Asian Legal Review

The Philippines will buy 16 Black Hawk helicopters made by United States manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft, said the nation’s defence chief on Thursday, despite President Rodrigo Duterte’s vow not to purchase arms of equipment from the US.
Defence secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the Air Force had evaluated several options – the S-70 Black Hawk made by Sikorsky Aircraft, the Russian-made Mi-171, the South Korean-made Surion, and the AW139 made by AgustaWestland from the UK….

As Japan seeks the United States’ help to bolster its cyberwarfare capabilities amid what it says are continuing cyberattacks from China, the Japanese defence minister travelled to Washington on Wednesday to urge greater cooperation.
The minister, Takeshi Iwaya, said his nation was aiming to increase its cybersecurity force to 2,000 members as the electronic capabilities of various countries, including China, were growing every year.
“So we must strengthen our cyberforces with…

The Scottish financial technology (fintech) sector has grown threefold in the last 12 months, with an increase in the number of firms established in Scotland to more than 80.

An Indonesian scientist has been mauled to death by a huge pet crocodile on the island of Sulawesi, officials said Wednesday.
Deasy Tuwo, the head of a laboratory at a pearl farm in Minahasa in North Sulawesi, was killed by the 4.4-metre (14.4 foot) long reptile last Thursday, authorities said.
The 44-year old’s badly-mauled body was found by colleagues the following morning, Hendrik Rundengan, from the local conservation agency, told AFP.
“The indication is that she fell into the…

Kim Jong-un’s right-hand man is expected to personally deliver a letter from the North Korean leader to US President Donald Trump when he visits Washington this week, according to a high-ranking South Korean official.
Kim Yong-chol, the North’s highest official in charge of negotiations with the United States and Seoul, will leave for Washington as early as Wednesday, the South Korean official was quoted as saying by JTBC TV. The North had “strongly demanded” that Kim…

Major changes to defamation laws in Scotland have been backed by the Scottish government in a move which will bring the laws more closely into line with those already in place in England and Wales.

Foreign domestic maids in Singapore are susceptible to being victims of forced labour, despite them being documented workers with legal rights such as paid medical insurance and a rest day each week, according to a new report.
Between April 2017 and March last year, 872 workers complained of issues such as overwork, verbal abuse, salary problems, inadequate food, and having to give their employers massages, said migrant rights group Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home)….

Businesses and consumers can expect to gain greater control over how their financial data is used, meaning they will be able to access innovative new services as the UK moves to a system of ‘open finance’, an expert has said.

An official from the management company of Japanese idol group AKB48 and its spinoff groups has been replaced, amid condemnation over the company’s tepid handling of a case of home assault against one of its singers.
AKS announced a change in personnel and apologised five days after Maho Yamaguchi, a 23-year-old member of NGT48, revealed she had been squeezed in the face by two intruders at her home last year on December 8. Despite being the victim, Maho Yamaguchi was made to apologise…

Tensions continue to mount in Thailand as the ruling military junta has signalled that the long postponed elections will be delayed yet again.
On Sunday, hundreds of people took to the streets for the third time in a week to criticise the military government for appearing to renege on assurances the election would finally happen on February 24.
It is the fifth time the military junta, which took over in a bloodless coup in 2014, has delayed elections and prevented the country’s return to…