'Suu Kyi-junta talks nearing landmark stage'<\/p>\n
MYANMAR: The opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) is
\noptimistic that 18-month talks between its leader Aung San Suu
\nKyi and the ruling junta are nearing a landmark stage, a top
\nofficial said on Friday.<\/p>\n
NLD secretary U Lwin said that the contacts, which have been
\nstuck in a confidence-building phase, were about to progress into
\nfull-blown dialog when they were derailed by the regime's
\nannouncement last month that it had foiled a coup plot by
\nrelatives of former dictator Ne Win.<\/p>\n
\"I think that it was about time that we might be able to go
\nfor the dialog, then unfortunately we had this coup attempt,\" he
\nsaid in an interview.<\/p>\n
U Lwin said he was heartened that UN envoy Razali Ismail, who
\nbrokered the talks that began in October 2000 and whose plans to
\nvisit Myanmar last month were canceled in the wake of the coup,
\nwas returning later this month. --AFP<\/p>\n
;AP;EGO;
\nANPAu..r..
\nAglance-Thailand-Survivor
\nThailand set to approve 'Survivor' TV series on local island
\nJP\/9\/ASEAN<\/p>\n
'Survivor' shooting to be approved<\/p>\n
THAILAND: The Bangkok government will likely give permission to
\nU.S. network CBS to shoot episodes of its popular Survivor
\ntelevision series on a tropical island that was once used to
\nexile political prisoners, an official said on Friday.<\/p>\n
Somsak Thepsutin, a Cabinet minister, said the filming of the
\nreality show on Tarutao Island off Satun province, 970 kilometers
\n(602 miles) south of Bangkok, would boost the local economy.<\/p>\n
\"We would welcome the Survivor crew to shoot in Thailand, and
\nthe film board is deliberating their request,\" he told reporters.
\n\"I am sure that the board will approve the request because the
\ncrew will spend a lot of money in Thailand.\"<\/p>\n
Local newspapers quoted officials as saying the crew was
\nexpected to spend about US$16 million during a three-month shoot
\nstarting in June when the island is closed to tourists. The
\nisland was used as an exile for political prisoners from 1937 to
\n1948 when Thailand was ruled by a military dictatorship. --AP<\/p>\n
;AFP;EGO;
\nANPAu..r..
\nAglance-Vietnam-drugs
\nVietnam police seize 12 kilos of heroin
\nJP\/9\/ASEAN<\/p>\n
Police seize 12 kilos of heroin<\/p>\n
VIETNAM: Police in Ho Chi Minh City seized 12 kilograms (26.4
\npounds) of heroin as they pressed on with a four-month crackdown
\non vice in Vietnam's commercial capital, reports said on Friday.<\/p>\n
The haul, which also included hundreds of ecstasy tablets and
\nthousands of dollars in hard currency, was discovered in a
\nresidential house in the city center, the Tin Tuc evening
\nnewspaper, which is published by the official VNA news agency.<\/p>\n
Householders Chu Duc Hai and Nguyen Thi Nga were arrested and
\ncould face the death penalty if convicted.<\/p>\n
Under Vietnam's tough drug laws, anyone found in possession of
\n300 grams or more of heroin, or 10 kilograms or more of opium, is
\nassumed to be guilty of trafficking. The arrest of alleged Ho Chi
\nMinh City crime kingpin Nam Cam by a special police team from
\nHanoi late last year has sparked crackdowns on drug, gambling,
\nprostitution and other interests which police say sustained his
\nempire. --AFP<\/p>\n
;AFP;EGO;
\nANPAu..r..
\nAglance-RP-deportation
\nFive Arab men deported after filming Philippine vacation spot
\nJP\/9\/ASEAN<\/p>\n
Five Arabs deported after filming resort<\/p>\n
PHILIPPINES: Five Arabs with suspected links to terrorist groups
\nhave been deported after taking aerial footage of a popular
\ntourist resort in the northern Philippines, authorities said on
\nFriday.<\/p>\n
Immigration officials said the men were deported Thursday
\nafter circling Baguio City and taking photos of tourist sites in
\na small private plane they rented in Manila.<\/p>\n
Officials at the local Air Transportation Office here said the
\nfive were not listed in the airplane's manifesto and were taken
\nin for questioning by police upon landing at an airport near this
\ncity.<\/p>\n
They were later deported on suspicion they could be linked to
\nterrorist organizations abroad, the sources said. Officials said
\na digital video recorder containing aerial shots of the city and
\nfootage of the five Arab nationals was confiscated.<\/p>",
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