• Tue-12-2024
Singapore workers are afraid to admit using AI at work, even as demand for AI talent surges (December 12, 2024, CNBC)

AI adoption is on the rise in Singapore, with 52% of workers in the country using the technology in their jobs…"Workers are excited about AI, but they're uncertain about how to use it in the workplace, and this uncertainty is standing in the way of broader AI adoption."

  • Tue-12-2024
Sri Lanka: Female deminers clear path to postwar recovery (December 9, 2024, Deutsche Welle)

Fifteen years after Sri Lanka's brutal civil war, women are clearing land mines to rebuild their communities. Widows and single mothers are fighting for safety and reconciliation in a country still scarred by conflict.

  • Tue-12-2024
Preparing for climate chaos in Timor-Leste, one of the world’s most vulnerable nations (November 23, 2024, Prevention Web)

Timor-Leste, a young island nation in Southeast Asia, is particularly vulnerable to the ravages of the climate crisis. A combination of technology, community knowledge and UN support could help to ensure that casualties and damage are kept to a minimum, the next time extreme weather hits.

  • Mon-12-2024
‘I dream of the day I can hug you’: How Russian teenagers are being locked up for expressing dissent (December 5, 2024, CNN)

He is among at least 35 minors who have faced politically motivated criminal charges in Russia since 2009, according to the independent monitoring organization OVD-Info. Of those, 23 cases have been initiated since Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

  • Mon-12-2024
In Kyrgyzstan, power oppresses rhyme (December 1, 2024, Le Monde France) (Subscription required)

Highly popular in this Central Asian country, traditional poets, or akyns, are in turn subject to the censorship and repression that President Sadyr Japarov's authoritarian regime has imposed on civil society since 2021. These traditional Kyrgyz versions of rap battles are popular celebrations that appeal to a wide audience, as the poets address national history and spirituality, as well as the population's everyday problems.

  • Mon-12-2024
The rise and fall of Vang Vieng, Laos' notorious party town (November 27, 2024, BBC)

Once notorious as a debauched riverside party town, Vang Vieng had cleaned up its act in recent years, but is now in the headlines for all the wrong reasons once again, with a number of foreign tourists having died after ingesting drinks laced with methanol.

  • Tue-12-2024
Macao SAR can contribute to telling good stories of China (December 12, 2024, China Daily)

This year commemorates the 25th anniversary of Macao's return to the motherland. China Daily asks prominent figures in the special administrative region for their reflections on this significant milestone and listens to their visions for the city's continuing prosperity.

  • Tue-12-2024
First Evidence in Hong Kong Found Microplastics in Feces of Wild Mammals; Scholar Urges Upstream Reduction for Plastic Pollution (November 29, 2024, Green Peace)

Even the seemingly mundane feces of animals unveil a concerning reality of plastic pollution in Hong Kong. In collaboration with research teams from universities in Hong Kong and Taipei, Greenpeace has released the first-ever “Study on Microplastics in the Feces of Countryside Mammals” in Hong Kong.

  • Tue-12-2024
China’s influence grows at COP29 climate talks as US leadership fades (November 26, 2024, The Conversation)

The central task of the conference, known as COP29, was to come up with funding to help developing countries become more resilient to the effects of climate change and to transition to more sustainable economic growth. The biggest challenge was agreeing on who should pay, and the results say a lot about the shifting international dynamics and offer some insight into China’s role.

  • Mon-12-2024
Online buzzwords: How do popular phrases reflect societal trends and changes in China? (December 6, 2024, Channel News Asia)

With more than a billion Internet users, online buzzwords in China can serve as a window into its society. What are they and what trends might they reflect?