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;AP;ANJ; ANPAu..r.. Myanmar-UN Envoy UN envoy to make eighth visit to Myanmar in August JP/12/MYANMAR UN envoy to visit Myanmar again MYANMAR: UN envoy Razali Ismail will visit Myanmar in early August, his first trip to the military-ruled country since the release of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi two months ago, a UN official said on Sunday.

"Mr. Razali is scheduled to visit here in the first week of August and has tentatively fixed the date for August 2," the official said on the condition of anonymity.

It will be the eighth visit to Myanmar by the Malaysian diplomat, who was appointed a special envoy of the UN secretary general two years ago and was instrumental in starting closed- door reconciliation talks between the junta and Suu Kyi that began in October 2000.

After his seventh visit to Myanmar at the end of April, Razali was unusually upbeat, telling diplomats and reporters that some "concrete progress" would be made soon.

Soon after the envoy's departure, on May 6, Suu Kyi was released unconditionally from 19 months' house arrest. -- AP

;AFP;ANJ; ANPAi..u.. Malaysia-theft Malaysians told to 'whack' snatch thieves after Indonesian's deat JP/12/MALAYSIA Malaysians told to 'whack' snatch thieves MALAYSIA: A Malaysian lawmaker has urged the public to help catch snatch thieves and "whack them blue black" after an incident that led to the death of an Indonesian woman.

But a non-governmental organization protested on Sunday, saying violence was not the solution and could affect Malaysia's tourism image.

Kee Phaik Cheen, who heads the culture, arts, tourism and women committee on the northern island of Penang, has urged Penangites to give snatch thieves a good beating to teach them a lesson.

The call followed the recent death of a 62-year-old Indonesian woman who fell and hit her head after her handbag was snatched by a thief in the city, a popular tourism spot.

"We must 'kah si' (the Hokkien dialect term for teach) these snatch thieves by whacking them blue black before handing them over to the police," Kee said.

"We must put a stop to snatch thieves which kick sand into our tourism rice bowl." -- AFP