Asian Legal Review

By bringing more colour to its female characters, Netflix’s Bridgerton has secured a head start on Bollywood. While India’s Hindi-language film industry dallies about casting a dark-skinned actress in a lead romantic role – Will audiences accept her? Exactly how dark should her skin be? Will she be seen as desirable? – the second season of the popular show has stolen a march by casting two actresses of South Asian descent in lead roles, and a third in a supporting role. For millions of women in…

Singapore will not need to tighten pandemic measures even if the number of Covid-19 cases starts to rise again, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong told The Straits Times. The easing of international travel restrictions will allow more workers to come into Singapore, with labour levels in the city state’s construction sector expected to reach “previous levels” by the middle of the year, the newspaper cited Wong as saying. Increased inflationary pressure should be alleviated by the additional labour,…

As the sun dips below the Indian Ocean waves, Ukrainian tourist Viktoria Makarenko and her daughter light incense every evening at a temple in a Sri Lankan beach resort to pray for a return home. Russia’s February invasion of the 35-year-old’s homeland has left thousands of foreign travellers from the two countries stranded on the tropical island. But Ukrainians with empty wallets, distraught over the fate of loved ones back home, say they have been overwhelmed by support from locals – despite…

A multilayered ownership controversy over Malaysia’s Covid-19 tracking application marred what would have been a week to remember for Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s government as the country allows quarantine-free travel to all vaccinated travellers. After a trying two years of the health crisis, the reopening has been highly anticipated by citizens and officials alike, with Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin taking to social media to welcome foreign arrivals. At home, however, the…

European financial regulators have published new guidance on how market participants should use the transition period before the EU disclosure regulation comes into force, following delay to the regulatory technical standards

Public sector bodies in the UK have been issued with new guidance to help them deliver digital, data and technology projects.

Businesses need to develop and implement an effective anti-counterfeiting strategy, experts have said, after a new report from Europol and the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) highlighted increased counterfeiting risks.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday that Australia will send armoured Bushmaster vehicles to Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelensky specifically asked for them while appealing to Australian lawmakers for more help in the country’s war against Russia. Zelensky addressed the Australian parliament on Thursday and asked for the Australian-made, four-wheel-drive vehicles. Morrison told reporters the vehicles will be flown over on Boeing C-17 Globemaster transport planes. He didn’t…

Thousands of people travelled between Malaysia and Singapore in cars, motorcycles and by foot on Friday after the land border separating the two nations reopened fully for the first time in two years. The causeway links, one of the world’s busiest land crossings, opened at midnight last night, allowing vaccinated people to cross over without having to test or quarantine. People began gathering at the border checkpoint as early as 7.30pm (local time) in Singapore, according to Straits Times and…

Abortion law in England is “ripe for change”, a digital healthcare expert has said, following a landmark vote by MPs on telemedical pregnancy terminations.