Global Voices reviews the May 1, 2013 Labor Day protests in Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia, and Singapore. The rallies, which were organized to echo the various demands of workers and advocacy groups, were relatively peaceful across the region. In Cambodia, more than 6,000 garment w...
An estimated crowd of 5,000 gathered in Singapore’s Hong Lim Park on May 1, 2013 to protest the government’s White Paper on population. To reverse the country’s aging population, the government plans to hire more foreign workers which is being resented by many Singaporeans. The May Da...
Good news for animal lovers. Singapore’s Ministry of Education has confirmed that animal welfare will be included in the new ‘Character and Citizenship Education’ syllabus for primary and secondary students. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals cheered the inclusion of...
Improving total fertility rate and labor force participation rate to increase the resident workforce over time rather than immigration-driven growth is the more appropriate way forward for Singapore Titled ‘A Dynamic Population for a Sustainable Singapore', the opposition Workers’ Par...
Jayden Tan and Jeff Cheong have been ‘levitating’ around Singapore and they are even teaching students about the secrets of levitation photography. Their project has been gaining attention in Singapore and many people have already noted the creativity of their photos. We take this lev...
The young victim of gang rape in New Delhi, India was brought to Singapore for medical treatment but eventually died on December 28. Many Singaporeans expressed grief and anger over the death of the rape victim who came to be known as Amanat in the world. The tragic death of Amanat in...
After being adrift at sea for more than 30 hours, 40 Rohingya refugees were rescued by a Vietnamese ship, MV Nosco Victory, last December 5. A few days after, the ship reached Singapore but the government refused entry to the Rohingya survivors. Singapore netizens and human rights gro...
Half of the world’s species of pangolins are found in Asia where they have been hunted heavily to very low numbers. The Sunda pangolin, Manis javanica, is the only species found in Cambodia and is now very rare due to hunting pressures to supply the international illegal market. A new...
I must say that my experience of the SG Conversation opened my eyes to other Singaporeans. For one, I didn't realize that the elderly in Singapore felt such a sense of dispossession and rejection until one elderly gentleman from my group said his piece. For another, I had had the wron...
Singapore is revising its casino rules to discourage low-income groups and the jobless from gambling. After weeks of consultation, the government has filed the Casino Control (Amendment) Bill which would empower authorities to restrict the entry of ‘financially vulnerable’ individuals...
While Southeast Asian governments are enhancing the delivery of online services for the benefit of their citizens, they are also instituting tougher internet regulations which many analysts believe could be used to curtail media freedom. This post is a summary of recent Global Voices ...
To promote ‘public education on media literacy and cyber wellness’ the Singapore government has set up a 21-member Media Literacy Council. The Media Development Authority issued a press statement last month explaining the mission of the council: The Media Literacy Council will advise ...
North Korea’s young first lady was pictured carrying what appears to be a Christian Dior handbag which costs around USD 1,600. While international media lashed hard at the luxury in the midst of food crisis where millions of North Koreans suffer from starvation, one net user in Sina E...
The ‘Transient Workers Count Too' website provides research and direct assistance to low-wage migrant workers in Singapore. Their recent initiative was to raise funds for two Chinese workers who were killed in an accident.
SchoolAsia.org is a newly established website featuring crowd-sourced lesson plans, opinion pieces and events for educators in Asia
Morocco has been deemed the ‘unsusceptible exception' to the current unrest in the Arab world; a few of the reasons why include King Mohammad VI’s immense popularity, the government's tactical approach to political Islam, and the influx of social reform projects across the country. Th...
Egyptians have taught Ethiopians a lesson : “We have twenty years of Western financed tyranny run by Meles Zenawi and Ethiopians who match in number with Egyptians but far behind in their developmental stage by any measurement can topple Ethiopia's Mubarak, Meles Zenawi in short order...
(WARNING: graphic images) showing the second protester to die in Bahrain, prefaced with the text (ar): “And the second martyr falls. The martyr is Fadhel Salman Al Matrook, 32 years old. He was martyred while taking part in the funeral of [first] martyr Ali Abdul Hadi Mushaima, near t...
This post is part of our special coverage of Bahrain Protests 2011 . Nicholas Kristof , the New York Times columnist, and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, is reporting the unfolding events taking place in Bahrain via his Twitter account . Kristof arrived Bahrain a couple of days ago wh...
about the most recent awkward situation that the costly website of Serbia's Ministry of Ecology and Urban Planning has found itself in: “The site was the target of public ridicule once again couple of hours ago when someone noticed that the username/password combination for logging on...
Bahrain is an oil-rich country with approximately 1.2 million inhabitants, located near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. The country has a poor human rights record and very uneven distribution of wealth. Adding to the trouble is strong sectarian tension between Shiites (majorit...
Gloria Mika is an activist and founder of the citizen watch initiative Les anges gardiens du Gabon [fr] (Gabon's Guardian Angels for Transparency); Jean-Aimée Mouketou, is a Geography professor in Versailles, France and fellow professor in New-Scotland, Canada, who represents DIAGAU (...
Dialogue has no place in Bahrain at the moment. And all space is left to the violence of a government that doesn’t seem to care about its citizens. Dialogue is replaced with shotguns, tear gas and hundreds of riot police all exerting an inordinate amount of violence against unarmed ci...
(WARNING: graphic images) showing the second protester to die in Bahrain, prefaced with the text (ar): “And the second martyr falls. The martyr is Fadhel Salman Al Matrook, 32 years old. He was martyred while taking part in the funeral of [first] martyr Ali Abdul Hadi Mushaima, near t...
(WARNING: graphic images) showing the second protester to die in Bahrain, prefaced with the text (ar): “And the second martyr falls. The martyr is Fadhel Salman Al Matrook, 32 years old. He was martyred while taking part in the funeral of [first] martyr Ali Abdul Hadi Mushaima, near t...
(WARNING: graphic images) showing the second protester to die in Bahrain, prefaced with the text (ar): “And the second martyr falls. The martyr is Fadhel Salman Al Matrook, 32 years old. He was martyred while taking part in the funeral of [first] martyr Ali Abdul Hadi Mushaima, near t...
Chiranuch Premchaiporn (known to friends as Jiew), editor of Prachatai.com , has been charged in court by authorities in Thailand for violating the country's Computer Crimes Act. Prachatai , which means ‘Free People', is an independent web portal in Thailand. Photo of Jiew from the we...
(WARNING: graphic images) showing the second protester to die in Bahrain, prefaced with the text (ar): “And the second martyr falls. The martyr is Fadhel Salman Al Matrook, 32 years old. He was martyred while taking part in the funeral of [first] martyr Ali Abdul Hadi Mushaima, near t...
Also today, complaints were running high of slow Internet, with the New York Times writer Nicholas Kristof, who is in Bahrain, complaining loud on Twitter about the inconvenience. Online, tweeps were also complaining that a number of websites have been blocked by the Bahrain governmen...
I measure the success of my blog in the number and quality of the connections I make with people inside and outside the country. I have met with some fascinating Rwandans, from bee keepers to orphans, politicians, diplomats and journalists. It also allows me to connect with foreigners...
