LOOKEAST REPORT Myanmar authorities should exonerate and release a former child soldier who spoke to journalists about his army experiences, global rights body Human Rights Watch has said . On March 28, 2018, the Dagon Seikkan Township Court sentenced Aung Ko Htwe to two years in prison with hard labour under penal code section 505(b), whose…
Read moreIn a major step in increasing connectivity and boosting bilateral trade Bangladesh and India have introduced the first container train services between them. While passenger and goods trains run between the two countries, this is the first time that a container service will begin. Exporters’ forums had long been lobbying for container trains as they…
Read moreSTUTI AICH | A major issue which has dominated the state of Assam is the National Register of Citizens, whose first draft was published at the stroke of midnight on 31 December 2017. The names of 1.9 crore people out of the 3.29 crore total applicants in Assam, were reflected in the draft, recognising them as…
Read moreBANGKOK / KUALA LUMPUR A boat carrying dozens of Rohingya refugees trying to reach Malaysia briefly stopped off Koh Lanta in Krabi province, an official said Sunday, as fears grow about overcrowded camps for the stateless minority fleeing violence in Myanmar. Nearly 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have sought shelter in southern Bangladesh since Myanmar launched a…
Read moreROHIT GANGULY The Indian army has been asked to step up vigil all along the disputed Sino Indian Border to prevent a repeat of the Doklam standoff. A senior Army official expressed deep concern about the vulnerability of Indian defences around few mountain passes with Tibet, especially on the tri–junction with Bhutan and Myanmar. “There are 18 mountain…
Read more(Bangkok/Dhaka) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), together with its members in Bangladesh, conducted a fact–finding mission into the situation of Rohingya refugees at Lambasia, Kutupalong, Balukhali and Thyingkhali makeshift camps of Cox’s Bazar on 24–28 March 2018. These camps house around 550,000 of the 695,000 Rohingya refugees who have arrived…
Read moreLOOKEAST REPORT Thant Myint–U author and founder and chairman of the Yangon Heritage Trust has won one India’s prestigious Padma Shri Award. The award ceremony will be held in New Delhi on April 2. The Padma Awards, one of the highest civilian Awards of the country, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma…
Read moreLOOKEAST REPORT While the discourse over Cambridge Analytica scandal shows no symptoms of slowdown, it, at some place, has been taken to an even higher level. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is now investigating Facebook over an agreement they signed in 2011, which stated that Facebook would not share FTC’s user data without an…
Read moreFRANCESCO SISCI Two eloquent commentaries in the official Xinhua News Agency and Global Times (offspring of the very official People’s Daily) argued in recent days that China doesn’t want a trade war with the USA, but it is not afraid of one. They wrote that America will not succeed in creating a broad coalition of…
Read moreLOOKEAST REPORT The Myanmar Parliament elected Win Myint as Myanmar’s new president, about a week after the resignation of his predecessor Htin Kyaw. Win Myint will become the tenth president of Myanmar. He was elected from a shortlist of the three Vice–Presidents: Myint Swe, Henry Van Thio and him. Win Myint won 403 votes, Myint Swe…
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