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Singapore’s parliament should reject proposed revisions to the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act extending detention without trial and allow the law to lapse, Human Rights Watch said in a January 31, 2018 letter to members of parliament that was released today. The proposed amendments would extend the statute, enacted as a “temporary” measure in 1955, for the 14th time. It would also eliminate the already very …

The UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, lamented the decades long cycle of violence perpetuated by the authorities against ethnic minorities in Myanmar, including Rohingya Muslims, and said talk of repatriating hundreds of thousands of refugees anytime soon was premature. In an end of mission statement following visits to Thailand and Bangladesh last month, Lee said …

“The party is not the….”, a visitor beside me squints into a portrait, trying to make out the tiny words handwritten just below it. After the words, an ‘Erica’ is signed. “The past is not the past”, I correct him. He grins and then realises. That is the name of the exhibition, after all. === It is opening night for …

The petition in support of Jolovan Wham, the activist who got slapped with 7 charges relating to organising public assemblies, has been delivered to the Prime Minister and Attorney General in both email and physical copy. Titled, “Drop charges against Jolovan Wham; Protect our freedom of expression”, the petition started at the beginning of December, and has hit almost 5000 …

DBS/POSB is providing a hassle-free experience for its commuters to withdraw and collect new and good-as-new notes for this coming Chinese New Year with the return of POSB new notes pop-up ATMs. It will also be rolling out an online reservation system on 29 January. According to the bank, there will be 36 new-notes ATMs available in more locations – 27 community clubs …

The Commissioner of Charities has jointly developed the Code of Practice for Online Charitable Fundraising with four crowdfunding platforms, which are Give.Asia, Giving.sg, Ray of Hope Initiative and Simply Giving and the Code was launched by the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu at a forum on Tuesday morning (Jan 23). The forum was on giving matters organised by the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre …

by ValuePenguin Esports has been experiencing an explosive growth in popularity in the last few years. With its rise, a growing number of people are also aspiring to become a professional game player. In fact, many “esports academies” have been launching in SE Asia to jump on this opportunity to attract and train the future esports superstars. But does esports really …

Rights Record on Free Expression, Assembly Worsens (New York, January 18, 2018) – Singapore’s government imposed further restrictions on free speech and peaceful assembly while harassing and prosecuting critical voices in 2017, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2018. In the 643-page World Report, its 28th edition, Human Rights Watch reviews human rights practices in more than 90 countries. In his introductory essay, …

Gender equality group AWARE submitted its eighth annual set of recommendations for the National Budget through the public consultation portal REACH on 12 January, calling for the Government to take concrete steps in ending gender inequality. “It’s time to dedicate resources to a specific office – perhaps even a Ministry – tasked with achieving gender equality,” said Jolene Tan, AWARE’s …

Singapore Police Force (SPF) released a warning on Tuesday (16 January) on phishing websites after responding to SMSes (Short Message Service) that were purportedly sent by United Overseas Bank. It stated in a Facebook post that the Police have received reports where victims were cheated into providing their personal information and credit card details on the websites. The victims later …