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Syria hits protest hubs

* Published: 11/05/2011 at 08:31 PM
* Online news:

Shells and gunfire rocked the anti-regime protest hub city of Homs on Wednesday as the army hunted down more dissidents in the flashpoint town of Banias, activists said.

A picture issued by the Syrian Arab news Agency on Sunday shows the funeral of Syrian policeman Mohammed Ali Saqa in Mushrifa village in the Homs region as troops hunted opponents of President Bashar al-Assad in Homs and Banias, activists said. Shelling and automatic gunfire Wednesday rocked the city of Homs, a hub of anti-regime protests in central Syria, a human rights activist says.

Meanwhile the EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the 27-member bloc will look at fresh sanctions this week against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime after already honing in on his inner circle.

"Shelling and automatic gunfire could be heard early Wednesday in the (Homs) neighbourhood of Bab Amr and in nearby villages, Mashada, Jobar and Sultanya," human rights activist Najati Tayara told AFP.

He said that the villages, with a combined population of some 100,000 inhabitants -- many of them Bedouins -- have been the target of a security operation since Monday.

The Syrian army had swept the agricultural area searching for weapons and spreading fear among the population, he said.

"This operation terrified residents and security agents took part in looting," Tayara said, adding that 50 tanks rolled into the Sittin neighbourhood in the central city of Homs on Wednesday.

"Checkpoints were in place at the entrances of Homs," he added.

The Syrian army kept up its security sweep of the flashpoint coastal city of Banias, scouting for "protest organisers yet to be arrested," said Rami Abdul Rahman of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

"A tank has been stationed since Tuesday night on the square where Banias demonstrations are held," he said, adding that the northern port remained encircled by the army after weekend arrests put some 450 people behind bars.

He said that 270 individuals who were released after the arrest campaign had "signed an agreement to stop demonstrating" while many of them reported being "struck violently and insulted" by security forces during their detention.

In a bid to snuff anti-regime protests, the Syrian army has deployed its tanks to several protest hubs and unleashed a wave of arrests focused on dissidents and protest organisers, local human rights activists said.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon, meanwhile, urged the Syrian president, in power since 2000, to refrain from using excessive force.

"I urge again President Assad to heed calls for reform and freedom and to desists from excessive force and mass arrest of peaceful demonstrators," Ban told journalists in Geneva.

His comments came after activists said Syrian forces had tightened the noose on key protest hubs on Tuesday, including Banias, sealing off neighbourhoods and arresting dissident leaders.

Security forces rounded up regime opponents at dawn Tuesday in the key Mediterranean port of Latakia, in Damascus and in Idlib, northwest of the capital, another activist said.

And in the northern, mostly Kurdish regions of Qamishli, Derbassiye and Amuda, residents were summoned and told to sign statements pledging not to take part in demonstrations, activist Radif Mustafa said.

For almost two months, near-daily protests have railed against Assad's regime, while troops and security forces have repressed the uprising brutally.

Between 600 and 700 people have been killed and at least 8,000 arrested since the start of the protest movement in mid-March, rights groups say.

EU sanctions against the regime took effect on Tuesday, with the president spared but his younger brother heading a list of 13 officials targeted for their involvement in the brutal crackdown.

EU diplomacy chief Ashton said on Wednesday the European Union will mull new sanctions in the coming days and they could also target the embattled Syrian president.

Pressed by members of the European Parliament to explain why Assad's name was not on the list of 13 Syrian officials, Ashton said "we started with 13 people who were directly involved" in cracking down on protests.

"We'll look at it again this week," she added.

"I assure you that my intention is to put the maximum political pressure that we can on Syria."

Greens leader Daniel Cohn-Bendit said: "There will be a solution in Syria only once Assad has quit office in Syria, so it's clear that Assad and his entire family must be put on the list not tomorrow, but today."

Bouthaina Shaaban, an adviser to the Syrian president, told The New York Times she believes the worst is over and that she hoped "we are witnessing the end of the story."

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Gold prices for Wednesday

* Published: 11/05/2011 at 09:31 AM
* Online news:

The Gold Traders Association this morning announced the buying price at 21,284.64 baht per baht-weight for gold ornaments and 21,600 baht per baht-weight for gold bar.

The selling prices were set at 22,100 baht per baht-weight for gold ornaments, and 21,700 baht per baht-weight for gold bar.

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Organic laws submitted to the King

* Published: 11/05/2011 at 11:22 AM
* Online news:

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Wednesday that he had submitted the three election-related organic bills to His Majesty the King for royal endorsement.

The bills stipulate the election of members of parliament and senators, political parties and the operations of the Election Commission.

They enact the recent amendments to the constitution.

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Toxic death theory 'carries little weight'

Confusion still shrouds mystery of dead tourists

* Published: 11/05/2011 at 12:00 AM
* Newspaper section: News

Thai experts are unconvinced by an independent investigation which suggested that a 23-year-old New Zealand tourist died from excessive exposure to a lethal toxin used to kill bedbugs at a Chiang Mai hotel.

A toxic substances expert from the Public Health Ministry and the Department of Agriculture said they did not think chlorpyrifos - which is used in insecticide sprays - was the cause of the death of Sarah Carter.

Although the experts confirmed Thailand has not banned the substance, approval is needed before it is imported or exported.

The Downtown Inn hotel in Chiang Mai, where four foreign tourists died mysteriously earlier this year.

Carter died on Feb 6, and her friends Emma Langlands and Amanda Eliason became gravely ill while they were on holiday in the Downtown Inn Hotel in Chiang Mai.

Five people died from unexplained causes in Chiang Mai over a 16-day period after New Year. Four stayed at the Downtown Inn Hotel.

The mystery over Carter's death resurfaced recently after an investigation commissioned by the New Zealand TV show 60 minutes found traces of the potentially lethal toxin in the Downtown Inn where the tourists stayed.

UN scientist Ron McDowall said there was a strong likelihood Carter died from excessive exposure to the substance.

The other four who died after staying at the hotel experienced identical symptoms to those suffered by Carter.

Chiang Mai Public Health Office deputy chief Surasing Visaruthrat told the Bangkok Post that although the authorities had not yet ruled out all possible causes of the deaths, the bedbug insecticide assumption "carries little weight".

Thorough checks conducted by the doctors when the three tourists were admitted to the hospital found no traces of insecticides, he said.

An autopsy performed by Maharaj Hospital also found no toxic substance residue. The doctors suspected Carter died from food poisoning, according to a Chiang Mai police report.

"We can't jump to a conclusion that toxin exposure was the cause of the death because the substance was allegedly found in the hotel room alone, not in the victim's body," Dr Surasing said.

Dr Surasing yesterday chaired a meeting of the investigation team. The meeting, attended by doctors and experts from various agencies, ended with no conclusion on the deaths.

Dr Surasing said the team would meet again after receiving test results of samples collected from the victims' bodies. The samples were sent for testing at laboratories in the United States and Japan.

Meanwhile, an official from the Department of Agriculture said Thailand did not ban chlorpyrifos, which is also used as an ingredient in insecticides for use on farms.

"It is hard to believe that a bedbug spray containing chlorpyrifos would be able to kill people unless a large amount of the chemical got into the body," said the official, who asked not to be named.

The official said chlorpyrifos is easily dissipated in the air, which means it causes no ill effects to the environment.

Industrial Work Department's hazardous substances control bureau director Mongkol Pruekwatana said chlorpyrifos is a hazardous substance Type 3 under the hazardous substance act, which requires approval for manufacturing, importing and exporting."The company that used the substance for pest control services might have imported it as powder, mixed it with water and used it to spray termites, resulting in leftover residue on beds," Mr Mongkol said.

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Prayuth: Troop cuts must be mutual

• Published: 11/05/2011 at 04:42 PM
• Online news:

Army commander-in-chief Prayuth Chan-ocha said Wednesday he would never order the withdrawal of Thai soldiers stationed near the disputed areas on the border with Cambodia unless there is a reciprocal withdrawal by Phnom Penh's forces.

“Why do we both remain in the disputed areas?" he said.

"The answer is because one side has broken the rules and the other was left with no choice but to deploy troops to fight to protect its territorial sovereignty,’’ he said.

“If Cambodia does not withdraw its troops, we won’t either. This is the rule and our superiors have also instructed us to do it this way,’’ said Gen Prayuth.

Army commander-in-chief Prayuth Chan-ocha

Gen Prayuth said he had a meeting with his visiting Malaysian counterpart General Zulkifeli Mohd Zin in Bangkok on Tuesday, but the Malaysian army chief said little about the border dispute.

Gen Zulkifeli said only that he would respect whatever decision was eventually made by Thailand and Cambodia, because it was an internal issue between the two countries and Asean was not able to intervene, said Gen Prayuth.

It was a problem between Thailand and Cambodia and the two nations should try to resolve it through dialogue, Gen Zulkifeli said, according to Gen Prayuth.

Defence spokesman Thanathip Sawangsaeng said Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon will meet his Cambodian counterpart Tea Banh to discuss border problems during the 5th Asean Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM) in Jakarta.

Col Thanathip said Gen Prawit would be accompanied by Gen Kittipong Ketkowit, the permanent secretary for defence, and a number of military officers in the trip to Indonesia.

The meeting is for the defence ministers of the 10 Asean member countries to exchange opinions concerning security and military affairs in the region.

Asean's role in solving international problems such as suppression of piracy in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia will also be discussed.

The defence ministers attending the meeting will consider the 3-year operational plan under an ADMM framework for the years 2011-2013 and sign a document on the establishment of the Asean Peace-keeping Networks Centre, a document on an initiative on cooperation on defence industries, and a joint declaration on promotion of cooperation for the defence of Asean against new forms of threats.

Gen Prawit will also hold a bilateral meeting with the defence ministers of five countries - Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore - regarding military relations and cooperation, border security, strengthening of confidence in the region, military exchange programmes, and joint military training and exercises.

Col Thanathip said Gen Prawit and Gen Tea Banh of Cambodia will meet to discuss border problems on this occasion.

On the last day of the meeting the defence minister will pay a courtesy call on Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

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Ireland’s first civil partnerships have taken place early and in secret

The first civil partnerships in Ireland have already taken place, more than a month earlier than the planned introduction of the ceremonies. It is understood that at least one member of both couples involved are suffering from serious illnesses with a risk of that one may die before the three month notice period for a civil partnership would elapse.

The first couple’s civil partnership was registered on 7th February 2011 and a second, on the 11th of February. Both couples were male.

The Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act, 2010 came into force on January 1st 2011 and requires a minimum of three months notice between the application for a civil partnership and the date of the ceremony. However, a judge can waive the notice perioid on compassionate grounds, primarily the serious illness of one of the partners.

Tiernan Brady of the Gay and Lesbian Network told the Sunday Times that celebration of the first two partnerships were historic milestones. “It’s really fantastic,” he said. “It’s the culmination of a long process. It’s great to have state recognition for these partnerships. It’s a gigantic leap forward for Ireland. Civil partnership addresses real needs for real couples.”

A gay couple who had a civil partnership in Northern Ireland and later became naturalised as Irish citizens, became the first officially recognised civil partners in the state last month.

Civil partnerships offer some of the same rights to property and pensions as marriage but do not have the same tax status. This element was to have been confirmed in a finance bill that has now been curtailed as a result of Ireland’s general election on February 25th. All parties have pledged to introduce the changes to taxation law after the election. However, it is not known if the changes will be retrospective and cover the couples who have already registered their partnership, should one of the pair die.

Like Britain, many campaigners say civil partnerships are not enough and the Labour party has pledged in its manifesto to hold a referendum to decide on the introduction of same-sex marriages. The Labour party has also pledged to allow gay couples to jointly adopt children.

In Britain, the first civil partnership to be registered involved a terminally ill man, who was given special dispensation to ignore the fifteen day notice period of a civil partnership.

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