When Malaysian retirees Adeline Chang and Zai Saimon began volunteering with a tiny non-profit group called The Lost Food Project in 2016, they never imagined the scale of their work on behalf of the poor could be tangibly measured – let alone in terms of saved greenhouse gas emissions.Five years on, the organisation has risen in prominence because of its crucial efforts during the debilitating pandemic-fuelled economic crisis, with climate activists taking an interest in its operations.The…
Does the US and Indonesia’s resumed strategic dialogue really herald a new era of bilateral relations?
When Indonesia’s foreign minister Retno Marsudi met her American counterpart Antony Blinken in Washington last month, she remarked that Jakarta had entered a “new era of bilateral relations” with the United States.This indication of closer ties comes after Retno and Blinken launched a “strategic dialogue” between their countries that resuscitates the US-Indonesia strategic partnership that was agreed on in 2015, only to be largely abandoned during the Trump administration.Since then, China has…
Thais demand police reform as videos of alleged brutality go viral online
Videos of alleged police brutality are going viral on Thai social media, as whistle-blowers seize the opportunity to demand reform of the scandal-ridden force following the arrest last week of a police chief over the alleged extortion and murder of a suspected drug dealer.Police Colonel Thitisant Utthanaphon was detained on August 26 after the leak of a video allegedly showing him using plastic bags to suffocate 24-year-old Jeerapong Thanapat to death, with the help of six other officers.The…
Thai PM Prayuth survives no-confidence vote as Bangkok braces for more protests
Thailand’s embattled Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha won a no-confidence vote in parliament on Saturday as pro-democracy protesters vowed to swamp Bangkok’s streets to demand his resignation.Prayuth, who has run the country since seizing power as army chief in a 2014 coup, got 264 votes in his favour and 208 against. Five key ministers also survived the vote.Over four days of televised censure debate, lawmakers accused the prime minister of incompetence in handling the pandemic, vaccination…
New Zealand vows to pass counterterrorism law after supermarket stabbing
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern vowed on Saturday to tighten counterterrorism laws this month after a knife-wielding militant known to the authorities stabbed and wounded seven people in a supermarket.Police shot dead the 32-year-old attacker, a Sri Lankan national who had been convicted and imprisoned for about three years before being released in July, moments after he launched his stabbing spree on Friday.Ardern said earlier the man was inspired by Islamic State militant group …
Upper Tribunal upholds UK financial adviser ban
The Upper Tribunal has backed a decision by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to ban Jon Frensham from carrying out regulated activities for criminal behaviour unrelated to his work as an independent financial adviser.
Enforcing adjudication decisions in South African Courts
Most construction contracts make provision for dispute resolution mechanisms which result in either temporary or final and binding determination through adjudication, arbitration or even litigation.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga resigns: what happens now and is Shinzo Abe preparing to return?
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Friday announced he would not stand for re-election in the upcoming vote for leadership of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). The news came as a shock to some of his supporters but analysts said the writing was on the wall as Suga’s approval rating has been sliding for months. Japan’s PM Yoshihide Suga to resign after just 1 year in post Suga will stay on until his replacement is elected on September 29. The new party president will also become…
Coronavirus: Australia sets sights on reopening even as cases surge; Duterte denies medical supplies overpriced
Australia’s New South Wales on Friday reported an all-time high number of new Covid-19 cases and deaths despite being 10 weeks into lockdown, as the federal government tried to convince states and territories to follow its national reopening plan.New South Wales reported 1,431 new local transmitted cases, as well as 12 more deaths, as of Thursday evening – just over a week after recording more than 1,000 new daily infections for the first time.“We anticipate a peak in cases in the next…
Court clarifies law on pharma patent claims
Pharmaceutical manufacturers that claim patent rights over multiple compounds on the basis of a general formula will welcome a new ruling by the Court of Appeal in London, experts in patent litigation have said.