15/02/2026

theSun on Sunday FEB 15, 2026

WORLD 7

Two senators named co-perpetrators in ICC case

But a day later, he conceded defeat. “In any genuine democratic journey, the true test of leadership is not only how we campaign, but how we respond to the verdict of the people,” he said. “We recognise the overall outcome, and we respect the rule of law.” Hasina’s Awami League party was barred from taking part. – AFP BEIJING: China’s top court has issued a ruling confirming humans in cars with assisted driving technology are responsible for their vehicle, setting a nationwide benchmark as Beijing positions itself as a standards-setter in the car market. In its ruling, the court referred to a case in which a man relied on the technology while drunk and asleep at the wheel. Drivers are still responsible for ensuring road safety after activating assisted driving functions, China’s top court said in a “guiding case” issued on Friday. The reference case is a September ruling in southern Zhejiang province, in which a driver surnamed Wang was jailed and fined for fully relying on the assisted driving system while drunk. Wang installed a device to mimic hand grip on the steering wheel, set the car to drive then fell asleep in the passenger seat, the court said. Police found Wang after the car stopped in the middle of a road. “The on-board assisted driving system cannot replace the driver as the primary driving subject,” the Supreme People’s Court said. The driver “is still the one who actually performs the driving tasks and bears the responsibility to ensure driving safety”, it said. While most such systems used on the road specify that the driver is ultimately in control of the car, the court’s ruling now makes that a legal standard nationwide. Lower courts are to reference the judgment when deciding on similar cases. Beijing had already warned leading carmakers that safety rules would be more tightly enforced after a crash that killed three college students last March raised concerns over the advertising of cars as being capable of autonomous driving. – AFP Drivers responsible despite autonomous technology

Unclear if duo would face charges

MANILA: Two senators have been identified as co-perpetrators in ex-president Rodrigo Duterte’s crimes against humanity trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC). Senators Ronald Dela Rosa and Christopher Go are among eight current and former officials named in a document dated Feb 13 and posted on the court website. ICC prosecutors have charged Duterte with three counts of crimes against humanity, alleging involvement in at least 76 murders as part of his “war on drugs”. “Duterte and his co-perpetrators shared a common plan or agreement to ‘neutralise’ alleged criminals (including those perceived or alleged to be associated with drug use, sale or production),” the prosecution document reads. Dela Rosa, the former national MUNICH: Senior officials at the Munich Security Conference discussed challenges in Southeast Asia, including how maritime disputes can turn into areas of cooperation without engaging in a zero-sum game. Singapore Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing and Asean Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn were fielding questions during a panel on maritime safety at the three-day conference, which began on Friday. On the South China Sea, Kao said the bloc and China have been negotiating for a code of conduct “because we want to make sure” the vast waterbody becomes a “sea of peace, stability and cooperation”. Asked whether increased deployment of naval ships by China and the US to the region was making the disputed waters “more dangerous”, Kao said both powers were “comprehensive strategic partners” of the bloc. “We have been engaging both superpowers through the Asean mechanisms,” Kao said. Chan said the island nation “does not see the situation in the region as a zero-sum game”. “It’s not in our interest to see this as a zero-sum game. In fact, if we think about it logically, the interests of China and the US converge in Southeast Asia. “Both countries have a shared interest in making sure that the safety and security of the ships going through this part of the region are well taken care of,” he said. – Bernama Asean eyes ‘sea of peace’

police chief, has previously said he believed he faced potential arrest and has not been seen publicly in months. Go, re-elected in May in a landslide victory, was a key Duterte lieutenant. A representative of Dela Rosa said they had not yet seen the document. Calls to Go were unreturned. It was not clear if any of the men named will face charges. Judges have rejected arguments that the 80-year-old Duterte was unfit to stand trial. Go and Dela Rosa have been named as co-perpetrators in acts that took place both while Duterte was mayor and later as president. Former justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, who served as lawyer for Duterte in cases involving the so-called Davao Death Squad, is also among the eight men named.

Duterte listening to Dela Rosa during a press conference on Jan 30, 2017. – AFPFILEPIC

Duterte was president. The third charge covers 43 murders committed during “clearance” operations of lower level drug users or pushers. These took place across the Philippines between 2016 and 2018, the prosecution alleged. – AFP

The first of three counts against Duterte concerns his alleged involvement in 19 murders carried out between 2013 and 2016 while he was mayor of Davao City. The second relates to 14 murders of so-called “high value targets” in 2016 and 2017 when

SYMBOLIC STEED ... Beijing residents gather near a light installation depicting the Fire Horse, with Zhengyang Gate Tower in the background, ahead of the Lunar New Year. – REUTERSPIC

Tarique Rahman poised to be Bangladesh premier

said Rahman “would help guide the country toward stability, inclusiveness and development”. The BNP alliance won 212 seats compared with 77 for the Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance, according to the Election Commission. Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman, 67, had said on Friday he would “seek redress”, with his party alleging “inconsistencies and fabrications”.

Rahman, 60, marks a turnaround for a man who returned to Bangladesh in December after 17 years in exile in Britain. His father, president Ziaur Rahman, was assassinated in 1981, while his mother, Khaleda Zia, served three terms as prime minister. Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, who has led the country of 170 million as interim leader since Sheikh Hasina’s ouster in 2024,

DHAKA: Bangladesh’s largest Islamic party conceded defeat in elections yesterday, despite earlier alleging problems with the vote count, clearing the way for nationalist leader Tarique Rahman to become prime minister. Election Commission figures showed Rahman’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) had won a landslide victory on Thursday. The success of BNP chief