ASEAN Warns Burma to Boost Confidence Ahead of Donors Meeting- May 23, 2008 The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) says that claims by Burma's government that rescue efforts from cyclone Nargis were over was undermining international confidence with the total death toll still unknown. Association of South East Asian Nations Secretary-General, Surin Pitsuwan, speaking to reporters Thursday, said claims by Burma's military that relief efforts were over andhttp://www.aseannewsnetwork.com/2008/05/asean-warns-burma-to-boost-confidence.html Chinese Officials Call for Tents to House Earthquake Survivors- May 23, 2008 Chinese officials are urging the international community to aid earthquake relief efforts by donating tents to shelter the estimated five million Chinese who lost their homes. The 7.9 magnitude quake flattened some 45,000 buildings, not including private homes. The official death toll has climbed to more than 51,000, with more than 29,000 people missing. Kuang Weilin, deputy consul-general ofhttp://www.aseannewsnetwork.com/2008/05/chinese-officials-call-for-tents-to.html Malaysia: Abdullah Badawi Father of Democratisation- May 22, 2008 By: Wan Saiful Wan Jan At the end of April, I was in the United States of America for a four day convention with around 700 think tank executives, policy experts as well as elected officials from at least 50 countries around the world. I was there as head of Malaysia Think Tank London, and as far as I know, I was the only one from Malaysia. That made me a target for delegates who want to knowhttp://www.aseannewsnetwork.com/2008/05/malaysia-abdullah-badawi-father-of.html Obama Moves Closer to Democratic Nomination- May 22, 2008 Democratic presidential contenders Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton each won a primary on Tuesday, but the net result is that Obama is one step closer to securing his party's presidential nomination. Most estimates now place Barack Obama within 100 delegates of the magic number of 2,026 he needs to claim the Democratic nomination outright. Obama secured a majority of the pledged delegateshttp://www.aseannewsnetwork.com/2008/05/obama-moves-closer-to-democratic.html UN Secretary General Talks Relief in Burma- May 21, 2008 The United Nations secretary-general hopes to persuade Burma's leaders to allow the free movement of relief workers and supplies to areas hit by a devastating cyclone. Ban Ki-moon made the comments on his way to Burma to assess relief efforts. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said Wednesday he hopes new cooperation will allow relief efforts to expand quickly in Burma, also known as Myanmar.http://www.aseannewsnetwork.com/2008/05/un-secretary-general-talks-relief-in.html World Bank Says No Aid to Burma- May 21, 2008 The World Bank says it will not provide aid or loans to Burma in the wake of a deadly cyclone. The bank said Tuesday that new loans are impossible because the military government has made no payments on outstanding debts since 1998, and has failed to enact economic and other reforms. Next week the United Nations and ASEAN will host a joint conference in Rangoon to seek international support andhttp://www.aseannewsnetwork.com/2008/05/world-bank-says-no-aid-to-burma.html UN Chief Heads to Burma- May 21, 2008 Before departing for cyclone-stricken Burma Monday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he hopes to meet with government officials, neighboring leaders and relief coordinators to plan the way forward out of this crisis. Meanwhile, John Holmes, U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs met Tuesday with Prime Minister Thein Sein and several other officials. Mr. Ban said Burma is athttp://www.aseannewsnetwork.com/2008/05/un-chief-heads-to-burma.html China Comes to Standstill to Mourn Quake Dead- May 19, 2008 China came to a standstill for three minutes Monday as the public mourned the tens of thousands of victims of last Monday's powerful earthquake. Across the country, air raid sirens and car, train and ship horns blared at 2:28 p.m. (0628 UTC) to mark the exact time the 7.9 earthquake struck Sichuan province seven days ago, killing more than 34,000 people. Authorities expect the final death tollhttp://www.aseannewsnetwork.com/2008/05/china-comes-to-standstill-to-mourn.html Myanmar to Accept International Aid Workers- May 19, 2008 Burma has agreed to let its Southeast Asian neighbors coordinate foreign assistance for cyclone victims. After an emergency meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Singapore Monday, the city-state's foreign minister, George Yeo, said Burma would accept international assistance. The news came after Burma's ruling military allowed U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes to tour thehttp://www.aseannewsnetwork.com/2008/05/myanmar-to-accept-international-aid.html Fifth suspect detained in Cambodian kidnap, murder of British land mine clearer- May 19, 2008 Cambodian authorities have detained a fifth suspect in the 12-year-old kidnapping and murder case of two men who were clearing land mines. Former Khmer Rouge fighters abducted Christopher Howes of Bristol, England, and his interpreter Huon Huot along with other members of a team removing land mines near Cambodia's Angor Wat temple in 1996. Most of the team was released, but evidence laterhttp://www.aseannewsnetwork.com/2008/05/fifth-suspect-detained-in-cambodian.html |