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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
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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