Malaysia’s opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on Thursday said he would submit an appeal to the king to end a state of emergency imposed to fight the coronavirus, which he described as a move by the prime minister to cling to power.Malaysia’s King Al-Sultan Abdullah on Tuesday declared a national state of emergency to curb the spread of the virus and suspended parliament, which the opposition said was Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s ploy to retain control amid a power struggle.In a letter sent…
What the EU-UK trade agreement means for IP rights
Intellectual property (IP) rights holders should use the finalisation of the new EU-UK trade agreement as a spur to review whether their IP protection is in line with their business strategy even though the agreement changes little in practice in the short term in relation to their rights.
Coronavirus: as Widodo kicks off Indonesia’s Sinovac vaccine drive, social media influencer Raffi Ahmad’s shot backfires
As President Joko Widodo launched Indonesia’s Covid-19 vaccination drive on Wednesday, the televised images beamed into homes across the nation were rich in symbolism.Here was the president of the world’s fourth most populous nation quite literally opening his arms to China as he received a shot of the Sinovac Biotech vaccine his government had approved for emergency use just a couple of days earlier.This was the moment that the Southeast Asian country hit hardest by the novel coronavirus –…
BTS in the Philippines’ Congress? Duterte ally’s plan to name political grouping after K-pop band draws backlash
A former speaker of the Philippines’ House of Representatives has sparked outrage on social media after announcing his intent to form a new political grouping named after world-famous South Korean boy band BTS.Alan Peter Cayetano, an ally of President Rodrigo Duterte who was ousted as speaker in October, said he would form the BTS sa Kongreso (BTS in Congress) bloc with six fellow lawmakers – Representatives Luis Raymund “LRay” Villafuerte Jnr, Dan Fernandez, Raneo Abu, Mike Defensor, Jose…
Advertisers: a guide to advertising regulation in the UK
Businesses should be aware of the advertising standards that their marketing will be required to comply with. In the UK, different rules apply depending on the medium chosen for advertising.
What Malaysia’s new coronavirus lockdown and state of emergency mean for the public, and for PM Muhyiddin
Malaysia was on Tuesday rocked by the news the nation’s monarch had approved a state of national emergency to stem the spread of a third wave of coronavirus infections.The announcement came just a day after Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had announced targeted lockdowns across the country to combat a surge of cases.For several weeks Malaysia has recorded daily cases in the four digits and its total caseload has now risen to nearly 140,000 infections and 555 deaths – depressing statistics for a…
Boeing officials and US aviation experts to visit Sriwijaya Air crash site after Indonesia grants coronavirus waiver
Representatives from Boeing and the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will leave for Jakarta this week to assist an investigation into Saturday’s crash of a Sriwijaya Air passenger jet, which hurtled into the Java Sea with 62 people on board.The Indonesian government granted a waiver allowing the Boeing and NTSB officials to enter the country during its coronavirus-related travel ban, a person familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named.Indonesian investigators are still…
Accelerating renewables growth in South America
Ambitious plans to grow the use of renewable energy in South America, and link coronavirus economic recovery plans to ‘green’ projects, make the market an attractive proposition for international energy companies and investors.
Coronavirus: Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin declares targeted lockdowns
Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on Monday imposed partial lockdowns in most parts of the country after a months-long third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic showed no sign of abating.Six regions including the wealthy states of Johor, Selangor and Penang – as well as Kuala Lumpur, the administrative capital of Putrajaya and the federal territory of Labuan – will commence a strict two-week lockdown starting midnight on Wednesday.Residents in these areas are required to shelter in place and…
Singapore puts curbs on corporate transfers for some foreign employees
Singapore is tightening restrictions on intra-corporate transferees, one category of workers brought from overseas offices of multinational corporations, the Straits Times reported.Intra-corporate transferees are a common feature of free-trade agreements worldwide that, for example, allow professionals to move for short periods to set up offices or for temporary projects, the newspaper said.Intra-corporate transferees pass holders make up less than 5 per cent of employment-pass holders in…