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Jonathan Fairfield
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Cambodia opposition party members sentenced for insurrectionPHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Eleven members of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party were sentenced Tuesday to long prison terms after a court convicted them of insurrection over a protest last year that turned violent.
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2 Myanmar newspaper editors fined for insulting presidentAYE AYE WIN, Associated PressYANGON, Myanmar (AP) — A Myanmar court on Tuesday fined two editors of a weekly newspaper 1 million kyat ($809) each after finding them guilty of violating the country's media law by insulting the president.
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Dagon City’s Demise Casts Doubts on MyanmarDevelopers uncertain about Asian market after Buddhist monks block luxury projectBy SHIBANI MAHTANIYANGON—The $300-million Dagon City development promised to bring a touch of luxury to this decaying city. The design included hundreds of plush apartments, a high-end mall and thousands of square feet of desperately needed office space.Its biggest selling point was that it overlooked the Shwedagon Pagoda, the spiritual heart of Myanmar and a magnet for visiting dignitaries such as President Barack Obama.A government decision this month to ax the project and four others amid opposition from Buddhist monks, however, has left developers wondering if their investments are safe in one of the world’s fastest-growing real-estate markets.Since Myanmar began to open up in 2011 after decades of military rule, condominiums and grade-A office space have doubled or sometimes tripled in price as foreign multinationals scope out opportunities and set up local offices.As rents rose to match that of office space in Singapore, investors have made big bets that prices could rise further. Myanmar’s real-estate sector now accounts for $2.2 billion, or 4% of overall investment in the country.
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2 Myanmar newspaper editors fined for insulting presidentAYE AYE WIN, Associated PressYANGON, Myanmar (AP) — A Myanmar court on Tuesday fined two editors of a weekly newspaper 1 million kyat ($809) each after finding them guilty of violating the country's media law by insulting the president.The case was one of several seen by press freedom advocates as an effort to intimidate the media ahead of a general election scheduled for November.Nine other staff members of the weekly Myanmar Herald were acquitted in the case, which was filed by the Information Ministry last November after publication of an interview with a political analyst who described President Thein Sein as a fool.The paper's chief editor, Kyaw Swa Win, and the deputy chief editor, Arnt Khaung Min, were fined by a court in the capital, Naypyitaw, for violating the media law by printing articles affecting an individual's reputation."The judge said we are guilty of tarnishing the image of the president and we were charged under the media law for not being ethical," Arnt Khaung Min said by phone."We have to be cautious because the harassment on media freedom has increased, but we don't feel threatened by such repression," he said, describing the pre-election climate for the media as very bleak. "We will continue to do our job."The London-based human rights group Amnesty International said last month that the government's efforts to restrict freedom of expression had intensified over the past year.Myanmar started moving in 2011 from a half-century of military rule to democracy, but many of its political reforms, including media freedom, have stalled. About 10 journalists are serving jail terms ranging from two to seven years, a journalist was killed in military custody and more than a dozen others are facing trial, including a group of 17 editorial staffers from the influential Daily Eleven newspaper on contempt of court charges.The Daily Eleven, taking advantage of new press freedoms after the military regime made way for a civilian elected government in 2011, has published a series of stories on alleged corruption, abuse of power and inefficiency in the judicial system. The outspoken CEO of the Eleven Media Group, Dr. Than Htut Aung, was attacked last week by assailants who used slingshots to shoot steel bolts at his car, damaging the vehicle but leaving the publishing executive unhurt. The motive of the attackers remains unclear, though the attack has contributed to a chilling atmosphere for journalists.The press freedom group Reporters Without Borders last week named Thein Sein as one of the world "leaders who publicly threaten journalists."
-- (c) Associated Press 2015-07-22
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Thailand, Vietnam uncooperative in Khmer Rouge probe, judge saysPHNOM PENH:-- A top judge at a U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal in Cambodia on Monday criticized Thailand and Vietnam for refusing to provide evidence in the trials of Khmer Rouge leaders accused of atrocities during the 1970s "killing fields" era.Mark Harmon, an international judge in the hybrid U.N.-Cambodian court, said he had written numerous letters to the governments of Thailand and Vietnam since 2013 asking for access to evidence that could "determine the truth", but neither country had responded.The tribunal has delivered verdicts against only three former Khmer Rouge since it was set up almost a decade ago and it has been fraught with problems, from funding shortages to allegations of political interference to limit the scope of investigations."Both governments have failed to produce relevant documents that could assist with the investigations," Harmon said in a statement.
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Cambodia opposition party members sentenced for insurrectionPHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Eleven members of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party were sentenced Tuesday to long prison terms after a court convicted them of insurrection over a protest last year that turned violent.The July 15, 2014, protest in Phnom Penh came as opposition lawmakers were boycotting parliament to demand political reforms, claiming the previous year's election had been rigged by Prime Minister Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party. An agreement reached the next month saw the opposition members agree to take their parliamentary seats.The government deployed civilian security auxiliaries armed with batons and homemade weapons to keep the protesters out of the capital's Freedom Park. Violent clashes followed, which each side claims the other initiated.Leading opposition spokesman Meach Sovannara and two other defendants were sentenced to 20 years in prison for leading the protest. Eight others received seven-year sentences for taking part. All had pleaded innocent.Hun Sen has been in power for almost three decades, and while Cambodia is formally democratic, his government is authoritarian and known for intimidating opponents. The country's courts are widely seen as doing the government's political bidding."During the trial, which has had intermittent hearings since December 2014, not one plaintiff identified any of the 11 defendants as having committed any act of violence during the event," LICADHO, a respected local human rights group, said in a statement issued after the sentencing.It said that only one of the nine defense lawyers was present at Tuesday's hearing, with the others reported to have boycotted the event because the court had accelerated the trial process despite poor health on the part of some of the defendants."When judges unexpectedly called for closing arguments, the defendants requested a delay until their lawyers could attend. The judges denied the request and deliberated for just 15 minutes before returning with the verdicts and sentences. As they began to deliberate, police and military police entered the courtroom and the road outside the courtroom was simultaneously blocked," said the group's statement.It quoted LICADHO director Naly Pilorge saying these actions made it clear "that this was a show trial with a predetermined ending," apparently to intimidate the opposition party.The government and the opposition disagree over a bill that would greatly restrict the activities of non-governmental organizations, a large and active sector in Cambodia. Lawmakers from the Cambodia National Rescue Party boycotted the vote on the bill in the lower house, where it passed with government support. It must still be approved by the Senate, another government-dominated body.
-- (c) Associated Press 2015-07-22
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Microsoft just released a critical security update for ALL versions of WindowsIf you’re one of the billions of people using Microsoft Windows, it’s about time you did a software update. Today there’s an emergency patch for all versions of Windows that fixes a flaw allowing someone to remotely access your machine and execute rogue code.
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Russian with throat cut found in SihanoukvilleThe body of a dead Russian man was found with a slashed throat in a canal near Sihanoukville’s Otres beach over the weekend, and police said yesterday they have identified another Russian national as the murder suspect.Read more: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/842047-russian-with-throat-cut-found-in-sihanoukville/
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Thailand and Vietnam urged to cooperate with Khmer Rouge tribunalOutgoing international co-investigating judge Mark Harmon yesterday called on the governments of Vietnam and Thailand to cooperate with the Khmer Rouge tribunal’s requests for documents pertaining to controversial Cases 003 and 004.
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Workers protest court injunction
Tue, 21 July 2015Mom KunthearDays after Phnom Penh Municipal Court issued an injunction ordering striking workers at a Phnom Penh garment factory to return to work within 48 hours, strike supporters demonstrated outside the court yesterday.
Judge Pich Maren released the return-to-work order on Thursday, after Akeentex Pte Ltd, where workers at their Meanchey and Por Sen Chey district branches walked off the job about two weeks ago, filed a complaint to the court.
“[The Collective Union of Movement of Workers (CUMW)] officials must stop activities such as provoking workers, bringing speakers in front of the factory and blocking the factory’s entrance and the road in front of it,” part of Maren’s order reads.
read more: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/workers-protest-court-injuction
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Underage African footballers 'trafficked' to LaosBy Piers EdwardsBBC Africa sportLAOS:-- African footballers as young as 14 are being trafficked to Asia and forced to sign contracts, the BBC has learnt.Read more: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/842058-underage-african-footballers-trafficked-to-laos/
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In Myanmar, Some Farmers Drop Poppies for Coffee BeansSimon Lewis, Daniel De CarteretTAUNGGYI, MYANMAR— For 54-year-old farmer Long San, growing opium makes simple economic sense.Read more: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/842059-in-myanmar-some-farmers-drop-poppies-for-coffee-beans/
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In Myanmar, Some Farmers Drop Poppies for Coffee BeansSimon Lewis, Daniel De CarteretTAUNGGYI, MYANMAR— For 54-year-old farmer Long San, growing opium makes simple economic sense.He started planting poppies - which produce the resin that can be manufactured into heroin - eight years ago when the market for his traditional cash-crop collapsed. Like most people in Long Tway village, in the steep hills of Myanmar’s southern Shan State, he used to plant his fields with cheroot leaves, which are used to roll cigars.“After I switched to opium I could make about $2,500 (3 million kyat) a year,” he said. “With cheroot leaves I was only making $250 (300,000 kyat).”Despite the windfall, Long San and other farmers in this area interviewed by VOA now say that opium’s inconsistent yields, the soil erosion caused by deforesting the hills to plant poppies, and the threat of government eradication programs mean they are willing to abandon the illicit crop.Since late last year, the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has been recommending coffee as the replacement. They hope the mountainous region’s altitude will lend itself to producing high-quality coffee for export.Read more: http://www.voanews.com/content/in-myanmar-poppies-replaced-with-coffee-beans/2870365.html
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Underage African footballers 'trafficked' to LaosBy Piers EdwardsBBC Africa sportLAOS:-- African footballers as young as 14 are being trafficked to Asia and forced to sign contracts, the BBC has learnt.Six minors are still with top Laos side Champasak United, after it imported 23 under-age players from West Africa to an unregistered football academy in February, a BBC investigation found.Fifa regulations prohibit the movement of players to a foreign club or academy until they are 18.The club, based in the southern city Pakse, denies any wrongdoing."Fifa is in contact with several member associations in order to gather all information to assess the matter and safeguard the interests of the minors," a Fifa spokesperson told the BBC.
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Cambodian tycoon attack victim: 'I cannot accept what he did to me'Oliver Holmes in BangkokA Cambodian TV star who was filmed being dragged to the ground and punched and kicked in the head says she refuses to be daunted by the wealth of her assailant.
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Myanmar military chief defends political role, reportYANGON:-- Myanmar's commander-in-chief reiterated the need for the military to continue its powerful role in politics and said he would consider standing for president in November elections if asked to do so, according to an interview broadcast on Monday.Read more: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/842038-myanmar-military-chief-defends-political-role-report/
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Cambodian tycoon attack victim: 'I cannot accept what he did to me'Oliver Holmes in BangkokA Cambodian TV star who was filmed being dragged to the ground and punched and kicked in the head says she refuses to be daunted by the wealth of her assailant.CCTV footage of the violent assault by real estate tycoon Sok Bun on Ek Socheata, better known as Sasa, has shocked the country of 15 million.The 28-year-old TV host and actor said the attack happened at a Japanese restaurant in the early hours of 2 July. She said she was protecting a drunk Japanese friend whom Sok Bun and his bodyguard were trying to put in a car.“I said: ‘Please leave her. Don’t push her again and again. She doesn’t want to go. And she is so drunk, let her sleep,’” Sasa told the Guardian from a clothes shop she owns in the capital of Phnom Penh.When she told Sok Bun that she would call the police, she said he lunged at her.“He grabbed my hair. And hit me and put my head down again and again,” Sasa said.Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/20/cambodian-tycoon-sok-bun-attack-victim-ek-socheata-sasa
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Myanmar military chief defends political role, reportYANGONMyanmar's commander-in-chief reiterated the need for the military to continue its powerful role in politics and said he would consider standing for president in November elections if asked to do so, according to an interview broadcast on Monday.Senior General Min Aung Hlaing told the BBC that he had no intention of stepping down from his role leading the military this year, ending some speculation about his plans, but he left open the possibility of accepting a presidential nomination."If people ask me to do this duty, I will decide then," he told the BBC.Myanmar's military retains a strong position in the Southeast Asian country's quasi-civilian government that came to power in 2011, ending 49 years of direct military rule, and has shown little interest in ceding its control.Under the military-drafted constitution, presidential candidates do not need to be legislators. The constitution also reserves 25 percent of seats in parliament for unelected military officers
-- Reuters 2015-07-21
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Millions of cheaters could be exposed after data leak hits adulterers’ social network “Ashley Madison”Ashley Madison, a popular social network for anyone who wants to cheat on their other half, has been hacked by a group (or possibly just an individual) that has also started to post users’ personal data online.
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New York’s Kennedy airport builds world’s first animal terminalVERENA DOBNIK, Associated PressNEW YORK (AP) — Jet-setting stallions and high-flying hounds at New York's Kennedy Airport can look forward to a new luxury terminal that will handle the more than 70,000 animals flying in and out every year.The ARK at JFK, its name inspired by Noah's biblical vessel, will more than measure up to terminals for humans: Horses and cows will occupy sleek, climate-controlled stalls with showers, and dogs will lounge in hotel suites featuring flat-screen TVs. A special space for penguins will allow them mating privacy.The ARK is billed as the world's first air terminal for animals.Set to open next year, the $48 million, 178,000-square-foot (16,500-square-meter) shelter and quarantine facility will take in every kind of animal imaginable — even an occasional sloth or aardvark. From The ARK, they'll head to barns, cages, racetracks, shows and competition venues in the United States and abroad.Many arriving animals are quarantined for a period of time (for horses, it's normally about three days) to make sure they're not carrying contagious diseases. And The ARK is designed to make their stay as pleasant as possible, with hay-lined stalls for up to 70 horses and 180 head of cattle, plus an aviary and holding pens for goats, pigs and sheep.For dog owners, The ARK will offer a 20,000-square-foot (1,860-square-meter) luxury "resort" run by the company Paradise 4 Paws, complete with bone-shaped splashing pools, massage therapy and "pawdicures with colored nail pawlish." Dogs can watch flat-screen TVs and their owners can check in on them via webcam.Cats will have their own trees to climb. And all animals will have access to a 24-hour clinic run by Cornell University's veterinary college.Even animals that don't need to be quarantined — a huge dog that can't fit in the cabin and has to travel as cargo, for example — will be held at the facility until departure or pickup by its owner."A lot of our design making is in collaboration with veterinarians and consultants to help minimize the amount of stress placed on the animal," said Cliff Bollmann, a leading airport architect working on The ARK for the San Francisco-based architecture firm Gensler.Kennedy receives the bulk of animals entering the United States, but there are similar facilities near airports in Chicago, Los Angeles and Miami. Until Kennedy's ARK opens, animals in transit will continue to be handled at the airport's aging Vetport, built in the 1950s.Lachlan Oldaker, an Oklahoma-based equine specialist and key member of the architectural team, called The ARK "an enormous leap forward.""The design allows planes to taxi directly to the building, so horses can be transported in a seamless fashion that reduces stress," she said.The ARK is being built on the site of an unused cargo terminal that has been demolished. ARK Development, an affiliate of the Madison Avenue real estate company Racebrook Capital, has signed a 32-year lease for the airport property with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey agency that runs Kennedy.When completed, the facility is subject to approval by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Animals will be charged fees — still being determined depending on services — that will help fund the terminal. High-end dog "suites" could top $100 per night.Transporting animals by air is not aimed at low-income owners. A flight to London for a dog can cost about $1,000, plus a crate, airport fees and vet certifications. And moving a horse can add up to at least $10,000.The ARK's designers have had to meet challenges not found in other architectural projects — for instance, figuring out how to dispose of animal waste. They came up with the idea of a "poo chute," an angled floor from which manure slides into a container.The equine wing is a welcome improvement to international show jumper and organizer Derek Braun.Horses must currently be driven to a quarantine facility in Newburgh, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Kennedy. The ARK has an in-house quarantine."I personally, as well as competitors for my shows, ship so many horses from Europe each year that having the peace of mind that one step of the travel process will be eliminated is a big relief because it eliminates part of the risk of injury," he said.
-- (c) Associated Press 2015-07-20
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DM becomes a complete joke for domestic flights under these conditions.
Will try to avoid for outbound flights at all price.
Does anyone have first hand experience/updates?
Not first hand experience but there's lots of people posting pics of long delays on Twitter:
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New security measures at Don Mueang airport causing long delays
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New security measures at Don Mueang airport causing long delays
(Pics: Matichon)
As from 17 July 2015 security measure at Don Mueang International Airport is revised.
Every piece of baggage both hand-carry and loaded baggage must be x-rayed before entering the check-in area.
This measure is aimed to prevent the airport from the unlawful interference action that may cause the delay of process.
We truly apologize for any inconvenience that may occur.
Source: AOT
pic: @Ravenclaw_sam
Thailand Live Wednesday 22 Jul 2015
in Thailand News
Posted