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  Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Keo Remy is calling for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations website to be blocked because it lists the Cambodia as having 181,000 square kilometres when Cambodia claims 181,035 square kilometres of territory. (ASEAN) (DPA) A man goes on a rampage with a 21-inch-long knife, killing 10 people, including seven children. Fourteen other people are wounded in the attack in a village near Calbayog City, Samar. The man then surrenders to another villager who turns him over to police. (AP) Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont says he feels that the timing is poor to grant amnesty to leaders of the Thai Rak Thai party, which was dissolved by a Constitutional Tribunal. General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, chairman of the ruling Council for National Security has proposed the of amnesty to the banned politicians. "I told him that it is fine because it is still an idea and his own idea," Surayud says. (AFP) (Nation)- In the biggest protest against the Council for National Security since last year's coup, 6,000 protesters gather in a rally organized by the pro-Thaksin PTV at Sanam Luang to denounce the junta. About 1,000 police officers surround the plaza and kept the protest confined there.(AFP) (Nation) (TNA)
- South Thailand insurgency: A demonstration by 1,000 students and local residents at a mosque in Pattani continues for a third day. The protesters are calling for an end to emergency measures by the junta and a withdrawal of the central government's security forces. (TNA)
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- Squash and bodybuilding are expected to be reinstated to list of events at the 24th SEA Games, which are set for December in Nakhon Ratchasima. (DPA)
   Piracy in the Strait of Malacca is discussed on the closing day of the Sixth Shangri-La Dialogue, saying that there needs to be more communication and cooperation between the concerned security forces in the region. (CNA)- Earthquakes:
- Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong calls on the Singapore Police Force to rise up to new challenges during the annual Police Day Parade, and pays tribute to the 118 police officers who have died in the line of duty since 1901. (CNA)
- Party dissolution: Amid a backlash against the idea of granting amnesty to banned Thai Rak Thai politicians, junta leader General Sonthi Boonyaratglin says the idea came from the National Legislative Assembly, not from him. (DPA) (Nation) (TNA)
- South Thailand insurgency:
- A protest by around 1,000 Muslims in Pattani continues for a fourth day, though there is an agreement by Pattani Deputy Governor Winai Kuruwant-nappat that an independent committee would consider their demands. The protesters, led by students from Ramkhamhaeng University in Bangkok, now want Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont to endorse the demands. (Nation) (TNA)
- For the first time, a Thai militant accused of beheading talks to the Western press, in an interview with Associated Press. The report says that since 2004, there have been 25 beheadings in south Thailand, including 10 this year. (AP)
- Four Royal Thai Army rangers are injured in a bombing in Narathiwat. (TNA)
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 The United Nations Environment Programme estimates that 40% of the world population will be affected by the loss of glaciers and snow on the mountains of Asia due to global warming. (UNEP) President José Ramos-Horta blames police for the fatal shootings of two activists during rallies on Sunday for a new party led by former president Xanana Gusmão. (AAP) (AFP)- An 8-year-old boy has died after being attacked by a Komodo dragon at Komodo National Park on Komodo. (Reuters)
- An accidental sounding of a tsunami warning siren sparks panic in Aceh. (Reuters)
 Former Royal Army of Laos general and Hmong military leader Vang Pao and nine others are charged in U.S. District Court in California with plotting to overthrow the Laotian government. The plan, prosecutors say, involved obtaining explosives, rifles, land mines and missiles, shipping them to Thailand, and using them blow up government buildings in Vientiane. (Bangkok Post) (CNN) (Reuters)- Philippine general election: Rivals of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will likely take control of the Senate, election officials say. (AFP)
- The Media Development Authority says it will fine MediaCorp Radio S$15,000 over an on-air stunt in March in which female guests on a radio show were asked to remove their brassieres. (AP)
- A Canadian man is sentenced to 44 months in prison for making a hoax threat, claiming that terrorists were going to crash an Air India plane departing Singapore for New Delhi. Indian-born Nanda Sudhi Kumar, 53, made three calls in November, asking police to stop the terrorists. In another case, a 43-year-old man was charged on Sunday with making hoax calls, saying there were bombs planted in Raffles Place, Orchard Road and Tanjong Pagar.(AFP) (CNA)
- South Thailand insurgency:
- Protesters end their demonstration at a mosque in Pattani after five days, after officials agreed to set up a committee to look into the protesters' demands and investigate problems in the southern border region. (Nation) (TNA)
- Saboteurs derail a State Railway of Thailand passenger train running from Yala to Pattani, injuring 16 people. (AFP) (DPA)
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- Indonesia's forestry ministry says it will release 17 endangered Dusky Pademelons, or pygmy kangaroos, in remote Papua province. The animals have been seized in recent years from illegal traders. (AP) (Reuters)
- The Laotian government praises U.S. law enforcement officials for their arrest of Hmong military leader Vang Pao and the breaking up of a plot to overthrow the government. In Thailand, where the Laotian rebels had planned to ship their arms cache, officials say they will be investigating possible links to the case. (Nation)
 Myanmar will reconvene its National Convention for a final time in July to finish drafting a new constitution, according to the convening chairman, and acting prime minister, Lt. Gen. Thein Sein. (AFP) (Reuters)- Acting on a recommendation from the Council for National Security, the Thai Cabinet partially lifts the ban on political activities. Parties are free to meet, but a ban on the formation of new political parties remains, as does the ban on politicians who were members of dissolved parties. Meanwhile, in Bangkok, supporters of the pro-Thaksin PTV continued a protest for a fourth straight day, even as the CNS sent out SMS texts to mobile-phone subscribers, asking them to stay away from the rally. (AFP) (AP) (Bangkok Post) (Reuters) (TNA)
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- A Garuda Indonesia Boeing 737-400 bound for Batam from Jakarta is forced to make an emergency landing in Palembang after a leaking rubber seal on a cargo door resulted in a drop in cabin pressure. In a second incident, a Batavia Air 737, returns to Semarang, 30 minutes into its flight to Jakarta, because of engine trouble. No injuries are reported in either incident. (AFP) (Antara)
- Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will get married in a private ceremony on Saturday to Jeanne Abdullah. Premier Abdullah, 61, has been a widower since October 2005, when his wife of 40 years, Endon Mahmood, died of breast cancer. Jeanne, 53, is a hotel management professional who has served as a supervisor at Seri Perdana, the prime minister's official residence in Putrajaya. (Star) (Bernama)
- A new outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu has been detected among poultry in Sungai Buloh, a village in the state of Selangor. (CNA) (Star)
- The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore has suspended poultry and egg imports from the Malaysian state of Selangor due to the new outbreak of bird flu in Malaysia. (CNA) (TODAY) (Star)
- South Thailand insurgency: Train service in south Thailand is suspended until Friday, while State Railway of Thailand officials inspect tracks after further sabotage is discovered following Monday's derailment in Yala. Also, a Muslim man is fatally shot in Narathiwat, and a school is burned in Yala. (TNA) (AFP)
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- Malaysian authorities say they have contained an outbreak of the H5N1 avian flu virus. They said the disease was limited to three villages in Selangor, and that about 8,000 chickens and ducks were culled as a precautionary measure. (AFP) (Reuters)
- Activist Su Su Nway is released from jail for health reasons by the Myanmar junta. She was among around 40 demonstrators who arrested on May 15 during a prayer rally in Yangon for Aung San Suu Kyi. (AP) (VOA)
- In the Philippine general election, winners are declared in 10 of 12 Senate seats, with opposition parties winning seven, and two going to supporters of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, giving the opposition control of the Senate. (ABC) (BBC) (VOA)
- A new political party is formed by former members of Thai Rak Thai called Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship, which aims to unseat the military-led Council for National Security. (AFP) (Bangkok Post) (Nation)
- Ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, in Tokyo as a guest lecturer at a university, says he plans return to Thailand "when democracy returns". The Council for National Security affirms that general elections will go ahead as planned in December. (AFP) (Reuters) (TNA)
 A tornado rips through several villages in Thai Binh Province, northern Vietnam, killing one person, injuring five others and destroying more than 70 buildings. (AFP)
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- Following an outbreak of H5N1 in Selangor, five people living near the site are hospitalized flu-like symptoms. (AFP) (Reuters) (Xinhua)
- Eleven HIV/AIDS patients are released after being detained for three days in Weibagi Hospital in Yangon. The 11 were rounded up by authorities for holding demonstrations calling for the release of activist Phyu Phyu Thin, a National League for Democracy supporter who runs a small HIV/AIDS clinic. She was arrested on May 21 for organizing a prayer rally for Aung San Suu Kyi. [(AP) (Irrawaddy) (Reuters)
- A bus explosion at a public market on Mindanao kills one person and injures 10 people. (Reuters) (MindaNews)
- Singapore will install face-recognition technology at its immigration checkpoints.(AP)
- The Internal Security Department (ISD) has arrested Abdul Basheer s/o Abdul Kader, an ex-lecturer whom it said had made plans to pursue "militant jihad" in Afghanistan. Four more Singapore Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) members have been detained under the Internal Security Act. (CNA) (TODAY)
- A Briton, held by Royal Thai Police, apologizes for e-mailing threats to executives of Tesco. Police say Alexander John Winstone, 36, sent e-mails from Bangkok Internet cafes to Tesco in May, demanding £2 million in exchange for not injecting AIDS infected blood into beef steaks sold by the UK-based retailer. (Bloomberg) (Bangkok Post) (Nation)
- South Thailand insurgency:
- A woman is killed and 28 people injured in a bomb explosion at a tea house in Yala. In Narathiwat, two local government officials were killed and a third injured in a drive-by shooting, and two soldiers were injured in a roadside bombing. (AFP) (AP)
- The State Railway of Thailand resumes train service in southern Thailand following repairs from sabotage. (TNA)
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 The newlywed daughter of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah is presented to the public in a lavish ceremony, the culmination of two weeks of celebration steeped in Brunei royal tradition. Princess Majeedah Nuurul Bulqiah, 31, and Khairul Khalil, 32, exchanged their vows on Thursday. (AP) (Reuters) (Bernama) (Brunei Times) (Borneo Bulletin)- Two more people are sent to hospital with flu-like symptoms in Selangor, following last week's out break of H5N1. (Bernama)
- Thai Energy Minister Piyasvasti Amranand denies the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand has signed a contract to buy power from a controversial dam on the Salween River in Myanmar, but had only agreed to conduct a feasibility study on the project. (Bernama)
- Five people are killed and several more injured in a fire and sinking of a ferry carrying 260 passengers off Mindoro. One of those killed was a five-year-old girl. (ABS-CBN) (GMA) (Javno)
- Admidst growing anti-junta demonstrations in Bangkok, Council for National Security chairman General Sonthi Boonyaratglin rejects a call by protesters to resign. Around 15,000 people marched on Saturday night from Sanam Luang to the army headquarters. With 3,000 people participating on Sunday, the rally was expected to continue throughout the week. (Bangkok Post) (Nation)
- Vietnamese "cyber dissident" Nguyen Vu Binh, arrested for spying in 2002, has been granted amnesty by President Nguyen Minh Triet, and released from prison near Hanoi. (AFP) (VNA)
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- Abu Dujana, a Jemaah Islamiyah leader wanted in the 2002 Bali bombings and the 2004 Jakarta embassy bombing, is in custody in central Java, police say. (CNN) (Herald Sun)
- Royal Malaysian Police Inspector-General Musa Hassan says there is a "real and possible" threat of terrorism in the Strait of Malacca. (Forbes) (CNA) (Reuters)
- Singapore ranks sixth in the MasterCard Worldwide Centers of Commerce ranking, scoring 61.95 points and ranked third in the Asia Pacific region. It was the highest-ranked Asian city in the Legal and Political Framework, Economic Stability, and the Ease of Doing Business indexes, and came in seventh, second, and third in the Financial Flow, Business Center, and Knowledge Creation and Information Flow indexes. (CNA) (Mastercard) (Mastercard factsheet)
- Several waterspouts, which lasted for around 30 minutes, have been spotted off the East Coast of Singapore. (CNA)
- Ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra may return to Thailand if he wishes, say interim Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont and Council for National Security chairman General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, so that he may appeal the seizure of his assets by the Assets Examination Committee. (Bangkok Post) (BBC) (CNA) (CNN) (Nation) (TNA)
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- Cambodian and international judges agree on rules for the United Nations-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal. (BBC) (Earth Times) (Forbes) (France24) (Stanford Review)
- Imelda Marcos is acquitted of tax evasion by a court in Quezon City. The cases, filed in 1991 and dating back to 1985, are dropped for lack of evidence. (GMA) (Bulletin) (AHN)
- The Singapore Foreign Affairs Ministry rejects comments by Indonesia's Defence Minister Professor Juwono Sudarsono that Singapore has delayed ratification of a package of treaties and Implementing Arrangements, stating that Indonesia has requested changes to earlier agreements at the eleventh hour, which Singapore could not agree to without relooking at the entire package. (CNA)
- Thirteen cases of a drug resistant form of tuberculosis, XDR-TB, are reported by Thai health officials. (Nation) (MCOT)
- A group of Buddhist monks vow to continue a hunger strike in front of Parliament House, in their bid to make Buddhism the constitutionally recognized state religion. (MCOT)
- South Thailand insurgency: Three men are fatally shot, one of them beheaded, in Amphoe Rueso, Narathiwat Province. (MCOT) (Nation)
- Female WBC flyweight boxing champion Samson Sor Siriporn is released from prison on parole. She won the world title in a special match in prison in April, defeating Ayaka Miyano. (ESPN) (MCOT)
- Thai authorities are looking for billions of baht that they say has gone missing from bank accounts held by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. (Bangkok Post) (MCOT) (Nation)
- Two more human cases H5N1, the bird-flu virus, are reported in Vietnam, bringing to four the number of new human cases since last month. (CNA) (VNA)
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- A 29-year-old man in Riau is confirmed to have died of the H5N1 strain of avian flu, making him the 80th person in Indonesia to die from the virus. "Before showing bird flu symptoms, he slaughtered and cooked sick chickens," Muhammad Nadirin of the Health Ministry's Bird Flu Center said. Indonesia has the highest number of human deaths from H5N1, and the highest number of cases at 100. (CNA) (Kyodo) (Antara)
- Dang Vang, of Fresno, California, is arrested and indicted along with former Hmong military leader Vang Pao and nine others in U.S. district court in Sacramento on charges that they were plotting to overthrow the government of Laos. (Fresno Bee) (IHT)
- Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Thursday promised severe punishment for human traffickers after the country's inclusion on Washington's "Tier 3" list of worst offenders. (CNA) (Star)
- An outbreak of H5N1 is reported by a livestock official in Myanmar, who says about 1,000 chickens were slaughtered after the virus was found on June 3 in 28 chickens on a farm in Bago, about 80 kilometers north of Yangon. It is the first outbreak of the bird flu in Myanmar, also known as Burma, since April. (CNA) (Irrawaddy)
- Singapore has submitted to Indonesia its masterplan on how to help the country fight its haze problem. (CNA)
- The University of New South Wales is to pay the Government of Singapore S$25.7 million for closing its Asian campus prematurely. (CNA)
- South Thailand insurgency:
- Thirteen schools were set ablaze overnight in Pattani and Yala, police say. Also, a 44-year-old man was killed in a drive-by shooting in Yala. (BBC) (Nation)
- A bomb blast during a soccer match at stadium in Pattani injures 14 police officers who were providing security for the game between two local teams. (Bangkok Post) (Nation)
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- Six Southeast Asian countries are listed in the Failed States Index by Foreign Policy magazine. Listed as "critical" are Myanmar and its "repressive junta" at No. 14, and crisis-torn East Timor at No. 20. Countries ranked "borderline" are Laos at No. 44, Cambodia at 48th, Indonesia at 55th and the Philippines at No. 56. (Foreign Policy) (AP via The Guardian)
- Abu Dujana, the captured former military leader of Jemaah Islamiah, is quoted in an interview in Tempo magazine that he opposed the 2003 Marriott Hotel bombing. (AFP via CNA) (Reuters)
- The trial in the murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaaribuu gets under way. The defendant is Abdul Razak Baginda, an adviser of Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, who is accused of plotting the fatal shooting and blowing up of the victim's body with two police officers, Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar. (BBC) (Bernama) (Guardian) (IHT) (The Star)
- A special gems sale offering gemstones, jade and pearl will be be held from July 4 to 16 in Yangon by the Myanmar government in an effort to boost foreign exchange reserves. (Irrawaddy) (Xinhua via CCTV)
- PSA International-operated terminals at the Port of Singapore registers growths of 14.42% in the first five months of the year to 10.79 million containers, and set a record of 2.28 million containers moved in May, its highest in a month. The Port is expected to lose its status as the world's busiest container port to the Port of Shanghai in 2008. (CNA)
- Singapore has become the 14th most expensive city in the world for expatriates, and 5th most expensive Asia-Pacific city. This is according to a Cost of Living Survey conducted by Mercer Human Resource Consulting. (CNA) (Today)
- Vietnamese President Nguyễn Minh Triết begins a six-day official visit to the United States, where he is to meet U.S. President George W. Bush. It is the first visit to the U.S. by a Vietnamese head of state. (VNA) (AFP via CNA)
- South Thailand insurgency: A bombing in a teashop in Yala injures 14 people, while in Narathiwat a roadside bomb injures two soldiers and a bomb on a bridge injures a government employee. Overnight, a school was burned, and Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont orders indefinite closure of all schools in the three southern provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani. (Bangkok Post) (Nation) (MCOT)
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- Brunei and Singapore will launch two new $20 notes on June 27 to mark 40 years of the Currency Interchangeability Agreement. (CNA) (Brunei Times)
- The annual donors' meeting convenes in Phnom Penh, with Prime Minister Hun Sen asking for more money, and donors saying more needs to be done to reform the rule of law and fight corruption. (AFP via CNA) (AP via Forbes) (Telegraph) (Reuters)
- Richard Ness, an executive for Newmont Mining, is suing The New York Times and reporter Jane Perlez over a 2004 article that said the U.S.-based mining company polluted Buyat Bay off Sulawesi. A spokeswoman for The Times says neither the newspaper nor the reporter have yet received any summons in the case. (AFP)
- A Hmong-American man is detained in Thailand after he was trying to cross the border into Laos from Nan Province. Police say he may be linked to the case involving a plot to overthrow the Laotian government. Meanwhile, Vang Pao and 10 other suspects in the plot have pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in Sacramento, California. (Bangkok Post) (AP via Fresno Bee)
- Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi meets in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin, pledging closer ties, particularly on energy deals. The two sign a join declaration on cooperation in space and technology. (AFP via CNA) (Bernama) [
- Supporters of detained National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi mark her 62nd birthday in Yangon. (Kyodo) (AP via The Irrawaddy) (Reuters) (AFP via CNA)
- Temasek Holdings says it will sell off three of its power-generation companies, PowerSeraya, Senoko Power and Tuas Power, which together provide about 80 percent of Singapore's power needs. (CNA) (AP via IHT)
- Dengue in Singapore has reached epidemic levels, with 401 cases reported last week, according to the National Environment Agency. (CNA) (Reuters) (Today)
- Ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is ordered by Royal Thai Police to return to Thailand to stand on charges that he hid ownership in a company. (Nation) (AP via CNN) (AFP via CNA) (Bangkok Post)
- South Thailand insurgency: Chayaphat Raksoyos, head of Mai Kaen district in Pattani is killed along two other men, including a Royal Thai Army Internal Security Operations Command colonel, in a roadside-bomb explosion. Three other officials are hurt. Overnight, a solider is killed and two others wounded in a clash with arsonist who set fire to a school. Also, a man in Narathiwat is killed in a drive-by shooting. (Reuters) (AFP via CNA) (MCOT) (MCOT) (Nation)
- Vietnamese President Nguyễn Minh Triết visits the New York Stock Exchange during his first day in the United States. (AFP via CNA)
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- Southeast Asian haze: In talks in Jambi with ministers from Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, Indonesia says it is aiming to cut the number of illegal land-clearing fires by half in an effort to reduce the annual regionwide haze problem. (AFP via CNA) (Today via CNA) (Reuters)
- International donors pledge $689 million in aid to Cambodia for 2007. (AFP via CNA) (Kyodo)
- Overcrowded rail transport services in Myanmar make it difficult for passengers to obtain tickets for travel outside Yangon, according to a report by The Irrawaddy. (Irrawaddy)
- Rough seas in the Andaman Sea cause three Thai fishing trawlers to capsize. Two other boats capsized on Tuesday off Satun, and a crewman has gone missing. (MCOT)
- A landmark marital rape bill is signed into law by the National Legislative Assembly of Thailand. (MCOT) (BBC) (Nation)
- The Assets Examination Committee orders the seizure of another 5 million baht in seven bank accounts controlled by deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. (MCOT)
- Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont says a general election could be held in Thailand as early as November 25, if a referendum on a new constitution is held by August 19. (AFP via CNA) (Bangkok Post) (MCOT) (Nation)
- South Thailand insurgency:
- A border patrol policeman is killed in a drive-by shooting in Pattani. Also, five suspects are detained in two arrest sweeps in Pattani, and police seize a shotgun and ready-to-use bombs. (MCOT)
- The Cabinet approves the deployment of 2,760 additional locally-recruited paramilitary rangers, including 12 platoons of female rangers, in southern Thailand. (MCOT)
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- ASEAN countries are looking to set up a list of criteria to encourage the adoption of digital TV in the region by 2008. (CNA)
- A third bridge across the Mekong between Thailand and Laos is to be built to provide a direct road link between Bangkok and Yunnan, China. The span, between Chiang Khong district, Chiang Rai and Ban Houayxay, Bokeo Province, is to be funded by China and Thailand through the Asian Development Bank. (AFP via CNA)
- South Thailand insurgency:
- Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont says he would welcome talks with insurgency leaders. (MCOT) (VOA)
- At a border commmittee meeting in Malaysia, Thai Defense Minister Boonrawd Somtas is quoted by The Star as saying: "The instigators ... seem to be on their last legs, on the point of trying to elevate the problem, trying to make the problem a more international issue." (AFP via CNA) (Star)
- Relatives of detained AIDS activist and National League for Democracy supporter Phyu Phyu Thin say they will file a missing person's report and lawsuit. Phyu Phyu Thin was arrested on May 21, and no information has been provided about why she was arrested or where she is being detained. (Irrawaddy)
- Thaksin Shinawatra is formally charged with "official misconduct" by prosecutors before the Supreme Court. The charges involve a 772 million baht land purchase by Potjaman Shinawatra on Ratchadaphisek Road in Bangkok. The court said it would decide by July 10 whether to accept the case. (Bangkok Post) (MCOT) (Nation) (Reuters via CNN)
- Manchester City F.C. has formally accepted an offer by Thaksin Shinawatra to buy the football club for £81.6 million. (AP via the Irrawaddy) (Bangkok Post) (BBC) (Nation)
- Vietnamese president Nguyễn Minh Triết arrives in Washington, D.C., and makes a luncheon speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, calling for investment. Triết was expected to meet later with U.S. lawmakers. He is to meet U.S. President George W. Bush on Friday at the White House. (AP via Forbes) (VNA)
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- The licenses for 19 maid agencies are suspended by the Malaysian government after complaints of abuse and unpaid wages. The move comes after a dramatic incident on Saturday when Indonesian maid Ceriyati Dapin climbed out of a 15th-floor apartment on a makeshift rope to escape an employer she said beat her and starved her. (NST) (Star) (AP via Irrawaddy)
- Former Royal Lao Army general Vang Pao, 77, who is held in California as a suspect in a plot to overthrow the government of Laos, is in hospital after he compained of chest pains. (KXTV)
- Following 18 assaults on bus drivers during the first half of the year, SBS Transit has launched a publicity campaign aimed at stopping the abuse. (Today via CNA)
- South Thailand insurgency: Three 14-year-old boys are killed and 10 people hurt in a drive-by shooting at a teashop in Yala. A 16-year-old girl is killed in another drive-by shooting, and five schools are burned in arson attacks. (Nation) (MCOT)
- Vietnamese President Nguyễn Minh Triết meets U.S. President George W. Bush at the White House. Bush says the two had a "frank and candid discussion" and democracy and human rights. A Trade and Investment Framework Agreement is signed. (BBC) (White House) (VNA)
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- The National League for Democracy has sent a letter to the State Peace and Development Council, formally asking the junta for a meeting with detained NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Also, the U.S. Senate has passed a resolution, condemning the junta for detaining Suu Kyi.(AFP via CNA) (AP via IHT)
- Two earthquakes, measuring 5.5- and 5.4-magnitude earthquake strike near 3 p.m. local time (0830 UTC) in Myanmar, about 100 kilometers from the Chinese border at Yunjinghong, Yunnan. (MCOT) (USGS) (USGS)
- Around 10,000 anti-junta protesters march peacefully from Sanam Luang to Royal Thai Army headquarters. (AFP via CNA) (Bangkok Post) (MCOT) (Nation)
- Some X-ray bomb scanners at Suvarnabhumi Airport are broken, and await new parts. The machines broke down on Wednesday night, disrupting the baggage-handling system. Royal Thai Army soldiers were brought in to move the luggage by hand. MCOT (Bangkok Post) (Nation)
- Justice Minister Chanchai Likhitjitta says Thailand will seek extradition of Thaksin Shinawatra and Potjaman Shinawatra if the former prime minister and his wife fail to return to Thailand to obey a Royal Thai Police summons, asking them to appear on charges related to a stock-disclosure case. In a national broadcast, Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont issues assurances to Thaksin. (Bangkok Post) (AFP via CNA)
- Around 2,500 anti-communist Vietnamese protesters demonstrate in California as President Nguyễn Minh Triết concludes his visit to the United States. (AFP via CNA)
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- More than 7,600 Laotian Hmong immigrants are moved to a new residential settlement to separate them from Thai-born Hmong in Phetchabun. The move was made for security purposes, as Thai Hmong were having to endure the same security Officials said as the Laotian Hmong. (Nation)
- Acting prime minister Lt. Gen. Thein Sein says the Myanmar junta will hand over power to civilian government after next month's constitutional convention and an election is held in accordance with a "road map" that was announced the State Peace and Development Council in 2003. (Irrawaddy) (NLM)
- New People's Army insurgents raid a police station in Cotabato, killing an officer and stealing five assault rifles. (AP via The Star) (Reuters) (Sun Star)
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- PMTair Flight U4 241: Authorities search in Kampot Province for a PMTair Antonov An-24 that crashed. The flight from Angkor International Airport to Sihanoukville International Airport had 16 passengers – 13 South Koreans and three Czechs – plus a flight crew of one Russian and five Cambodians. (AFP via CNA) (BBC) (Reuters) (DPA via Bangkok Post) (AP via Guardian) (Yonhap) (Kyodo)
- Garuda Indonesia and Adam Air have received safety approval in a government review ordered after a string of air disasters. Out of 21 airlines audited, 19 were allowed to continue flying. (BBC)
- On a visit to Surabaya and Sidoarjo, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will make an aerial inspection of the Sidoarjo mudflow, Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto reports. (Antara)
- Thierry Rommel, head of the European Commission delegation in Malaysia, is summoned by the Foreign Ministry to explain criticism had about the government's policies that favor Malays. (BBC)
- The World Economic Forum on East Asia is held in Singapore, with Malaysia's second finance minister Nor Mohamed Yakcop criticizing wealthier Western nations for "green imperialism". "Companies that are polluting in China are owned by American, European, Japanese and others. They are benefiting from the cheap labor, from the resources and at the same time accusing China of pollution," he is quoted as saying. (Star) (CNA)
- The National League for Democracy in Mandalay calls on the Yangon party headquarters to boost security after a Mandalay party activist, Than Lwin, was assaulted on June 15. The NLD said the attacker was likely a member of the Union Solidarity and Development Association, the political arm of the State Peace and Development Council. (Irrawaddy)
- Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont departs for a state visit to India, where he and his counterpart, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh are to sign pacts on energy and culture. (Bangkok Post)
- The Assets Examination Committee orders the seizure of 4.775 billion baht in a bank account controlled by Bannapot Damapong, stepbrother of Potjaman Shinawatra. (Bangkok Post) (MCOT)
- The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, which is responsible for blocking websites in Thailand, says it will unblock YouTube and political websites once Order No. 5 of the Council for National Security is lifted by the Cabinet, a move that is expected sometime this week. (MCOT)
- South Thailand insurgency:
- A school in Yala is burned in an arson attack. Officials say 1,166 students from schools that have been burned or closed, will be sent to two schools in protected areas. (Nation) (MCOT)
- A village chief and his wife are fatally shot in Amphoe Raman, Yala. In Narathiwat, an insurgent is killed in a firefight between soldiers and a group of insurgents. (Nation)
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- PMTair Flight U4 241: No survivors are found at the crash site of a PMTair Antonov An-24, near Bokor Hill Station in Kampot Province. (AP via Forbes) (AFP via CNA)
- Campaigning ends ahead of Saturday's East Timorese parliamentary election, in which a new party, the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction, led by former president Xanana Gusmão is leading to contest the dominant FRETILIN. (BBC)
- The Nam Theun II dam project is criticized by the International Rivers Network as the World Bank opens a meeting to consider funding for the dam's continued construction. (AP via Irrawaddy)
- Respective Thai and Malaysian foreign ministers Nitya Pibulsonggram and Syed Hamid Albar co-chair the 10th Meeting of the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Commission, with talks planned on the south Thailand insurgency. (TNA via MCOT)
- The spread of H5N1, the bird-flu virus remains a threat in Myanmar, because the government does not offer enough compensation to poultry farmers for the birds it culls, a report by Economist Intelligence Unit says. (Irrawaddy)
- Abu Sayyaf:
- The 1st Commando Battalion wins the Singapore Armed Forces Best Unit Competition's best combat unit award for the 21st time, while RSS Vengeance is the Best Navy Ship. The 140 Squadron, Republic of Singapore Air Force wins the Best Fighter Squadron title. (CNA)
- A 66-year-old Singaporean Chinese male died from dengue, after two others have died in previous weeks. (CNA)
- Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife, Potjaman Shinawatra, are given another month before they are required to return to Thailand to hear charges brought by the Royal Thai Police in a stock-fraud case. They earlier been ordered to return by Friday, but said they could not, citing security concerns. (AFP via CNA) (TNA via MCOT)
- Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont hails talks with his Indian counterpart, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying the two had agreed on deals for energy and military cooperation. The two countries will possibly sign a Free Trade Agreement next month. (TNA via MCOT) (TNA via MCOT)
- South Thailand insurgency: Three bombs explode at grocery stores in Narathiwat, but no one is injured. Separately, 24 people are detained for suspected involvement in the insurgency, in a sweep by police and military. (TNA via MCOT)
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| Trials |
[edit] Recently concluded
[edit] Ongoing
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Holidays
and observances |
- 4 - Filipino-American Friendship Day, Philippines
- 15 - Birthday of Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of Brunei
- 19 - Burmese Martyr's Day, Myanmar
- 19 - Birthday of Tuanku Jaafar, Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
- 21 - Racial Harmony Day, Singapore
- 27 - Iglesia Ni Cristo Foundation Day, Philippines
- 27 - Memorial Day for War Martyrs, Vietnam
- 28 - Buddhist Lent, Thailand
- 31 - Hari Pahlawan (Heroes' Day), Malaysia
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