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South East Asia
Press Watch – Singapore: Reporter Warned Over Leakage of Official Secrets
It was a what is being described as a state secret that Janice Tai, a young reporter of The Straits Times (ST), Singapore’s premier mass-circulation daily, stumbled upon while chasing a story. She was following up on a tip-off about an online resale portal that the state housing agency, the…
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South East Asia
Singapore Buzz For A Non-Chinese PM Amid Debate Over Malay President
Singapore made history on September 13, 2017 by choosing a woman as the Head of State. Halimah Yacob, 63, an immediate-past Speaker of Parliament, was elevated to be the Elected President (EP) in a walkover. A member of the Malay community, she rose to the highest office of the…
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East Asia
US President Trump’s “Fire and Fury” Not Enough for Nemesis Kim Jong-eun
Like a long-simmering earthquake, North Korea’s latest nuclear and missile tests have led to a dangerous confrontation between the untested leaders of two enemy states whose feverish sabre-rattling has conjured up the spectre of a new holocaust in the Korean Peninsula. The fallout has escalated tensions between a Stalinist regime…
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East Asia
Tea meditation teach-in by Nun Baekgeo
Seated with our legs crossed in lotus posture, we made an effort to relax on cushions placed on the timber floor, warmed by steam pipes underneath. Coming in from the chill outside the large temple hall, the balmy atmosphere was more than welcomed. If anyone of us had expected a…
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East Asia
What! Not going down to ground zero at Panmunjong?
This was the sensitive spot where North and South Korean soldiers can be seen standing eye-ball to eye-ball, separated only by an imaginary line representing the 38th parallel that demarcates the two sides at the end of the Korean War (1950-1953). Instead of a potentially tense tour, we were ushered…
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Column
Singapore icon who wanted to be feared, yet was loved
Within and without the island-state, his name has been synonymous with Singapore. His demise touched hearts and triggered a seldom-witnessed catharsis as Singaporeans felt the profound loss of their national icon. The spontaneous overflow of emotions for the late elder statesman, whose paternalistic dominance spanning over 30 years was beginning…
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Buddhism and journalsim for peaceful world
At Tribhuvan airport in Kathmandu, all a first-time tourist needs to do to get a quick grab of interesting facts about Nepal is to look up. “Nepal has the world’s tallest mountain and shortest man,” says a printed overhead sticker. Another reads, “Lumbini is the birthplace of Lord Buddha.” This…
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South East Asia
Father of Singaporean nature conservationists
Profile: “Eco-Warror” Dr. Wee Yeow Chin As a botanist, Professor Wee Yeow Chin was wont to talk to people about plants and animals, if not about birds and bees. His lectures on ferns, mushrooms, lichens and algae, the non-flowering plants that were his specialty, were serious stuff. Yet, the most-frequently-asked…
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South East Asia
Aung San Suu Kyi for President?
Recent signs point to Aung San Suu Kyi being able to vie for president in the 2015 elections. First, the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has formally proposed amending a proviso in the constitution that bars her from being a candidate for the top leadership post. Clause 59(f)…
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South East Asia
Lessons from ASEAN engagement with Myanmar
In the mass media, Korea is mentioned more often than not as a wholesome personality. It is when the headlines turn to “Tension in the Korean Peninsula” that its split personality becomes evident. Then we begin to see Korea described in diverse terms such as North and South as well…
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