Thailand declares 60-day state of emergency in Bangkok and surrounding

BANGKOK: Thailand on Tuesday declared a 60-day state of emergency in Bangkok and surrounding areas to tackle mass street protests aimed at overthrowing the government.

The move follows weeks of rallies that have paralysed parts of the capital and sparked several bouts of deadly violence, including grenade attacks and shootings.

"The cabinet decided to invoke the emergency decree to take care of the situation and to enforce the law," said Deputy Prime Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul, noting that protesters had prevented officials from going to work.

The decree will come into force from Wednesday.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is under intense pressure from demonstrators, backed by the royalist establishment, to step down after more than two months of street protests aimed at ousting her government and installing an unelected "people's council".

It was not immediately clear how the government would implement the decree, which enables authorities to ban public gatherings of more than five people and detain suspects for 30 days without charge.

Labour Minister Chalerm Yubamrung, who will oversee its implementation, said Thailand would abide by international standards.

"We will not use force. We have no policy to disperse them (the protesters) and we haven't announced a curfew yet," he said.

National Security Council chief Paradorn Pattanatabut said there were already enough police and soldiers deployed to deal with the demonstrations.

He said the decree could be used to ban protest marches.

Yingluck has called an election for February 2 but the main opposition party is boycotting the vote. The protesters are trying to disrupt the polls and have prevented candidates from registering in some southern constituencies.

The demonstrators have staged a self-styled "shutdown" of Bangkok since January 13, erecting roadblocks and rally stages at several main intersections, although their number has steadily fallen since the middle of last week.

Dozens of people were wounded and one killed in grenade attacks by unknown assailants on opposition rallies on Friday and Sunday.

The incidents, which each side has blamed on the other, heightened fears of growing unrest before next month's election.

The kingdom has been periodically rocked by political bloodshed since Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Yingluck's older brother, was overthrown by royalist generals in a coup seven years ago.

The latest protests were triggered by a failed amnesty bill that could have allowed Thaksin to return without going to jail for a past corruption conviction.

The demonstrators accuse the billionaire telecoms tycoon-turned-politician of controlling his sister's government from his base in Dubai.

Thaksin has strong electoral support in northern Thailand, but he is reviled by many southerners, Bangkok's middle class and members of the royalist establishment.

The emergency decree was imposed in Bangkok in 2010 when two months of mass rallies by the pro-Thaksin Red Shirts sparked violence that left more than 90 people dead and nearly 1,900 injured, ending in a bloody army crackdown.

The military, traditionally a staunch supporter of the anti-Thaksin establishment, has shown signs of reluctance to play a significant role in handling the current protests, saying it wants to remain neutral.

But the army chief has also refused to rule out another coup. - AFP 

Thailand isytihar darurat di Bangkok dan wilayah sekitar

--gambar fail

BANGKOK: Kerajaan Thailand mengumumkan darurat selama 60 hari berkuatkuasa Rabu di Bangkok dan beberapa wilayah sekitar, kesan daripada protes berterusan di bandaraya itu.

Ia antara lain bagi membolehkan kerajaan mengenakan perintah berkurung sekaligus menghalang sebarang bentuk perhimpunan politik diadakan di kawasan yang diisyitihar darurat di samping membenarkan pihak berkuasa menahan suspek tanpa bicara dan membuat tapisan terhadap media.

Penunjuk perasaan sementara itu bertindak memperhebatkan tekanan ke atas kerajaan sementara pimpinan Yingluck Shinawatra supaya berundur dan membatalkan pilihan raya pada 2 Februari ini.

Beberapa kumpulan penentang lain antaranya digembleng untuk memperhebatkan tunjuk perasaan di Bangkok.

Salah satu kumpulan yang dikenali sebagai Rangkaian Pelajar dan Rakyat Untuk Pembaharuan Thailand minggu lalu mengancam untuk menggempur bursa saham dan agensi kawalan trafik udara jika Yingluck tidak berundur.

- ASTRO Awani 

Enam majalah terbitan Astro kini dalam talian

KUALA LUMPUR: Enam majalah terbitan Astro kini dalam talian sempena pelancaran Astro Digital Publications.

Enam majalah berkenaan ialah Men's Uno, Car, In Trend, ifeel, FHM dan Style yang memaparkan isu fesyen, automotif dan gaya hidup.

Ketua Pegawai Operasi Astro, Henry Tan akan memberi ucapan aluan pada majlis yang akan berlangsung pada petang Selasa.

Pelancaran itu dilihat salah satu cara terbaik peminat majalah dalam talian bersantai serta mendapat maklumat pada waktu yang sibuk.

Ia dibawa dalam bentuk yang mudah diakses dari peranti mudah alih sekali gus membawa pembaca ke dimensi baru yang lebih interaktif dalam pembacaan majalah.

Men's Uno merupakan majalah berbahasa Cina nombor satu di rantau ini untuk golongan lelaki dan yang membawa fesyen kepada gaya hidup dan laporan fesyen terkini di seluruh dunia.

Ia turut memaparkan panduan terbaik serta gaya terkini dan trend kepada golongan berkenaan.

Dalam pada itu, majalah Car memaparkan gaya hidup automotif premium dan memberi pilihan kepada pencinta kereta dengan gaya pemanduan dan aksesori terkini.

Majalah ini turut menyajikan kisah-kisah kecemerlangan pemandu di mana pencinta kereta boleh meningkatkan pengetahuan dan merasai dunia peminat kereta dengan kelab-kelab terbesar di dunia.

In Trend pula merupakan penerbitan yang memaparkan kehidupan seharian ikon di mana penerbitan bahasa Melayu ini menampilkan tips seharian yang diamal selebriti, gaya kesihatan, stail hidup dan hiburan.

Ifeel merupakan penerbitan yang popular kepada pembaca muda Cina yang menunjukkan minat wanita dengan tajuk yang merangkumi selebriti, muzik ,filem, tips kecantikan, fesyen, kesihatan dan perhubungan.

Sementara FHM menjadi majalah gaya hidup lelaki antarabangsa terkenal yang padat artikel mengenai fesyen selain pendedahan kepada acara muzik kontemporari. Ia menjadi salah satu pilihan majalah lelaki paling di peringkat global.

Sementara Style merupakan majalah yang menekankan fesyen serta kecantikan wanita yang mewakili tajuk wanita Bahasa Inggeris Astro Digital Publications Sdn Bhd. Ia dipersembahkan dalam bentuk canggih yang merangkumi trend wanita negara selain infomasi pilihan Gaya yang menyediakan artikel terkemuka mengenai fesyen dan kecantikan.

-ASTRO Awani 

Fire destroys 77 cars at workshop in Selayang

KUALA LUMPUR:  Seventy-seven cars were destroyed at a workshop in a fire that also gutted three other shops in Batu 8, Selayang, near here last night, according to the Selangor Fire and Rescue Department.

Its assistant director of operations, Mohamad Sani Harul, told Bernama 25 cars were saved during the fire which occurred at about 8 pm.

He said the department was summoned at 8.08 pm and the 12 officers and personnel rushed there in two trucks from the Selayang and Gombak fire stations put out the fire in about an hour.

"An investigation is ongoing to determine the cause of the fire and the damage," he said.

- BERNAMA 

1211 pendatang tanpa izin diberkas di Johor

JOHOR BAHRU:  Operasi bersepadu selama lebih empat jam berjaya memberkas 1211 orang pendatang tanpa izin yang melakukan pelbagai kesalahan.

Serbuan dilakukan di lokasi Rumah Sementara Pekerja Kontraktor (KOTAI) dan kawasan perkilangan di empat zon melibatkan semua daerah di Johor.

Antara kesalahan yang dilakukan termasuk tinggal lebih masa di Malaysia tidak mempunyai pasport dan menyalahgunakan pas lawatan sosial.

Beliau sebelum itu mengetuai Operasi Bersepadu 6P di sebuah tapak pembinaan di Taman Mutiara Rini, Skudai.

Lebih 100 anggota turut serta dalam operasi itu yang dibantu Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara (JPN), Jabatan Pertahanan Awam Malaysia (JPAM), Rela dan Agensi Anti Dadah Kebangsaan (AADK).

Kesemua PATI yang ditangkap di hantar ke depoh tahanan imigresen Pekan Nenas untuk siasatan lanjut.

- Astro Awani 

No justice for Nepal's slave girls

KATHMANDU:  Nine-year-old Manjita Chaudhary had never spent a night away from her parents when her father sold her to a Nepalese policeman for $25.

She left her family in western Nepal and travelled some 200 kilometres (124 miles) to her employer's home near the Indian border.

Her harsh new life began at 4am, the start of a daily routine in which she would clean her employer's house, wash dishes, cook and then go to his relatives' homes to do the same, before falling asleep just shy of midnight.

"I couldn't cope with the work, so my employer's wife would beat me with pots and pans, and threaten to sell me to another man," Chaudhary, now 22, told AFP.

"I was so scared, I couldn't even cry in front of them, I would just cry quietly in the bathroom," she said.

When she met her father a year later, she begged to return home, but her father, a bonded labourer, said they couldn't afford to raise her or her younger sister, whom they had also sold into domestic slavery.

Nepal's indentured "kamlari" girls - some as young as six - are among the Himayalan nation's most vulnerable citizens, subject to beatings and sexual violence while being kept as virtual prisoners by their employers.



Every January, when Nepal's Tharu community celebrates the Maghi festival, marking the end of winter, destitute Tharu families also sign contracts worth as little as 2,500 rupees ($25) a year, leasing their daughters to work in strangers' homes.

The annual tradition is unusual even in a region where illegal, bonded slavery and child labour are rife and where it is common to see children working in tea-shops, homes and even on construction sites.

A century ago the Tharu, said to be descendants of the Buddha, owned their farms and lived in relative isolation in the malaria-infested Terai plains, enjoying a natural resistance to the disease that the higher castes lacked.

But when malaria was eradicated from the fertile region in 1960, the Tharu were displaced by higher-caste farmers, becoming indebted serfs in their own land.

Many, like Chaudhary's impoverished parents, resorted to selling their daughters into domestic slavery, establishing the kamlari tradition, which, although outlawed in 2006, persists across the country.

Chaudhary worked for three years as a kamlari, enduring violence and sexual harassment, before activists from the US-based Nepal Youth Foundation approached her father and offered to support and educate his daughters if he ended their contracts.

At the age of 12, Chaudhary learnt to read and write. Today, the business undergraduate cuts a confident figure, fashionably dressed in a trench coat and conversant in three languages.

But the childhood scars remain, compelling her to volunteer as an advocate for kamlari rights.

"I was robbed of my childhood. It was a horrible time and I will do whatever I can to end this practice, to free other girls," she said.

Uphill battle for freedom

Although the kamlari tradition originated in the plains of southwestern Nepal, activists say it now survives on the patronage of wealthy families in the capital.

Kamal Guragain, legal officer at the Nepalese non-profit CWISH (Children-Women In Social Service and Human Rights), estimates that Nepal is home to at least 1,000 kamlaris, with nearly half of them working in Kathmandu.

So far, no employer has been punished for hiring or mistreating kamlaris, despite Guragain filing a stack of cases demanding prosecution and compensation to victims.

"Kamlaris still exist because their employers are not jailed or prosecuted, even though they are breaking the law," Guragain told AFP.

After a 12-year-old kamlari died of burns in the custody of her employer last March, sparking huge protests, the government said it would end the illegal practice.

But nearly a year later, little has changed.

Ram Prasad Bhattarai, spokesman for the ministry of women, children and social welfare, told AFP that the activists were "too provocative and rights-oriented".

"We are focused on empowering kamlaris by offering them education and training opportunities as beauticians and seamstresses (after they leave work)," he said. But "we have no intention of going to every household in Kathmandu and organising raids," he added.

Lost childhoods

At one of the raids in Kathmandu, activists rescued a nervous teenager, Jayarani Tharu, who had worked as a kamlari for so long that she couldn't remember when she left home.

Her employer, who runs a furniture business and owns a restaurant, paid her father 6000 rupees a year for his daughter.

As former kamlaris, including Chaudhary, helped the young woman pack up her belongings, her employer's wife, Ramba Uprety burst into tears.



"I treated her like she was one of my own children. That's why I don't feel like I have done anything wrong," Uprety told AFP.

Her employers were good people, never violent or cruel to her, Tharu said.

Still, it rankled to see tutors visit the house to teach the employers' two children, while she slaved away in the background.

"I did feel bad about missing school, but then I got used to it... they had paid me to work, not to study," she said.

"Now I am wondering if I will be able to do anything with my life. I have lost so many years."

AFP 

Cuti bersalin Malaysia paling singkat berbanding negara luar?

KUALA LUMPUR: Kita sedang menuju ke arah negara maju menjelang 2020, namun begitu isu cuti bersalin yang boleh memberi impak yang besar kepada kesejahteraan keluarga dan negara bagai dipandang sebelah mata.

Di Malaysia, tempoh cuti bersalin adalah 60 hingga 90 hari.

Biasanya, 60 hari bagi syarikat swasta dan 90 hari untuk syarikat milik kerajaan.

Bagi mereka yang mahukan lebih dari hari yang diperuntukkan, dicadangkan agar mengambil cuti tanpa gaji.

Namun, bukan semua ibu memilih untuk mengambil cuti tanpa gaji memandangkan keadaan ekonomi yang memerlukan si ibu untuk terus bekerja membantu keluarga.

Mengambil contoh negara maju yang lain, secara purata kebanyakkannya memperuntukkan cuti bersalin sekurang-kurangnya 120 hari.

United Kingdom misalnya memperuntukkan cuti bersalin sebanyak 39 minggu malah cuti itu boleh dipanjangkan sehingga ke 52 minggu.

Ada juga negara yang memberikan cuti bersalin dari sebelum waktu kelahiran misalnya Albania yang memberikan cuti sebanyak 12 bulan dan 150 hari selepas bersalin.

Begitu juga dengan Republik Czech yang memperuntukkan cuti sebelum kelahiran sebanyak enam hingga lapan minggu dan cuti sebanyak 20 minggu selepas bersalin.

Negara jiran seperti Singapura memberikan cuti bersalin sebanyak empat bulan manakala Vietnam empat sehingga enam bulan.

Di negara lain juga, beberapa inisiatif kepada majikan digunakan dalam memberi cuti bersalin bergaji.

Antaranya adalah memberi cuti bersalin yang panjang kepada si ibu dengan gaji tidak dibayar penuh tetapi mengikut peratus tertentu.

Sebagai contoh di Kanada, si ibu akan diberi cuti bersalin sebanyak 50 minggu dengan gaji dibayar hanya 55% dari gaji penuh.

sila lihat info grafik perbandingan cuti bersalin di luar negara.

Mengikut poll yang dijalankan oleh Astro AWANI sebelum ini, sebanyak 66% peratus pembaca merasakan cuti bersalin di Malaysia perlu lebih 90 hari.

Beberapa ibubapa yang sempat kami hubungi turut memberikan pendapat mengenainya.

“Ramai berpendapat cuti bersalin adalah waktu ‘honeymoon’ hanya kerana waktu cuti itu dilihat panjang iaitu selama 60 hari, padahal tidak” kata ibu beranak satu, Syarmeira Salleh, 29.

Syarmeira yang baru sahaja melahirkan anak empat bulan lepas turut bersetuju agar cuti bersalin dipanjangkan.

“Saya hantar anak ke taska sejak umurnya dua bulan, ketika itu kepala anak masih lagi lembut. Itu adalah risiko yang perlu saya ambil demi tanggungjawab di tempat kerja, kalau cuti bersalin dipanjangkan sekurang-kurangnya empat bulan mungkin anak lebih stabil untuk diserahkan kepada taska” kata Syarmeira yang menghantar anak lelakinya ke taska berhampiran rumahnya di Seri Kembangan dengan bayaran RM650 sebulan.

Manakala Nurabitah Abu Jamil, 30 berkata si ibu wajar diberikan masa untuk membiasakan diri dengan kehadiran anak.

“Emosi ibu boleh terganggu dengan kehadiran anak, lebih-lebih lagi dengan kehadiran anak pertama yang dilihat sebagai sesuatu perkara baru dalam hidup.

“Bila anak lahir, saya kurang rehat kerana anak akan selalu menyusu dan pada masa yang sama perlu berpantang untuk kesihatan, ya ada masanya akan rasa tertekan” terang Nurabitah yang mempunyai seorang anak lelaki berumur empat tahun.

Bagi Siddiq Pahlawan Mohd Wazir, 33, bapa kepada dua orang anak, merasakan masa dapat diuruskan dengan baik dan ekonomi keluarga akan menjadi lebih baik jika cuti bersalin diberikan lebih panjang kepada si ibu.

“Masa anak pertama memang kelam kabut lagi kerana dalam tempoh dua bulan cuti bersalin, kami suami isteri tidak sempat untuk mencari taska kerana isteri masih di dalam pantang.

“Kalau dipanjangkan, mungkin sedikit sebanyak dapat membantu ekonomi keluarga, apabila mula bekerja semua perbelanjaan seperti minyak, makan kena dikeluarkan dan ditambah pula dah nak mula membayar taska” kata Siddiq.

Siddiq turut berpendapat kerana tidak cukup rehat, kadangkala boleh mendatangkan kemurungan kepada si ibu. - ASTRO Awani 

LG G Flex will be $300 on AT&T, pre-orders begin January 24th

Sprint was the first out of the gate to announce LG G Flex pricing and availability for the US, but AT&T isn't too far behind. The network just made it be known that the curved smartphone will be available for pre-order online and at retail stores starting January 24th.

We haven't been given specifics on when the device will get shipped out to early adopters, nor do we have a date on when it'll be stocked on shelves for everyone else -- but we do know, however, that it'll be all yours for $300 with a two-year contract. 

If you'd rather get it on a Next plan, you can do so by paying $27 per month (on an 18-month plan) or $35 per month (on a 12-month plan). We're still awaiting word on when T-Mobile's option will come out, but we'd guess that we'll be hearing pretty soon.

Source: Engadget 

LG G Flex to launch in over 20 European countries this February

The G Flex's world tour continues: following news of launches in the US, LG has announced that its bendy smartphone will reach more than 20 European countries this February. The continent-wide release involves larger countries like Austria, France, Germany, Italy and the UK. 

hasn't named carriers just yet, although we already know that both EE in the UK and Orange in France will carry the 6-inch Android flagship. Given the pricing we've seen so far, it's safe to 

say that European G Flex variants won'

Source: Engadget

Ahli perniagaan dakwa diri Sultan Melaka bebas dengan jaminan polis

MELAKA: Ahli perniagaan Noor Jan Tuah yang mendakwa dirinya sebagai Sultan Melaka hari ini dibebaskan dengan jaminan polis selepas ditahan reman sejak 14 Januari lalu bagi membantu siasatan mengikut Akta Hasutan berhubung dakwaannya itu.

Timbalan Ketua Polis Melaka Datuk Shah Gzali Khan Shahadat berkata, Noor Jan dibebaskan selepas perintah tahanan reman ke atasnya tamat pada hari ini.

"Kes masih dalam siasatan terutama berkenaan dakwaannya mendapat surat pengesahan daripada ICJ (Mahkamah Keadilan Antarabangsa) yang kiuta perlukan kerjasama daripada Pejabat Peguam Negara untuk pastikan dakwaan itu benar atau tidak.

"Kita akan mohon bonmahkamah bagi memastikan beliau tidak menganjurkan majlis atau aktiviti berkaitan kesultanan sehingga siasatan ini selesai," katanya seperti dipetik oleh Bernama.

ICJ sebelum ini mengeluarkan satu kenyataan menafikan dakwaan Noor Jan itu dan menegaskan mahkamah tersebut tidak pernah mengeluarkan surat seperti yang didakwa.

Noor Jan, 57, ditahan pada 14 Januari di Jeti Anjung Batu, Serkam ketika hendak menaiki feri ke Pulau

Besar dipercayai bagi menghadiri satu upacara penyembelihan kambing sempena sambutan Maulidur Rasul.

Dia ditahan selepas polis menerima lapan laporan daripada pelbagai pihak yang tidak berpuas hati dan curiga dengan tindakannya yang berterusan mendakwa dirinya sebagai Sultan Melaka. Noor Jan membuat dakwaan itu sejak lapan tahun lalu.

Noor Jan pernah disiasat pada 2006 mengikut Seksyen 420 Kanun Keseksaan kerana menipu.

Susulan penahanan itu, polis mendapat kebenaran mahkamah untuk menahan reman ahli perniagaan itu selama empat hari dan perintah itu disambung selama tiga hari lagi pada 18 Januari lepas.

Shah Gzali menjelaskan polis boleh memanggil Noor Jan pada bila-bila masa untuk siasatan lanjut.

Sementara itu, peguam Surjan Singh Sidhu yang mewakili Noor Jan berkata anak guamnya dibebaskan tanpa sebarang syarat dan akan terus memberi kerjasama kepada polis bagi membantu siasatan.

Noor Jan dilihat keluar dari Ibu Pejabat Polis Kontinjen Melaka pada pukul 12.50 tengahari selepas menyelesaikan urusan jaminan itu. - ASTRO Awani 

Operasi besar-besaran buru PATI

KUALA LUMPUR: Operasi besar-besaran bagi memburu Pendatang Tanpa Izin (PATI) yang gagal mendaftar di bawah Program Khas Pengurusan PATI (PKPP) yang diadakan serentak di seluruh negara bermula Selasa malam, membuktikan kerajaan tidak lagi berkompromi berhubung isu pati.

Menteri Dalam Negeri Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi berkata seramai 10 ribu penguatkuasa di bawah Kementerian Dalam Negeri menyertai operasi paling besar yang pernah dilakukan imigresen itu.

Selepas kerajaan memberi tempoh tiga bulan kepada majikan iaitu bermula 21 Oktober tahun lepas hingga 20 Januari 2014, untuk mendaftarkan pekerja mereka di bawah PKPP, kini tiba masanya kdn bertegas terhadap mereka yang enggan melakukannya.

Kerajaan berpendirian, PKPP tidak akan disambung kerana majikan telah diberi tempoh waktu yang panjang.

Ahmad Zahid berkata operasi tersebut akan diadakan berterusan dan mereka yang ditangkap akan dihantar pulang dalam masa tujuh hari bagi mengelak kesesakan di pusat tahanan serta mengurangkan kos perbelanjaan.

Selain 15 pusat tahanan imigresen di seluruh negara, kerajaan mewartakan beberapa tempat lagi untuk dijadikan pusat tahanan sementara. - ASTRO Awani 

Banjir menghasilkan 6,000 tan sampah setiap hari

Seorang buruh Indonesia sedang membersihkan sebuah sungai di Jakarta pada 8 Oktober, 2013. --FOTO AFP/ADEK BERRY

JAKARTA: Bencana banjir yang melanda sejumlah wilayah di ibu kota Indonesia, Jakarta sejak beberapa hari lalu menghasilkan sampah hingga 6,000 tan setiap hari.

Data daripada Jabatan Kebersihan Jakarta menunjukkan sampah yang dikutip itu terdiri antaranya tilam, kerusi, meja serta almari terpakai.

Ketua Jabatan Kebersihan Jakarta, Unu Nurdin berkata jumlah sampah yang diangkut oleh petugasnya di lapangan ketika banjir cenderung meningkat semasa hujan.

Setiap hari, jumlah sampah itu boleh mencecah sehingga 5,800 tan.

"Jumlah itu yang petugas kami angkut dari tempat pembuangan sampah masyarakat, pinggir jalan dan sejumlah pintu air yang ada di Jakarta. Jenisnya luar biasa, kerusi, almari sampai tilam," katanya seperti dipetik oleh Kompas.

Unu menjelaskan, sampah berupa barang-barang tersebut disebabkan kerana ada warga nakal yang memanfaatkan banjir untuk membuang barang terpakai.

Biasanya, jelas Unu, mereka membuangnya di aliran sungai agar cepat mengalir serta tidak terlalu membebani warga tersebut.

Beliau mengakui kesedaran masyarakat tentang kebersihan, terutama mereka yang tinggal di tebing sungai, sangat rendah biarpun sudah banyak program kebersihan dijalankan sejak lama.

Unu juga mengakui bahawa untuk mewujudkan kesedaran kebersihan memerlukan waktu yang lama.

"Seharusnya perlahan-lahan masyarakat sedar bahawa kalau buang sampah itu jangan di sungai. Saya hairan kenapa masih ada saja masyarakat yang membuang sampah di sana," lanjut Unu.

Menurut Unu, beliau telah mengerahkan lori sampah yang baru ke kawasan terlibat dan mengangkut sampah yang terlihat menumpuk, baik di pintu air atau tepi jalan. - Agencies 

Perbandingan: Kadar cuti bersalin berbayar seluruh dunia

Sumber: Astro Awani

Letupan bom bunuh 16 di Baghdad

BAGHDAD: Lima bom kereta meletup di beberapa kawasan di Baghdad pada hari Isnin membunuh sekurang-kurangnya 16 orang dan mencederakan lebih 40 yang lain, kata pegawai keselamatan dan perubatan.

Dua letupan berlaku di daerah Dura di Baghdad dimana majoriti penduduknya adalah kumpulan Sunni manakala sekurang-kurangnya tiga bom kereta diletupkan di daerah Jadidah, Hurriyah dan Bayaa dimana majoriti penduduknya adalah kumpulan Syiah

Serangan paling dahsyat berlaku di Dura diamana sekurang-kurangnya enam orang terkorban manakala empat mati di Baghdad Jadidah.

Serangan itu antara yang terbaru dalam lonjakan berlarutan dalam keganasan dalam negara yang menyebabkan 650 orang mati bulan ini.

Tidak ada pihak mengaku bertanggungjawab bagi serangan yang berlaku, tetapi militan Sunni termasuk yang dikaitkan dengan Al -Qaeda kerap mencetuskan pengeboman diseluruh ibu negara.

Pada petang Sabtu, beberapa siri letupan di Baghdad membunuh 25 orang, manakala 37 lagi mati dalam keadaan yang sama pada Rabu.

Kekacauan di seluruh negara, ditambah pula dengan serangan di antara pasukan keselamatan dan pejuang anti-kerajaan di barat Baghdad berlaku beberapa bulan sebelum pilihan raya parlimen.

- ASTRO Awani 

Form five student finds abandoned baby boy

ALOR SETAR: A newborn baby boy was found abandoned by the side of a house in Kampung Sungai Sebatang, Jalan Kuala Kedah, here yesterday.

The baby's cries, apparently due to mosquito bites, awakened a Form Five student, Normawani Ahmad, 17, who was asleep on the top floor of the double-storey house at 3 am.

"I was surprised to hear the cries of a baby and sounds of someone walking so I opened my window and saw a nude baby lying on a red plastic sheet," she told reporters when met at the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital here.

Normawarni said she informed her mother Harison Shafie, 50, who was asleep next door at her sister's house.

"We didn't find a note on the baby, but there were traces of blood and faeces, while his body was bluish and had mosquito bites.

"My mother cleaned and clothed him before we went to the police station to lodge a report," said Normawarni, who was thankful that the baby was safe and had not fallen victim to stray dogs which frequented the area.

Meanwhile, Harison said she did not think any of the villagers could have abandoned the baby.

Kota Setar OCPD ACP Adzaman Mohd Jan, when contacted, confirmed the find and said the baby was undergoing a medical examination at the hospital.

He said the police were seeking the baby's parents. - BERNAMA