Here is a poetic journey through some heavily flooded areas of Phnom Penh, Cambodia after a short hard rain storm.Here is a poetic journey through some heavily flooded areas of Phnom Penh, Cambodia... more
An internal audit found that the World Bank did not follow environmental and social standards in its interactions with Indonesian palm oil plantations.
The audit comes on the heels of reports regarding another threat to Indonesia's rain forests. According to MongaBay.com, a developer overseeing construction of a hydroelectric project in Borneo is planning to burn a large area of rainforest where the dam is being built.An internal audit found that the World Bank did not follow environmental and social... more
JAKARTA—(UPDATE) The Association of Southeast Asian Nations took a major step towards becoming an EU-style community Monday with the passing into force of a new charter setting benchmarks for democracy.
"This is a momentous development when ASEAN is consolidating, integrating and transforming itself into a community," Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said.
"It is achieved while ASEAN seeks a more vigorous role in Asian and global affairs at a time when the international system is experiencing a seismic shift," he added, referring to climate change and economic upheaval.
The charter will give ASEAN, often dismissed as a talking shop, greater clout in international negotiations but critics argue that some member states will continue to get away with gross human rights abuses.
ASEAN consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.JAKARTA—(UPDATE) The Association of Southeast Asian Nations took a major step... more
Southeast Asia will be hit particularly hard by climate change, causing the region's agriculture-dependent economies to contract by as much as 6.7 percent annually by the end of the century, according to a study released Monday.
The Asian Development Bank study identified four countries as especially vulnerable: Indonesia and the Philippines with large coastal populations facing rising sea levels, and Thailand and Vietnam where rice yields could drop 50 percent due to water shortages.
"You have to think about developing countries' capacity," ADB Senior Economist Tae Yong Jung said. "They are not really well prepared. Their capacity to handle extreme events is much lower than the developed world."
He said globally climate change would cost the equivalent of 2.6 percent of gross domestic product each year by the end of the century.
If nothing is done to combat global warming, the report said that by 2100 the four Asian countries would see temperatures rise an average of 8.6 Fahrenheit (4.8 Celsius) from the 1990 level. They would also likely suffer drops in rainfall leading to worsening droughts and more forest fires, more destructive tropical storms and flooding from rising seas that could displace millions of people and lead to the destruction of 965 square miles (2,500 square kilometers) of mangroves.
The economic cost, according to the report, would be 6.7 percent of gross domestic product by 2100.
The key for Southeast Asia would be protecting its remaining tropical forests which have fallen victim in recent years to widespread illegal logging and the expansion of palm oil plantations, the report found. Deforestation represents as much as 75 percent of the four country's emissions.Southeast Asia will be hit particularly hard by climate change, causing the... more
SINGAPORE : Sixty—eight mothers took part in a mass breastfeeding session on Saturday.
The Breastfeeding Mothers’ Support Group organised the event to encourage more mothers to breastfeed their children for at least six months, and provide complementary food with continued breastfeeding for two years and beyond.
That is the standard recommended by the World Health Organisation.
Less than 1 per cent of Singapore mothers exclusively breastfeed their babies.
The event was also held to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week.
Guest of Honour Yu—Foo Yee Shoon, who is Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports, said, "A lot of us, mothers, don’t have (the) knowledge...So I think the first few weeks are very important, because we would struggle in whether we have enough milk...so I think in the hospital, the nurse can give the parents advice, especially the mother.
"The nurse told me that nutrition wise, mother’s milk is 200 times more (nutritious) than a cow’s milk...so I think it’s a good thing we need to promote for the health of the children. I (also) understand that kids who (are) breastfed are less prone to sickness..." — CNA/msSINGAPORE : Sixty—eight mothers took part in a mass breastfeeding session on... more
"Myanmar's cyclone-devastated Irrawaddy delta and Indonesia's Sumatra island face high risks of arsenic contamination in groundwater that could cause cancer and other diseases in residents, according to a new study.
Using a digitalized model that examines geological features and soil chemistry in Southeast Asia, researchers writing in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Geoscience mapped several likely hot spots that had never been assessed for arsenic risks.
"Obviously, there is concern," said Michael Berg, one of the five authors, who is a senior scientist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology in Dubendor, Switzerland. "If you look at our data, there is risk of arsenic in the ground water."
Arsenic, especially in drinking water, is a global threat to health, affecting more than 70 countries and 137 million people. The country worst affected is Bangladesh, where hundreds of thousands of people are in danger of dying from cancers of the lung, bladder and skin.
Odorless and tasteless, arsenic enters water supplies from natural deposits in the ground or from agricultural and industrial practices. Arsenic is poisonous when consumed in high doses, but even smaller amounts can cause cancer, skin problems and abnormal heart rhythms ..."
By Michael Casey, Associated Press"Myanmar's cyclone-devastated Irrawaddy delta and Indonesia's Sumatra... more
Residents from a coastal village have said only the passenger ferry's bow was visible above the waves, after a typhoon caused it to capsize leaving 700 people on board feared dead. A search for survivors is being carried out today.
The company which owns the vessel, Sulpicio Lines, says it lost contact with the ferry at around 5.30am British time yesterday. It had been en route to the island of Cebu from Manila, the capital. A rescue mission was forced to abort yesterday due to high seas.
The bodies of two women and some children's slippers were washed ashore from the boat, the Princess of Stars.
Recent flooding in nearby Capiz is said to be 'massive', with more than 2,000 houses destroyed in the provincial capital alone. Officials are still said to be struggling to make contact with communities further afield.Residents from a coastal village have said only the passenger ferry's bow was... more
The name change is confusing, but it has socio-political implications.
Burma has been the historic name of the region since the 11th century. Burma became an independent parliamentary democracy in 1948, but a 1962 coup gave a military junta absolute power. In 1988 citizens of Burma held a nationwide protest demanding an end to the junta. Reports indicate that soldiers fired on unarmed protesters, killing thousands. After the protests an internal coup emerged. The ruling faction then established an election, but only after imprisoning opposition party leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. In a 1990 she received over 80% of the parliamentary seats. Democracy still doesn’t exist in the country.
In 1989 the ruling faction decided to rename the country, Myanmar, the Burmese word for “strong and fast.” As it stands Myanmar is a term that represents the ruling party, and not the people. The Burmese people who struggle for a fair democracy call their nation Burma. The policy of the European Union and the United States is to call the nation Burma, in symbolic protest of the dictatorship.
The issues in this country are complex. These are some links to learn more about Burma/Myanmar
Burmese pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi http://www.dassk.com/index.phpThe recent cyclones in South Asia have brought Burma into the news, but some sources... more
Police arrested more than 100 protesters in the Indonesian capital Saturday after some burnt tyres and threw molotov cocktails during a rally over fuel price rises, police said. Indonesia hiked the cost of fuel by nearly 30 percent from Saturday in response to soaring global oil prices, and a ballooning subsidy bill, leaving hard-pressed households facing even more economic woes.
“More than 100 people have been detained for questioning,” a police officer identified only as Ari told AFP.
He said that hundreds of students staged the rally early Saturday in front of the National University in South Jakarta over the price rise decision.
“Protesters have thrown small fuel bombs (molotov) towards the police and burned tyres on the streets,” he said.
Police also arrested about 26 protesters who rallied outside the presidential palace at midnight on Friday, when the price rise came into effect, Detikcom News Website reported.
A police officer said protesters had no permit to stage a rally there.
In Bandung city in West Java, 1,000 protesters from hardline Muslim group Hizbut Tahrir held a protest Saturday morning to condemn the government’s move on prices, local ElShinta radio reported.
Many ordinary Indonesians say higher fuel prices combined with the recent surge in the cost of food will put an intolerable strain on family budgets.
The price hike sparked protests across the sprawling archipelago of 234 million people when it was flagged earlier this month by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
The government defended the decision on Friday, saying in a statement that even with the hike, fuel was still subsidised and “lower than in poor countries such as East Timor.” Police arrested more than 100 protesters in the Indonesian capital Saturday after some... more
Indonesian police were questioning a man today on suspicion that he murdered his lover and at least four other people, a police detective said. Verry Henyanksyah was arrested last week after a dismembered male body was found in a suitcase in the capital, Jakarta, said police Colonel Carlo Tewu. He said Henyanksyah allegedly said the victim was his lover and confessed to the murder. He then led police to four other bodies buried outside his parents' home in east Java, Tewu said.
Henyanksyah told police all the victims were male and that one was a Dutch citizen, he said. The bodies, which were unearthed yesterday, were too decomposed to immediately identify them or establish their sex. Tewu said he feared Henyanksyah may have killed more people, and urged residents to inform police if they knew anyone who had contact with Henyanksyah and then disappeared.
Over the past month, Indonesia has executed four people convicted for murder, two of whom were serial killers.Indonesian police were questioning a man today on suspicion that he murdered his lover... more
"Cambodia and Thailand further increased their forces in the fifth day of a tense standoff on disputed land near an ancient Hindu temple on the border, officials said on Saturday.
More than 500 Thai troops and well over 1,000 Cambodian soldiers are stationed around a small Buddhist pagoda on the slope of a mountain leading to the ruins of 11th century Preah Vihear temple...
...The standoff nearly erupted into violence late Thursday, when witnesses said troops twice pointed their guns at each other during 10 tense minutes at the pagoda when 50 Cambodian troops entered the pagoda compound to protect food supplies for dozens of monks.
Officials from both countries plan to meet Monday to resolve the standoff. But Premier Hun Sen and told his Thai counterpart in a letter Thursday that the dispute was worsening and harming their relations."
(End of excerpt)
Full article at link.
"Cambodia and Thailand further increased their forces in the fifth day of a tense... more
Poverty and underemployment drive much of the population out of the Philippines, where the number one export is people. There are about 11 million overseas Filipino workers around the world who send back over $20 billion in remittances a year, which keeps the Philippine economy afloat...sort of. This is a look at those families left behind and those longing to leave. Their destination? Anywhere.Poverty and underemployment drive much of the population out of the Philippines, where... more
Did you happen to misplace your Boeing 727 at the Hanoi airport?
There is an unclaimed jet that has been sitting at the airport since late 2007. Airport officials think that its from an a defunct Cambodian airline. Either way, if it's not claimed it's going to be sent to the scrap yard.Did you happen to misplace your Boeing 727 at the Hanoi airport?
There is an... more
In the same week that a US official has accused the Myanmar junta of being 'deaf and dumb' to foreign aid pleas, rights groups have urged the regime to stop forcing survivors of the recent cyclone to return to their shattered homes, where they face more misery and perhaps death.
Yesterday saw the junta begin the process of evicting destitute families from state-run disaster relief centres, fearing that the 'tented villages' would become permanent fixtures.In the same week that a US official has accused the Myanmar junta of being 'deaf... more
The government of Myanmar agreed Monday to allow the 10-member Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations to coordinate international cyclone relief efforts in cooperation with the United Nations, according to Singapore's foreign minister, George Yong-Boon Yeo.
Myanmar also agreed at an ASEAN meeting to accept medical teams from ASEAN countries, several of which have already sent doctors. Yeo didn't say how the agreements would affect the way non-ASEAN aid is received and distributed, details that may be worked out in further negotiations.The government of Myanmar agreed Monday to allow the 10-member Assn. of Southeast... more
Indian culture is so popular in the West these days. Being South Asian myself, I find it interesting to see people embrace eastern symbolism with very little knowledge about its origins.
I’ve explored the themes of Indian-inspired clothing (saris, salwar kamis...), beauty, and symbolism ('om,' buddhas...) and their prominence in the western community. I also interviewed a few Indians and a few White people to get their take on this phenomenon.
What do you think?
Do you think ancient traditions are being commodified?Indian culture is so popular in the West these days. Being South Asian myself, I find... more
An aid charity has warned that 30,000 Burmese children face starvation due to the delay in distributing international aid in the wake of Cyclone Nargis.
Save the Children said that under-fives living in the Irrawaddy delta were already "acutely malnourished" when the cyclone hit on May 2 and it believed some children in the stricken areas of Burma may now be dying from lack of food.An aid charity has warned that 30,000 Burmese children face starvation due to the... more
About 80 percent of Burma's estimated 52 million people are Buddhist, and many there rely on the principle of karma to explain the storm. Many of Burma's people believe cyclone Nargis is a karmic consequence of its military rulers' brutal crackdown on Buddhist monks last year.
The word "karma" is often misunderstood by Westerners as one's inescapable destiny, scholars say. In Sanskrit, the word means "action" and refers to the act that creates one's fate, not fate itself. For Buddhists, particularly those in Southeast Asia, karma regulates morality as firmly as Newton's law rules motion: to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.About 80 percent of Burma's estimated 52 million people are Buddhist, and many... more
