Global News Post: South East Asia

Indonesian Authorities Search for Missing Russian Plane

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Indonesia has deployed search and rescue teams to a mountainous area near Jakarta, in search of a Russian jetliner that disappeared from radar Wednesday with at least 44 people on board.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">The Jakarta Post newspaper quotes authorities as saying ground teams, including military units, were headed from the capital to remote Mount Salak, after search helicopters encountered bad weather and were forced to return to base.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Authorities say the Sukhoi Superjet 100 vanished while on a demonstration flight shortly after 2 p.m. local time. All passengers were described as invited guests. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Indonesia's transport ministry said the 100-seat, mid-range jetliner was on the second of two demonstration flights when it disappeared in the remote Bogor region.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Officials said the pilots had requested permission to descend from 3,000 to 1,800 meters shortly before radio contact was lost. Mount Salak is 2,200 meters high.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">The Itar-Tass news agency said the newly-minted plane recently performed demonstrations in Central and South Asia, including flights in Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Burma. It also said the Superjet 100 had logged about 6,500 hours of flight time since its 2008 maiden launch.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">The jetliner is currently in use with Russia's largest carrier, Aeroflot, and the Armenian carrier, Armavia. ---VOA News</span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #38761d; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div></div>

Indonesian Authorities Search for Missing Russian Plane

Indonesia has deployed search and rescue teams to a mountainous area near Jakarta, in search of a Russian jetliner that disappeared from ...

Yingluck Shinawatra Elected Thailand's First Female PM

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">By Ron Corben from Bangkok</span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Thailands-Beaches-Islands-Travel-Guides/dp/1848360916?ie=UTF8&tag=glob036-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Thailand-History-Politics-Geography-ebook/dp/B005ERYFMS?ie=UTF8&tag=glob036-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Thailand: History, Culture, Politics, Science, Geography, and More" height="320" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B005ERYFMS&tag=glob036-20" width="306" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=glob036-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B005ERYFMS" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=glob036-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1848360916" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />The Thai parliament has elected Yingluck Shinawatra, to be the country's first woman prime minister during a special session of the House of Representatives. The rookie politician’s first challenge is to ensure stability with the selection of a new Cabinet and making good on election promises.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yingluck, a 44-year-old former businesswoman, was elected Friday as the nation’s 28th prime minister during a special session of the House of Representatives.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">House Speaker Somsak Kiatsuranont announced the outcome of the vote in the House chamber - 296 to 3 with 197 abstentions.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">Video footage of parliament vote</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><object data="http://serve.a-widget.com/service/getWidgetSwf.kickAction" height="300" id="kickWidget_45137_301823" name="kickWidget_45137_301823" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480">     <param name="movie" value="http://serve.a-widget.com/service/getWidgetSwf.kickAction"></param><param name="FlashVars" value="affiliateSiteId=45137&widgetId=301823&width=480&height=300&playOnLoad=0&varsToAppendToLinks=http%3A%2F%2Faffiliate.kickapps.com%2Fservice%2FgetFeed.kickAction%3FmediaId%3D1616171%26mediaType%3Dvideo%26as%3D45137&autoPlay=0&mediaType_mediaID=video_1616171&revision=178" ></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent" ></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" ></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" ></param></object></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">What lies ahead?</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yingluck’s Pheu Thai Party commands 265 seats in the 500 member House of Representatives, with coalition partners lifting the government’s hold on the chamber to 300 seats. Her election comes a month after national elections led her Pheu Thai Party to victory.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Party leader Yongyuth Wichaidith, said Friday that public confidence in the government resides in its ability to deliver policy programs.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">“It depends on us. If we can work to the best of the people and to the well being of the people and the security of the nation it means it’s OK. It depends on us, not depend on [any] other factor,” said Yongyuth Wichaidith.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">Key challenges</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">But analysts say Yingluck faces key challenges as she prepares to oversee a new administration. She is the younger sister of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup and now lives in exile because he faces a two year jail term for corruption in Thailand.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=glob036-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B0043XXAFW&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>Media reports say both Thaksin and his former wife, Pojaman na Pombejra, are said to be closely advising Yingluck on selecting Cabinet members.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thaksin remains a divisive figure in Thailand’s political landscape. The urban middle class had accused him of abuse of power and human rights abuses while in office. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">His popularity was built on populist economic policies while in power.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;">Red Shirt movement</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Over the past two years Thaksin supporters, led by the ‘red shirt’ movement staged protests against the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, that saw the worst political violence in 20 years and dozens killed in clashes with security forces. But the red shirt movement also played a key role in Pheu Thai Party’s election win and is pressing for Cabinet posts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Outgoing government leader, the Democrat Party’s Abhisit, said the new government needs to urgently address national problems as well as help avoid a return of political extremism in the country.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">“We will continue to be a responsible and constructive opposition. But it’s now in the hands of the government and I cannot speak for them - particularly the need to strike a balance - which I recognize of accommodating their base - the red shirts and making sure the country doesn’t go down an extreme path,” said Abhisit Vejjajiva.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;">Campaign promises</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sunai Pasuk, the Thailand-based representative for Human Rights Watch, says although her party has a strong position in parliament, Yingluck faces the challenge of delivering election platform promises such as higher minimum wages and prices for rice farmers.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=glob036-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=1857333144&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>“In economic terms, in the provision of social welfare and all these issues will come back to challenge the integrity and credibility of the government. So if there is anything that may challenge the stability of the Yingluck government it is her own policy promises - whether her government can fulfill those promises or not. That will be a major test for her to face,” said Sunai Pasuk.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yingluck will announce her Cabinet in the coming days before the full list of officers is forwarded to the Thai King for endorsement, enabling the new administration to sit down to work. (VOA News)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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Yingluck Shinawatra Elected Thailand's First Female PM

By Ron Corben from Bangkok The Thai parliament has elected Yingluck Shinawatra, to be the country's first woman prime minister during a...