Arvind Patel, a US citizen who owns a popular sweetshop in New Jersey, has spent US$1,000 travelling to the Indian states of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Assam this election season to campaign for incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The 53-year-old, who hails from Modi’s home state of Gujarat, knows that he cannot vote in the country’s marathon elections, which end on Sunday. No foreign citizen of Indian origin has that right.But that has not deterred him, or the hundreds of other like him,…
Later rule changes cannot validate earlier pension increases, rules court
Pension trustees have not been allowed to justify pensions increases with rule changes that happened two years later. The Court of Appeal in the UK has ruled that trustees cannot use rule changes from 1993 to rectify mistakes made in 1991.
In Thailand, farming revolution rescued entire communities from opium addiction. But it can’t happen without land rights for villagers
Somchai Sophonsookpaiboon does not remember much about his younger years, except that they were spent in an opium haze.It’s how all the men in his mountain village on the Thai-Myanmar border spent their time. Stateless, with little access to education, jobs or health care, their only options were trading opium or walking to the nearest town for odd jobs.Somchai’s life turned around after the late Princess Srinagarindra, grandmother of Thailand’s current king, set up a development project in…
Hong Kong plans greater cartel cooperation incentives
The Hong Kong Competition Commission has published proposals for a cooperation and settlement policy aimed at encouraging companies involved in cartels to step forward and help with investigations.
Drone laws: Japan prepares to ban flying unmanned aerial vehicles under the influence of alcohol
Drinking and droning? It could soon cost you up to a year in jail in Japan, where an amendment to the country’s civil aeronautics law being debated in the Diet would make it illegal to operate unmanned aerial vehicles while under the influence of alcohol.According to the transport ministry, there were 79 incidents involving drones in the last financial year. None of them involved a drunk operator but tighter restrictions were nonetheless regarded as a necessary pre-emptive move.“There are lots…
Philippine election: vote counting ‘glitch’ as Rodrigo Duterte clinches Senate race
The battle for the last four of 12 Senate seats contested in the Philippine midterm elections has come down to the wire, with just 6 per cent of votes – about 2.5 million nationwide – still to be counted.Unofficial counts on Tuesday suggested allies of President Rodrigo Duterte were clear winners in seven of the first eight seats, while in the remaining four, Senator Paulo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV appeared to be the only candidate from the main opposition Liberal Party in with a chance of…
Court of Appeal judgment gives guidance on meaning of ‘practical completion’
A Court of Appeal ruling clarifies the meaning of “practical completion”, a common source of dispute between construction contractors and employers.
Can Bollywood strongman Sunny Deol win Modi’s BJP votes along the Pakistan border?
Bollywood actor Sunny Deol is the perfect fit for the type of hypermasculine patriotism that India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) likes to project.Heavy-set and barrel-chested with a rich baritone voice, the 62-year-old is known for portraying soldiers, spies and police officers on the silver screen.Such associations made him the ideal candidate for the party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as it looked for someone to represent it in the sensitive border constituency of Gurdaspur in…
Cyprus ‘serial killings’ of Filipino women spark horror, anger at police over racism
Seven foreign women and girls murdered, some dumped in a toxic lake – the “first serial killings” in Cyprus have provoked horror and sparked accusations of police racism.Since mid-April, the Mediterranean island’s press has slammed official failings over the murders, which 35-year-old army officer Nicos Metaxas has allegedly confessed to carrying out.Andreas Kapardis, a criminologist and emeritus professor at the University of Cyprus, said the killings were first such case since the island won…
Can China become the wine world’s next California?
Teng Bo operates a boutique hotel in Hangzhou for mainland Chinese travellers. A fan of California red wine, he makes sure the wine cellar is stocked with top-quality cabernet sauvignon and pinot noir from Napa and Sonoma.In the 10 years since opening his hotel in the capital of Zhejiang province, 180km from Shanghai, Teng says more Chinese wine drinkers than ever are asking for California wines.“California wine has a richness that really suits Chinese drinkers’ palates,” he said.Teng prefers…