News Briefs (August 2008)

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Malaysia Orders Tsunami Refugees to Return to Indonesia

Malaysia has ordered more than 25,000 refugees who fled Indonesia's Aceh province after the 2004 Asian tsunami to leave by early January, an official said Tuesday. Authorities will deport any Acehnese migrants who remain illegally in Malaysia beyond January 5, said Ishak Mohamed, enforcement director of the Immigration Department.

About 40,000 people from Aceh came to neighboring Malaysia after a giant quake off their province spawned the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed more than 130,000 people in Indonesia alone. Thousands of Acehnese have returned home since 2005, but officials estimate there are still 25,593 here, working mainly in low-paying jobs on construction sites, plantations, factories and restaurants. Eka Suripto, an official at the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, said Malaysian immigration officials recently informed diplomats about plans to curb the number of Acehnese, but he did not have further details. (AP)

 Thursday, August 14, 2008

Al Jazeera Earns Emmy Nomination for Burma Coverage

The Qatar-based Al Jazeera news network has received its first ever International Emmy Award nomination for its coverage of last year’s popular uprising in Burma and the subsequent crackdown by the country’s ruling military regime.

Newshour, a program produced by the Kuala Lumpur broadcasting center of Al Jazeera English, was named a nominee in the news category for its reporting on the monk-led protests in Burma last September. The other contenders are Britain’s ITV News, Brazil’s TV Globo and Romania’s Pro TV.

Al Jazeera English was also nominated in the current affairs category for coverage of a standoff between Islamic radicals and Pakistani security forces at the Red Mosque last July.  

The Emmy Awards are given by the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The winners will be named at an awards ceremony to be held in New York on September 22.

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

At Least 20 Killed in Burma Jade Mine Landslide

At least 20 people were killed when the slag heap from a jade mine in military-ruled Burma collapsed late last month after torrential rain, industry sources said on Tuesday. Official media in the former Burma have made no mention of the tragedy, which the source said occurred at the Hmawzizar Jade Mine in Phakant, a major jade mining area about 1,500 km (930 miles) north of Rangoon. Although one of Asia's poorest countries, Burma is a major gemstone producer and such incidents are not uncommon. At least 16 people were killed in a landslide caused by torrential rains in Mogok, the centre of Burma's ruby mining, in June. Locals frequently blame the mining companies, especially those owned by cronies of the ruling military junta, saying they operate mines in Dickensian conditions with scant regard for the safety or welfare of the workers. (Reuters)