Lazada, a leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia, has been dubbed as the “Amazon of the region” by many analysts and observers.  The platform, which was acquired by Alibaba Group in 2016, operates in six countries, including Singapore, where it has a dominant market share of 43%. Lazada offers a wide range of products and services, from electronics and fashion, …

Taiwan, a self-ruled island that China claims as its own, to hold its presidential and parliamentary elections on January 14, 2024, amid rising tensions and pressure from Beijing.  The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which advocates for Taiwan’s separate identity and sovereignty, won a landslide victory with its candidate, current Vice President Lai Ching-te, defeating his rivals from the opposition …

North Korea, the world’s most isolated and secretive country, has opened its doors to the first known tourists since the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020.  A group of 20 Russians, accompanied by two guides from a Vladivostok-based agency, embarked on a four-day tour of Pyongyang and a ski resort on February 9, 2024. The trip was arranged by the …

Dubai has been named the world’s No.1 destination in the 2024 Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards, making it the first city to achieve this recognition for three consecutive years in a row.  The awards are based on the quality and quantity of traveler reviews and ratings posted on Tripadvisor over 12 months. Dubai surpassed other popular destinations such as Bali, London, …

The Department of Education (DepEd) launched the Catch-up Fridays program on January 12, 2024, to address the learning gaps among students in basic education. The program dedicates every Friday of the school year to reading, values, peace, and health education, as well as homeroom guidance. The program is not graded, but aims to reinforce learning and enhance skills among students. …

TikTok, a popular video-sharing app, has become a new battleground for Indonesia’s presidential candidates, who are trying to attract young voters ahead of the February 14, 2024 election.  The app, which has around 99 million monthly active users in Indonesia, allows users to create and share short videos with music, filters, and stickers. The app also features live-streaming, interactive talks, …

The de facto ambassador of Taiwan to the United States, Hsiao Bi-khim, met with the U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on January 9, 2024, in Washington, D.C.  The meeting, which was the first of its kind in more than four decades, marked a significant upgrade in the unofficial relations between the U.S. and Taiwan, a self-governing island that China claims …

South Korea is facing a demographic crisis, as there are far more young men than young women in the country. This is the result of a historic 30-year-long imbalance in the sex ratio at birth (SRB), which reached as high as 115 boys per 100 girls in 1990. The normal SRB is around 105 to 107 boys per 100 girls.  …

Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s prime minister since November 2022, faces a formidable challenge from the “Green Wave”, a term coined to describe the surge of support for the Islamist party PAS and its allies in the recent state elections. PAS, which advocates for the implementation of Islamic law and the preservation of Malay-Muslim supremacy, won a landslide victory in Kelantan and …

The Red Sea, a vital waterway for global trade and commerce, has been under threat from the Houthi rebels, a Yemeni group backed by Iran, who have launched more than 100 attacks on commercial vessels since October 2023. The attacks have disrupted the flow of goods and services, increased the costs and risks of shipping, and endangered the lives and …