Mong Palatino · February, 2014

Latest posts by Mong Palatino from February, 2014

UNICEF Calls for “Child-Free” Protests in Thailand

  24 February 2014

After a grenade explosion killed three children in an anti-government protest site in Bangkok, the United Nations Children’s Fund urged government and protest leaders to protect children by keeping them away from protests. Bijaya Rajbhandari, the UNICEF Representative in Thailand, made this appeal: (The UNICEF) condemns the violence that resulted...

Myanmar's Last Remaining Synagogue

  24 February 2014

Built 120 years ago, the Musmeah Yeshua synagogue in Yangon is the last remaining Jewish synagogue in Buddhist-dominated Myanmar. Aside from being a tourist attraction, it is also listed as an archaeological heritage building in the city.

Assessing Myanmar's Democratic Transition

  19 February 2014

Tomás Ojea Quintana, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, concluded his mission by assessing the country's democratic transition: For the time being, the military retains a prevailing role in the life and institutions of Myanmar. State institutions in general remain unaccountable and the judiciary is not...

Miss Online Award in Miss Indonesia Pageant

  18 February 2014

Aside from presenting their beauty, charm, talent, and intelligence, contestants of the Miss Indonesia 2014 beauty pageant also learned to be tech-savvy. Special tech-related awards were given during the contest such as Miss Chatting, Miss Social Media, and Miss Online.

PHOTOS: Saigon in the Past 50 Years

  14 February 2014

The Saigoneer features several photos published by the French Consulate in Saigon, Vietnam that highlight the changes that took place in the city between 1955 and 2005. Slideshow: How Saigon, #Vietnam Changed from 1955 – 2005 http://t.co/mdfjPyQGgz pic.twitter.com/Z6teefeXLo — Saigoneer (@Saigoneer) February 12, 2014

‘Bizarre’ Thailand Elections

  14 February 2014

Thai writer Aim Sinpeng describes the recent election in Thailand as one of the most bizarre in the country's history: The February 2 election in Thailand was not only one of the most bizarre, but also “pointless” elections in recent memory. “Missing” polling stations, locked up ballot boxes, an M16...

No Winners in Thailand Elections?

  8 February 2014

Chris Baker analyzed election statistics in Thailand and concluded that there are no clear winners in the elections: My overall impression is that nobody won. If full data are every released, Pheu Thai (ruling party) will probably have won a majority of the seats. But the party cannot have won...

Why Vietnam-made Game Flappy Bird is Popular

  8 February 2014

Vietnam-made game Flappy Bird is today's number one app in the iOS App Store in over 100 countries. It already has more than 50 million downloads and it even beat Facebook's Paper app. Anh-Minh Do of Tech in Asia explains the popularity of the game: It’s so hard that it’s...

French Influence on Vietnamese Cooking

  6 February 2014

Writing for The Culture Trip, Melissa Pearce reviews the French impact on Vietnamese cooking: The French brought many ingredients and flavours to Vietnam, most popular and noticeable upon entering the country is probably the baguette, which the Vietnamese adapted and today create their own style of baguette using rice flour.

Singapore's Public Order Bill Threatens Human Rights

  6 February 2014

Teo Soh Lung from Singapore, writing for The Online Citizen, warns against the dangers of the proposed Public Order (Additional Temporary Measures) Bill 2014: Civil rights proponents should be wary of the unfettered rights of police officers to subject them to security searches and banning orders. Those who intend to...

Singapore Hijab Movement

  2 February 2014

Muhammad Haikal echoes and clarifies the arguments of the Singapore Hijab Movement: Muslims are not asking for ALL women to wear hijab in ALL sectors, rather we are asking that for those ALREADY wearing the hijab, to allow them to continue wearing it. By telling the Muslims that you are...