The world’s attention has been drawn to Kazakhstan in recent days after dozens of people were killed in clashes on the streets and protesters torched and ransacked public buildings in several cities.The violence is the worst seen in the Central Asian state since it gained independence 30 years ago. The unrest has stirred concerns about the impact on Chinese companies operating in the country, which has been showered with investment under President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative.Here is a…
Plastic packaging tax: due diligence requirements
Businesses that purchase plastic packaging components from another business as well as manufacturers and importers of plastic packaging components will need to carry out due diligence checks in relation to the UK’s new plastic packaging tax which comes into force in April 2022.
Former Malaysian PM Mahathir hospitalised for second time in a month
Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, 96, has been admitted to hospital for an elective medical procedure, the National Heart Institute said on Friday.It is the second time in as many months that Mahathir has been hospitalised at the specialist heart institute. The former premier, who has a history of heart problems and has undergone bypass surgery, was last admitted on December 16.Then, he was given a full medical check-up with several investigations but doctors discharged him a…
Updated AIFMD Q&A signals Ireland is ‘very much open for business’
The Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) has issued an updated Q&A document on the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD), with one of the new questions covering Qualifying Investor Alternative Investment Funds (QIAIFs) and non-discretionary investment advisors.
AI inventorship claim dismissed by EPO Board of Appeal
Artificial intelligence (AI) systems cannot be named as an inventor on a patent application, the European Patent Office Board of Appeal (EPO BoA) has ruled.
‘Like Najib’s 1MDB playbook’: Malaysia’s anti-corruption chief Azam Baki faces ridicule in stock saga
Malaysia’s Securities Commission on Thursday said it would seek an explanation from the country’s anti-corruption chief over a mounting controversy surrounding the official’s claim that his sibling had “borrowed” his trading account to purchase millions of ringgit of shares.The episode surrounding Azam Baki has once again cast a negative light on the under-fire Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), following several recent cases of officers embezzling funds or acting inappropriately…
Philippines bans child marriage: ‘it debases, degrades, and demeans’ says new law signed by Duterte
Child marriage became illegal in the Philippines on Thursday as a law banning the practice took effect in a country where one in six girls enters wedlock before the age of 18.The impoverished Southeast Asian country has the 12th-highest number of child marriages in the world, according to Britain-based rights group Plan International, with long-held cultural practices and gender inequality hindering change.But a new law, signed by President Rodrigo Duterte and released to the public on Thursday…
Hong Kong authority makes first arrest for suspected ‘doxxing’
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) has arrested a Chinese man for a suspected breach of “disclosing personal data without consent” under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (PDPO).
Coronavirus traces on Vietnamese, Thai fruit see Chinese cities close stores, impose quarantine
A number of Chinese cities have started emergency screenings for coronavirus on imported food and ordered fruit buyers to quarantine after fresh produce from Southeast Asia tested positive.Despite little evidence people can catch Covid-19 from food, at least nine cities in Zhejiang and Jiangxi provinces have reported positive coronavirus results on dragon fruit imported from Vietnam or longan fruit from Thailand since December.This has led to temporary shutdowns of supermarkets and tighter…
Singapore in talks with US after CDC description of Covid situation as ‘unknown’ baffles experts
Singapore’s government is in talks with the US embassy after the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention described the city state’s Covid-19 situation as “unknown”, surprising experts who pointed out it had more frequent testing and tighter social distancing measures than the United States.In reclassifying its advisory for the Southeast Asian country, the CDC urged Americans not to travel there at all, prompting disbelief among online commentators given the relatively few cases in Singapore…