Southeast Asia News

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		BURMESE VERSION

Future Looks Bleak for Laid-Off Indonesian Workers
By HERA DIANI / IPS WRITER
At least 222,500 workers were dismissed as of March 2009. Some 300,000 migrant workers would return to Indonesia. But they may not expect to get new jobs or get their old ones back in near future.

AIDS, Malaria Eclipse the Biggest Child-killers
By MARGIE MASON / AP WRITER
Yet even though cheap tools could prevent and cure both diseases, AIDS and malaria kill an estimated 3.5 million kids under 5 each a year globally.

Philippine Gays Fight to Contest Election
By OLIVER TEVES / AP WRITER
A Philippine gay rights group is waging a legal battle to be allowed to run in next year's polls after the Elections Commission ruled it cannot register as a political party on grounds.

Rice Shortage Scares: Would The Real Culprits Please Step Forward?
By WILLIAM BOOT
Alarms about a possible new Asian rice crisis may be nothing more than scaremongering, while key producers are hoarding.

Indonesia Deports Journalists Covering Greenpeace
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Indonesia has deported two foreign journalists covering a Greenpeace demonstration against forest destruction on the western island of Sumatra.

Led by China, Carbon Pollution Up
By SETH BORENSTEIN / AP WRITER
Despite a global economic slump, worldwide carbon dioxide pollution jumped 2 percent last year, most of the increase coming from China.

Vietnam Internet Users Fear Facebook Blackout
By BEN STOCKING / AP WRITER
Facebook users fear that the Vietnamese government might be blocking the popular social networking Web site, which has become difficult to access over the past few weeks.

Carter Helps Build Homes in Mekong Region
By MICHAEL CASEY/AP WRITER
A charity championed by former US President Jimmy Carter, Habitat for Humanity, is to build homes for 50,000 families in the Mekong River region.

Cambodia Raises Stakes, as Ties with Thailand Plummet
By MARWAAN MACAN-MARKAR / IPS WRITER
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen steps up his rhetoric against the current Thai government as he comes under attack for harboring ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

Surin Downplays Fallout from Thai-Cambodian Dispute
By SIMON ROUGHNEEN
The Asean secretary-general says the ongoing row between Cambodia and Thailand will not affect next week’s summit with the US.

Cambodia, Thailand Expel Senior Diplomats
By SOPHENG CHEANG / AP WRITER
Cambodia and Thailand moved a step further in their sharp dispute over Thaksin, expelling each other's senior serving diplomats.

	Obama Confronts Asia Reshaped by China's Rise

	Recall of Envoys Escalates Thai-Cambodian Tensions

	Asean Human Rights Debate Continues

	Cambodia Names Thaksin A Gov't Adviser

	Vietnam Storm Death Toll Rises to 99

	Vietnam Storm Death Toll Rises to 57

	Storm Slams Vietnam; Thousands Evacuate

	Vietnam Evacuates Coastal Areas as Storm Nears

	Asian Giants Jostle for Asean Influence

	Thai-Cambodian Tension Tests Claims of Regional Peace

	Women Still Sidelined in Economic Decision-making

	Indonesia Won't Let Asylum Seekers off Ship

	Carbon Dioxide Goal Too Ambitious, Say Lawmakers

	Thailand-Cambodia Dispute Overshadows Summit

	Thai King Makes Public Appearance

	Asean Hopes for a Calm, Constructive Summit

	Massive Security at Asian Summit in Thailand

	Hun Sen: Thaksin Is Always Welcome

	Is the US Ready to Challenge China's Asean Influence?

	Thai King's Illness Leaves Countrymen Anxious

Free Trade Remains Mantra as Apec Economies to Shift Focus
By SIMON ROUGHNEEN
Finance Ministers representing the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation bloc say members should start to rein in the massive stimulus spending used by governments to offset the impact of the global economic crisis.

Malaysia, Indonesia Mending Fences over Maid Abuse
By JULIA ZAPPEI / AP WRITER
Indonesia's leader requested swift justice for maids allegedly abused while on the job in Malaysia.

Families of Missing Seek Closure in Timor Massacre
By GUIDO GOULART / AP WRITER
Families in East Timor appealed to their own government and Indonesian authorities to help recover the bodies of dozens of loved ones still missing after 18 years.

Looking Beyond the US-Asean Summit
By SIMON ROUGHNEEN
APEC meetings will be dominated by US-China relations and global economic policies. The Burma issue will remain in the background.

Apec Ministers Agree Economic Crisis Far from Over
By ELAINE KURTENBACH / AP WRITER
Asia-Pacific ministers warned that signs of recovery in the global economy are merely a respite, and future growth hinges on freer trade and improved social safety nets in Asia.

Apec Marks 20th Birthday But No Free Trade Yet
By VIJAY JOSHI / AP WRITER
Apec? It's been called A Place to Enjoy Coffee, and the less charitable Aging Politicians Enjoying Cocktails.

Thaksin Arrives in Cambodia
By SOPHENG CHEANG / AP WRITER
Thailand's fugitive ex-Prime Minister arrived Tuesday in Cambodia following his appointment as economic adviser to the government.

Thaksin on A Mission to Humiliate Thai Govt
By JOCELYN GECKER / AP WRITER
Thailand's fugitive former prime minister is an economic adviser to the Cambodian government. That's too close for comfort for Thailand's current leadership.