Wednesday #sgroundup: Singapore activists warn of surging xenophobia

By Jeanette Tan | What's buzzing? – 

Here are today's top trending stories in case you missed them:

Singapore activists warn of surging xenophobia

In this photo taken Feb. 9, 2014, migrant workers populate a senior citizens corner and children's playground …

Guest workers and expatriates are increasingly the target of "xenophobic" attacks on social media, Singapore's leading activists groups warned Wednesday.

The groups expressed their concern of a worrying trend in "blaming foreigners for social ills" such as overcrowding, local unemployment.

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/singapore-activists-warn-surging-xenophobia-064647576.html

Alibaba to buy SingPost stake for S$312.5 million to boost e-commerce logistics

FILE - In this March 17, 2014 file photo, people walk past a company logo at the headquarters of Alibaba Group …

A unit of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd will buy a minority stake in Singapore Post Ltd for S$312.5 million ($249 million) to help set up an international e-commerce logistics business.

Alibaba will buy a 10.35 percent stake in Singapore Post (SingPost) in the enlarged capital of the firm, the companies said in a joint statement. After the deal is complete, Alibaba will become the second biggest shareholder in SingPost after Singapore Telecommunications Ltd, the stake of which will fall to about 23 percent from nearly 26 percent.

https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/alibaba-buy-singpost-stake-249-million-boost-e-082133782--finance.html

Chinese elderly commit suicide to avoid coffin ban

Villagers carry a coffin on April 22, 2013, containing a man who was killed after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit …

Six elderly people in China are said to have committed suicide to ensure they died before new regulations banning coffin burials come into force, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.

China has a tradition dating back thousands of years of ancestor worship, which usually requires families to bury their relatives and construct a tomb.

But in recent years local governments across the country have demolished tombs as part of a national campaign encouraging cremation, in an attempt to save on limited land resources.

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/chinese-elderly-commit-suicide-avoid-coffin-ban-064205238.html

Value of HDB flats held by households drops 0.7 per cent

National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan says his ministry will impose a cap on the number of flats sublet to …

The value of HDB flats held by households dipped by 0.7 percent to $412.8 billion in 2013 due to higher supply and the series of property curbs imposed in recent years, according to media reports.

This marks its first annual decline since 2005, following growths of 14.5 percent in 2010, 11.5 percent in 2011 and 6.8 percent in 2012. The data, compiled from the Monetary Authority of Singapore's (MAS) website, suggests the value of households' holdings of HDB flats is possibly reaching an inflexion point.

https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/hdb-flats-value-households-holdings-drops-0-7-041429547--sector.html

Victoria Beckham warned Eva Longoria about Singapore's hot weather

Eva Longoria in Singapore to support the second store opening of Italian Jewelry brand Damiani.

"Desperate Housewives" star Eva Longoria graced Singapore's shores on Wednesday in support of her longtime friend Italian jeweller Damiani, at the opening of a second store here.

She said she was surprised by how "big" Changi Airport was, and also shared that her experience jogging at the Gardens By The Bay was a "magical" one.

https://sg.entertainment.yahoo.com/blogs/singapore-showbiz/victoria-beckham-warned-eva-longoria-about-singapore-s-hot-weather-093630531.html

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/what-is-buzzing/wednesday--sgroundup--singapore-activists-warn-of-surging-xenophobia-110657873.html