Get documents about "18
Document Sample
ARAB TIMES, TUESDAY, MAY 10, 2011
INTERNATIONAL 18
World News Roundup
Politics
Close race seen
Thailand sets
election date
BANGKOK, May 9, (Agencies):
Thailand is to hold a general elec-
tion on July 3 in what is expected
to be a close contest that could
reignite a violent political conflict
that has dogged the country for
five years.
Parliament will be dissolved on
Tuesday following endorsement
by King Bhumibol Adulyadej,
the government said on Monday.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva
is expected to officially announce
the decision at
8.30 p.m. (0130
GMT) on
national televi-
sion.
The stakes are
higher than at
any time since a
2006 bloodless
coup removed
Adulyadej former Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and
plunged Thailand into a crisis
broadly pitting the rural and urban
poor supporters of Thaksin against
the establishment elite.
“Results will be hard to predict
this time,” said Siripan Noksuan,
a political scientist at
Chulalongkorn University.
“Most surveys are predicting
close polls and the lack of a clear
decisive win is making every-
body uneasy. The end of the crisis
is difficult to foresee.”
Coalition South Korean Buddhists parade down the street as they prepare for Buddha’s birthday in Seoul on May 8. Buddha was born approximately 2,555 years ago, and although the exact date is unknown,
The poll will be Abhisit’s first Buddha’s official birthday is celebrated on the full moon in May in South Korea, which is on May 10 this year. (AFP)
test of popular support since his
coalition government came to
power in late 2008 in a parlia-
mentary vote the opposition said
Singapore
was arranged in the army bar-
racks. A court dissolved the previ-
feelings of insecurity among both
ous pro-Thaksin ruling party for Malaysian Muslims and minorities about
electoral fraud, which coincided
with an eight-day blockade of
Changes mulled after opposition gains their religious rights in a country that
prides itself on multiethnic peace.
Bangkok’s main airports by an The allegation by two anonymous
anti-Thaksin group.
The election may be an oppor-
tunity to heal political divisions
but some fear it could also push
Ruling party under pressure political bloggers about a plot by
Christian leaders received little attention
until the country’s leading Malay-lan-
guage newspaper reported it on its front
Thailand back to the brink of page Saturday. (AP)
SINGAPORE, May 9, (Agencies): tion is a watershed election, and we Singapore’s annual inflation rate
chaos following violent anti-gov- Singapore’s ruling party is under have to adapt to this new situation.” was 5.0 percent in March, up from ❑ ❑ ❑
ernment protests last year in renewed pressure to cut immigration The surge in foreign workers 3.3 percent in August. Australia rejects criticism:
which 91 people died. and boost social spending after the began in 2005 as the government The government may take further Australia Monday rejected criticism of its
The pro-Thaksin “red shirts” opposition made record parliamen- sought to diversify the economy measures to cool property prices, plan to send 800 asylum seekers to
who battled the military in central tary gains by campaigning for fewer away from manufacturing into serv- which have risen about 70 percent Malaysia for processing, insisting it was
Bangkok in April and May last year not a return to a dis-
foreign workers and higher wages. ices such as tourism. About 150,000 since 2006. Increased government puted policy of ban-
have said they would respect the The People’s Action Party, which foreign workers entered Singapore spending and subsidies for health ishing boat people to
results of the poll as long as there has kept an authoritarian grip on each year from 2007 to 2009, and care, education and retired workers poor neighbours.
was no blatant, heavy-handed inter- power for more than five decades, they now make up about one-third may also appear in coming months, It also cited the fact
vention by “unelected powers”. won 81 of the 87 parliament seats in of the island’s 3 million work force. along with a more progressive tax that it was taking in
The voting is expected to be very This photo taken on May 6, shows elections Saturday. However, the Foreigners have helped build and structure and income redistribution 4,000 refugees in
close. Abhisit’s Democrat Party has Xia Xue, a Singapore blogger and a six seats won by the Workers Party staff projects such as the city-state’s schemes, analysts said. exchange as evidence
not won an election in two decades, supporter of the ruling People’s are the most by the opposition since first two casino resorts, and largely Meanwhile, People’s Action that the deal
but analysts said the odds are in its Action Party attending an election announced Saturday
independence in 1965, and the provide cheaper, younger labor Party (PAP) is seeking ways to would deter asylum
favour because of new electoral campaign in Singapore. Singapore’s PAP’s share of the overall vote fell amid Singapore’s aging population reconnect with voters after its popu- Swan
ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) is seekers as part of a
rules and disarray inside the oppo- to 60 percent from 67 percent in and low birth rate. larity plunged to the lowest point of plan it hopes will lead to a regional solu-
sition Puea Thai party, which still seeking ways to reconnect with vot-
ers after its popularity plunged to the 2006 and 75 percent in 2001. However, ordinary Singaporeans its half-century rule, commentators tion to people smuggling.
needs to settle on a new leader and lowest point of its half-century rule, The government will likely complain that competition with for- said Monday. But the arrangement was slammed by
line up candidates. commentators said on May 9. reduce the number of foreign work- eigners has depressed wages, boost- Policies on housing, immigra- human rights groups who drew comparisons
Thailand’s economy, Southeast Policies on housing, immigration, ers in a bid to ease voter discontent ed housing prices and clogged pub- tion, transport, income distribution with the “Pacific Solution” of Australia’s
Asia’s second largest, is perform- transport, income distribution and over stagnant wages and overbur- lic transportation. Singapore’s and support for the poor — the hot- previous right-wing government, under
ing strongly and Abhisit has rolled support for the poor — the hot-button which boat people were sent to Pacific
dened public services, a move that economy grew a record 14.5 per- button topics on which the opposi- island detention centres. “I don’t think it
out a raft of populist economic topics on which the opposition ham- could slow economic growth in cent last year and the government tion hammered the PAP before
mered the PAP before Saturday’s looks anything like that at all,” Deputy
policies and subsidies targeting the coming years to between 3 percent expects growth near 6 percent this Saturday’s vote — are all expected Prime Minister and Treasurer Wayne Swan
poor, the vast majority of voters. vote — are all expected to be
reviewed. (AFP) and 5 percent from an average of year, but many locals complain that to be reviewed. told reporters in Canberra. (AFP)
But the pro-Thaksin Puea Thai about 8.5 percent between 2004 and their standard of living is slipping. Also: ❑ ❑ ❑
remains popular in the vote-rich 2007, said Wei Zheng Kit, an ana- The government already began to
north and northeast, strengthened lyst with Citigroup in Singapore. lower the number of foreign work- SINGAPORE: Singapore cannot Forces break up Hmong gathering:
by a sense of alienation and keep adding foreigners to its work- Thousands of ethnic Hmong have returned
PAP leaders have taken the election ers last year, and after Saturday’s to their homes after Vietnamese security
resentment among the red shirts, results as a wake-up call. Prime election results, will likely cut back force and will have to grow the
economy by raising productivity, forces broke up more than a week of reli-
particularly after the violent end Minister Lee Hsien Loong said his further, said Irvin Seah, an analyst gious activities near the northwestern border
to the protest last year. lawmakers would spend the next with DBS bank in Singapore. the city-state’s prime minister said with Laos, a church official said Monday.
In a recent survey of 2,143 eli- weeks “soul searching” and suggest- on Monday, two days after his party Nguyen Huu Mac, head of the northern
gible voters by Assumption Approval lost ground in an election fought Evangelical Church of Vietnam, said he
ed some policies would be changed,
University, 36.4 percent of though he did not specify which ones. “There could be more stringent over, among other issues, immigra- has been in regular contact with church
respondents said they would vote approval guidelines for work per- tion. members who were involved in the gath-
for Puea Thai and 34.1 percent for Concerns mits, employment passes,” Seah The long-ruling People’s Action ering in Muong Nhe district of Dien Bien
Abhisit’s Democrats. Garcia Gutierrez “Many voters, including some of said. “As this could restrict the flex- Party was swept back to power in province starting April 30. Little informa-
those who voted for us, clearly ibility of the government to respond Saturday’s election, but the opposi- tion about the incident has been released
Puea Thai had better scores by the Communist government, and for-
than the Democrats on almost all expressed their significant concerns to the surge in demand for more for- tion made historic gains by focusing eign media and diplomats have not been
categories, including policies,
vision and administrative effi-
Asia both on the issues and our approach to
government,” Lee said Sunday. “We
eign labor, there could be near term
transition costs in the form of slow-
on various grievances such as an
influx of foreigners into the coun-
granted access to the area.
Provincial officials have said the
ciency. The Democrats led in just understand in the PAP that this elec- er growth and higher labor costs.” try. Hmong gathered after a rumor spread that
one, “integrity and transparency”. a supernatural force would arrive and take
Plea bargain with general Okd: A them to a promised land where they
Near-daily rumours about a Philippine anti-graft court approved on would find health, happiness and wealth.
by many people, including President new religious tensions Monday following gious minorities, but several Muslim
coup in a country that has seen 18 Monday a much-criticized plea bargain They accused overseas groups of using
Benigno Aquino III, for violating public allegations that church leaders were con- activists have filed police complaints
military takeovers or attempted deal between prosecutors and a former spiring to make Christianity the official demanding an investigation into what they the incident to influence some Hmong to
putsches since 1932 highlights senior general accused of plunder. interest. (AP)
religion in this Muslim-majority country. consider a threat to the position of Islam. call for an independent state. (AP)
the uncertainty and risks sur- The court said the evidence of plunder ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑
was weak and former Maj. Gen. Carlos Christian officials insist the accusation A string of religious disputes in recent
rounding the poll. Tensions brewing in Malaysia:
Abhisit’s party is Thailand’s old- Garcia had complied with all precondi- is a lie intended to create suspicion years, often involving minority complaints Tourists escape as boat sinks: A
tions for the deal, including returning Malaysia’s government sought to defuse between ethnic Malay Muslims and reli- of discrimination, has triggered persistent group of French travellers had a lucky
est with a support base in Bangkok assets worth 135 million pesos ($3.1 mil- escape in Vietnam when their tour boat
and the south, but it has not won a lion). sank on Halong Bay, the party’s leader
general election in nearly two Garcia has pleaded guilty to the lesser said Monday, in an eerie echo of an acci-
decades and faces a struggle to charges of direct bribery and facilitating Philippine storm dent earlier this year that killed 12.
cling to power, even with the back- money laundering. He was released on There were no injuries in the latest inci-
ing of its coalition partners. bail in December pending sentencing on dent, which involved 28 French tourists
“The king has endorsed the the lesser charges. ‘Aere’ leaves 11 dead on Sunday afternoon at the popular visitor
royal decree to dissolve the house Plunder, or large-scale graft, is punish- attraction, said Josette Farret, a 65-year-
able by 40 years in prison, while bribery MANILA, Philippines, May 9, old who was among those on board.
today and it will come into effect (AP): Disaster officials warned “We felt that there were some technical
has a maximum term of 10 years.
tomorrow. The election will be Garcia has been accused of amassing
villagers in the Philippines’ agri- problems before the departure of the boat,
held on 3 July,” government cultural north to be on guard for which was in poor condition,” she said.
303 million pesos ($7 million) while serv- landslides and flash floods
spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn ing as armed forces comptroller. According to Dang Huy Hau, government
told a press conference. Monday as Tropical Storm Aere vice-president in Quang Ninh province, the
Allegations of Garcia’s illicit assets carved a deadly path across the
By law, polls must be held emerged in 2003 after US Customs boat went down after a collision with anoth-
country. er craft delivering water, but Farret insisted
between 45 and 60 days after for- informed the Philippines that his sons had Aere has left 11 people dead
mal house dissolution by the been caught trying to enter the United there was “absolutely no collision”.
since it slammed into eastern Hau said an investigation would be
monarch. States with $100,000 in undeclared funds. Catanduanes province early
Corruption is an explosive issue in the Sunday with winds of 53 miles conducted after the boat is salvaged.
Many of the mainly rural, “Everybody aboard the tourist vessel
120,000-strong military and has sparked (85 kms) per hour and gusts of
working-class Reds are loyal to several rebellions by disgruntled troops. was transferred to another boat before it
Thaksin, who is considered the de 62 mph (100 kph).
Soldiers have been struggling with a It triggered landslides and completely sank,” he said.
facto leader of the opposition dearth of weapons and equipment while knocked out power in some In Vietnam’s worst tourism accident, 11
Puea Thai party, despite living dealing with communist and Muslim A strong wave approaches Filipino women playing along a bayside park in areas, while also roughing up tourists and their guide died in February
overseas to avoid a jail sentence insurgencies and terror threats. Navotas, north of Manila, Philippines, May 9. Tropical Storm Aere threatened Manila Bay and rattling nerves when a boat sank in Halong Bay, a
imposed in absentia for corrup- The plea bargain deal, negotiated by the Philippines’ agriculture north Monday after pummeling the eastern coast overnight in the congested cap- UNESCO World Heritage site known for
tion. prosecutors headed by then Ombudsman and the capital with fierce winds and rain that sparked floods and landslides, ital. its stunning limestone cliffs, about 160
Merceditas Gutierrez, has been criticized officials said. (AP) kms (100 miles) from Hanoi. (AFP)
