RESPECT MYPM

The Rojava self-administration in the Cizire canton in northern Syria has started to implement a tax income law to support public services in the region, local sources reported.

The tax income will go to support institutions and public services in Cizire canton–Hasakah province.

According to the pro-Rojava administration news agency ANHA, the tax income will be used in support of the health and education services, and to enhance the local security system and to back women rights.

The move only includes the Hasakah province, in northeastern Syria.

According to the local administration, tax laws exist everywhere in the world to back public services in the country.

Every citizen that earns a maximum income of 100,000 Syrian pound (around 200 dollar) per month will be taxed.

Most likely this will include 75 per cent of all citizens of the Cizire canton.

Source: ARA News

NEW YORK: Amerika Syarikat (AS) memberi amaran keras kepada Korea Utara bahawa tindakan ketenteraan akan digunakan sekiranya perlu memandangkan provokasi yang semakin meningkat ditunjukkan oleh Pyongyang.

Amaran itu dikeluarkan pada mesyuarat tergempar Majlis Keselamatan Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (PBB) susulan ujian peluru berpandu antara benua (ICBM) yang dilaksanakan oleh republik itu pada Selasa.

Duta AS ke PBB, Nikki Haley berkata, tindakan Korea Utara itu secara langsung menutup peluang untuk menyelesaikan krisis secara diplomatik.
"Satu daripada keupayaan (penyelesaian) kami adalah menggunakan kekuatan tentera.

"AS akan menggunakannya (kekuatan tentera) jika perlu tetapi kami tidak lebih gemar tidak memilih jalan tersebut," katanya.

Sementara itu, Haley berkata, AS akan mengemukakan usul sekatan PBB baharu ke atas Korea Utara dalam tempoh beberapa hari lagi.

Selain itu kata beliau, Washington juga akan memutuskan hubungan perdagangan dengan negara yang berurusan dengan Pyongyang susulan pelanggaran resolusi PBB.
Beliau memberi amaran bahawa jika Rusia dan China tidak menyokong usaha tersebut, AS sedia berjuang dengan cara tersendiri. - THE TELEGRAPH

12 MAC: Menteri Keluarga Turki, Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya dilapor diisytiharkan ‘persona non grata’ atau ‘individu tidak dikehendaki’ oleh pihak berkuasa Belanda dan ditahan.

Media Belanda melaporkan, bagaimanapun Kaya akan diiringi polis negara itu ke sempadan Jerman, dari mana beliau melakukan perjalanan darat.

Pertelingkahan antara Turki dan Belanda susulan rancangan Ankara mengadakan perhimpunan politik di seluruh negara Kesatuan Eropah (EU) dalam usaha meraih sokongan untuk pungutan suara 16 April ini,lapor REUTERS.

Persona non grata adalah istilah dalam bahasa Latin yang dipakai dalam pergeseran politik dan diplomasi antarabangsa. Makna harafiahnya adalah orang yang tidak diinginkan.

Orang-orang yang ‘di-persona non grata-kan’ biasanya tidak boleh berada di suatu tempat atau negara itu. Apabila ia sudah berada di negara tersebut, maka ia harus diusir dan dibawa keluar.
=FATMA=

Bantahan meletus di luar konsulat Turki di bandar pelabuhan Belanda di sini lewat semalam di tengah pertikaian dengan Ankara selepas pihak berkuasa negara ini melarang kunjungan menteri dari Turki.

Agensi Berita Antarabangsa AFP melaporkan kira-kira 1,000 orang mengibarkan bendera Turki berkumpul di jalanan menuju ke konsulat ketika ketegangan memuncak berhubung perhimpunan di luar negara bagi membantu Ankara memperoleh sokongan untuk undian pungutan suara April ini.
Polis menghantar sejumlah besar pasukannya, namun penunjuk perasaan kelihatan tenang, melaungkan slogan dan menjerit ketika kesesakan jalan raya berlaku di bandar pelabuhan selatan itu.

Ketegangan memuncak selepas pihak berkuasa Belanda awal semalam enggan memberi kebenaran mendarat kepada pesawat membawa Menteri Luar Turki, Mevlut Cavusoglu dalam meraih sokongan untuk pungutan suara kontroversi April ini.

Agensi berita rasmi Turki Anadolu berkata, sebaliknya, Menteri Keluarga Turki, Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya dilaporkan melakukan perjalanan darat dari bandar Jerman di Dusseldorf ke bandar ini.

Televisyen Turki melaporkan, Kaya ditahan polis Belanda kira-kira 30 meter dari konsulatnya di sini.
“Kami sudah berada di sini selama kira-kira empat jam. Malah kami tidak diberi seteguk air pun. Polis Belanda enggan membenarkan saya memasuki konsulat.

“Saya dimaklumkan supaya meninggalkan negara ini dan kembali ke Jerman secepat mungkin. Namun saya tidak akan berganjak kecuali dibenarkan bertemu walau lima minit dengan rakyat kami,” katanya.

Penyiar awam Belanda NOS berkata, polis bercadang mengiringi Kaya pulang ke sempadan Jerman.
Belanda menempatkan kira-kira 400,000 penduduk berasal dari Turki dan Ankara dilihat mahu memanfaatkan undi diaspora di Eropah menjelang pungutan suara 16 April ini.-RespectMyPM

The National Legislative Assembly (NLA) is planning 10-year prison sentences and huge fines for any deemed to be disrupting the referendum on the draft constitution.

Jate Siratharanon, spokesman of the NLA whip committee, said on Wednesday that the proposed penalties are included in the referendum bill the assembly will consider for second and third readings on Thursday.

A jail term of up to 10 years, a fine of up to 200,000 baht and years of suspended electoral rights would be imposed on any party judged by the regime as having disrupted the Aug 7 vote, Mr Jate said.

The bill defines such disruptive parties as those creating disorder, telling lies, and using force to prompt eligible voters not to vote, to vote in any way or to choose the no-vote option in the upcoming referendum.

Specifically, it covers those disseminating any text, picture or voice message via any media that is false, aggressive, rude, instigating or coercive in order to persuade eligible voters not to vote, to vote in a particular way or to choose the no-vote option in the referendum.

The bill recommends a court suspend electoral rights of a violator for up to five years. For a group of five violators and over, the electoral right suspension can last up to 10 years, Mr Jate said.

On Tuesday students protested against the draft charter when Meechai Ruchupan, head of the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC), was speaking on the draft at the Rangsit campus of Thammasat University in Pathum Thani province.

CDC spokesman Udom Rathamarit said on Wednesday the disturbance was unexpected and reflected that "the constitutional draft is so scary for opponents that they had to take such actions."

The CDC knew that some political parties might not like the draft and had not taken part in the drafting process, he said.

Mr Meechai said earlier that the draft was designed to effectively keep corrupt people away from politics.

Pheu Thai Party key figure Chaturon Chaisaeng said on Wednesday that the students' protest only was an expression of opinions and resulted from limitations on expressions from people disagreeing with the draft.

JEDDAH: Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain praised the special friendship between Pakistan and the Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. During a meeting with the Shoura Council Speaker Sheikh Dr. Abdullah Al-Asheikh, who is on a trip to Pakistan, President Mamnoon said the Pakistani people have a great respect for Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman.
President Mamnoon Hussain praised the distinguished bilateral relations between the two countries, pointing out that the convergence between Riyadh and Islamabad reached an identical extent on many issues and international developments.
The Pakistan's President lauded the invitation launched by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for the Islamic alliance to counter the scourge of terrorism, reaffirming Pakistan's standing by this alliance and its full support for the efforts being exerted by the Kingdom.

BANGKOK 4 April - Kerajaan Thailand menghadapi tekanan yang semakin memuncak agar membatalkan projek kereta api berkelajuan tinggi (HSR) selepas perbincangan dengan rakan kongsi usaha sama­nya, iaitu China gagal dan memaksa Bangkok melaksanakan projek bernilai berpuluh juta dolar itu bersendirian.
Semasa menghadiri mesyuarat Kerjasama Lancang-Mekong di Hainan, China minggu lepas, Perdana Menteri Thailand, Jeneral Prayuth Chan-o-cha mengumumkan yang Bangkok akan melabur sepenuhnya dalam projek HSR itu, tanpa China sebagai rakan kongsi.
Perbincangan dengan China buntu kerana kedua-dua negara gagal mencapai persetujuan ke atas beberapa isu, iaitu kadar faedah pinjaman dari Beijing untuk projek itu dan desakan China untuk mendapatkan hak eksklusif bagi memajukan tanah di sepanjang jalan kereta api berkenaan.
Jurucakap kerajaan, Mejar Je­neral Sansern Kaewkannerd dalam kenyataan berkata, keputusan Prayuth agar Thailand sahaja melabur dalam projek HSR tanpa China, dibuat berdasarkan kepentingan negara.
“Perdana Menteri membuat keputusan itu berdasarkan kepentingan nasional untuk ketika ini dan masa depan,” katanya mengenai projek HSR sepanjang 870 kilometer itu yang akan menghubungkan Bangkok ke Nong Khai di Laos yang dianggar melibatkan kos RM50 bi­lion.
Menurut Sansern, walaupun mengetepikan Beijing sebagai rakan kongsi, Perdana Menteri akan terus mengambil kontraktor China, selain menggunakan teknologi kereta apinya untuk projek berkenaan. Ia juga akan terus dirujuk sebagai projek Keretapi Laju Sino-Thai.
Berikutan pengumuman untuk melabur sepenuhnya dalam projek mega berkenaan, kerajaan berkata, keseluruhan projek HSR akan diperkecilkan dan jaraknya dipendekkan kepada 350 kilometer menghubungkan hanya Bangkok dan Nakhon Ratchasima.
Menurut kerajaan, kereta api HSR akan bergerak pada kelajuan 250 kilometer sejam dan sebahagian besar perkhidmatan itu adalah untuk mengangkut penumpang.
Keputusan kerajaan untuk menjadi pelabur tunggal telah mengundang kritikan daripada bekas Perdana Menteri, Abhisit Vejajiva yang menggesa agar projek itu dikaji semula, dengan mendakwa projek yang diperkecilkan itu tidak bolehdijustifikasi dari segi ekonomi.
Dalam sepucuk surat kepada Perdana Menteri dan disiarkan media, pemimpin Parti Demokrat itu berkata, kewajaran kewangan dan ekonomi projek itu boleh terhakis secara mendadak kerana kereta api HSR hanya akan bergerak untuk jarak yang jauh lebih pendek antara Bangkok dan Nakhon Ratchasima.
Tanpa sebarang sambungan dengan kereta api laju yang dirancang China dari Kunming ke Nong Khai di Laos, HSR Thailand tidak akan mencapai unjuran penumpang tahunan untuk menjadikan projek itu berdaya maju dari segi ekonomi, katanya.
Menurut Abhisit, Kementerian Pengangkutan meramalkan HSR dari Bangkok ke Nong Khai pada peringkat awalnya akan menarik 7.5 juta penumpang setahun serta 20 juta penumpang dalam jangka panjang.
“Andaian ini mungkin tidak berdaya maju di bawah pelan baru kerajaan agar ia berkhidmat sehingga ke wilayah Nakhon Ratchasima sahaja (dari Bangkok) tanpa sebarang sambungan dengan kereta api laju China,” katanya.
Dalam satu komentar akhbar harian Thai berbahasa Inggeris, The Nation, beberapa hari lalu, Ko­lumnis Nophakun Limsamarnphun berkata, adalah lebih baik pada pe­ringkat ini negara itu memberi tumpuan bagi melaksanakan sistem jalan kereta api berkembar daripada melaksanakan HSR.
Sistem jalan kereta api berkembar, katanya, adalah baik untuk hubungan dengan negara jiran dan menggesa agar projek HSR itu dilaksanakan pada satu tarikh lain kemudian.
Dengan hanya 20,000 penum­pang dijangka menggunakan kereta api HSR Bangkok-Ratchasima setiap hari, perkhidmatan itu akan mengalami kerugian besar untuk beberapa tahun akan datang, katanya.
Nophakum juga menggesa kerajaan membuka projek HSR itu untuk bidaan antarabangsa kerana ia adalah pelabur tunggal projek ber­kenaan.
Sementara itu, Menteri Kewa­ngan, Apisak Tantivorawong dipetik sebagai berkata, pelaburan kerajaan dalam projek yang di­perkecilkan itu akan dikurangkan dengan banyak daripada kira-kira RM30 bilion kepada kira-kira RM17 bilion.
Ketika kesan daripada keputusan kerajaan untuk menjadi pelabur tunggal projek HSR itu belum dirasai, pegawai Thai yakin perjanjian yang dibuat lebih awal untuk menjual beras dan getah ke China tidak akan terjejas.
Menteri Perdagangan, Apiradi Tantraporn ketika bercakap kepada media baru-baru ini berkata, keputusan mengenai projek HSR tidak mempunyai kesan ke atas perjanjian mengenai beras dan getah dengan Beijing kerana Thailand kekal komited kepada penggunaan teknologi kereta api China.
Dalam perjanjian yang dimeterai sebelum ini di antara Thailand dan China, Bangkok akan menjual dua juta tan metrik beras dan 200,000 tan metrik getah kepada China. 
– BERNAMA
- See more at: http://www.utusan.com.my/bisnes/korporat/thailand-digesa-batalkan-projek-hsr-1.208734#sthash.ucc9MLSf.dpuf

NEW YORK/RIYADH: A special UN envoy announced Wednesday a cease-fire across Yemen on April 10 followed a week later by fresh peace talks, raising hopes for a breakthrough.
Yemen has been gripped by violence since September 2014, when Iran-backed Houthi rebels stormed the capital Sanaa and forced the internationally recognized government out.
“The parties to the conflict have agreed to a nationwide cessation of hostilities beginning April 10 at midnight in advance of the upcoming round of the peace talks, which will take place on April 18 in Kuwait,” Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed told a press conference in New York.
A Saudi-led coalition began an air war in March last year to push back an offensive by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who control Sanaa.
“The aim is to reach an agreement which will end the conflict and allow the resumption of an inclusive political dialogue,” Cheikh Ahmed said Wednesday, telling reporters that he had held intense discussions with the internationally recognized government and the rebels.
The face-to-face negotiations are in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2216, which states that the rebels must withdraw from seized territories and disarm.
The envoy said he hoped the cessation of hostilities would allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access to millions of suffering Yemenis.
Earlier, Riyadh urged the UN to pressure militant groups in Yemen into accepting peace resolutions.
This was the call made by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a meeting with Cheikh Ahmed.
“During the meeting on Tuesday, the two discussed the latest developments in Yemen and efforts to bring security and stability to the country,” a UN official said on Wednesday.
Before their meeting, Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Ahmed met with President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who said his government was ready to oversee a transition that would bring peace to the country.
Ahmed had earlier traveled to Sanaa for reconciliation talks.

— With input from agencies

Sumber Dari-Arab News

JERUSALEM: The Palestinian government has announced products from five Israeli companies will be prevented from entering the occupied West Bank, calling it a response to a similar decision by the Jewish state.
“In response to the Israeli decision to ban the entry to Jerusalem of products from five Palestinian companies, the government decided to ban the entry of products from five Israeli companies” to the West Bank, a statement issued after the weekly cabinet meeting on Tuesday said.
The decision takes effect immediately, it added.
The five targeted firms are dairy companies Tnuva, Strauss and Tara, meat firm Zoglobeck and drinks company Tapuzina.
Palestinians have often threatened to stop buying Israeli products, which represent more than two-thirds of Palestinian imports and amount to nearly $6.5 billion (5.7 billion euros) per year.
But the decision on Tuesday, if implemented effectively, would be a first.
Recently, Israel banned products from five Palestinian businesses from entering Jerusalem, according to Palestinian officials.
-Arab Saudi News

RIYADH: A study by Princess Nora bint Abdulrahman University has revealed that 58.33 percent of Saudis sampled are aware of government’s efforts to root out corruption in the Kingdom, including the drafting of laws and the establishment of anti-graft agencies.

The study also found that 54 percent of respondents think people’s morals have worsened, while 37.6 percent think they are improving. These were some of the results of the study produced by Fawziya Al-Zubair, associate professor at the university’s social sciences department.

Al-Zubair reportedly said the study was aimed at looking at the role of women in combating corruption in the workplace and instilling principles of morality in their homes.

Those interviewed included Saudi women working at universities and government administrators. There were several experts also interviewed from universities, including associate professors and professors in social sciences, education and Islamic law; and employees from the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

NEW YORK/RIYADH: A special UN envoy announced Wednesday a cease-fire across Yemen on April 10 followed a week later by fresh peace talks, raising hopes for a breakthrough.

Yemen has been gripped by violence since September 2014, when Iran-backed Houthi rebels stormed the capital Sanaa and forced the internationally recognized government out.

“The parties to the conflict have agreed to a nationwide cessation of hostilities beginning April 10 at midnight in advance of the upcoming round of the peace talks, which will take place on April 18 in Kuwait,” Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed told a press conference in New York.

A Saudi-led coalition began an air war in March last year to push back an offensive by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who control Sanaa.

“The aim is to reach an agreement which will end the conflict and allow the resumption of an inclusive political dialogue,” Cheikh Ahmed said Wednesday, telling reporters that he had held intense discussions with the internationally recognized government and the rebels.

The face-to-face negotiations are in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2216, which states that the rebels must withdraw from seized territories and disarm.

The envoy said he hoped the cessation of hostilities would allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access to millions of suffering Yemenis.

Earlier, Riyadh urged the UN to pressure militant groups in Yemen into accepting peace resolutions.
This was the call made by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a meeting with Cheikh Ahmed.

“During the meeting on Tuesday, the two discussed the latest developments in Yemen and efforts to bring security and stability to the country,” a UN official said on Wednesday.

Before their meeting, Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Ahmed met with President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who said his government was ready to oversee a transition that would bring peace to the country.
Ahmed had earlier traveled to Sanaa for reconciliation talks.

— With input from agencies

With a bit of luck eight-year-old Chayanit will see her mother twice this year.

The little girl has been raised by her grandparents for most of her life after her mother left their rural village to find work in Bangkok.

Five-year-old Kittipop (right) is prepared for school by his grandmother Chanpen Uthachan at their home in the village of Baan Dua. (AFP photo)

A tide of internal migration has left 3 million Thai children growing up in similar circumstances and experts fear the phenomenon is incubating a social crisis.

"The research is starting to show that this will affect the children's future and therefore the future of the country," explains Aree Jampaklay of the Institute for Population and Social Research (IPSR), at Mahidol University, who has led pioneering studies on the issue in conjunction with Unicef.

Grinning widely as she plays with a top knot in her hair, Chayanit says she is happy with village life in Thailand's Isan region.

But the smile fades as the conversation turns to her family setup, an arrangement shaped by economic realities in a rice-farming region where work is scare and wages low.

Chayanit does her homework at her grandparents' home in Baan Dua. (AFP photo)

"I like being with my grandparents, but I miss my mum. I can't go to see her and she can only come here every six months," she says.

Her mother has an office job in Bangkok and sends back monthly remittances of around 3,000-4,000 baht.

Poor but populous Isan has for decades seen its families split by migration. An estimated 30% of the region's under-18s are the children of migrant workers, most of whom leave for several years at a time, returning only for annual holidays.

The exodus "has been normalised" by society, said Ms Aree. But it is laden with risk. Their research indicates that Thai children living without their parents are prone to being poorly nourished, and suffer from developmental and behavioural issues.

Those factors are particularly damaging in Isan, where deprivation has been compounded by an ongoing drought. The region has several of the country's poorest provinces and its schools already turn out some of its worst-performing students.

Baan Dau in Ubon Ratchanthani province is much like any other Isan village: the tallest building is an ornate Buddhist temple, chickens flit between yards while a tiny shop serves a close-knit community cocooned by rice fields.

Five-year-old Kittipop (right) is prepared for school by his grandmother Chanpen Uthachan at their home in the village of Baan Dua. (AFP photo)

It is also nearly completely devoid of working-age adults.

Most have gone to where a taxi driver can make several times the monthly wage of a farmer.

"Maybe 80%, 90% of the households have grandparents raising the children," says Chayanit's grandmother Chanpen Uthachan, 70. "There is no work here, so my children have all moved to Bangkok."

Mrs Chanpen and her husband Prajak, also in his 70s, care for the girl and her five-year-old brother Kittipop. While there is no shortage of love, Mrs Chanpen says she has less energy than when she raised her own offspring.

"It's hard especially when they are sick and I have to stay up all night," she laments.

It's not just home life that suffers. Local teachers say rural children without parents struggle to concentrate and as a result score lower in literacy and numeracy than their urban peers.

Bangkok has for generations pulled in poor rural migrants. But the topic of what happens to the children left behind is not widely discussed.

Children aged between eight and 15 were significantly "less happy, less responsible and less confident" than those brought up by their parents. Worse still, infants' language and social skills suffer.

"Children are less exposed to activities that stimulate them such as reading, storytelling or games," Ms Aree, the academic, said, explaining the rural elderly are often poorly educated themselves.
In addition, the absence of breast-feeding and a poor awareness of a children's dietary requirements also means many suffer stunted growth.

The issue amounts to a poverty trap, explains Thomas Davin Unicef's Thailand representative, as migrants doggedly trying to remedy their situation end up undercutting their children's lives.

"The poor become poorer... the cycle of vulnerability repeats itself," Mr Davin adds.

Boosting rural economic growth to encourage parents to stay and overhauling the country's education system are among the long-term solutions, while Unicef is also working with the government to give monthly support payments to poor families with young children.

But policy implementation is rarely simple in Thailand, a country whose recent history is saturated with coups and political unrest. Policies involving Isan are often highly charged.

When they are allowed to vote, Isan's people do so for parties allied to billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, whom they laud for recognising their challenges and aspirations, but who is hated by the Bangkok-centric elite for his populist appeal.

But it is the distance from his two young sons, not the politics of poverty, that preoccupy Assani Laocharoen, an Isan migrant who works in Bangkok delivering furniture.

Outside a squat, scruffy block of flats for migrant workers he says he can make it home only twice a year.

"I miss my kids so much. I just want to live with them, hug, kiss and hang out with them," he said.