Five Cambodian fishermen have been arrested for a brutal attack on a group of French tourists in which two women were raped at knifepoint on an isolated Thai beach, police said Monday.

It is the latest high profile assault on foreign visitors in Thailand, a country that is hugely reliant on its lucrative tourist trade.

Investigators said four French holidaymakers were attacked late Saturday on KohKut (also known as KohKood), an underdeveloped island close to Cambodia's western border with Thailand.

Police said the attackers allegedly swam from their fishing boat to assault the group.

Two injured male victims escaped to raise the alarm. When locals and police reached the scene the five attackers ran off but were swiftly apprehended, police major generalNopparatRinthaphol told AFP. 

"They (the attackers) all confessed and police have already brought them to do a re-enactment," he added, referring to a common police technique where the accused replay their crimes for investigators, often in front of the media.

The alleged assailants have all been charged with rape and violent assault while the victims have been taken to hospital on the mainland.

Thailand remains an enormously popular tourist destination with more than 28 million people visiting last year, a record high. 

The December to February period, when the tropical climate is cooler, is peak tourist season.

But a number of grisly and violent crimes against foreigners has sullied the country's reputation as a tourist haven.

In September two Myanmar migrant workers were sentenced to death for the 2013 murder of two British backpackers, one of whom was raped, on the diving island of Koh Tao after a controversial investigation and trial.

Thai authorities insist the two men are guilty. But the defence team believes the pair have been scapegoated by a local police force desperate to get results.

Tourism remains one of the few bright spots in the Thai economy accounting for at least 10 percent of GDP. 

The junta-led country posted a lacklustre growth rate of just 2.8 percent last year, one of the lowest in the region with analysts saying much of that growth came from tourism.

Given just how many people visit Thailand, the kingdom remains a relatively safe destination with violent attacks still rare.

Instead it is the less headline-grabbing scourge of traffic accidents that claims far more tourist lives.

In a 2015 study on global road safety the World Health Organization found Thailand had the world's second most dangerous roads with 36.2 fatalities per 100,000 people. Only Libya's road fatality rate was higher.

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A powerful and shallow earthquake struck Wednesday off Indonesia's Sumatra island, sending panicked residents rushing from their homes in a region hit hard by quakes and tsunamis in the past.

Local authorities initially issued a tsunami warning but lifted it several hours later, and there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The 7.8 magnitude undersea quake struck at a depth of 24 kilometres (15 miles) at about 6:50 pm (1250 GMT), the US Geological Survey said.

The epicentre was several hundred kilometres from the Mentawai Islands, a small chain southwest of the country's main western island of Sumatra.

The quake was felt strongly in Padang, a major city on western Sumatra, sparking panic. An AFP journalist there said people ran from their homes and fled to higher ground by motorbike, car or on foot.

Traffic ground to a halt and there was a sense of panic on the streets, the journalist said.

The local BMKG quake-monitoring agency issued a tsunami alert for several provinces with coastlines on western Sumatra but later lifted the warning. 

The small Mentawai archipelago is regularly hit by quakes and in 2010 was devastated by a quake-triggered tsunami that left hundreds dead. 

Aceh province on the tip of Sumatra was devastated by a quake-triggered tsunami in 2004. The tsunami killed more than 170,000 people in Indonesia and tens of thousands more in other countries around the Indian Ocean.

- Warning sirens –

Disaster agency spokesman SutopoPurwoNugroho said tsunami warning sirens were after the earthquake activated and "people responded to the early warning by evacuating to higher places".

BambangSoelistyo, head of Indonesia's search and rescue agency, said there had not been any reports of casualties so far.

"In the Mentawai Islands, there has been no reports of damage and people have been evacuating to higher areas," he told AFP.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where the meeting of continental plates causes strong seismic activity, and is frequently hit by earthquakes.

Hundreds died when a major quake struck near Padang in 2009.

Plans for evacuation shelters and improved roads to provide better escape routes from tsunamis since 2004 have mostly not been realised, according to experts.

In Australia, to the east of the Indonesian archipelago, authorities said there was no tsunami threat to the Australian mainland but issued a marine threat to Cocos Island and Christmas Island off the east coast.

Evacuations were not required, according to the Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre, but there was a possibility of dangerous waves and strong currents.

People in Christmas Island were advised to get out of the water and move away from the immediate water's edge.

Sri Lanka's Disaster Management Centre, a government agency for the Indian Ocean island where tens of thousands died in the 2004 disaster, did not issue a tsunami warning Wednesday, but said it was monitoring the situation.

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Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Mr. Hong Lian said that China hoped there would be no more incidents of stray bombs falling on Chinese territory and Myanmar could achieve peace in the country after the new government assumes office.

“China is the country which wants most to see peace in Myanmar so that there will be no more stray bombs falling on our territory,” he told reporters, referring to the the war that broke out between the Myanmar Army and Kokang forces last year.

He said these words at a meeting with reporters at his residence on March 4.

He said China was practicing an “open door policy,” one in which no bombs from other countries fell on Chinese territory, but Myanmar had proved to be the exception.

“The bombs from Paukphaw (friendly) country of Myanmar fell on our territory. We would have retaliated if the bombs were from other countries,” he added.

“We welcome the NLD (National League for Democracy) government if they will achieve peace in the country and avoid such incidents happening again. It is important for Myanmar to have reconciliation with the Myanmar ethnic armed forces,” he said.

“We cannot say which one is the most important for Myanmar at present and which work should be done as the most important. The NLD said that they would push to achieve peace in the country. There will be no development unless there is peace,” he said.

The Chinese Ambassador stressed that his country wanted to maintain the current friendly relations between two countries.

When he was asked by a reporter who he would like to see as the new president in Myanmar, he replied: “This must be decided by the Myanmar people.”

The Myanmar parliament will shortly be going through the process of nominating and electing a new president. At present, the NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi is blocked from the presidency by Article 59(f) of the military-written 2008 Constitution that bars anybody who has family members who are foreigners.

Police in Sai Yok district, Thailand, on Sunday arrested a total of 46 undocumented Myanmar immigrants in two separate actions.

In the first action, police at the Phu Noi checkpoint on Bong Ti-Wang Pho road in tambon Lumsum stopped two pickup trucks for a search at about 1.40am.

Twenty-one Myanmar migrant workers, including the Myanmar driver, were found in the first vehicle, a Mazda pickup truck.  

Found in the second vehicle, a Nissan pickup, were 18 Myanmar migrants. The driver of the pickup was a Thai man, identified as Tonrak  Chamroonchotkobkij, 37, a native of Kanchanaburi's Thong Pha Phum district.

The two drivers said they were hired to take the migrant workers from a forest near Ban Thai Muang in Sai Sok district to Pak Kilen village in tambon Sing of Sai Yok district. From there, the workers were to be taken to different destinations in the country.

An additional report from Daily News Online said at about the same time, police at another checkpoint on Kanchanaburi-Sangkhalaburi road in tambon Tha Sao searched a bus and found seven undocumented Myanmar nationals on board.

All of the undocumented Myanmar nationals were charged with illegal entry. The Myanmar driver of the first vehicle was additionally charged with smuggling illegal immigrants into the country. The Thai driver of the second vehicle was charged with the smuggling of illegal immigrants.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/887432/46-illegal-myanmar-nation...

Two more refugees resettled in Cambodia from an Australian detention camp have returned home, the government said Tuesday, sparking renewed criticism about the Aus$55 million ($40 million) scheme.

Under Canberra's hard-line policy to stop asylum-seeker boats reaching its shores, those arriving by sea are denied resettlement in Australia even if found to be genuine refugees.

Instead they are turned back to their country of departure or sent to the tiny Pacific state of Nauru or Manus Island in Papua New Guinea.

The government also struck a deal with Phnom Penh in September 2014 to take in refugees in exchange for millions of dollars in aid, a move condemned by rights groups and questioned by the UN.

Initially, only four people held on Nauru -- three Iranians and one ethnic Rohingya man from Myanmar -- volunteered to move to the impoverished Southeast Asian nation, which has a weak record of upholding human rights. A fifth, another Rohingya, later joined them.

One of the Rohingya decided to return home last October, citing homesickness. Now two of the three Iranians have also left.

"Refugees can elect to return to their country of origin at any time, which is what an Iranian couple in Cambodia decided to do recently," said a spokesman for Australia's Immigration Minister Peter Dutton.

A Cambodian immigration spokesman said the couple were "quite happy living in Cambodia, but they returned to Iran because they were homesick after a long time away".

Despite the recent departures, Cambodian officials said there are no plans to suspend the programme. 

The International Organization for Migration (IOM), which is assisting Cambodia with the resettlement, confirmed that Australia has continued to fund the programme, though not all of the allocated budget has been used. 

"IOM continues to receive funding from the Government of Australia to implement settlement services in Cambodia but that funding has not amounted to Aus$15 million given the limited number of refugees arriving from Nauru to date," IOM spokesman Joe Lowry told AFP. 

Australia's Labour opposition party, which supports the detention of asylum-seekers at the remote Pacific facilities, said with so few opting for resettlement the Cambodian scheme was a "dud".

"Not only has the coalition (government) wasted Aus$55 million of taxpayers' money on this dud deal, they have also left more than 2,000 people on Manus and Nauru in limbo for nearly three years on their watch," said shadow immigration spokesman Richard Marles.

Dutton defended Sydney's policy and the arrangement with Phnom Penh. 

"The government remains committed to supporting the government of Cambodia to implement settlement arrangements in Cambodia and encourages refugees temporarily in Nauru to explore this settlement option," he said.

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Six Bangladeshi migrants caught entering Australian waters by the country's border patrol have been sent back to Indonesia on a fishing boat, an Indonesian official said Thursday.

The move drew criticism from the Indonesian foreign ministry, which reiterated its opposition to Australia's controversial policy and warned such acts could be dangerous at sea.

The six men and two Indonesian crew departed the eastern Indonesian city of Kupang last week bound for Australia.

Local water police chief Teddy John SahalaMarbun said they reached Australian waters after three days at sea but ran into engine trouble, and were rescued by Australia's border patrol as their boat began to sink.

"After several days of sailing, the Australian customs vessel then entered Indonesian waters and handed the men over to an Indonesian fishing boat," he told AFP.

"They gave the fishermen fuel and other logistics, and asked them to return the men to East Nusa Tengarra (in eastern Indonesia)."

The crew have been detained in Kupang and could face people smuggling charges, which carry a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

The boat's captain Isai Rano admitted he was paid 92 million Indonesian rupiah (about $7,000) to take the six Bangladeshis to Australia, Marbun said.

Immigration officials are still questioning the Bangladeshis about how they managed to enter Indonesia, while police search for other possible suspects.

"We are having a problem communicating because they only speak very little English," Marbun said. 

Canberra's hardline policy of intercepting and turning back boats trying to reach Australia has largely stemmed the flow of vessels, but some still try to make the journey.

The controversial approach has caused particular tensions with Indonesia, the transit point for many would-be refugees and economic migrants en route to Australia.

Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir said Jakarta's position on the policy remained unchanged.

"We do not support such acts, especially when done on water. It could potentially be dangerous," he told reporters.

It would also not provide a permanent solution to illegal migrant issues, he added.

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Malaysia on Tuesday deported two Australian journalists who were detained after trying to question Prime Minister Najib Razak about multiple scandals swirling around him.

Najib's government has waged a months-long campaign to stifle scrutiny of the allegations of massive corruption that he faces, sparking warnings that press freedom was under assault.

He is battling accusations that billions of dollars were stolen from a state-owned fund he established in 2009, and is under pressure to fully explain his acceptance of a mysterious $681 million overseas payment.

Australian journalists Linton Besser and Louie Eroglu had been detained overnight in the city of Kuching on Saturday, then released but barred from leaving Malaysia pending possible charges.

But authorities abruptly dropped plans to charge them Tuesday and they flew to Singapore shortly after, their local attorney Albert Tang said.

"Obviously, they are relieved," Tang told AFP.

Malaysian police have accused the two men, from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), of crossing a security line, saying they "aggressively tried to approach the prime minister."

They had faced possible charges of "obstructing a public servant".

Najib, 62, also faces lingering questions over the murder in 2006 of a Mongolian woman by two of his bodyguards.

The victim, Altantuya Shaariibuu, was reputedly at the centre of alleged multi-million-dollar kickbacks in the 2002 purchase of French submarines when Najib was defence minister.

Government critics and anti-corruption activists have long alleged that the bodyguards -- who have been sentenced to death over the murder -- were ordered by higher-ups to kill Altantuya, possibly to silence her.

Najib denies any involvement.

'Roller coaster' experience

Besser had tried to question Najib on Saturday night as the prime minister visited a mosque in Kuching, capital of Malaysia's Sarawak state on Borneo island.

Speaking at Kuching's airport Tuesday, Besser told reporters it had been a "roller coaster few days" but declined further comment as the pair hurried to board their flight out.

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop on Monday had expressed concern, saying journalists should be allowed to work unhindered.

ABC denies Malaysia's accusations against the journalists.

"They did nothing wrong in Kuching. They were doing journalism," ABC News director Gaven Morris said, adding that he was "very glad and relieved" at the outcome.

"This incident has demonstrated again why it is vital to defend media freedom, including the right to question authority."

Najib and the state firm, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), deny suggestions that the $681 million payment he received was siphoned from the now debt-stricken company.

His government says it was a "personal donation" from the Saudi royal family, most of which was returned. The claimed Saudi link is widely ridiculed in Malaysia as false.

The government has moved to curb investigations and purge ruling-party critics who have called for transparency, and has repeatedly pressured media outlets that report on the affair.

In the most recent incident, authorities blocked access to a leading news portal after it ran a report implying guilt on Najib's part. 

The site, the Malaysian Insider, was shut down for good on Monday by its parent company.

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Indonesia Wednesday installed a prominent police general as its new anti-terror chief at a time when the Muslim-majority nation faces a rising threat from citizens flocking to join jihadists in Syria.

Tito Karnavian's promotion to head of the National Counter Terrorism Agency came two months after a suicide bombing and gun attack in Jakarta claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group left four attackers and four civilians dead.  

The agency has been strongly criticised for its failure to stop hundreds of Indonesians going to Syria to join IS, and for its inadequate programmes to rehabilitate terror convicts in prison.

One of the Jakarta attackers was an Islamic extremist who had spent years in jail, and police believe Indonesian radicals fighting in Syria may have had a role in planning the attacks along with others currently behind bars back home.

Karnavian was promoted to head the agency from his role as Jakarta police chief. In the past he has also headed the police elite counter-terror unit, which has enjoyed considerable success in tackling militancy.

"I am very happy to return to my natural habitat of counter-terrorism," he told reporters as he was inaugurated at the presidential palace in Jakarta. 

He said one of his priorities would be taking on radicals in Poso, a militant hotbed on the central island of Sulawesi where an extremist group has pledged allegiance to IS. 

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation, has suffered several Islamic extremist bomb attacks in the past 15 years, including the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people.

A crackdown had weakened the most dangerous extremist networks, but the emergence of IS has proved a potent new rallying cry for radicals.

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Both Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have sent their congratulations to U Htin Kyaw for being elected as the next President of Myanmar.

In his message Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid stated: "Both Bangladesh and Myanmar have the potential to contribute significantly to the development of not only our two countries but also to the region by connecting the South with the South-East Asia. I believe our joint efforts will help to make this region a better place and fulfill the aspirations of our two peoples".

The news, received by the press on March 18, was sent in a press release from the embassy. 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, while congratulating the President elect expressed, "we are hopeful that under the democratic dispensation, Myanmar will undertake long awaited political and economic reforms in an inclusive manner so that all her people enjoy benefits of democracy and development equitably without any exception".

Sheikh Hasina further mentioned, "Our geographic location, similar economic situation and commonalities in our historical past, present a unique opportunity to prosper together, availing our numerous complementarities that were not realized in recent decades. I earnestly hope that under your leadership Myanmar would undertake bold initiatives to infuse greater trust and understanding among our two peoples in order to unlock our true potentials. Towards such an end, I assure you that Bangladesh would come forward with matching contribution as an honest, trusted and natural partner of Myanmar, both in the bilateral and multilateral contexts".

Following the general election in November, 2015 Bangladesh Prime Minister was reportedly among the first few who congratulated Aung San Suu kyi and her party for securing a resounding election victory.

'Welcome to the Guesthouse. The small space is made to set you free from anxiety. But first you need to leave your old perceptions behind. You need to open your mind for new memories," says Kyaw Luck, a guide for the exhibition "Myanmar Up-Close", which opened last week at Museum Siam.

With yellowish tanaka powder on her face, YweWahOo is another guide who takes visitors around the exhibition. Both of them appear shy at first, but turn chatty when they share stories of their lives, or explain how trivial and mundane objects such as football shirts, social security cards or even a bottle of chicken or bird nest's soup displayed at the exhibition are relevant to their daily lives.

"Myanmar Up-Close" focuses on the life of Myanmar workers in Thailand. Kyaw Luck and YweWahOo, our two 19-year-old guides, are one among a million registered workers in the Kingdom.

Like many other migrant workers, both came to Thailand when they were young children, instead of being in school. Kyaw Luck left his village in Tiki when he was 12 and YweWahOo walked from her community in Dawei to Ranong province in Thailand when she was 14. 

Kyaw Luck and YweWahOo have worked at a number of menial, back-breaking jobs in farms, factories and food shops. Kyaw Luck now tends a rubber tree plantation in Rayong province, while WahOo works in a restaurant in OrmNoi district in Nakhon Pathom province. 

Like many other Myanmar migrants, they send 75% of their monthly income back home. Similar to others, they dream big -- returning home with a fat wallet and a thick gold chain around their necks. YweWahOo's dream is much bigger than her small frame. "I dream to open my own food shop, selling chicken and pork with sticky rice in my hometown in Dawei."

Objects on display might not be of any historical value but are meant to put a face to the 'faceless workforce' in Thailand. 

With charming innocence and heartfelt stories to share, needless to say, Kyaw Luck and YweWahOo have become the stars of the exhibition, which aims to bring the reality and not the stereotype of Myanmar closer to Thai perception.  

"There are good responses about Kyaw Luck and YweWahOo. Visitors get more curious about them, and I think listening to them talk about their lives is also part of touring in this exhibition. Their life experiences are the same narratives we depict in the show. How can you learn about Myanmar immigrants without getting to know them in person?" says TaweesakWoraritruengaurai, curator of the exhibition. "Myanmar Up-Close" presents the life of Myanmar workers in a more casual, intimate and humane way. The exhibition is also a refreshing departure from cultural and educational exhibitions, which are characterised by exhibition boards and have interactive screens with tedious data.

Myanmar recently chose its first civilian president in 60 years, and the political progress of our neighbouring country is being closely watched, but an exhibition that emphasises the importance of the local people makes the country more approachable.

The curator says the exhibition is meant to give visitors a pleasant time -- an idea always pursued by Museum Siam -- as well as an understanding about hopes, dreams, social adaptation, survival strategy of the workers through decorative art, functional art and spiritual art in the conceptual and architectural design of "Guesthouse".

"We nicknamed the exhibition space as Guesthouse. We want the exhibition space to exude a casual atmosphere. Guesthouse is a place where you can take your hat off and meet new friends," says Taweesak.

At first, the curator wanted to recreate the "deploring scene of Soi Thai Union", the largest community of Myanmar workers located in Mahachai district in SamutSakhon province. But after interviews with Myanmar workers there, he changed his mind.

"We usually think of their life as deplorable and tragic. But for them, their lives are not that bad nor intolerable. What we think of as abhorrent conditions are acceptable conditions for them."

The exhibition is timely and relevant. Myanmar is a new debutante in the regional political and economic foray. The country is the new investment hot spot and also a source of cheap labour for the Asean Economic Community (AEC). The country of 60 million citizens, and chronic ethnic clashes, is shedding the totalitarian state and becoming democratic.

In Thailand, Myanmar migrant workers have become a crucial part of economic production. As the Thai workforce shifts to a lighter and more middle-class service sector, Myanmar workers have replaced the cheap labour force in shophouse factories -- especially in the farming sector and seafood export industry -- as well as restaurants, malls, petrol stations, small businesses, and as domestic helpers in houses. In short, the presence of Myanmar people has become part of Thai life.

There are around a million Myanmar workers in Thailand, according to the Ministry of Labour, and it is the largest group of migrant workers. Workers from Laos number 200,000, while those from Cambodia are at 100,000. This shows a significant shift, because in 1988, the figure of Myanmar workers in the Kingdom was only in the thousands.

But despite a huge amount of Myanmar workers in society, Thai people still know very little about them. Even worse is that Thai perception is influenced by stereotypes born out of the bitter history between the two nations, not to mention media reports about crimes that in many cases involve Myanmar workers.

"We are so close to them physically yet we are so apart in terms of understanding. For us, Myanmar workers are obscure. They are almost everywhere but we do not know much about them, and are clueless how to react and deal with them. Many of us are experiencing culture shock in our own homes." 

To personalise the new experience, Taweesak designed the entrance of the exhibition space into a tunnel with the rooftop of a songthaew, a mode of transportation used by Myanmar migrants to travel into Thailand.

The songthaew has been used since 1988 when the first influx of Myanmar workers came to Thailand after dissidents and young students fled the crackdown from the junta. Thailand officially opened its doors to Myanmar workers in 1992.

Kyaw Luck remembered the feeling of being squeezed into a songthaew for two days. "Yes, it was jam-packed. But it was better than having to walk across the jungle for four or five days."

Another experiential space in the exhibition is a 5m by 5m room, decorated with just a small pillow and mat. YweWahOo politely asks visitors to use their imagination -- this is a replica of a rented room inhabited by six persons, or two families. To save costs, Myanmar workers in Thailand usually rent a small room of this size, costing around 3,000-4,000 baht. They sleep and prepare food in the room. Usually, one family works the day shift, while the other works at night, taking turns to use the shared space. The most interesting display turns out to be a cabinet with small lockers displaying trivial items from their daily lives -- Thailand's social security card, birth certificates of children born in Thailand yet unable to claim nationality, stainless steel lunch boxes, imported cheap medicine from Myanmar, Myanmar newspapers, football shirts and merit-making T-shirts of each community.

"These objects are things that are important for them, and reflect their hopes, dreams and survival strategy. We hope these things will make visitors see these alien workers as individuals, not just a faceless workforce in the factory and manufacturing sectors," says Taweesak. 

In one locker there is a gold chain, the most favourite object workers purchase as a gift for their families when they return home. Another locker holds chicken or bird's nest soup bottles -- another prized gift. And one of the coolest brand-name objects for them is the stainless steel lunch box set with the label that says "Made in Thailand".

"Their favourite brand is the most expensive Hua Ma Lai (Zebra Head) brand. They like it so much that many of them refuse to peel off label," says Taweesak. And of course, also on display is the tanaka powder that all Myanmar people use to protect their skin from the Sun, also using its fragrance to combat bad odour from their dirty work places. 

However, the truth is that Myanmar people often work in decrepit environments. For human rights, some cases can be qualified as modern slavery.

For YweWahOo, those work conditions means an opportunity for Myanmar workers. At least until her home country takes off in its own march for progress.

"We know there are Thais who will not work in dirty places, risky or dangerous work conditions and certainly not in back-breaking jobs. So Myanmar workers will always have opportunities here. Just give us jobs and we will work for you, no matter how hard it is."

"Myanmar Up-Close" is on display until July 31 at Museum Siam, Sanam Chai Road near Tha Tian pier and Wat Pho temple. Open 10am-6pm, Tuesday to Sunday. Free admission.

Thousands of Indonesian taxi drivers staged a violent protest Tuesday against Uber and other ride-hailing services, blocking major roads in the capital, clashing with drivers from app-based rivals and setting tyres alight.

The protesters, who also included motorised rickshaw and bus drivers, adorned their vehicles with signs saying "stop illegal taxis" and rallied in front of parliament and the communications ministry, in an upsurge of anger at apps that the drivers say are threatening their livelihoods.

As convoys of vehicles brought downtown Jakarta to a standstill, the demonstration turned violent, with protesters jumping up and down on vehicles that refused to take part, while taxi drivers and rivals from app-based services clashed and hurled rocks on a main thoroughfare. 

Commuters faced rush-hour travel chaos, with even the motorcades of President Joko Widodo and the vice president getting stuck in the gridlock, making both men late for a meeting.

Anger has been growing among taxi drivers worldwide at the challenge presented by US company Uber, one of the world's most valuable start-ups, and a flurry of other app-based services that typically offer cheaper fares than traditional transport operators.

Herman, a 49-year-old taxi driver involved in the Jakarta protest who goes by one name, said his earnings had dwindled from around 250,00 rupiah ($20) a day several months ago, to almost nothing due to the increased competition.

"I haven't paid my rent, and I need to feed my three children and my wife," he said.

The demonstration came after weeks of rising tensions between traditional public transport operators in the sprawling, traffic-clogged metropolis of 10 million and a flurry of new ride-hailing services.   

As well as Uber, Malaysian app Grab andhomegrown motorbike taxi-hailing app Go-Jek are providing stiff competition for Jakarta's taxi drivers.  

- 'Unfair competition'–

Traditional taxi, motorbike taxi and other public transport drivers are angry that the new services are offering rides at lower prices, claiming they are not paying taxes, and are operating without official permits.

"Why should thousands of people who didn't pay tax, get a permit, or undergo car checks roam the roads freely while we have had to fulfil those duties?" said YohannisRorimpandey, a protester who works for Blue Bird, one of Indonesia's biggest taxi groups.

After rallying outside parliament, a large group of protesters moved to the communications ministry, demanding that the minister block the apps.

Uber and other app-based services currently operate in a legal grey area in Indonesia, and there is an ongoing debate in the government about how to handle them.

Indonesian law gives a narrow definition of "public transport", which does not include the ride-hailing apps, and the transport ministry has sought to ban them. 

However the communications ministry has refused to block the services, saying that it is committed to supporting the growth of the digital economy, and President Joko Widodo has also backed the apps.

Jakarta police estimated that up to 6,000 drivers were involved in Tuesday's protest, and 6,000 police were out on the streets for the protest.

It was the second anti-app protest by drivers in the space of a week, but the first was on a much smaller scale.

There was little sympathy for the protesters among commuters caught in the rush-hour travel chaos in the heaving capital.

"Must it be anarchy? This only scares passengers and makes them prefer app-based taxis," said Twitter user PetriciaYuvita.

And there was no sign that the government was ready to give in to the protesters' demands.

"You can't defy technology, it just needs to be regulated," said Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

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Local Thai activists have accused China of using the Mekong River's water resources to increase its political power in the region.

The accusation came Tuesday as Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha left Thailand for China for the opening day of the first Mekong-Lancang Cooperation meeting being held in Sanya, Hainan province, until tomorrow.

Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and China will discuss cooperation under the theme "Shared River, Shared Future".

Earlier, China announced on March 10 it had released water from Jinghong dam in Yunnan, with further releases planned until April 10, to help ease the drought in Thailand and other countries in the sub-region.

Gen Prayut thanked China for its help.

Activists said China was exploiting its control of the river to increase its political power.

They said China typically releases water into the Mekong to help along transport and trade during this time of year.

Department of Water Resources director-general SuphotTovichakchaikul Tuesday confirmed the water release by China was nothing special, saying it was an annual practice.

An activist said China's move was cynical.

"This is horrible. I think Chinese authorities are doing this only for their political benefit. They are exploiting the Mekong River as a card in political negotiations. This means China now has absolute power in negotiations," said WithoonPermponsacharoen, director of the Mekong Energy and Ecology Network.

He said China several years ago pledged to disclose information about its management of the Mekong River but it ultimately released very little.

"China has made its dams a condition of talks on the region's development even though the Mekong River is actually a shared natural resource that should be free of politics," he said.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/906980/china-mekong-dam-release-...

A prominent Vietnamese blogger went on trial Wednesday on anti-state charges, amid heavy security at Hanoi's central court, with police closing roads and breaking up a protest by dozens of supporters.

Nguyen Huu Vinh, more commonly known as Anh Ba Sam, was arrested in 2014 and has been held in detention ever since, accused of disseminating anti-government articles on his wildly popular news site.

The 60-year-old blogger and his assistant Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy, 35, are both accused of "abusing democratic freedoms", a charge that carries up to seven years in jail.

Vietnam bans private media and all newspapers and television channels are state-run. Lawyers, bloggers and activists are regularly subject to arbitrary arrest and detention.

According to ReportersWithout Borders, Vietnam has put more than 30 bloggers behind bars -- second only to China.

On Wednesday dozens of protestors waved photographs of Vinh and chanted demands for his release, before scores of uniformed and plain clothed police forced them to disperse.

At least two people were arrested when police broke up the demonstration.

Vinh, once a policeman himself, founded the well known political and social blog "Ba Sam" in 2007 -- initially to store articles for his own reference.

The blog then became a news aggregator with links to major stories in state-run newspapers as well as blog posts from activists.

Constant hacking attacks forced Vinh to regularly change the blog's web address.

It was taken down shortly after his arrest and has not been available since.

Vo Van Tao, 63, a journalist and friend of Vinh, said he had travelled from southern Nha Trang city to Hanoi by car to attend the trial because authorities prevented him from flying.

"Ba Sam is innocent, he's a hero. He did good work for the people of this country," he told AFP at the protest opposite the court in Hanoi.

Academic and dissident Nguyen Quang A, who was later detained by police after the protest Wednesday, told AFP that Vinh was on trial because "a lot of people read his blog", but the strategy would backfire and trigger greater public interest in what he had to say.

© AFP

A forum of mainly Asian countries agreed Wednesday on new contingency measures to better respond to refugee crises, and vowed to review the region's much-criticised handling of a major migrant influx last year.

The announcement at a conference on Indonesia's Bali Island on people smuggling and illegal migration was welcomed by the UN refugee agency, which declared it the first agreement of its kind in the 14-year history of the regional forum.

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop -- who co-chaired the meeting of the forum, which has 45 member states -- said regional officials could now convene emergency meetings and fast-track an "agile and timely" response in the event of an unfolding migrant crisis.

Officials also agreed to review the response to the Southeast Asian refugee emergency in May last year, when thousands of asylum seekers in rickety boats were stranded at sea in the biggest regional migrant crisis since the end of the Vietnam War.

A Thai crackdown on the lucrative smuggling industry prompted traffickers to abandon their human cargo at sea, sparking a crisis that saw more than 3,500 Bangladeshi economic migrants and stateless Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar land in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Malaysia and Indonesia triggered international outrage by initially turning away boatloads of the desperate migrants, but eventually relented under heavy international pressure.

Bishop, who chaired the ministerial-level meeting alongside her Indonesian counterpart RetnoMarsudi, said there were concerns that during the crisis, no mechanism existed to galvanise the region "in a timely fashion".

"We believe that this will give us that opportunity to do so," she said of the new arrangement.

The UN refugee agency said arrangements that shared responsibility were "the only way" forward, adding no country was immune from such crises at a time when tens of millions have been displaced around the world.

Indonesia, which hosts more than 13,000 refugees, had been stressing the need for all countries in the region to share the burden in the lead up to this year's conference.

The issue of asylum seekers has long been a flashpoint between the co-hosts of the people-smuggling forum, which is known as the Bali Process and began in 2002 to address the flow of illegal migrants around the region.

A large number of asylum seekers trying to reach Australia have ended up stranded in Indonesia. This was exacerbated after Canberra introduced in 2013 a tough policy of turning back boats when it is safe to do so, an approach opposed by Indonesia.

The Bali Process mainly consists of Asian nations, including China and India, but also includes Middle Eastern countries, such as Iran and Syria. 

© AFP

Amnesty International said Malaysian authorities hanged three convicted murderers Friday despite calls for clemency from rights groups that called the executions "shocking and disturbing", as the country considers scrapping the death penalty.

Malaysian and international organisations inc luding the UN's human rights body had this week issued appeals for authorities to stay the expected execution of GunasegarPitchaymuthu.

However, Amnesty said two brothers, Ramesh Jayakumar and Sasivarnam Jayakumar, also had been hanged Friday. 

AFP was not able to confirm the hangings. Malaysia does not publicly announce executions and otherwise closely guards information on its application of the death penalty.

Malaysian officials have indicated in recent years that the government may review its use of capital punishment, but no progress is known to have been made.

"The fact that these state killings come at a time when the Malaysian government is actively discussing abolition of the mandatory death penalty makes them all the more shocking and disturbing," Amnesty International's Southeast Asia campaigns director Josef Benedict said in a statement.

"These hangings are a sickening reminder that the Malaysian authorities must redouble their efforts to establish a moratorium on executions as a first step towards abolition of the death penalty." 

The Southeast Asia office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Thursday also had urged a stay of GunasegarPitchaymuthu's execution, adding that it was "concerned by Malaysia’s practice of carrying out executions in secret".

Around 900 people were on death row in Malaysia, officials have said in recent years, mostly drug offenders.

Since 1960, nearly 450 people have been executed, according to data released in 2011, but activists say they have been extremely rare in recent years.

In 2014, authorities halted plans to execute a Malaysian convicted murderer, ChandranPaskaran, after an outcry from rights groups.

© AFP

Regional cooperation in the Bay of Bengal region will be successful only if member-states are politically committed to make it happen, BIMSTEC Secretary General Ambassdor Sumith Nakandala has said.

Speaking at a seminar titled ‘BIMSTEC at 20: Agenda for 2017 and beyond’ in Kolkata, Nakandala said that trade and investment was the key area that the seven members of BIMSTEC should now focus on.

"Our member-states have provided better market access to other SAFTA or ASEAN countries than to fellow BIMSTEC nations," Nakandala said.

"So there is clearly a problem but that can be surely addressed. But that has to be addressed at the top political level," he said.

Ambassdor Nakandala said that BIMSTEC has made 'some definite progress' in the area of tackling terrorism and trans-national crime, but trade and investment issues have to be addressed now.

"Economic cooperation is the key to success of any regional grouping," he said.

The BIMSTEC secretary general said the regional grouping will be 20 years old soon.

"That is precisely why we need an agenda for the future," Nakandala said.

He focussed on soft areas like culture to take forward the BIMSTEC process.

"This Bay of Bengal region was well connected in the past and culture and trade was the basis for that. That can happen again with some effort," said Ambassdor Nakandala.

Soumen Bagchi, head of the BIMSTEC Division at India's external affairs ministry, said, “Perseverance was the key to the success of a regional grouping like BIMSTEC".

He stressed the role of Indian states to make such groupings a success.

“They can provide the drive for regional cooperation in a very positive way," Bagchi said.

http://bdnews24.com/economy/2016/03/28/bimstec-success-depends-on-politi...

Bangladesh's largest Islamist party called a nationwide strike Monday to protest a legal move to scrap Islam as the state religion.

Jamaat-e-Islami said the case, due to open on Monday, was a "deep-rooted conspiracy" against religion in the Muslim-majority nation.

"Bangladesh is a 90 percent Muslim nation," said a statement from the group, whose top leaders have been tried and executed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's secular government for war crimes.

"The people will never accept any government move to remove Islam as the state religion from the constitution in an effort to please a handful of anti-religion persons."

Bangladesh was declared officially secular after the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.

But in 1988 the then-military ruler elevated Islam to the state religion of the South Asian country in an effort to consolidate power.

This month the High Court agreed to hear a petition by secularists who have argued for decades that Islam's special status discriminates against non-Muslims.

The move has enraged Islamists, thousands of whom staged angry demonstrations in major cities and towns on Friday, and security was tight ahead of the hearing.

"We've sufficient security arrangements in the capital to prevent any violence or any act of sabotage," Dhaka police spokesman Maruf Hossain Sorder told AFP.

Jamaat said its activists had staged demonstrations and marches in at least half a dozen neighbourhoods in Dhaka. 

However, offices, schools and private businesses were largely open.

© AFP

Cambodian authorities rescued more than half a tonne of live tortoises and pythons stolen by smugglers, a forestry official said Tuesday, the latest haul in a country with a thriving illegal wildlife trade.

The animals -- 102 elongated tortoises and 17 pythons -- weighed a total of 570 kilos. 

They were confiscated Monday afternoon from a cargo truck in Cambodia's Kandal province, forestry official Y Sophy told AFP.

"They were being transported to Phnom Penh where they would then be smuggled to Vietnam," he said, adding the creatures were scooped up from Cambodia's Battambang province.

No arrests were made as the truck's driver fled after being pulled over, the official said.

The rescued tortoises and pythons are now with a conservation group that will release them back into the wild.

The elongated tortoise is listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

It faces dire over-harvesting for food and Asia's animal trade, which fuels a regional demand for exotic pets and traditional medicine.

Cambodia's black market for trafficked wildlife is enabled by corrupt authorities and weak legislation in a country rich with biodiversity.

© AFP

The leaders of eight ethnic armed groups who signed the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) with Myanmar’s central government last November, held a summit in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai last week from March 24 to 26.

The eight ethnic armed groups discussed their preparations for the national level political dialogue with the incoming National League for Democracy (NLD) government.  Also discussed were ways these groups can cooperate with the remaining ethnic armed groups that have not signed the NCA

“We have formed a coordinating team to jointly resolve emergency issues, but this team does not cover everything. The steering committee was formed to become more effective [than the coordinating team]. We have also prepared and discussed how to carry out the national-level political dialogue, which is mentioned in the NCA,” explained Colonel Sai Hla, a spokesperson for the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA).  Colonel Sai Hla attended the summit as did the leader of the RCSS/SSA, Colonel Yawd Serk.

Colonel Sai Hla added that a committee has also been formed to engage with ethnic armed groups that have not signed the NCA.  On March 27 this committee met with the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), which comprises many non-NCA signatories.

The second summit of the NCA signatories was attended by the Karen National Union (KNU), the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), the Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Party-Peace Council (KNU/KNLA-PC), the Arakan Liberation Party (ALP), the Chin National Front (CNF), the PaO National Liberation Organization (PNLO), the All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF) and the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA).

Courtesy BNI

Southeast Asian countries have voiced relief that China last week increased the flow of water on the upper Mekong River, offering some hope to combat record drought in down-river countries.

Mekong River activists have long warned that the threat of hydroelectric dams built in China on the upper Mekong pose a danger to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, which depend on the river’s resource.

Southeast Asia is experiencing its worst drought in decades and water in the world’s third largest river had become scare both as drinking water and as a source to sustain agriculture crops.

Rice crops have been cut back in Thailand and other countries, particularly Vietnam, because of low water levels. Vietnam estimated that 400,000 hectares (1,500 square miles) have been affected by saltwater intrusion, with some 166,000 hectares (640 square miles) rendered infertile because of low water levels in the Mekong River delta, according to media reports.

The water level in the Tonle Sap basin near Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh, fell to a 50-year low before the recent infusion of water.

Vietnam says the saltwater inflow into the Mekong Delta is unprecedented. In mid-March, it asked China to double the amount of water discharged from its Jinghong dam in Yunnan Province. China said the increased water flow is expected to continue until April 10.

The Chinese move was hailed as progress, but it underscored the power China now holds over the Mekong River basin environment.

Officials said Vietnam is so far downstream that only a small portion of the discharged water will reach it. 

Thailand, meanwhile, has added to regional tensions over the water resource by pumping large volumes of Mekong water to its drought-afflicted provinces.

Activists also said that many people who live along the Mekong were caught unaware that the river would suddenly rise and riverbank vegetable gardens were submerged and boats and fishing equipment swept away.