Guidance proposed by the UK’s financial watchdog will mean crypto businesses must ensure they are aware of their regulatory requirements ahead of changes to the law which will bring into regulation certain cryptoasset activities, according to experts.
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…
FCA’s operational resilience findings necessitate action on contracts
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has provided clear guidance to UK financial services firms on what it expects them to do to meet their obligations around operational resilience one year on from the end of a regulatory deadline for action in March last year.
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…
Malaysia’s Umno marks 80th anniversary with show of Malay political power
In the Johor palace where Malaysia’s once-dominant ruling party was born, Umno’s leaders posed on Monday with the country’s king in a carefully staged reminder of the power they commanded for six decades – and the influence they now hope to reclaim.
The United Malays National Organisation (Umno), the Malay nationalist party that led Malaysia from independence until its shock election defeat eight years ago, marked its 80th anniversary in its birthplace with a grand show of unity as it sought to…
Understanding enforcement of foreign judgments in the UAE
The enforcement of foreign judgments in the UAE has evolved significantly over the past decade, driven by a mixture of legislative reform, judicial cooperation and the growing prominence of the DIFC and ADGM Courts as international enforcement hubs.
‘Unidentified aircraft’ hit Korean cargo ship in Hormuz on Monday: Seoul
A South Korean cargo ship hit in the Strait of Hormuz six days ago was struck by unidentified aircraft, the foreign ministry in Seoul said on Sunday, days after the fire-damaged HMM Namu arrived in Dubai.
US President Donald Trump has claimed that Iran had “taken some shots” at the Panama-flagged vessel and urged South Korea to join US operations aimed at restoring normal shipping through the strait.
The vital waterway has been virtually closed since the United States and Israel launched a war…