Asian Legal Review

Social media platforms could be forced to prevent children from accessing their services under one option for reform the UK government is considering that would impact how social media companies engage with young people.

With memories still raw from the deaths of scores of its nationals during the Gaza war, Thailand has issued an alert to its estimated 110,000 citizens working across the Middle East as the US-Israel conflict with Iran rages across the region.
Around 60,000 Thais are working in Israel’s fields, factories and shops, drawn by higher ‘danger money’ pay than what they could get back home and in competing markets. Thai authorities have said that an additional 250 Thais are believed to still be in…

A man has been arrested in Johor after an 11-second viral clip showed him clinging to the front of his ex-wife’s moving car before tumbling onto the road in full view of onlookers.
Police said the suspect had clung to the car for around 2km (1.2 miles) and that he had tested positive for ketamine.
The incident unfolded at about 3.30pm on Saturday outside a supermarket in Bandar Seri Alam, a township in Johor, the southern Malaysian state bordering Singapore, after an argument between the pair…

As preparations for the opening ceremony of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games continue, GIICA completed the prequalification process for a delivery contractor for the National Aquatic Centre in Spring Hill on 25 February.

The killing of Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli air strikes has prompted governments across Muslim-majority South and Southeast Asia to reiterate calls for restraint as protests flared in several cities, with some religious and political movements hailing the cleric as a “martyr”.
Iranian state media confirmed Khamenei’s death on Sunday and declared a 40-day mourning period, casting the assassination as a pivotal moment for the Islamic Republic he had led since…

When Malaysian rapper Zamaera hit send on an email to South by Southwest’s (SXSW) music team in mid-December, she had already been told she was returning to Austin as a showcasing artist.
What she wanted was bigger: a stage for Malaysia, the kind Japan, Taiwan and Britain already had at the US music festival.
“They have a stage … for Japan. Taiwan already has a stage … even the UK and Germany,” the 31-year-old rapper, born Sharifah Zamaera, told This Week in Asia in an exclusive interview. She…

China and South Korea have resolved a trade dispute over hot-rolled steel coils through a price-undertaking deal, mirroring the solution used in China’s electric vehicle (EV) stand-off with the European Union.
Analysts say the deal, which will see exporters raise export prices to avoid anti‑dumping duties, could avert punitive tariffs and safeguard market access for Chinese exports.
The China Iron and Steel Association said in a statement issued on Thursday night that it “welcomed and supported”…

With new laws supporting people who experience miscarriage coming into effect in Northern Ireland this spring and similar proposals in Scotland, England and Wales, and Ireland, this is an opportunity for employers across the UK and Ireland to examine their family friendly policies, an expert has advised.

The number of people on zero hour contracts in the UK has reached record levels, according to new research. The findings underscore the scale of the challenge that employers in Britain will face when new rights for those on zero- and low-hour contracts take effect in 2027, an employment law expert has said.

Malaysia’s government said on Friday it would consider calls for a royal commission to investigate alleged abuses of power within the country’s anti-corruption agency, as pressure grew for the immediate removal of its chief commissioner.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has faced growing pressure from critics and allies alike since news reports earlier this month alleged that Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Azam Baki had bought corporate shares exceeding the limit permitted for…