Generic medicines manufacturer Zentiva is to pay €4 million in provisional damages after the Paris Judiciary Court ruled that the company was likely to have infringed a patent owned by originator Eli Lilly for its lung cancer treatment Alimta.
Russia and China thwarting international response to Myanmar crisis, says EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell
Russia and China are frustrating the international response to the Myanmar crisis, a top European Union diplomat said on Sunday, as the death toll from a military crackdown climbed past 700.Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military removed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi from power on February 1.International efforts to stem the violence have so far failed to yield results, with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell saying on Sunday it was “no surprise” that Russia and China were blocking…
Philippines, US to start two-week joint military drills amid South China Sea tensions
The Philippine armed forces will hold joint exercises with hundreds of US soldiers over the next two weeks, its military chief said on Sunday, amid growing tensions with Beijing in the South China Sea.The annual war games between the military allies were cancelled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.This year’s “Balikatan” (Shoulder-to-Shoulder) drills to test the readiness of their militaries to respond to threats such natural disasters and militant extremist attacks will be scaled down,…
India protests US Navy ship’s transit through its waters without consent
India protested to the United States for a navy vessel conducting a transit through its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) without consent, the foreign ministry said on Friday, in a rare row between the friendly navies of the two countries.The USS John Paul Jones “asserted navigational rights and freedoms,” inside India’s EEZ in line with international law by sailing about 130 nautical miles (241km) west of India’s Lakshadweep islands, the US Seventh Fleet said in a statement on Wednesday.But an…
US-China rivalry: is the pressure on for Asean countries to choose sides?
“Don’t force us to choose” has been a common refrain in Southeast Asia as Washington and Beijing clash over trade, technology and the South China Sea. But to political science professor Khong Yuen Foong, the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) have already largely aligned themselves with either China or the United States.Khong, vice dean for research and development at Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, said at a recent webinar that Cambodia and…
New US proposals for reforming the international tax system
The US government has suggested that multinational companies pay levies to national governments based on their sales in each country and that there should be a global minimum tax rate of 21%, according to reports in the Financial Times.
Myanmar junta refuses UN envoy visit as post-coup bloodshed continues
Myanmar’s junta refused on Friday to let a UN envoy visit the country, despite mounting international efforts for a diplomatic solution to the post-coup crisis.The UN’s special envoy for Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, is on a tour of Asian countries aimed at charting a path out of the turmoil engulfing the country.The decision was announced amid heightened international concern surrounding events in Myanmar, rocked by daily protests since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu…
Chinese social media set abuzz as Singapore PM-designate steps aside, upending leadership transition
Thursday’s unexpected announcement that Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat has stepped aside as the designated successor to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has taken mainland Chinese political observers and netizens by surprise. Chinese social media was set abuzz after Heng, who turns 60 this year, released a letter addressed to Lee that said he would likely be too old to take over by the time the crisis sparked by the pandemic is over.“We need a leader who will not only rebuild…
Kenya proposes ‘investor friendly’ PPP law reforms
The Kenyan National Treasury has proposed a new draft public-private partnerships (PPP) bill, aimed at encouraging an investor-friendly regime.
Singapore consults on SPACs listing framework
The Singapore Exchange (SGX) is considering allowing Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) to list on the stock exchange by the middle of this year.