Bach Thien

Dio Suhenda (The Jakarta Post) PREMIUM Jakarta   ● Tue, June 28 2022 The recent government crackdown on hardline Muslim mass organization Khilafatul Muslimin, which is thought to have either funded or is affiliated with a number of educational institutions throughout the country, has sown fresh concerns over the threat of intolerant education in schools. Authorities cracked down on the group, alleged to be looking to replace the state ideology of Pancasila with the caliphate, following a series of public outings by the group in Jakarta in late May. Police have now arrested two dozen members, including their leader Abdul Qadir Hasan Baraja, for violating the 2017 Mass Organization Law. Educators say the discovery of dozens of Islamic boarding schools operated by the Khilafatul Muslimin should be a cause for alarm, calling the government to increase monitoring and guidance of schools down to the grassroots level. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting … [Read more...] about Intolerant schools cause for alarm, but humane approach necessary: Experts

SINGAPORE - A 1½-year-old boy who came down with Covid-19 has died, said the Ministry of Health. In a statement on Monday night (June 27), MOH said the child died of encephalitis - or inflammation of the brain - due to Covid-19 and two other viruses. The two viruses are the respiratory syncytial virus and the enterovirus. This is Singapore's first death caused by Covid-19 in a patient below 12, MOH said. It added that the boy had no other past medical history and was previously well. He was taken to KK Women's and Children's Hospital's (KKH) Children's Emergency Department on the night of June 21 with a high fever and recurrent seizures, and subsequently began to lose consciousness. He was then admitted to the Children's Intensive Care Unit in critical condition on June 22, and was diagnosed with severe meningoencephalitis. This refers to the inflammation of the brain and the meninges, which are membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord. The boy’s polymerase chain … [Read more...] about Toddler becomes Singapore’s first Covid-19 death under age 12

Jace Roque For pop and electronic dance music (EDM) artists like Jace Roque, the height of the COVID-19 pandemic was a particularly tricky period to navigate. His brand of sound is best experienced with throngs of rollicking revelers. But with no live shows, club parties and music festivals, Jace had to make do with solo performances, create his own energy and be his own hype man. “It was awkward for me to perform my tracks because they should be shared with people dancing or jumping around. I live off the audience’s energy. But now that we do more online guest appearances, we’re typically asked to film ourselves performing and then send the video to the production team,” Jace told the Inquirer in a recent interview. “It’s challenging because there are no people to draw energy from and I end up having to do multiple takes. So I just imagine that there’s an audience because it’s hard to perform alone. I need interaction and reciprocation of energy,” Jace, who’s behind the … [Read more...] about How the rise of P-pop helped EDM artist Jace Roque pursue his original vision for music

Angeline Quinto Singer-actress Angeline Quinto admits to feeling more vulnerable to bashers now that she is a new mom. “Before having a baby, my fears were mostly related to Mama Bob (her late adoptive mother Sylvia). I never really had fears for myself. Now that I have my baby, it’s all about what I can and cannot do for him. Just like most celebrity moms, I don’t care much about the negative comments of people about me, but when they start talking about my family, that’s a different story,” the 32-year-old told Inquirer Entertainment. Angeline began being active as a vlogger when the pandemic hit in 2020. It was through her channel that she announced her pregnancy, the identity of the father of her child, and shared the elaborate gender reveal party. It was also via her vlog that she got to encounter haters. Emotions Angeline told Inquirer Entertainment how she would react to most of them. “My entire pregnancy journey was documented on my vlog. I shared everything there, … [Read more...] about New mom Angeline Quinto now CEO of own business

Regine Velasquez (left) and Sharon Cuneta in “Iconic” Watching “Iconic,” the sold-out concert topbilled by Megastar Sharon Cuneta and Asia’s Songbird Regine Velasquez at Resorts World Manila (RWM) last June 17 and 18, is as much a heartwarming trip down memory lane as it is a celebration of the Filipino performers’ prodigious skill, artistic sensitivity and top-notch musicality. First staged at the Big Dome three years ago, the two-night show, mounted to jump-start the songstresses’ nine-city US tour—set to begin in California on July 17—has been retrofitted from a slam-bang spectacle at the Big Dome to a more intimate affair at RWM’s Marriott Grand Ballroom worthy of its performers’ legacy as true-blue OPM legends. On its opening salvo, the show, weighed down by a couple of false stops-and-starts that a more intensive pickup rehearsal can’t fix, was far from perfect. But it’s easy to see why the show is more than the sum of its unpolished parts. For one, its stars’ … [Read more...] about More than the sum of its parts: Concert proves why Sharon and Regine are ‘Iconic’