DPA: Blogs added to Singapore's historical archives (Jan 7)

Singapore - Blogs are being added to Singapore's historical archives as part of the National Library Board's move to retain a record of online content, news reports said Monday.

The library is aiming to archive 100 weblogs, so-called blogs, produced by individuals who are recognized experts in their fields of knowledge, famous personalities or award-winning blogs, by the end of this year.

'Content from blogs often offers views which would otherwise not be accessible from (mainstream) media,' The Straits Times quoted Raju Buddharaju, director of digital resources and services, as saying.

He described blogs as an invaluable source of social commentary for present and future generations.

The NLB's eventual goal is to archive all websites in the .sg domain, which are those registered in Singapore, by 2010, the report said.

Eleven have been selected so far. Among them is Yawningbread.org, a prominent blog championing gay rights by Alex Au, the blog's founder. Another is Air-Conditioned Nation by media academic Cherian George.

China and Japan have similar archives of online material.

The NLB's archiving project started in October 2006. It has recorded 25,000 Singapore websites of social and historical value.

DPA: Record numbers undergoing testing for HIV in Singapore (Dec 1)

Record numbers undergoing testing for HIV in Singapore

Singapore - Nearly 6,000 people were tested for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, during the first nine months of 2007 in Singapore, a record number for the city-state, news reports said Saturday. The figure reflects the increasing options people have to be tested anonymously and quickly, health officials said.

By the end of October, there were 356 people who tested positive, one person less than the total for all of 2006, according to findings reported in The Straits Times.

More than half of those with HIV were in the late stages of infection, the Health Ministry said.

More than two-thirds of those testing positive in the first half of the year got the virus through heterosexual sex, while less than a quarter were exposed through gay sex, the report said.

Nine in 10 of the HIV cases were people aged 20 to 59.

Early testing enables HIV patients to start on medication that can help them live relatively normal lives much longer.

"Diagnosing for HIV is not difficult," Dr Roy Chan, president of Action for Aids, was quoted as saying. "The more avenues we have, the better."

He attributed delays in getting tested to the stigma still associated with the disease.

Speedy tests have become available at 100 clinics since August. More testing sites are planned.

DPA: Irate gamers blast banning of game with same-sex love scene (Nov 15)

Irate gamers blast banning of game with same-sex love scene

Nov 15, 2007, 2:28 GMT

Singapore - Irate gamers criticized Singapore's censors Thursday for banning a highly anticipated space adventure game containing a sex scene between a human woman and a female alien.

The game, called Mass Effect, is the first from Microsoft to be prohibited in the city-state. It was to be launched next week.

Microsoft submitted Mass Effect last week to the Media Development Authority (MDA) as part of the routine procedure to get games distributed.

'We respect MDA's decision,' a company spokesman said.

The scene triggering the ban depicts the human-alien duo in suggestive positions and ends with the alien saying, 'By the Gods, that was incredible, Commander.'

Homosexual scenes in other media such as films are rarely allowed and shown only if they do not promote a gay lifestyle.

Germaine Ong, deputy editor of a local website, told The Straits Times that she has received many complaints from gamers.

'Banning the game because of one scene has caused a huge backlash from gamers, and I don't think it is worth it,' she was quoted as saying.

'People will just try to buy it from overseas sites or download from illegal sites, which is a step backward for us.'

Two other games were banned in the past, one for nudity and the other for excessive violence and religiously offensive expletives.

© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

DPA: Seven in 10 people in Singapore frown on homosexuality

Singapore - Seven in 10 people in Singapore frown on homosexuality, with the highly religious and those conforming to social norms most likely to be anti-gay, a study said on Thursday.

Conducted by Nanyang Technological University's School of Communication and Information, more than 1,000 individuals were queried.

The findings published in The Straits Times showed that 68.6 per cent of the respondents 'generally held negative attitudes,' 22.9 per cent had positive attitudes and 8.5 per cent were neutral.

'Intrinsic religiosity,' - viewing religion as the primary driving force in life - emerged as the strongest predictor of anti-gay sentiment, the study said.

On average, Christians and Muslims were seen as holding significantly more negative attitudes than Buddhists and freethinkers.

Those who conformed to social norms also viewed homosexuality negatively.

The law in Singapore criminalizes homosexual sex, although it is rarely enforced. The government told parliament recently that public feedback made it clear that the majority of people want the law to remain.

Most married people and the elderly also held a more negative view of homosexuality than those who were single and young, the study said.

© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur