BANGKOK –

Participating in a full moon party for tourists on New Year’s Eve in southern Thailand, said they were burned when a fireworks display shower with hot embers.

Popular Koh Phangan video on the backpacker island on the Internet, shows how the cheers turn to scream the panic as a huge sign to read “Happy New Year 2017” set at midnight in the afternoon.

Can see the spark in the crowd in the rain, by the shore breeze.

Witnesses described the public panic, as people eager to get rid of the display.

“It’s just a shower of burning sparkles,” Lucy Coyle, a 20-year-old British traveler with her boyfriend attending the party, told AFP.

“It feels like people are stabbing you on your body … everyone is trying to leave.” Coyle later posted on Twitter that she said she had dozens of burns on her.

Another British tourist, Freddie Jacobs, said thousands of people burst into the beach at midnight, many of them under a sign that they did not know to get off.

“My girlfriend fell to the floor and she got so much burns that I had to cover her like a blanket,” the 23-year-old said, adding that he and his partner were burned the next day.

Backpackers gather at the famous full moon party at Koh Phangan. But its relaxed charm also relaxes the security attitude.

The police confirmed the incident, but hit the passenger reporting injuries and massive panic.

“A 30-year-old female tourist was slightly injured, she was treated and left,” the island’s police chief Colonel Somchai Noppasri told AFP.

NEW DELHI – India’s top court on Monday prohibited politicians from using religion and caste to garner votes, a verdict that could force political parties to change their strategy in upcoming elections. “No politician can seek vote in the name of caste, creed or religion,” said Chief Justice T.S. Thakur in an order, adding that election process must be a “secular exercise”.

India is officially secular but political parties have traditionally used religion and caste as the main criteria to select candidates and to appeal to voters.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has for years fought elections on a Hindu nationalist agenda, with party members in the past being accused of making anti-Muslim statements to polarise Hindu voters.

The court ruling comes just weeks ahead of a state election in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state where the two issues of religion and caste generally dominate campaigns.

Results of the election will be important for Modi’s expected bid for a second term in 2019.

State elections are also due this year in the states of Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.

The Supreme Court, ruling on a petition filed by a politician in 1996, wrote in its opinion that the secular ethos of the constitution had to be protected.

The majority view of the seven-judge Supreme Court bench held that elections would be void if a politician made an appeal for votes on the basis of religious sentiment.

BEIJING – China’s new rules on overseas currency transfers are not capital controls, the official Xinhua news agency reported, even as some banks told customers that purchases of foreign currency for property, securities and life insurance were not allowed.

Capital outflows have been a growing concern for the government in the past year as it attempted to put the economy back on track and keep the currency stable without exhausting its foreign exchange reserves, which tumbled to $3.052 trillion in November, the lowest in almost six years.

Starting in July 2017, banks and other financial institutions in China will have to report all domestic and overseas cash transactions of more than 50,000 yuan ($7,201), compared with 200,000 yuan previously, the central bank said on Friday.

Banks will also need to report any overseas transfers by individuals of $10,000 or more.

The responsibility of reporting such transactions will be assumed by financial institutions, and there will also be no extra documentation or official approval procedures required for companies or individuals, Xinhua reported late on Sunday, citing Ma Jun, chief economist of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC).

The government has said its checks on transactions are meant to target money laundering, terrorism financing and fake outbound investment transactions, and not normal, legitimate business activities.

China’s foreign exchange regulator said late on Saturday that from Jan. 1 it would step up scrutiny on individual foreign currency purchases and strengthen punishment for illegal money outflows, although the $50,000 annual individual quota will remain unchanged.

Regulations allow Chinese nationals a foreign exchange quota of $50,000 a year.

Since Sunday, Bank of Shanghai and China Merchants Bank customers have been required to fill out a new online form when applying to purchase foreign exchange through their respective mobile banking apps.

The form restricted foreign exchange from being used to buy overseas property, securities, life insurance or other investment-style insurance products.

Approved uses of funds were restricted to non-investment uses including tourism, schooling, business travel, and medical care.

Customers must also indicate how they plan to use the foreign currency and when they plan to spend it.

Reuters was not able to reach Bank of Shanghai and China Merchants Bank for comment due to a public holiday on Monday.

Reuters was also unable to immediately confirm if all banks in China were using the new application form.

YANGON – Myanmar’s government on Monday said it has detained several police officers over a video apparently showing Rohingya civilians being beaten, a rare admission that authorities may have carried out abuses against the Muslim minority.

Tens of thousands of people from the persecuted ethnic group – loathed by many of Myanmar’s Buddhist majority – have fled a military operation in Rakhine state launched after attacks on police posts in October.

Bangladesh says some 50,000 Rohingya have crossed its borders over the past two months. Many have brought harrowing accounts of rape, murder and arson at the hands of Myanmar’s security forces.

Their stories have raised global alarm and galvanised protests against Myanmar’s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been accused of not doing enough to help the Rohingya.

Her government has said troops are hunting militants behind deadly raids on police border posts, denying claims of atrocities and launching a dogged information campaign against reports of abuse.

However, on Monday authorities pledged to take action “against police who allegedly beat villagers during area clearance operations on 5 November in Kotankauk village”.

Suu Kyi’s office named four officers who were involved in the operation including constable Zaw Myo Htike, who filmed the ‘selfie-style’ video.

“Those who (were) initially identified were detained,” it said in a statement. “Further investigations are being carried out to expose other police officers who beat villagers in the operation.” Dozens of videos have emerged apparently showing security forces abusing Rohingya, but this is the first time the government has said it will take action over them.

The footage shows police hitting a young boy around the head as he walks to where dozens of villagers are lined up in rows seated on the ground, hands behind their heads.

Three officers in uniform then start attacking one of the sitting men, beating him with a stick and kicking him repeatedly in the face.

A Rohingya activist contacted by AFP said the footage had been verified by a refugee from the nearby camp, Shilkhali.

Around 600 people have been detained since the military operation, according to state media, including six who have died in police custody.

Buddhist-majority Myanmar has long discriminated against the stateless Rohingya, who rights groups say are among the most persecuted peoples in the world.

More than 120,000 have been trapped in squalid displacement camps since violence erupted in 2012 in Rakhine, where they are denied citizenship, access to healthcare and education.

More than a dozen Nobel laureates wrote to the UN Security Council last week urging action to stop the “human tragedy amounting to ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity” in northern Rakhine.

Last month, UN rights commissioner Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein criticised the government’s “callous” handling of the crisis, describing it as “a lesson in how to make a bad situation worse”.

Under Myanmar’s junta-era constitution Suu Kyi’s civilian administration has limited power over the army, which maintains control of the defence, home and border ministries.

youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvxgnJfFzXo

SEOUL – South Korea’s government and airline companies will meet on Tuesday to discuss China’s rejection of applications by Korean carriers to add charter flights between the two countries for early this year, a government official said on Monday.

South Korean Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said on Sunday he would look into whether China’s decision, which came ahead of a traditional surge in Lunar New Year travel, was “related to” the planned deployment of a US anti-missile system in South Korea.

Yoo told reporters there were “several suspected cases of non-tariff barriers” following last year’s decision to deploy the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system and South Korea needed to determine China’s “real intention”.

China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on a holiday, while China’s Civil Aviation Administration was not immediately reachable.

China worries that the THAAD’s powerful radar can penetrate its territory and has objected to the deployment, which South Korea and the United States say is aimed solely at countering any threat from North Korea.

South Korean carriers Asiana Airlines, Jeju Air and Jin Air, an affiliate of Korean Air Lines , said their applications for charter flights to China were rejected for January and February, with no reason given. “It is regrettable,” a spokesman at Jeju Air said.

The companies already operate scheduled flights to China but wanted to add charter flights at busy times.

The transport ministry had sent a letter to China’s ministry seeking co-operation on the proposed flights and it would also meet the companies to ponder a next step, a ministry official said. “We will hold a closed-meeting with major airline affiliates tomorrow morning to discuss measures,” the ministry official said, without elaborating on what type of measures might be considered.

China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines had asked South Korea to hold off on approving their applications to add charter flights in January, citing “a situation in China”, said the official who is not authorised to speak to media and declined to be identified.

A China Eastern press official denied that it had asked South Korea to hold off approving applications to add charter flights. A China Southern media official was not immediately available.

The Korea Tourism Organisation said charter flights typically accounted for 4 to 5 per cent of available seats between the two countries. “Travellers can switch over to regular scheduled flights, so we do not expect huge losses,” said Han Hwa-joon, China team director.

Shares in South Korean cosmetics-related companies and airlines dropped on news reports of the charter denials. Korean cosmetics are a hot-selling item for visitors from China, South Korea’s biggest source of tourists.

Shares in cosmetics maker Amorepacific Corp were down 5 per cent on Monday, their biggest daily percentage loss since Oct. 25 and Korean Air Lines Co Ltd shares fell 2.2 per cent to their lowest level since July 14.

YANGON –

The Government of Myanmar promised Monday to investigate a video that apparently shows police beaten and kicked civilians in Rohingya, a rare acknowledgment that the authorities may have been abusing Muslim minorities.

Thousands of people from persecuted ethnic groups – largely abandoned by many of the Burmese Buddhists – launched a military operation in Rakhine State after attacking the police post.

Bangladesh stated that, in the past two months, some 50,000 Rohingya fled its borders. Many have brought distressing reports of rape, murder and arson in the hands of the Burmese security forces.

Their stories added global alarm and sparked protests against Myanmar’s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who was accused of not doing enough to help the Rohingya people.

Her government said troops were hunting militants after a deadly attack on police border guards, denying claims of atrocities and launching a banned information campaign against abuse reports.

However, on Monday the authorities pledged to take action in a statement issued by the national media “to beat the police against the villagers allegedly during the regional clean-up operation in Kotankauk village on 5 November”.

Dozens of video appearances apparently show security forces abusing Rohingya, but this is the first time the government has said it will take action.

The video showed the police tapping a young boy near the head, and he went to dozens of villagers lined up in rows, hands behind their heads.

Three uniformed officers began to attack a man sitting, beat him with a stick, repeatedly kicked him in the face.

The video was filmed by officials “self-timer style”, by the official Zaw Myo Htike, by the state media, he said he was in Kotankauk village “cleanup action” record.

AFP contact Rohingya activists say the lens has been confirmed by refugees in the nearby Shilkhali refugee camp.

Buddhism Most Myanmar long-term discrimination against stateless Rohingya, their rights groups say they are one of the most persecuted people in the world.

More than 120,000 people were trapped in dirty IDP camps because of the violence in Rakhine State in 2012, where they were denied citizenship, access to health care and education.

More than a dozen Nobel laureates wrote to the UN Security Council last week urging action to halt the “human tragedy is equal to ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity” in northern Rakhine State.

Under Myanmar’s military government constitution, Sui’s civilian government had limited power over the army, and the army continued to control the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of State and the Ministry of Border Defense.

youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvxgnJfFzXo

China’s dream of building a 21st-century Silk Road spanning half the planet was already ambitious.

That was before outer space became part of the vision.

Countries along Beijing’s flagship Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-century Maritime Silk Road-better known as “One Belt, One Road”-will be among the first in line to plug into China’s new satellite-navigation services, according to a government policy paper on the country’s space programme released Tuesday.

That means people from East Africa to the South Pacific will have access to the Chinese Beidou-2 satellite network, Beijing’s answer to the US Global Positioning System, by 2018, with the satellites providing the digital glue for the roads, railways, ports and industrial parks China intends to build on terra firma.

The China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Silk Road Fund have around $140 billion in capital between them to finance infrastructure across two great arcs of Chinese trade: the land-based “belt” to the north stretching across Central Asia and Russia to Europe, and the maritime “road” to the south, encompassing East Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia.

The space policy paper, issued by the State Council Information Office, hints at how China plans to use its space technology to support its wide-ranging programs on the ground and further tie partner nations into the Beijing blueprint.

Navigation and positioning services will form one element of a Belt and Road Initiative Space Information Corridor that China aims to set up over the next five years, the paper says.

Earth observation, communications and other satellite services are also part of the package.

The Beidou satellite network, which has 14 working satellites, will consist of 35 satellites by the end of the decade, the policy paper says.

Read the full article here

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