Tác giả: Trần Đình Hoành

I am an attorney in the Washington DC area, with a Doctor of Law in the US, attended the master program at the National School of Administration of Việt Nam, and graduated from Sài Gòn University Law School. I aso studied philosophy at the School of Letters in Sài Gòn. . I have worked as an anti-trust attorney for Federal Trade Commission and a litigator for a fortune-100 telecom company in Washington DC. I have taught law courses for legal professionals in Việt Nam and still counsel VN government agencies on legal matters. I have founded and managed businesses for me and my family, both law and non-law. I have published many articles on national newspapers and radio stations in Việt Nam. In 1989 I was one of the founding members of US-VN Trade Council, working to re-establish US-VN relationship. Since the early 90's, I have established and managed VNFORUM and VNBIZ forum on VN-related matters; these forums are the subject of a PhD thesis by Dr. Caroline Valverde at UC-Berkeley and her book Transnationalizing Viet Nam. I translate poetry and my translation of "A Request at Đồng Lộc Cemetery" is now engraved on a stone memorial at Đồng Lộc National Shrine in VN. I study and teach the Bible and Buddhism. In 2009 I founded and still manage dotchuoinon.com on positive thinking and two other blogs on Buddhism. In 2015 a group of friends and I founded website CVD - Conversations on Vietnam Development (cvdvn.net). I study the art of leadership with many friends who are religious, business and government leaders from many countries. I have written these books, published by Phu Nu Publishing House in Hanoi: "Positive Thinking to Change Your Life", in Vietnamese (TƯ DUY TÍCH CỰC Thay Đổi Cuộc Sống) (Oct. 2011) "10 Core Values for Success" (10 Giá trị cốt lõi của thành công) (Dec. 2013) "Live a Life Worth Living" (Sống Một Cuộc Đời Đáng Sống) (Oct. 2023) I practice Jiu Jitsu and Tai Chi for health, and play guitar as a hobby, usually accompanying my wife Trần Lê Túy Phượng, aka singer Linh Phượng.

North Korean officials objected to autopsy on Kim Jong Nam’s body: Source

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ChannelNewsAsia

  • Posted 15 Feb 2017 21:52
  • Updated 15 Feb 2017 23:26

People watch a television news report in a Seoul railway station on the death of Kim Jong-Nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader. (Photo: AFP/JUNG Yeon-Je)KUALA LUMPUR: North Korean government officials in Malaysia objected to an autopsy being performed on the body of the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Malaysian government sources aware of the discussions said on Wednesday (Feb 15).

North Korea embassy officials leave the morgue at Kuala Lumpur General Hospital. (Photo: Reuters / Edgar Su)

The officials requested that the body be released to them right away, but Malaysia rejected the request, several sources said.

No decision has been taken on whether the body of Kim Jong Nam will be handed over to North Korea, the sources added. Tiếp tục đọc “North Korean officials objected to autopsy on Kim Jong Nam’s body: Source” →

Female suspect arrested over death of Kim Jong-nam – female suspect carrying Vietnamese passport

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Female suspect arrested over death of Kim Jong-nam

Malaysian police say female suspect was carrying Vietnamese passport and was alone at the time of arrest.

AlJazeera
Malaysia police have arrested a female suspect in connection with the death of Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un.

Police said the woman they arrested on Wednesday carried a Vietnamese passport and was alone at the time of arrest.

The woman, detained at the low-cost terminal of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in the Malaysian capital, was identified on the travel document as Doan Thi Huong born on May 31, 1988, police said.

The “suspect was positively identified from the CCTV footage at the airport and was alone at the time of arrest”, they added. Tiếp tục đọc “Female suspect arrested over death of Kim Jong-nam – female suspect carrying Vietnamese passport” →

North Korean leader’s half-brother ‘killed’ in Malaysia

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ChannelNewsAsia

  • Posted 14 Feb 2017 19:37
  • Updated 15 Feb 2017 01:35

This file photo taken on Feb 11, 2007 shows a man believed to be North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s eldest son, Kim Jong-nam. (Photo: AFP)

SINGAPORE: The half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Kim Jong-nam has been killed in Malaysia, South Korean media reported on Tuesday (Feb 14).

Malaysia’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) chief Mohmad Salleh earlier told Channel NewsAsia that travel documents found on the man indicated he was Kim Jong-nam. He added that a post-mortem had not yet taken place and that the body was in Putrajaya Hospital. Tiếp tục đọc “North Korean leader’s half-brother ‘killed’ in Malaysia” →

Chinese weapons, warplanes reaching ‘near-parity’ with West: study

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This file photo taken on Dec. 14 shows a Chinese J-15 fighter jet preparing to take off from the deck of the Liaoning aircraft carrier during military drills in the Bohai Sea, off China’s northeast coast. China continues to arm itself faster than other countries to the point of moving towards near parity with the West in some military areas, according to the annual report of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) released on Tuesday. | AFP-JIJI

Japan times

AFP-JIJI Feb 15, 2017

LONDON – China is beginning to export its own weapon designs, including armed drones, worldwide and is reaching “near-parity” with the West in terms of military technology, according to a report on Tuesday.

The International Institute for Strategic Studies said that China’s official defence budget of $145 billion (€137 billion) last year was 1.8 times higher than those of South Korea and Japan combined.

It also accounted for more than a third of Asia’s total military spending in 2016, the IISS annual Military Balance report said, adding that spending in Asia grew by 5 to 6 percentage points a year between 2012 and 2016.

Total global military spending instead fell by 0.4 percent in real terms in 2016 compared to 2015, largely due to reductions in the Middle East.

“China’s military progress highlights that Western dominance in the field of advanced weapons systems can no longer be taken for granted,” IISS director John Chipman said at a presentation in London.

continue reading on Japan times

Head of U.S. Pacific Command urges democracy in Thailand

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U.S. Pacific Command chief Adm. Harry Harris (left) and Thailand defense forces chief Gen. Surapong Suwana-Adth pose during the opening ceremony of the multilateral Cobra Gold military exercises at Sattahip Royal Thai Marine Corps Base in Chonburi, Thailand, on Tuesday. | REUTERS

Japan times

AP Feb 14, 2017

SATTAHIP, THAILAND – The highest-ranking U.S. military official to visit Thailand since a 2014 coup urged the country to restore democracy, saying Tuesday that America needs “a strong and stable ally” in Southeast Asia.

Adm. Harry Harris, the head of the U.S. Pacific Command, spoke at the start of the annual Cobra Gold joint military exercises, the largest in the Asia-Pacific region.

The U.S. is vying with an increasingly powerful China for influence in Asia.

“We look forward to Thailand’s reemergence as a flourishing democracy because we need Thailand as a strong and stable ally,” Harris said. “We need Thailand to get back to being the regional and global leader that it always has been.”

Twenty-nine countries, including China, India and Malaysia, are participating in or observing the exercises.

continue reading on Japan times

U.N. Security Council strongly condemns North Korea missile test

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Japanese Ambassador to the United Nations Koro Bessho speaks to reporters after a Security Council consultation on the situation in North Korea on Monday at U.N. headquarters in New York. | AP

AP, Reuters Feb 14, 2017

UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. Security Council strongly condemned North Korea late Monday over its latest ballistic missile launches and warned of “further significant measures” if Pyongyang doesn’t stop nuclear and missile testing.

A council statement agreed to by all 15 members followed strong condemnation by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of the latest launch and U.S. President Donald Trump’s pledge to deal with North Korea “very strongly.”

The Security Council condemned Saturday’s launch and a previous test Oct. 19, saying North Korea’s activities to develop its nuclear weapons delivery systems violate U.N. sanctions and increase tensions. It called on all U.N. members “to redouble their efforts” to implement U.N. sanctions.

North Korea has repeatedly flouted six Security Council resolutions demanding an end to its nuclear and ballistic missile activities and imposing increasingly tougher sanctions.

continue reading on  japan times

 

 

In China, a Lonely Valentine’s Day for Millions of Men

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By DIDI KIRSTEN TATLOW FEB. 14, 2017

A flower market in Beijing on Monday, the day before Valentine’s Day. China’s large gender gap is causing problems for the country’s men, especially poorer, rural ones. Roman Pilipey/European Pressphoto Agency

SHANGHAI — If you’re a “single dog,” a “bare branch,” a “leftover man” or a “leftover woman” — all monikers for unmarried Chinese — you may find Valentine’s Day particularly trying.

Judging by the numbers, quite a few of the long faces on Tuesday should belong to men.

That’s because China’s gender gap remains huge. There were 33.59 million more men than women in China in 2016, according to figures from the country’s National Bureau of Statistics that were issued last month, and 48.78 percent of China’s 1.38 billion people are female, compared with a global average of 49.55 percent.

For men, especially those lower on the socioeconomic ladder, marriage can be hard to attain.

The reasons for the gap are well known: a traditional preference for boys, compounded by the “one child” policy instituted in 1979 that led millions of couples to abort female fetuses. Worried by one of the world’s lowest fertility rates, the government changed the policy last year to permit all couples to have two children.

Duterte’s war on drugs a ‘reign of terror’, church says

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Aljazeera

President’s office slams criticism by Catholic Church, which says killing people is not the answer to drug trafficking.

The Church said Duterte’s government was carrying out a ‘reign of terror in many places of the poor’ [Erik De Castro/Reuters]

The Philippines’ Catholic Church has blasted President Rodrigo Duterte’s “war on drugs” for creating a “reign of terror”.

In its most strongly worded attack yet on the crackdown on drug pushers and users, the powerful Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines said killing people was not the answer to trafficking of illegal drugs.

The Church said, in a pastoral letter that will be read out in sermons on Sunday, it was disturbing that many did not care about the bloodshed, or even approved of it.

“An even greater cause of concern is the indifference of many to this kind of wrong. It is considered as normal, and, even worse, something that [according to them] needs to be done,” the bishops said in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Reuters news agency. Tiếp tục đọc “Duterte’s war on drugs a ‘reign of terror’, church says” →

Transparency International – Corruption perceptions index 2016

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Read full report on transparency.org 

Corruption perceptions index 2016
2016 Rank Country 2016 Score 2015 Score 2014 Score 2013 Score 2012 Score Region
1 Denmark 90 91 92 91 90 Europe and Central Asia
1 New Zealand 90 88 91 91 90 Asia Pacific
3 Finland 89 90 89 89 90 Europe and Central Asia
4 Sweden 88 89 87 89 88 Europe and Central Asia
5 Switzerland 86 86 86 85 86 Europe and Central Asia
6 Norway 85 87 86 86 85 Europe and Central Asia
7 Singapore 84 85 84 86 87 Asia Pacific
8 Netherlands 83 87 83 83 84 Europe and Central Asia
9 Canada 82 83 81 81 84 Americas
10 Germany 81 81 79 78 79 Europe and Central Asia
10 Luxembourg 81 81 82 80 80 Europe and Central Asia
10 United Kingdom 81 81 78 76 74 Europe and Central Asia
13 Australia 79 79 80 81 85 Asia Pacific
14 Iceland 78 79 79 78 82 Europe and Central Asia
15 Belgium 77 77 76 75 75 Europe and Central Asia
15 Hong Kong 77 75 74 75 77 Asia Pacific
17 Austria 75 76 72 69 69 Europe and Central Asia
18 United States 74 76 74 73 73 Americas
19 Ireland 73 75 74 72 69 Europe and Central Asia
20 Japan 72 75 76 74 74 Asia Pacific
21 Uruguay 71 74 73 73 72 Americas
22 Estonia 70 70 69 68 64 Europe and Central Asia
23 France 69 70 69 71 71 Europe and Central Asia
24 Bahamas 66 N/A 71 71 71 Americas
24 Chile 66 70 73 71 72 Americas
24 United Arab Emirates 66 70 70 69 68 Middle East and North Africa
27 Bhutan 65 65 65 63 63 Asia Pacific
28 Israel 64 61 60 61 60 Middle East and North Africa
29 Poland 62 62 61 60 58 Europe and Central Asia
29 Portugal 62 63 63 62 63 Europe and Central Asia
31 Barbados 61 N/A 74 75 76 Americas
31 Qatar 61 71 69 68 68 Middle East and North Africa
31 Slovenia 61 60 58 57 61 Europe and Central Asia
31 Taiwan 61 62 61 61 61 Asia Pacific
35 Botswana 60 63 63 64 65 Sub Saharan Africa
35 Saint Lucia 60 N/A N/A 71 71 Americas
35 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 60 N/A 67 62 62 Americas
38 Cape Verde 59 55 57 58 60 Sub Saharan Africa
38 Dominica 59 N/A 58 58 58 Americas
38 Lithuania 59 61 58 57 54 Europe and Central Asia
41 Brunei 58 N/A N/A 60 55 Asia Pacific
41 Costa Rica 58 55 54 53 54 Americas
41 Spain 58 58 60 59 65 Europe and Central Asia
44 Georgia 57 52 52 49 52 Europe and Central Asia
44 Latvia 57 55 55 53 49 Europe and Central Asia
46 Grenada 56 N/A N/A N/A N/A Americas
47 Cyprus 55 61 63 63 66 Europe and Central Asia
47 Czech Republic 55 56 51 48 49 Europe and Central Asia
47 Malta 55 56 55 56 57 Europe and Central Asia
50 Mauritius 54 53 54 52 57 Sub Saharan Africa
50 Rwanda 54 54 49 53 53 Sub Saharan Africa
52 Korea (South) 53 56 55 55 56 Asia Pacific
53 Namibia 52 53 49 48 48 Sub Saharan Africa
54 Slovakia 51 51 50 47 46 Europe and Central Asia
55 Croatia 49 51 48 48 46 Europe and Central Asia
55 Malaysia 49 50 52 50 49 Asia Pacific
57 Hungary 48 51 54 54 55 Europe and Central Asia
57 Jordan 48 53 49 45 48 Middle East and North Africa
57 Romania 48 46 43 43 44 Europe and Central Asia
60 Cuba 47 47 46 46 48 Americas
60 Italy 47 44 43 43 42 Europe and Central Asia
62 Sao Tome and Principe 46 42 42 42 42 Sub Saharan Africa
62 Saudi Arabia 46 52 49 46 44 Middle East and North Africa
64 Montenegro 45 44 42 44 41 Europe and Central Asia
64 Oman 45 45 45 47 47 Middle East and North Africa
64 Senegal 45 44 43 41 36 Sub Saharan Africa
64 South Africa 45 44 44 42 43 Sub Saharan Africa
64 Suriname 45 36 36 36 37 Americas
69 Greece 44 46 43 40 36 Europe and Central Asia
70 Bahrain 43 51 49 48 51 Middle East and North Africa
70 Ghana 43 47 48 46 45 Sub Saharan Africa
72 Burkina Faso 42 38 38 38 38 Sub Saharan Africa
72 Serbia 42 40 41 42 39 Europe and Central Asia
72 Solomon Islands 42 N/A N/A N/A N/A Asia Pacific
75 Bulgaria 41 41 43 41 41 Europe and Central Asia
75 Kuwait 41 49 44 43 44 Middle East and North Africa
75 Tunisia 41 38 40 41 41 Middle East and North Africa
75 Turkey 41 42 45 50 49 Europe and Central Asia
79 Belarus 40 32 31 29 31 Europe and Central Asia
79 Brazil 40 38 43 42 43 Americas
79 China 40 37 36 40 39 Asia Pacific
79 India 40 38 38 36 36 Asia Pacific
83 Albania 39 36 33 31 33 Europe and Central Asia
83 Bosnia and Herzegovina 39 38 39 42 42 Europe and Central Asia
83 Jamaica 39 41 38 38 38 Americas
83 Lesotho 39 44 49 49 45 Sub Saharan Africa
87 Mongolia 38 39 39 38 36 Asia Pacific
87 Panama 38 39 37 35 38 Americas
87 Zambia 38 38 38 38 37 Sub Saharan Africa
90 Colombia 37 37 37 36 36 Americas
90 Indonesia 37 36 34 32 32 Asia Pacific
90 Liberia 37 37 37 38 41 Sub Saharan Africa
90 Morocco 37 36 39 37 37 Middle East and North Africa
90 The FYR of Macedonia 37 42 45 44 43 Europe and Central Asia
95 Argentina 36 32 34 34 35 Americas
95 Benin 36 37 39 36 36 Sub Saharan Africa
95 El Salvador 36 39 39 38 38 Americas
95 Kosovo 36 33 33 33 34 Europe and Central Asia
95 Maldives 36 N/A N/A N/A N/A Asia Pacific
95 Sri Lanka 36 37 38 37 40 Asia Pacific
101 Gabon 35 34 37 34 35 Sub Saharan Africa
101 Niger 35 34 35 34 33 Sub Saharan Africa
101 Peru 35 36 38 38 38 Americas
101 Philippines 35 35 38 36 34 Asia Pacific
101 Thailand 35 38 38 35 37 Asia Pacific
101 Timor-Leste 35 28 28 30 33 Asia Pacific
101 Trinidad and Tobago 35 39 38 38 39 Americas
108 Algeria 34 36 36 36 34 Middle East and North Africa
108 Côte d´Ivoire 34 32 32 27 29 Sub Saharan Africa
108 Egypt 34 36 37 32 32 Middle East and North Africa
108 Ethiopia 34 33 33 33 33 Sub Saharan Africa
108 Guyana 34 29 30 27 28 Americas
113 Armenia 33 35 37 36 34 Europe and Central Asia
113 Bolivia 33 34 35 34 34 Americas
113 Vietnam 33 31 31 31 31 Asia Pacific
116 Mali 32 35 32 28 34 Sub Saharan Africa
116 Pakistan 32 30 29 28 27 Asia Pacific
116 Tanzania 32 30 31 33 35 Sub Saharan Africa
116 Togo 32 32 29 29 30 Sub Saharan Africa
120 Dominican Republic 31 33 32 29 32 Americas
120 Ecuador 31 32 33 35 32 Americas
120 Malawi 31 31 33 37 37 Sub Saharan Africa
123 Azerbaijan 30 29 29 28 27 Europe and Central Asia
123 Djibouti 30 34 34 36 36 Sub Saharan Africa
123 Honduras 30 31 29 26 28 Americas
123 Laos 30 25 25 26 21 Asia Pacific
123 Mexico 30 35 35 34 34 Americas
123 Moldova 30 33 35 35 36 Europe and Central Asia
123 Paraguay 30 27 24 24 25 Americas
123 Sierra Leone 30 29 31 30 31 Sub Saharan Africa
131 Iran 29 27 27 25 28 Middle East and North Africa
131 Kazakhstan 29 28 29 26 28 Europe and Central Asia
131 Nepal 29 27 29 31 27 Asia Pacific
131 Russia 29 29 27 28 28 Europe and Central Asia
131 Ukraine 29 27 26 25 26 Europe and Central Asia
136 Guatemala 28 28 32 29 33 Americas
136 Kyrgyzstan 28 28 27 24 24 Europe and Central Asia
136 Lebanon 28 28 27 28 30 Middle East and North Africa
136 Myanmar 28 22 21 21 15 Asia Pacific
136 Nigeria 28 26 27 25 27 Sub Saharan Africa
136 Papua New Guinea 28 25 25 25 25 Asia Pacific
142 Guinea 27 25 25 24 24 Sub Saharan Africa
142 Mauritania 27 31 30 30 31 Middle East and North Africa
142 Mozambique 27 31 31 30 31 Sub Saharan Africa
145 Bangladesh 26 25 25 27 26 Asia Pacific
145 Cameroon 26 27 27 25 26 Sub Saharan Africa
145 Gambia 26 28 29 28 34 Sub Saharan Africa
145 Kenya 26 25 25 27 27 Sub Saharan Africa
145 Madagascar 26 28 28 28 32 Sub Saharan Africa
145 Nicaragua 26 27 28 28 29 Americas
151 Tajikistan 25 26 23 22 22 Europe and Central Asia
151 Uganda 25 25 26 26 29 Sub Saharan Africa
153 Comoros 24 26 26 28 28 Sub Saharan Africa
154 Turkmenistan 22 18 17 17 17 Europe and Central Asia
154 Zimbabwe 22 21 21 21 20 Sub Saharan Africa
156 Cambodia 21 21 21 20 22 Asia Pacific
156 Democratic Republic of Congo 21 22 22 22 21 Sub Saharan Africa
156 Uzbekistan 21 19 18 17 17 Europe and Central Asia
159 Burundi 20 21 20 21 19 Sub Saharan Africa
159 Central African Republic 20 24 24 25 26 Sub Saharan Africa
159 Chad 20 22 22 19 19 Sub Saharan Africa
159 Haiti 20 17 19 19 19 Americas
159 Republic of Congo 20 23 23 22 26 Sub Saharan Africa
164 Angola 18 15 19 23 22 Sub Saharan Africa
164 Eritrea 18 18 18 20 25 Sub Saharan Africa
166 Iraq 17 16 16 16 18 Middle East and North Africa
166 Venezuela 17 17 19 20 19 Americas
168 Guinea-Bissau 16 17 19 19 25 Sub Saharan Africa
169 Afghanistan 15 11 12 8 8 Asia Pacific
170 Libya 14 16 18 15 21 Middle East and North Africa
170 Sudan 14 12 11 11 13 Middle East and North Africa
170 Yemen 14 18 19 18 23 Middle East and North Africa
173 Syria 13 18 20 17 26 Middle East and North Africa
174 Korea (North) 12 8 8 8 8 Asia Pacific
175 South Sudan 11 15 15 14 N/A Sub Saharan Africa
176 Somalia 10 8 8 8 8 Sub Saharan Africa

‘We had to sue’: the five lawyers taking on China’s authorities over smog

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The  Guardian

In an unprecedented legal case, a group of Chinese lawyers have charged the governments of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei with failing to protect their citizens from air pollution, which is linked to a third of all deaths in the country

Pinterest
Airpocalypse now: time-lapse video of smog posted by Beijing-based Briton Chas Pope on 1 January this year

Who is responsible for China’s chronic and deadly air pollution? That depends on who you ask. Officials blame the weather or outdoor barbecues, activists blame steel companies and coal-fired power plants. But Yu Wensheng blames only one actor: the government.

The 50-year-old lawyer recently launched an unprecedented suit against the authorities in three regions in China, claiming they have failed in their responsibilities. For a government with the motto “Serve the People”, Yu feels the officials are serving other interests by allowing nearly half a billion people to choke on toxic smog. Tiếp tục đọc “‘We had to sue’: the five lawyers taking on China’s authorities over smog” →

Philippine bid to jail nine-year-olds is ‘a great child violation’, Unicef says

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The Guardian

Duterte’s allies have been pushing to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to nine

Children playing on a hill of garbage in the Philippines
Unicef says a nine-year-old is unable to fully comprehend the consequences of a crime. Photograph: Jes Aznar/Getty Images

, Southeast Asia correspondent

Sunday 12 February 2017 22.03 EST Last modified on Sunday 12 February 2017 22.06 EST

A law proposing children as young as nine be jailed for crimes is “wrong from every angle”, the head of the United Nations children’s agency in the Philippines has warned.

“If they grow up, spending their teenage years in a prison, they most probably will be damaged for life,” Unicef’s country representative, Lotta Sylwander, said in a telephone interview from Manila.

The current age of criminal responsibility in the Philippines is 15. President Rodrigo Duterte’s allies have been pushing to lower it, coupled with another draft bill that would restore the death penalty.Politicians opposing the bills say their passing could lead to a situation in which a nine-year-old may be sentenced to death. Tiếp tục đọc “Philippine bid to jail nine-year-olds is ‘a great child violation’, Unicef says” →

International Criminal Court told Australia’s detention regime could be a crime against humanity

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The Guardian

Submission argues ICC should investigate possible crimes ‘committed by individuals and corporate actors’

Asylum seekers on Manus Island in 2014
Asylum seekers on Manus Island in 2014. The Global Legal Action Network says Australia’s immigration detention regime could constitute a crime against humanity. Photograph: Eoin Blackwell/AAP

Australia’s offshore immigration detention regime could constitute a crime against humanity, a petition before the International Criminal Court from a coalition of legal experts has alleged.

On Monday morning, GMT, a 108-page legal submission from the Global Legal Action Network (Glan) and the Stanford International Human Rights Clinic was submitted to the court, detailing what the network describes as the “harrowing practices of the Australian state and corporations towards asylum seekers”. The petition submits the office of the prosecutor of the ICC should open an investigation into possible “crimes against humanity committed by individuals and corporate actors”.

“As recent leaks reveal, these privatised facilities entail long-term detention in inhumane conditions, often including physical and sexual abuse of adults and children,” Glan said in a statement. Tiếp tục đọc “International Criminal Court told Australia’s detention regime could be a crime against humanity” →

Indonesian Muslim school students protest Valentine’s Day

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ChannelNewsAsia

  • Posted 13 Feb 2017 20:26

An anti-Valentine’s Day rally in Surabaya, East Java province on February 13, 2017 AFP/Juni KriswantoSURABAYA, Indonesia: Indonesian Muslim school students staged a protest against Valentine’s Day on Monday (Feb 13), denouncing what they said was a Western celebration that encourages casual sex.

While teenagers in many countries treat the day as an occasion to declare love for their classmates, in the Indonesian city of Surabaya it was a different story as students from one school held a noisy demonstration.

“Say no to Valentine!” chanted the students, who were aged between 13 and 15 and included many girls wearing headscarves. Tiếp tục đọc “Indonesian Muslim school students protest Valentine’s Day” →

Pakistan high court bans Valentine’s Day

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ChannelNewsAsia

  • Posted 13 Feb 2017 21:42
  • Updated 13 Feb 2017 21:50

Pakistani vendors prepare heart-shaped bouquets for sale ahead of Valentine’s Day along a street in Islamabad on Feb 13, 2017. (AFP Photo/Aamir Qureshi)

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani court Monday (Feb 13) banned public celebrations of Valentine’s Day in the capital Islamabad, the latest attempt by authorities to outlaw a holiday seen by many in the traditional Muslim society as vulgar and Western.

The Islamabad high court issued the order after a petitioner declared love was being used as a “cover” to spread “immorality, nudity and indecency… which is against our rich traditions and values”. Tiếp tục đọc “Pakistan high court bans Valentine’s Day” →

Saiga Antelopes Are Struck Again by a Plague in Central Asia

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By ERICA GOODE FEB. 8, 2017

The carcasses of saiga antelopes in Mongolia’s western Khovd province. Scientists have identified the culprit as a virus known as goat plague. WCS

They found the first carcasses in late December, on the frozen steppes of Mongolia’s western Khovd province.

By the end of January, officials in the region had recorded the deaths of 2,500 endangered saiga antelopes — about a quarter of the country’s saiga population — and scientists had identified a culprit: a virus called peste des petits ruminants, or P.P.R., also known as goat plague.

It was the first time the disease, usually seen in goats, sheep and other small livestock, had been found in free-ranging antelopes. For the saiga, an ancient animal that once roamed the grasslands of the world with the woolly mammoth and the saber-toothed tiger, the outbreak was potentially catastrophic.

The antelope’s numbers, once in the millions, have been severely depleted by illegal hunting, habitat loss and competition for food. The species is described as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List.

In 2015, 211,000 saigas in Kazakhstan — more than half of the entire antelope species — were wiped out by a bacterial infection in less than a month.