SUNDAY, JANUARY 5, 2014 INTERNATIONAL 52 rescued passengers resume journey home

CANBERRA: An Australian icebreaker carrying 52 Jiansong, reported an iceberg appeared overnight passengers who were retrieved from an icebound and blocked the ship’s return route. He said the ship ship in the Antarctic resumed its journey home yes- will again try to find a way out, possibly as early as terday, leaving behind two other icebreakers still tomorrow. trapped in pack ice. The Aurora Australis will contin- An Antarctic tourism operator is holding out ue its interrupted resupply mission to Australia’s hope that the Russian icebreaker will be free in time Antarctic base Casey Station before returning to the to take 48 sightseers on a cruise of Antarctica’s Ross Australian island state of Tasmania in mid-January Sea. Heritage Expeditions has leased the Akademik with the rescued scientists, journalists and tourists. Shokalskiy to depart New Zealand for the cruise on It had been slowly cracking through thick ice Jan 17. toward open water after a Chinese ship’s helicop- Heritage Expeditions general manager David ter on Thursday plucked the passengers from their Bowen said he would give the ship until tomorrow stranded Russian research ship and carried them to break free from the pack ice before considering to an ice floe near the Australian ship. But on “other options.” Friday afternoon, the crew of the Chinese ice- “The last report we had from the ship is that her breaker that had provided the helicopter said they integrity is sound and she’s in good shape,” Bowen were worried about their own ship’s ability to said. “If the wind blew from the right direction for a move through the ice. day or two, she could sail free.” Bowen said that The Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s Rescue unlike Commonwealth Bay where the ship is stuck, Coordination Centre, which oversaw the rescue, told the passage to the Ross Sea is ice free and its ice pat- the Aurora to stay in the area in case help was need- terns were regular in January and February. Andrew ed. Under international conventions observed by Peacock, an Australian doctor and photographer most countries, ships’ crews are obliged to take part who was rescued from the Russian ship, spoke in such rescues and the owners carry the costs. Friday of his fellow passengers’ frustration aboard This image provided by Australasian Antarctic Expedition, passengers trapped for more than a week on On Saturday, AMSA said the Aurora was allowed the Aurora over the latest delay in their journey the icebound Russian research ship MV Akademik Shokalskiyin are rescued by a Chinese helicopter. — AP to continue and that the Chinese ship Snow Dragon, home. He said they were quiet and appeared tired as or Xue Long in Chinese, was safe and not requiring they took stock of their situation. the rescue. It will now deliver the remaining 30 per- In addition to the disruption to Australia’s scien- assistance. “So our time down south is not over yet and we cent, which includes scientific equipment vital to tific program, the rescue would cost Australian tax- The Chinese ship remained stuck several kilome- are going to be delayed in our return to friends and research projects scheduled to be carried out during payers 400,000 Australian dollars ($358,000), ters (miles) from the Russian icebreaker Akademik family by some time yet, which is frustrating,” the narrow window of the Antarctic summer. Environment Minister Greg Hunt’s spokesman John Shokalskiy, from which the passengers were res- Peacock said in an email before the Aurora was giv- Australian Antarctic Division acting director O’Doherty said. “This incident is a reminder that cued. The Russian ship has been immobile since en permission to continue. Jason Mundy said the rescue had stretched everyone operating in the Southern Ocean ... has to Christmas Eve. A reporter for China’s official Xinhua The Aurora had offloaded only 70 percent of its resources for the summer research program, which put safety ahead of everything else,” Hunt said in a News Agency aboard the Snow Dragon, Zhang cargo at Casey last month before it was diverted to he hoped to recoup from the Russian ship’s insurer. statement. — AP cops break up opposition rallies Military rules out demos against PM

PHNOM PENH: Cambodian authorities yesterday dispersed opposition protesters from their rally base in the capital and halted further protests against the kingdom’s premier, a day after police launched a deadly crackdown on striking gar- ment workers. BANGKOK: Supporters of the Puea Thai party shout slogans during an election cam- Dozens of security personnel armed with paign in Bangkok yesterday. Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s party kicked shields and batons flooded into the area in cen- off campaigning for February elections in the face of an opposition boycott and pro- tral , causing several hundred pro- tester plans to “shutdown” Bangkok in a bid to derail the vote. — AFP testers to flee, according to an AFP photographer at the scene. “They won’t be allowed to rally, to Thai ruling party to launch protest, or to hold any political activities at the park anymore,” military police spokesman Kheng election bid amid protests Tito said, adding that police had not used force. It comes a day after a crackdown on textile workers BANGKOK: Thai Prime Minister Yingluck capital starting from today to build that left at least three dead, and which rights Shinawatra’s party is due to kick off a fragile momentum ahead of the occupation campaigners condemned as the country’s worst election campaign for February polls boy- attempt. Thailand has been periodically state violence against civilians in more than a cotted by the opposition and rejected by convulsed by political bloodshed since decade. anti-government protesters preparing to Thaksin was overthrown by royalist gener- Strongman Prime Minister faces a “shut down” Bangkok. The Puea Thai party als in a coup in 2006. The current rallies, led growing challenge to his nearly three-decade will launch its bid for re-election with rallies by a former opposition MP, erupted over a rule from garment workers protesting for better in its northern heartlands and on the out- now-shelved amnesty plan that could have conditions and opposition supporters demand- skirts of the capital, which has been shaken allowed the former leader to return. ing that he step down and call a new election by weeks of sometimes violent demonstra- Thailand’s main opposition Democrat because of alleged vote fraud in a July poll. tions that have left eight people dead and Party, which has not won an elected major- Authorities said unrest in recent days had about 400 wounded. ity in two decades, support the rallies and prompted them to put a stop to the capital’s dai- PHNOM PENH: Cambodian security officials clear the protesters site at the Democracy Park in “I am confident that the campaign will have opted to boycott the election. ly anti-government rallies. Phnom Penh governor Phnom Penh yesterday. — AFP go smoothly-we are not the ones trigger- Thailand’s election commission, whose call Pa Socheatvong said in a statement that the new elections or stepping down, was given par- shootings, calling on the government to launch ing conflict,” said party leader Jarupong to postpone the polls was rejected by the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party liamentary approval for a new five-year term in an investigation. Washington on Friday also Ruangsuwan, adding that the election slo- government, said on Friday the election (CNRP) would not be allowed to hold demos or late September. The opposition decried that as a appealed for peaceful dialogue and denounced gan would be urging people to vote to was expected to go ahead. Yingluck’s gov- marches “until the security situation and public “constitutional coup”. Cambodia’s leader has the violence, urging all sides to exercise restraint. “preserve democracy”. Yingluck called snap ernment still enjoys strong support in the order is restored to normal”. faced mounting criticism over his rights record Disputes over wages and safety conditions are elections after coming under intense pres- northern half of the country and would be The opposition party, which has boycotted and accusations of excessive force used against common in Cambodia’s multi-billion dollar gar- sure from demonstrators vowing to rid the expected to win. parliament since the disputed July election, demonstrators in a series of clashes between ment industry which supplies brands like Gap, country of the influence of her brother- slammed the police action. “This is the act of a security forces and protesters in recent months. Nike and H&M and which has brought buoyant controversial former premier Thaksin Doubts linger communist dictatorship,” opposition spokesman Striking garment workers have also been seen to economic growth to what is still one of Asia’s Shinawatra, who is widely believed to con- But doubts remain over whether a gov- Yim Sovann said. team up with opposition protesters demanding poorest countries. The sector employs about trol her party from self-exile in Dubai. ernment could be formed, even if the elec- The party, which had planned a major three- Hun Sen step down. 650,000 people and is a key source of foreign Demonstrators, who have vowed to dis- tion proceeds. Demonstrators have pre- day protest starting from today, issued a state- Friday’s violence saw striking workers armed income. The Cambodian Centre for Human rupt the election on February 2, want Thai vented candidates registering for the polls ment urging supporters to “keep calm” while the with sticks, rocks and Molotov cocktails clash Rights, an independent activist group, has said at democracy to be suspended for a year or in several opposition-dominated southern party deliberates over a fresh strategy. Protesters with rifle-wielding police in the Veng Sreng fac- least 25 demonstrations were violently repressed more, with a “people’s council” installed to provinces, which could result in a situation have occupied Democracy Park since December tory district of Phnom Penh. The protest in 2013 by security forces using guns, tear gas, implement loosely defined reforms. in which there are not enough elected as part of demonstrations against premier Hun demanding a minimum wage of $160 per month water cannon and batons, leaving two people Protesters plan to occupy Bangkok from members of parliament after the polls to Sen’s government that swelled to an estimated followed similar action by workers in another dead, one person paralyzed and causing three January 13 in the run up to the poll, vowing select a prime minister. Thai stocks and the 20,000 opposition supporters on the streets last industrial district of the city on Thursday, which women to suffer miscarriages. to prevent government officials from going baht currency have fallen sharply on con- Sunday. rights groups said was dispersed by armed mili- Hun Sen-a 61-year-old former Khmer Rouge to work and cut off power and water to offi- cerns that the deepening crisis will scare off tary police. cadre who defected and oversaw Cambodia’s rise cial buildings. foreign tourists and discourage internation- Criticism The UN’s special rapporteur on human rights from the ashes of war-has ruled for 28 years, and They also plan several marches in the al investment. — AFP Hun Sen, who last month ruled out holding in Cambodia, Surya P Subedi, criticised Friday’s has vowed to continue until he is 74. — AFP

Indonesian volcano Protest in Malaysia after erupts 30 times as govt suspends magazine 20,000 displaced KUALA LUMPUR: Dozens of journalists protested yesterday in Malaysia against the suspension of a weekly magazine, urging the KARO, Indonesia: An Indonesian volcano that has Southeast Asian nation to allow greater press freedom. The Heat erupted relentlessly for months shot volcanic ash stopped publication last month after the Home Ministry suspended into the air 30 times yesterday, forcing further evac- it, saying it had violated its printing permit as a weekly business uations with more than 20,000 people now dis- magazine and failed to respond to the ministry to explain the mat- placed, an official said. Mount Sinabung on the ter. western island of Sumatra sent rivers of lava flowing Some 50 journalists and activists, wearing red and chanting “free through an evacuation zone and columns of vol- the media”, held an hour-long protest in the capital Kuala Lumpur canic cloud up as high as 4,000 metres (13,000 feet), where they urged the government to lift the suspension and stop National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman controlling the press. “This is not just about the suspension of The Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said. Heat. It’s about the freedom of the press,” activist Ambiga “Hot lava spewed from the volcano some 60 Sreenevasan said in a speech. times, reaching up to five kilometres (three miles) “It is about fighting for the rights of the people, the rights of the southeast of the crater. This outpour is the biggest people to speak and to receive information.” The Heat, which was we’ve seen in all the recent eruptions,” Nugroho said. launched last year, denied it has not responded to the ministry’s Authorities had already told residents in a five-kilo- metre radius of the volcano to evacuate, and letters sent to it in late November and early December. On Monday, Nugroho said an expanded evacuation zone may be Home Minister Zahid Hamidi was quoted by local media as saying considered. that the suspension was “temporary”. The number of people who have now fled the The Heat on its website describes itself as “a weekly that intends rumbling volcano since it began erupting in to push the boundaries of press freedom” with investigative stories September last year has risen to 20,331, Nugroho on social, economic and other current issues. said. The suspension followed an article on Prime Minister Najib Mount Sinabung is one of dozens of active volca- Razak’s “growing expenditure” on overseas trips and other expens- noes in Indonesia that straddle major tectonic fault es. Najib’s 56-year ruling coalition, which was re-elected in May lines, known as the Ring of Fire. It had been quiet for with its poorest showing yet, dominates mainstream media around 400 years until it rumbled back to life in through permits and ownership. 2010, and again in September last year. In August, But criticism of the regime is flourishing online on news portals five people were killed and hundreds evacuated and social media sites. Amid pressure, Najib has vowed to grant when a volcano on a tiny island in East Nusa greater civil liberties, loosening decades-old security and other Tenggara province erupted. laws deemed as repressive by critics. But he is facing resistance, The country’s most active volcano, Mount Merapi This picture taken on January 3, 2014 shows the Vietnamese Navy’s first submarine class Kilo 636 including from his own party members used to decades of iron-fist- in central Java, killed more than 350 people in a ed leadership, and critics accuse him of mere window-dressing to series of violent eruptions in 2010. — AFP (C) named ‘Hanoi’ being released into the sea from a Netherland’s transporting ship Rolldock Sea at Cam Ranh Bay in central Vietnam. — AFP gain votes. — AFP