally have the right to use their legal rights without liability. However, unlawful use of these rights has consequences. This unlawful use can take various forms, including constituting an abuse of rights.