Today’s Tidbit 29.10.2015

An opposition rally in Myanmar was attacked by men wielding swords and knives with only a little over a week until the historic election. The National League for Democracy (NLD) was holding a rally in Yangon city and while details are still unclear, one member of Parliament has been rushed to the hospital.

The vote on November 8th is to be the first openly contested general election in Myanmar in twenty-five years and the NLD is expected to win most of the seats. The attack on the rally happened three days before NLD leader Aang San Suu Kyi’s large rally in Yangon. Ms. Suu Kyi has vowed to lead the country if the NLD comes to power in the coming election.

Read more by clicking on the link below:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34672915

Today’s Tidbit 21.10.2015

The Rohingya refugees today from Myanmar face a huge dilemma: to stay in Myanmar and face persecution or to flee and be subjected to possible beatings, abuses, and human trafficking. Hundreds of refugees have already perished on sea, and hundreds more may very possibly be unaccounted for. According to interviews of the few lucky refugees who have managed to reach shore safely, many are killed and beaten by human traffickers if their families fail to pay the demanded ransom, while many others die under the extreme inhumane conditions they are put under- from lack of food, water, or from disease. Amnesty International gives a detailed report of the recent happenings and the conditions that Rohingya refugees face.

If you would like to read more on the Rohingya people and Amnesty International’s report, click on the link below:

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/10/southeast-asia-persecuted-rohingya-refugees-from-myanmar-suffer-horrific-abuses-at-sea/

Today’s Tidbit 15.10.2015

Award-winning Thai film director Acichatpong Weerasethakul, winner of the Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or prize in 2010, has said that he does not want his new film to be shown in Thailand because he would be required to self-censor. According to Weerasethakul, showing the film would do more harm than good. The plot of this film revolves around a unit of soldiers afflicted by an epidemic of a mysterious sleeping illness.

The director has said that he believes that this political transition has been more violent than previous ones. Democratic elections have been delayed following the decision of the military government to hold a referendum on the new constitution. However, a council appointed by the military leaders has recently rejected the controversial draft of the constitution thereby delaying the elections.

Today’s Tidbit 13.10.2015

The civil war between the Myanmar government and the Karen ethnic minority has been notoriously prolonged and deadly. Despite recent slowdown in conflict following a ceasefire agreement in 2012, landmines planted by both the government and the Karen ethnic rebels continue to severely injure and kill unsuspecting victims. Since the landmines take several years to degrade, and some cannot be picked up by metal detectors, they are still active today.

Please click on the link to view a photo essay on shelters for landmine victims:

http://thediplomat.com/2015/10/the-landmine-victims-of-myanmars-civil-war/

Today’s Tidbit 08.10.2015

Indonesia’s president, Joko Widodo, has asked for international assistance to put out forest fires that have been causing the regional haze. After initially refusing offers of help from Singapore, he has now accepted help from Singapore and is requesting help from Russia, Malaysia, and Japan. The fires are the result of annual slash-and-burn practices by companies clearing land for palm oil and pulp wood plantations. The haze has pushed air quality to dangerous levels in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Southern Thailand to the extent that schools have been closed and some flights have been affected.

Singapore’s foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan said that his country is offering Indonesia military equipment and personnel, satellite pictures, and fire hotspot coordinates. It has also requested the names of companies suspected of involvement in causing the haze since they can be punished under Singaporean law.

Read more by clicking the link below:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34472085

Today’s Tidbit 05.10.2015

Indonesia has announced that preparations for the 60th anniversary of the Asia-Africa conference are almost completed. The conference, which was held in Bandung in 1955 brought leaders from Asia and Africa together in order to discuss the future of global economy, peace and security during the Cold War. The movement still holds regular summits but has become largely irrelevant since the end of the war. This year, the theme of the anniversary summit is to strengthen cooperation between the two regions and to allow leaders to share their economic development experiences.

Read more by clicking the link below:

http://blogs.wsj.com/indonesiarealtime/2015/04/08/asia-africa-conference-nearly-ready-to-roll/

Today’s Tidbit 01.10.2015

Several Thai government websites have been hit by a suspected distributed-denial-of-service attack, rendering them impossible to access. The sites went offline around 10 pm on Wednesday. Access was restored Thursday morning. It seemed to be a protest against the government’s plans to limit access to websites considered inappropriate. Tens of thousands of people have signed a petition against the proposal that is being called the “Great Firewall of Thailand.”

A distributed-denial-of-service attack works by exceeding a website’s capacity to handle internet traffic and are usually orchestrated by a program or bot. However, on Wednesday, calls went out on Thai social media encouraging people to visit websites and repeatedly refresh them.

Read more by clicking the link below:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34409343