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Sources

Singapore Looks To Curb Deadly 'Falling Maids' Epidemic

THE STRAITS TIMES/ CHANNEL NEWS ASIA (Singapore)

SINGAPORE – "Since January, there have been nine fatalities, compared to four cases in 2011 and eight in 2012," reports the Straits Times.

Is the newspaper talking about car accidents or bird flu? No, that's the number of maids that have died from falling out of a building while they were cleaning the exterior of office or apartment windows.

Following the recent spate in accidental falls, Singapore's Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has ruled that foreign domestic workers are not allowed to clean outside windows.

According to Channel News Asia, employers failing to comply risk a fine of $3900-$7800 and six to 12 months in jail. They can also be permanently barred from employing a foreign domestic worker.

In Singapore, like in Hong Kong or Dubai, it is quite common to look up and see a silhouette dangling out of high-rise window, with a rag in hand or hanging laundry.

The maids –hailing from poorer Southeast Asian countries– are paid from $170 to $270 a month, depending on experience and nationality, and usually work seven days a week.

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Geopolitics

Why The Political Left In Poland Is So Perennially Weak

For years, Poland’s political scene has been dominated by divisions between the centrist Civic Platform (PO) and the conservative ruling party, Law and Justice (PiS). Now, on the eve of national elections, a far-right party Konfederacia is also rising. Where is the progressive left in Polish politics?

Photo of a Lewica ("Left") meeting in Warsaw, Poland, with a flag from the left-wing party in focus while members of the crowd and participants are out of focus

At a Lewica ("Left") meeting in Warsaw, Poland

Ziemowit Szczerek

-Analysis-

The latest results of the United Surveys poll for Polish news website wp.pl were divided between the current ruling party, the Catholic right-wing Law and Justice (PiS), which is supported by 33.8% of Polish voters, closely followed by the centrist opposition coalition, KO, currently trailing behind at 28.1%. The far-right Konfederacja, running on a free-market, nationalist platform, is in third place, with the support of 8.8% of voters. Only 8.7% of Polish voters are presently expected to turn out for the Left.

With neither of the two major parties expected to gain a majority in Parliament, Poland’s political future may well be determined by smaller parties who could form a ruling coalition with either of the two. Currently, Konfederacja’s success has caused worry from opponents who fear the ruling party’s potential alliance with the potential emerging kingmaker, which has expressed controversial anti-Ukrainian, antisemitic and ultra-nationalist viewpoints.

Though not unique in the ranks of post-communist countries, many of which have also been wary of venturing into what they believe to be better left to the historical past, journalist and author Ziemowit Szczerek argues that, with a realigned message and greater attention to common causes, the political Left could have a fighting chance in a country that has been under right-wing rule since 2015.

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