https://www.scmp.com/rss/507922/feed Marielle Descalsota is a freelance photojournalist who writes about sports and culture in Asia. She is from the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Despite the Philippines’ former dictator Ferdinand Marcos plundering government coffers and killing thousands during his rule under martial law, his son’s star continues to shine bright in the run-up to the country’s presidential election in May. The support for Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jnr, 64, is especially strong among Philippines’ 2.2 million overseas workers. Before the pandemic that forced thousands to return to the archipelago jobless, they remitted home US$33.5 billion in 2019,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3161800/philippine-election-why-are-overseas-filipinos-such-big-fans?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3161800/philippine-election-why-are-overseas-filipinos-such-big-fans?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 Jan 2022 01:00:31 +0000 Malay food continues to gain popularity around the world but it is, at times, still misunderstood. In Britain, for instance, a Malaysia-born contestant was eliminated from cooking show Masterchef in 2018 after one of the judges said her chicken rendang – a dish that is traditionally slowed-cooked in coconut milk and spices until tender – was not crispy enough, almost sparking a diplomatic incident. It is little wonder the cuisine’s complexity remains unfamiliar to most. Beyond the five basic... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3159270/what-makes-singaporean-malay-food-unique-mee-rebus-nasi?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3159270/what-makes-singaporean-malay-food-unique-mee-rebus-nasi?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Dec 2021 05:00:29 +0000 When it comes to death, veteran embalmer Dennis Pedrozo has seen it all in his 24 years of preserving bodies. But nothing prepared him for the Covid-19 pandemic, which has changed long-standing funeral practices. While Singapore’s Covid-19 death toll remains one of the lowest in the world, there was a sudden spike in infections and deaths in October, following clusters linked to karaoke lounges and fishery ports. Singapore recorded 30 Covid-19 deaths in the 14 months following the country’s... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3157839/singapore-sees-more-covid-19-deaths-last-year-what?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3157839/singapore-sees-more-covid-19-deaths-last-year-what?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Nov 2021 04:10:58 +0000 When Derrick Nguyen moved to Singapore 10 years ago, it was as if he had come full circle. The American chiropractic business owner had lived in a refugee camp in the city state for five months from 1979 to 1980, after his family fled Vietnam in the years following the fall of Saigon. His father had fought alongside the United States against the North Vietnamese during the war. “We went through the Mekong River and headed out towards the ocean. A Norwegian oil tanker picked us up and said that... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3152552/heaven-earth-singapores-vietnamese-refugee-camp-hawkins-road?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3152552/heaven-earth-singapores-vietnamese-refugee-camp-hawkins-road?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Oct 2021 00:30:31 +0000 When Philippine boxing legend Manny Pacquiao recently filed his certificate of candidacy to run for president in next year’s election, overseas Filipino workers (OFW) were watching closely. Regarded as a national hero, Pacquiao earned enormous support across his 26-year career, with many fans abroad consistently following his fights on pay-per-view television. Some spent their hard-earned savings to watch his bouts live. But as he hangs up his boxing gloves for the biggest political fight of his... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3151111/can-philippine-boxing-star-manny-pacquaio-fight-corruption-some?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3151111/can-philippine-boxing-star-manny-pacquaio-fight-corruption-some?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Oct 2021 08:00:25 +0000 The US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 enabled women athletes to represent the country at the Olympic Games for the first time. Even so, the progress was only gradual; Afghanistan has sent 23 athletes to the Games since then, yet only four have been women. Now, the Taliban’s return to power following the American withdrawal this summer threatens to put an end to what little progress has been made. On September 8, the Taliban’s cultural commission official Ahmadullah Wasiq announced a ban on... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3149830/meet-defiant-afghan-athletes-vowing-fight-talibans-ban-womens?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3149830/meet-defiant-afghan-athletes-vowing-fight-talibans-ban-womens?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Sep 2021 04:00:22 +0000 As Typhoon Vamco, the deadliest storm of the year for the Philippines, battered the country’s main island of Luzon earlier this month, Jake Raven, a 24-year-old native of Cagayan province, in Luzon’s northern tip, was watching closely from Singapore. Raven moved to the city state as a high school student to live with his parents, who emigrated in 1993. Just two months ago, he lost his job in the food and beverage industry, one of the many casualties of the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite his personal... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3111731/filipinos-singapore-rush-fill-aid-vacuum-wake-typhoon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3111731/filipinos-singapore-rush-fill-aid-vacuum-wake-typhoon?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Nov 2020 01:30:10 +0000 What began as high school and university demonstrations against Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha have transformed into a fully fledged movement towards political reform. Since February this year, photographs of the protests in Thai cities including Bangkok and Chiang Mai have become a common fixture in the news. Yet there has been little critical analysis of the photojournalism surrounding these events, which have drawn heavily on the iconography of The Hunger Games film trilogy. The films... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3110742/problem-hunger-games-photographs-thai-protests?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3110742/problem-hunger-games-photographs-thai-protests?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Nov 2020 03:00:19 +0000