'Suu Kyi-junta talks nearing landmark stage'

'Suu Kyi-junta talks nearing landmark stage'

MYANMAR: The opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) is
optimistic that 18-month talks between its leader Aung San Suu
Kyi and the ruling junta are nearing a landmark stage, a top
official said on Friday.

NLD secretary U Lwin said that the contacts, which have been
stuck in a confidence-building phase, were about to progress into
full-blown dialog when they were derailed by the regime's
announcement last month that it had foiled a coup plot by
relatives of former dictator Ne Win.

"I think that it was about time that we might be able to go
for the dialog, then unfortunately we had this coup attempt," he
said in an interview.

U Lwin said he was heartened that UN envoy Razali Ismail, who
brokered the talks that began in October 2000 and whose plans to
visit Myanmar last month were canceled in the wake of the coup,
was returning later this month. --AFP

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Aglance-Thailand-Survivor
Thailand set to approve 'Survivor' TV series on local island
JP/9/ASEAN

'Survivor' shooting to be approved

THAILAND: The Bangkok government will likely give permission to
U.S. network CBS to shoot episodes of its popular Survivor
television series on a tropical island that was once used to
exile political prisoners, an official said on Friday.

Somsak Thepsutin, a Cabinet minister, said the filming of the
reality show on Tarutao Island off Satun province, 970 kilometers
(602 miles) south of Bangkok, would boost the local economy.

"We would welcome the Survivor crew to shoot in Thailand, and
the film board is deliberating their request," he told reporters.
"I am sure that the board will approve the request because the
crew will spend a lot of money in Thailand."

Local newspapers quoted officials as saying the crew was
expected to spend about US$16 million during a three-month shoot
starting in June when the island is closed to tourists. The
island was used as an exile for political prisoners from 1937 to
1948 when Thailand was ruled by a military dictatorship. --AP

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Aglance-Vietnam-drugs
Vietnam police seize 12 kilos of heroin
JP/9/ASEAN

Police seize 12 kilos of heroin

VIETNAM: Police in Ho Chi Minh City seized 12 kilograms (26.4
pounds) of heroin as they pressed on with a four-month crackdown
on vice in Vietnam's commercial capital, reports said on Friday.

The haul, which also included hundreds of ecstasy tablets and
thousands of dollars in hard currency, was discovered in a
residential house in the city center, the Tin Tuc evening
newspaper, which is published by the official VNA news agency.

Householders Chu Duc Hai and Nguyen Thi Nga were arrested and
could face the death penalty if convicted.

Under Vietnam's tough drug laws, anyone found in possession of
300 grams or more of heroin, or 10 kilograms or more of opium, is
assumed to be guilty of trafficking. The arrest of alleged Ho Chi
Minh City crime kingpin Nam Cam by a special police team from
Hanoi late last year has sparked crackdowns on drug, gambling,
prostitution and other interests which police say sustained his
empire. --AFP

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Aglance-RP-deportation
Five Arab men deported after filming Philippine vacation spot
JP/9/ASEAN

Five Arabs deported after filming resort

PHILIPPINES: Five Arabs with suspected links to terrorist groups
have been deported after taking aerial footage of a popular
tourist resort in the northern Philippines, authorities said on
Friday.

Immigration officials said the men were deported Thursday
after circling Baguio City and taking photos of tourist sites in
a small private plane they rented in Manila.

Officials at the local Air Transportation Office here said the
five were not listed in the airplane's manifesto and were taken
in for questioning by police upon landing at an airport near this
city.

They were later deported on suspicion they could be linked to
terrorist organizations abroad, the sources said. Officials said
a digital video recorder containing aerial shots of the city and
footage of the five Arab nationals was confiscated.