Australian authorities have rescued most of the people on board a crowded refugee boat that overturned Wednesday in the Indian Ocean. Prime Minister Julia Gillard says at least 123 people have been rescued from the boat, which capsized off Australia’s remote Christmas Island. “I’m advised that there are approximately, our numbers obviously can change, but […]
123 Rescued from Capsized Refugee Boat Off Australian Coast
Posted June 27th, 2012 at 3:10 am (UTC-5)
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Senator Introduces Bill to Protect Indonesian Christians in US
Posted June 27th, 2012 at 1:45 am (UTC-5)
A U.S. senator has introduced legislation that would allow Indonesian Christians living in the United States to apply for asylum on the grounds of religious persecution in their homeland. The bill from Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey aims to help the hundreds of Indonesian Christians who came to the U.S. on tourist visas, mostly […]
Boat Carrying 150 Asylum Seekers Capsizes off Northwest Australia
Posted June 27th, 2012 at 12:30 am (UTC-5)
A boat carrying an estimated 150 asylum seekers has overturned off the coast of Australia’s remote Christmas Island, less than a week after a similar incident killed up to 90 people. Two Australian merchant ships are collecting survivors at the scene of the capsizing in the Indian Ocean, about 200 kilometers north of Christmas Island. […]
UN: Trafficking, Use of Illegal Drugs on the Rise in Asia
Posted June 26th, 2012 at 6:15 pm (UTC-5)
The United Nations says increased trafficking and use of amphetamine type stimulants, or ATS, as well as the illicit production and abuse of drugs is a growing problem in Asia. In its global drug report released Tuesday, the U.N.’s Office on Drugs and Crime says the trend is especially troubling in China and South East […]
Korean Peninsula Faces Worst Drought in a Century
Posted June 26th, 2012 at 1:10 pm (UTC-5)
Large parts of the Korean peninsula are battling the worst regional water shortages in more than a century, with reports of North Korean soldiers hand-carrying water to irrigate parched farmland, and 80 percent of the South facing extreme drought. North Korean news reports on Tuesday said more than 20,000 hectares of cropland have been destroyed […]
Japan’s Ruling Party Split as Lawmakers Approve Controversial Tax Hike
Posted June 26th, 2012 at 6:15 am (UTC-5)
Japanese lawmakers have approved a controversial tax hike plan to help curb growing public debt, despite a rebellion by some in Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s ruling party. The plan to double the sales tax to 10 percent over three years easily cleared Japan’s lower house of parliament Tuesday. But 57 members of the ruling Democratic […]
Rights Group Urges China to Protect Burmese Refugees
Posted June 26th, 2012 at 4:55 am (UTC-5)
Human Rights Watch says several thousand ethnic-Kachin refugees who fled fighting in Burma now face a serious human rights situation in southwest China and risk being forcibly returned to their war-torn homeland. The group says as many as 10,000 people have fled to China’s Yunnan province from Burma’s Kachin state, where heavy fighting broke out […]
Japan’s Ruling Party Split as Lawmakers Approve Controversial Tax Hike
Posted June 26th, 2012 at 4:05 am (UTC-5)
Japanese lawmakers have approved a controversial tax hike plan to help curb growing public debt, despite a rebellion by some in Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s ruling party. The plan to double the sales tax to 10 percent over three years easily cleared Japan’s lower house of parliament Tuesday. But public broadcaster NHK reported that 57 […]
Rights Group Urges China to Protect Burmese Refugees
Posted June 26th, 2012 at 1:55 am (UTC-5)
Human Rights Watch says China has been forcibly returning some of the ethnic-Kachin refugees who fled fighting in Burma. The group says Chinese authorities have repatriated about 300 refugees to Kachin state, where heavy fighting broke out last year between the Burmese army and Kachin rebels. The report says as many as 10,000 Kachin people […]
ADB Begins “Re-engagement” with Burma
Posted June 26th, 2012 at 12:10 am (UTC-5)
The Asian Development Bank says it will begin re-engaging with Burma following reforms undertaken in the Southeast Asian country in the past year. The bank, which has not had operations in Burma since 1988, says a senior official will visit the country Tuesday to gain a “first-hand understanding” of its goals and priorities. The visit […]
