Asian Legal Review

A teenager in Singapore was detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in December last year after he was found to have made “detailed plans” and preparations to attack Muslims at two mosques with a machete.The secondary school student, the youngest person to be detained under the ISA for terrorism-related activities, hatched a plan to attack the Assyafaah Mosque and Yusof Ishak Mosque in the northern suburb of Woodlands, said the Internal Security Department (ISD) on Wednesday.The boy is a…

A Philippine province has cancelled its award of a US$10 billion airport deal south of the capital, among the biggest projects involving a Chinese firm under President Rodrigo Duterte who has pursued warmer ties with Beijing since taking office in 2016.China Communications Construction Co (CCCC) and Filipino firm MacroAsia Corp won the auction in 2019 to partner with the Cavite provincial government to upgrade the Sangley airport.“The notice of selection and award for the Sangley Point…

The European Commission has issued fines totalling €7.8 million to six publishers for restricting cross-border sales of video games based on their geographical location.

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Tuesday urged Moscow to release Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny and peaceful protesters from detention, joining the United States and the European Union in expressing concerns over the crackdown.“The Japanese government is closely watching (the situation) with concern,” Motegi told a press conference. “We want to request the release of Mr. Navalny and those who have been detained arbitrarily while engaging in peaceful demonstrations…

Asian leaders from India’s Narendra Modi to Indonesia’s Joko Widodo and China’s vice-premier, Han Zheng, have issued a unified pitch for governments to prioritise aid for vulnerable nations and communities to deal with the immediate effects of climate change alongside meeting long-term carbon neutrality goals.The Asian leaders were among over 30 senior government figures who contributed by video link to an inaugural Climate Adaptation Summit convened virtually by the Netherlands.While November…

First Gen Hydro Power is investing P6 billion ($124.89 million) to develop a 120 megawatts (MW) Aya pumped hydro storage project in Pantabangan, Philippines.

Three Singapore campaigners launched an appeal Monday against a court’s decision to uphold a law banning sex between men, the latest effort to overturn the colonial-era legislation.A holdover from British rule of the city state, the law is rarely enforced but activists say it still jars with the affluent country’s increasingly modern and vibrant culture.Others, however, argue that Singapore remains conservative at heart, and is not ready for change, while officials also believe most would not…

Covid-19 numbers in Malaysia continue to soar a year to the day since the country’s first case was detected – but after more than 180,000 infections, 678 related deaths and two nationwide lockdowns, public health experts are now concerned that the nation’s contact-tracing efforts are falling dangerously short.People who have tested positive for the disease have taken to social media to complain that they had not yet been contacted by health officials, while contact-tracing applications such as…

A Russian social media celebrity was being deported from Indonesia on Sunday after he held a party at a luxury hotel on the resort island of Bali attended by more than 50 people despite coronavirus restrictions.The party held on January 11 violated health protocols put in place to fight the spread of the virus, said Jamaruli Manihuruk, chief of the Bali regional office for the Ministry of Law and Human Rights.As Chinese tourists steer clear of Indonesia, resort islands feel the pinchSergei…

Almost four decades after the first workers arrived in Japan to work at “Philippine pubs”, the Filipino community has become one of the most rooted in the East Asian country – but one that still remains largely female.Filipinos are the fourth-largest foreign group after the Chinese, South Korean, and Vietnamese communities, with many choosing to spend their lives here.As of June 2019, just under half of the 282,023-strong Philippine community legally living in Japan – or 132,551 people – held…