Thailand warned users of Clubhouse on Wednesday not to break the law after the audio social media app emerged almost overnight as a platform for discussion of the monarchy, the latest example of the fast-growing app drawing the ire of governments in Asia.Digital minister Puttipong Punnakanta said the Thai authorities were watching Clubhouse users, and political groups on the app were distorting information and potentially violating laws.A large number of users in Thailand joined Clubhouse in…
Cambodia adopts China-style internet gateway to control, monitor online traffic
Cambodia’s government has issued a decree establishing a China-style internet gateway that will allow online traffic to be controlled and monitored, prompting local concern that democratic freedoms could be under threat.The 11-page decree announced on Wednesday seeks to facilitate and manage internet connections to help revenue collection, protect national security and maintain social order, culture and tradition.The gateway’s operator will support authorities with “measures to prevent and…
DAC6: Disclosure of cross-border tax arrangements
The UK’s rules requiring the reporting of cross border tax arrangements have been scaled back as a result of the end of the Brexit transition period and require reporting only of arrangements which undermine the common reporting standard or disguise beneficial ownership.
As Japanese firms leave China, Bangladesh sees investment boost
Japan incentivising its companies to shift manufacturing facilities out of China and adding Bangladesh to a list of preferred destinations for relocating the factories may give the South Asian nation’s economy a boost.“As the pandemic started in China, Japanese companies needed to diversify” their supply chains further, Naoki Ito, the Japanese ambassador to Bangladesh, said in an interview.“This will provide an opportunity for Bangladesh,” he added.Almost half of Japan technology firms…
Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos loses bid to overturn Philippines vice-presidential election loss
The Philippines’ top court on Tuesday dismissed an election protest by Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jnr, the son and namesake of the country’s former dictator, whose defeat in the 2016 vice-presidential poll was a setback for his clan’s political revival.Bongbong had accused his rival candidate Leni Robredo of electoral fraud after she narrowly defeated him. A recount in tightly contested areas gave her a bigger lead.The 15-member court, which voted as an electoral tribunal, unanimously junked…
Irish employee succeeds in first Covid-related employment claim
Ireland’s Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) has awarded an employee compensation for constructive dismissal over her employer’s failure to put in place precautionary measures against Covid-19.
Two weeks after the coup, Myanmar’s protesters are undaunted – but how far can the military be pushed?
Protesters in Myanmar kept up their demands on Monday for the release of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi and an end to military rule, undaunted by the junta’s deployment of armoured vehicles in several parts of the country and more soldiers on the streets.Suu Kyi, detained since the February 1 coup against her elected government, had been expected to face a court on Monday in connection with charges of illegally importing six walkie-talkies, but a judge said her remand lasted until Wednesday,…
Malaysia defends plan to deport Myanmar nationals
Malaysia on Monday defended a plan to deport 1,200 Myanmar nationals on navy ships sent from their homeland just weeks after a coup, following criticism from the United Nations.News emerged last week the migrants would be sent home, after the Myanmar military seized power and detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi at the start of February.Malaysian immigration chief Khairul Dzaimee Daud said the detainees, who will be deported on February 23, are accused of offences including not having…
‘Comfort women’ statue missing in the Philippines as Japan’s wartime legacy under focus
A two-metre-high bronze statue memorialising the Filipino women forced to become sex slaves by Japan’s military during World War II has gone missing in Manila, underscoring the country’s challenges in balancing diplomatic relations with its largest source of development aid amid calls to hold Tokyo accountable for this wartime atrocity. The “Filipina Comfort Women” monument was hurriedly dismantled by the Philippine government on April 28, 2018 ahead of the May 3 Asian Development Bank (ADB)…
Myanmar coup: thousands protest amid fear of night arrests, security patrols
Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets in Myanmar’s major cities for a ninth day of anti-coup demonstrations on Sunday, after a fearful night as residents formed patrols and the army rolled back laws protecting freedoms.Engineering students marched through downtown Yangon, the biggest city, wearing white and carrying placards demanding the release of former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been in detention since Myanmar’s military overthrew her elected government on February 1…