Ethnic Kachin fighters are locked in battle against Burmese forces after a government offensive on the border town of Laiza – where the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) is based – sparked fears that authorities are planning a final push to oust the rebels. Fighting has been escalating since mid-April, when several rounds of peace talks – forming part of the government's much-heralded moves toward reform – reached no tangible outcome.The leadership of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) – Christians who have fought, on and off, for self-determination since 1961 – are now sandwiched between Burmese artillery and the Chinese border, which runs directly through the centre of Laiza.On Sunday, government troops fought their way through Nam Sam valley, a flat landscape pockmarked by goldmines. Rebel ... Continue reading →
FPI Member Attacked and Killed by MobVento Saudale | May 07, 2012 In this file photo, chairman of the Islamic Defenders Front, Habib Rizieq, right, attends the opening of the national meeting of the FPI in Sukaraja, Bogor, West Java. (Antara Photo) Share This Page Post a comment Please login to post commentComments 516398 simplesimon14 2:34pm May 7, 2012 seems as though the FPI are on the brink of becoming Indonesia's equivalent to the taleban. God help your country, whichever God is listening... Valkyrie 2:17pm May 7, 2012 Live by the sword, die by the sword. Personally, ....I do not trust ANY FPI member or their associates. Let the FPI realize that there are elements around that are not afraid to smother them. DrDez 1:33pm ... Continue reading →
How cops cracked the case of the broken skulls A sinister black magic practice operated above a convenience store The discovery of five discarded human skulls with large holes in their foreheads led police to track down a modern black magic practitioner. The five skulls, wrapped in a plastic bag and pulled out of a canal in Pathum Thani by a fisherman late last month, initially led to speculation of a major serial murder case. Kamronwit: Love potions didn’t work The truth, however, was even more bizarre. It was later found the skulls had been stolen by a witch doctor who used them to make love potions. The fisherman plucked the macabre find from the waters of Khlong 13 in Pathum Thani. Further examination of ... Continue reading →
Jakarta road 'jockeys' help drivers skirt the rules By Arlina Arshad (AFP) – 1 day ago JAKARTA — Jakarta's carpooling laws were meant to ease traffic jams. Instead, they have spawned an industry of professional hitchhikers who help drivers comply with highway rules -- for a fee.Hundreds of men, women and children line the main arteries of the Indonesian capital every weekday, offering to ride in private vehicles during rush hours, when cars are obliged to carry at least three passengers on key stretches.The "jockeys" -- as they are known -- do not stick out their thumbs like typical hitchhikers around the world. Here, one finger signifies a jockey working solo, while two offers a pair, usually a mother with a child in tow or ... Continue reading →
Members of the press hold placards during a rally to mark World Press Freedom Day in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Thursday, May 3, 2012. -- PHOTO: AP PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Several Chinese newspapers went 'black' to mark World Press Freedom Day today as a protest against the violence showed towards pressmen during Bersih 3.0. Sin Chew Daily, Nanyang Siang Pau, China Press, Guang Ming Daily and Oriental Daily printed their front pages in black and white to remind readers and authorities of the struggles pressmen face while carrying out their duties, especially during rallies. Sin Chew Daily editor-in-chief Pook Ah Lek said the paper decided to do so because many pressmen, including photographers, had been beaten during the rally. Mr Pook, ... Continue reading →
KUALA LUMPUR, May 3 — Police confirmed today that a cash ransom was paid to the kidnappers of 12-year-old Nayati Shamelin Moodliar, who went missing in front of Mont Kiara International School a week ago. Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Mohmad Salleh told a press conference that the payment was made in Cheras yesterday afternoon but said he could not reveal how much and how the money changed hands. "The family decided to pay the ransom. The demand was made immediately after the kidnapping. Police are still investigating the case under the Kidnapping Act, and if found guilty, the suspects will receive the death sentence," he said. However, he refused to say if suspects have been identified, saying instead no arrests have been made in ... Continue reading →
New Rule in Singapore to Curb High-Rise Falls of Indonesian MaidsAmelia Tan & Goh Shi Ting - Straits Times | May 01, 2012 Share This Page Post a comment Please login to post commentComments Be the first to write your opinion! Singapore. New Indonesian maids here will no longer be allowed to clean out-facing windows or hang laundry outside high-rise homes.This rule, released by the Indonesian government yesterday to The Straits Times, is part of a contract new maids and their employers will now have to sign before the maids can work here.It is effective from today.Maid agencies and worker welfare groups said such a clause signals employers to take the maids’ safety seriously.Lawyers, however, said that while the contract may be binding to the ... Continue reading →
Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday said she would swear an oath in Burma’s parliament, after a political row that saw her delay her debut in the legislature. The Nobel laureate told reporters at her National League for Democracy party headquarters in Rangoon she would take the swearing-in oath “according to the desire of the people.” The NLD had postponed their entrance into parliamentary last Monday in defiance of taking an oath that would have parliamentarians swearing to ‘safeguard’ the country’s controversial constitution. While the details concerning how the political impasse was resolved has yet to surface, the Associated Press is reporting that the NLD will make their parliamentary debut on Wednesday. Continue reading →
