I hate that we in the #Philippines 🇵🇭 have inherited a car-centric mentality due to nearly 50 years as a colony of the United States. Having experienced the excellent public transportation of cities like Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Berlin, London, Milan, Amsterdam, and Madrid, I can only feel sadness because the transportation system in Manila is way behind our peer metropolises in Southeast Asia.
TIME Magazine noted PH President Marcos Jr. attempts to rehabilitate the name of Ferdinand Marcos Sr., and that his win in the elections was thanks to the "whitewashing" of his family's plunder of the country.
Remove the #POGO. But don't touch the students, especially those who have been studying here for a very long time without causing any problems. That's fucking #racist.
Why are the POGOs still here anyway? They contribute nothing but a climate of fear in the areas it touch both for us #Filipino locals and #Chinese visitors, and the Chinese government wants us to remove them anyway because those gambling hubs shelter their fugitive oligarchs. Are the taxes gained from these crime-ridden businesses really worth it? Just do the right thing goddammit :seija_coffee:
In the PH, hellish heat to continue through May. The country's weather agency warned that "temperatures could reach over 40 degrees Celsius in the coming weeks."
The most affected regions are Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Mimaropa, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Zamboanga peninsula, Soccsksargen, Cordillera Administrative Region and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Apple CEO Tim Cook is in Indonesia this week, meeting with the President and other government ministers to discuss investment plans, meet with local creators, visit the Apple Developer Academy just outside of Jakarta, and apparently eat sate ayam.
Points from local media coverage and Presidential press conference:
• Indonesia manufactures 50 million smartphones a year, imports 2.8 million.
• Indonesia imports around $2 billion worth of iPhones a year (gives a unit cost of over $800), 85% of all imported phones.
• Apple invests around $100 million to set up and run Developer Academies in the country, 4th site expected to open early next year in Bali. The other two are in Batam and Surabaya.
• The existing three Developer Academy sites have produced around 2,000 graduates.
• Ministers mentioned supply chain manufacturing and adding local share of components (currently 2/360) to the iPhone.
• Apple has met the local content requirement threshold of 35% for smartphones through Developer Academy investments but in 2026 this increases to 40%.
• The Coordinating Minister for Investments has been tasked to oversee all the steps to ensure the country meets Apple’s supply chain, manufacturing, and other investment requirements.
The PH military alarmed by the "more than 4,600 Chinese nationals have reportedly enrolled in a private university and rented homes in various locations in Tuguegarao [Northern Philippines]."
Who needs spies when you gladly welcome them as 'students'?
Very little is known about the #Punans. Today, they number a few thousand & live in small groups scattered over an immense territory in the #primeval#forest of #Borneo.
To survive in the jungle, the Punan had to invent their own #hunting techniques suited to their environment. But when a wild game is killed, they always adopt the little orphans that they find: monkeys or otters then become members of their families.
A few brave Singaporeans unfurled this banner in front of the iconic Marina Bay Sands, in a country where any public protest is illegal without prior approval and approved protests are only allowed at one park (and the authorities already said all registered protest applications relating to Gaza will be denied)
If they were foreigners they would almost certainly be deported. As citizens they’ll definitely see some legal action
Speaking of recent restaurant growth in Singapore, I just looked at a tiny sliver of the downtown area and there is now: a Slavic restaurant (Kapitan), Colombia (Bacatá), Peruvian (Araya), S African (Tamba), Irish (?? Tilly's), vegetarian omakase (Ki Su)
And thousands of Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Thai restaurants, on top of the tens of thousands of Singaporean / Malaysian / Indian restaurants and stalls. ;/
I just really miss that density and variety for food
I always look forward to going back to Singapore to eat because, other than the 'street' food, the mid and fine dining scene has really exploded in the past couple of years.
For example, a Tamil take on 'omakase', a restaurant called AMMAKASE
When they scan my bags in Indonesia and their eyes widen and they say.. ‘di Singapore ga ada krupuk ya, bu?’ (Are there no crackers in Singapore or what?)
Having lived in Malaysia and Thailand and Indonesia, I put all the hot sauce at once to try to feel something, but don’t (the black Yucateco sauce, not pictured, is a slight tingle but very faint). All of these are just like, flavor. At least they’re tasty!
In my part of the world people chew on raw Birds Eye chillies for fun so
Huh, so what other #ASEAN#gamers have mentioned, South-East Asia now have a better ping to European gaming servers than US West Coast (or any US-based gaming servers).
This is interesting. I'm going to expand my test in the future. But for now, the results are the same with or without VPN. I guess ASEAN now have a direct connection to the EU IX and uses the latest technology?
I wonder where our connection passes through to get to the EU.
Here in the Philippines, our connection goes through:
Taiwan or Hong Kong
From there it travels the Pacific Ocean to US West Coast.
From US West Coast, it travels to Central.
From Central to East Coast.
From East Coast to Europe.
If we now have a connection direct to EU IX, then it means we're no longer passing through the US?
Ooh, found this article: “12 of Asia’s most important submarine cable projects”
> Massive growth in connectivity demand in Asia has led to increased capacity requirements, and construction of submarine and subsea cables is growing to meet this demand. An estimated $2.6 billion worth of current and future submarine cable projects are planned for completion by 2025 – here are profiles of 12 of the most important.
It looks like by 2025, connection with the US West Coast is going to be far better than it already is. I guess, from a gamer perspective, we should stick to North American servers. LOL ^_^;; Maybe the EU connection is better right now because there were projects which were recently completed?? But once the other projects connecting us to US West Coast are online, our NA connection will still be better in the long run.
#Israel has said it has informed the families of 31 people held in the territory since 7 October that their relatives are dead. The news came as the Qatari prime minister said #Hamas had given a “generally positive” response to proposals for a deal trading a break in the fighting and release of #Palestinian prisoners for the return of more #hostages.
Israeli newspaper #YediothAhronoth reported Thursday that #Indonesia had agreed to normalise its ties with #Israel. The media outlet said #Jakarta needed Israel to approve its request to join the #OECD.
The #TimesOfIsrael, confirmed the report, citing an Israeli official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity about Indonesia’s possible normalisation of ties with Israel. #Gaza#TootSEA