India enjoys the dubious distinction of having more conflicts than any other country in the region and the world.  Despite opposition from people protesting coal mining, hydropower projects and various waste management plants, India has relentlessly pursued these projects. Recently in the southern state of India, 13 people lost their lives in protests demanding closure of Sterlite plant. The country has 271 political conflicts, which is way more than other countries.

China is second in Asia in terms of the number of conflicts. The conflicts range from resistance to copper mining, waste incarceration, chemical plants and construction of dams. In total, the country has 76 conflicts.

Indonesia has 61 environmental conflicts and has third highest conflicts in Asia. Out of total conflicts the country has 38 biomass and land conflicts. Philippines has the fourth highest number of environmental conflicts in Asia.  Out of 47 conflicts, 25 are related to mineral ores and building extraction.

Sri Lanka has fifth highest number of conflicts in Asia at 29, followed by Japan with 27 conflicts.  Japan has seven conflicts related to industries and utilities.

Cambodia has 22 conflicts out of which 17 are related to biomass and land conflict.  Land grab for sugar plantation, lake eviction, illegal sand mining and illegal rosewood logging are some of the environmental conflicts in Cambodia.  It is followed by Myanmar with 21 conflicts, most of which are related to water management.

Vietnam has 20 environmental conflicts followed by Thailand and Bangladesh with 16 and 14 conflicts respectively. South Korea has 9 conflicts related to nuclear, fossil fuels and climate justice.

Malaysia has 7 conflicts related to biomass and land conflict and water management. Pakistan has 7 conflicts. The location of dams in Pakistan administered Kashmir are a source of major conflict with India that stakes claim to the territory.

Nepal has four environmental conflicts mostly related to water management. Maldives has one conflict related to waste management. The landfill established in Thilafushi, an artificial island on an artificial lagoon has become a toxic bomb for the country.

Bhutan is the only Asian country that records no environmental conflict.

The spectacular about-face comes after more than 2,300 children were stripped from their parents and adult relatives after illegally crossing the border since May 5 and placed in tent camps and other facilities, with no way to contact their relatives.

Pictures and accounts of the separations sparked outrage and a rebellion among Republicans in Trump’s own party, as well as international accusation that the US was committing human rights violations.

“What we have done today is we are keeping families together,” Trump said as he signed the executive order. “I didn’t like the sight or the feeling of families being separated.”

Trump said that even with the change, border enforcement will be “equally tough, if not tougher.”

For weeks, Trump had insisted he was bound by the law to split the children from their parents and that only Congress could resolve the problem — before he radically shifted gears.

“We want security for our country,” Trump said. “And we will have that — at the same time, we have compassion, we want to keep families together.”

The order says the Department of Homeland Security — and not the Justice and Health and Human Services Departments, as under previous policy — would have continuing responsibility for the families.

It also suggests the government intends to hold the families indefinitely by challenging an existing statute, the 1997 Flores Settlement, that places a 20-day limit on how long children, alone or with their parents, can be detained.

That move could lead to new legal battles for the administration.

Trump said there was a need to sustain his zero tolerance” policy to prevent crime, which he blames illegal immigrants for.

“We still have to maintain toughness, or our country will be overrun by people, by crime, by all of the things that we don’t stand for and we don’t want,” he said.

‘Deeply disturbing’ images

Earlier, as countries marked World Refugee Day Wednesday, world leaders assailed Trump for the separations.

British Prime Minister Theresa May, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the Council of Europe and Pope Francis all took issue with the “zero tolerance” policy.

May said images of migrant children kept in cage-like units were “deeply disturbing,” and the Council of Europe, a global human rights watchdog, said Trump had abdicated any claim to moral leadership in the world.

After a downturn last year, since October, the number of migrants seeking to cross the southwest US border from impoverished Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, as well as from Mexico, has surged.

From March to May this year, more than 50,000 people a month were apprehended for illegally crossing the border from Mexico. About 15 percent of those are arriving as families, and eight percent as unaccompanied children.

Nearly all of the families, and many others, have officially requested asylum, citing the incessant violence in their home countries.

The policy, with mandatory separation of children from adults, was announced May 7 as a deterrent.

The issue struck an emotional chord, amid accounts of children screaming and crying in facilities prepared for them.

But the White House and officials had no answers Wednesday on how the 2,300 children would be reunited with their parents.

Gene Hamilton, a senior Justice Department official, said the executive order was a “stopgap” move and that Congress needs to pass new legislation to give the president more powers to fight illegal immigration.

Current laws including the Flores Settlement, he argued, simply encouraged people to enter the country with their children, expecting to be caught and then released into US society.

“Congress needs to provide a permanent fix for this situation,” he said.

Democrats and Republicans had at least two bills crafted Wednesday to address broader immigration issues, but it was not clear if any had adequate support to pass.

But Democrats and rights groups were immediately critical of the plan to change the Flores Settlement.

“The Flores settlement prohibits the indefinite detention of children — even with their families — and any order to undermine this critical protection will be immediately challenged in court,” said senior Democratic Senator Dick Durbin.

“Locking up whole families is no solution at all — the Trump Administration must reverse its policy of prosecuting vulnerable people fleeing three of the most dangerous countries on earth, who are attempting to seek safe haven in America.”

In a meeting with the victim’s father Dr Shaariibuu Setev and family lawyer Ramkarpal Singh on Wednesday (June 20), Dr Mahathir agreed that the 12-year-old case should be looked into again.

“He (Dr Mahathir) agreed that it is a case that warrants further investigation,” said Ramkarpal.

“The prime minister however is also adamant that the process must follow the rule of law.

“We also agree with him and have started the due process, which began with meeting the Attorney-General yesterday (June 19). We are confident that the rule of law will take its course.

“It was a very satisfactory meeting. The Prime Minister also spoke in detail with Dr Shaariibuu,” Ramkarpal told reporters outside the Prime Minister’s office here after the 30-minute meeting.

Also present were a Mongolian translator and a representative from the Mongolian consulate.

Dr Shaariibuu had lodged a report earlier on Wednesday (June 20) at the Dang Wangi police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur seeking a fresh investigation.

He also said Mongolian President Khaltmaagiin Battulga had spoken to him over the phone to thank Dr Mahathir.

After Pakatan Harapan won its historic victory in GE14 and took over Putrajaya, Khaltmaagiin had also written to Dr Mahathir.

“As the President of Mongolia, I pay special attention to the grave crime committed in Malaysia on Oct 18, 2006 – the murder of Ms Shariibuu Altantuya, a Mongolian national and a mother of two children,” Khaltmaagiin said in his letter.

He urged the then newly sworn-in premier to help bring justice to Altantuya’s family “to invigorate the atmosphere in the bilateral relations between our two countries”.

Two former policemen, Sirul Azhar Umar and accomplice Azilah Hadri, were convicted of murdering Altantuya in 2009 and sentenced to death by the High Court, although the Court of Appeal overturned this in 2013.

On the prosecution’s appeal, the Federal Court upheld their death sentences, but Sirul had fled to Australia by then.

Former political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, who was charged together with them, was freed on Oct 31, 2008, after the court found no concrete evidence against him.

Meanwhile, Ramkarpal said the identity of the individual who ordered the murder of Altantuya could already be determined from the previous police investigation.

“I believe the previous investigation has already identified the person, or if there is more than one, who ordered the murder.

“Whoever ordered this should be brought to face justice. The crime is heavier than the one committed by those who followed orders and did the killing,” he declared.

Riko said the vessel was crowded with tourists. It was also transporting dozens of motorbikes.

“When we were about a kilometer from our destination, the wind suddenly started blowing very hard, followed by big waves,” he was quoted by kompas.com as saying while being treated at Simarmata public health clinic in Samosir.

“The vessel tilted to the right before it overturned due to the weight of the motorcycles,” Riko said, adding that many passengers panicked and jumped into the water.

“We floated in the water for an hour before we were rescued.”

As of Wednesday afternoon, a search and rescue team rescued 20 people and retrieved two bodies. The team is still looking for at least 165 others who are reportedly still missing.

Meanwhile, Agence France Presse reported that nearly 180 passengers are missing after a ferry sank into the depths of a volcanic lake in Indonesia, police said Wednesday, almost tripling initial estimates — but the search-and-rescue agency cautioned it was still unclear how many people were aboard the vessel when it capsized.

The wooden boat, which sank Monday on Sumatra’s Lake Toba, a popular tourist destination, was thought to be operating illegally, with no manifest or passenger tickets.

The situation has sparked confusion — and different estimates from various agencies — about the number of people on board.

 In some areas in the prefecture that sustained serious damage, the quake — measuring up to lower 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 — was followed by many aftershocks.

With aftershocks continuing into Tuesday morning, more than 800 people spent the night at evacuation centers.

Railroad companies mostly resumed regular operations Tuesday, but gas and water supplies were still suspended in some areas in the prefecture.

As of 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday, four people had died in Osaka Prefecture and 376 were injured in Osaka, Hyogo, Kyoto, Nara, Shiga and Mie prefectures, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

In Kyoto, Osaka and two other prefectures in the Kinki region, 252 houses were partially damaged. In Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures, 413 evacuation centers were opened and received 838 evacuees.

Japan Railway’s conventional trains and Shinkansen lines as well as private railroad lines resumed their regular operations from the scheduled first train on nearly all sections.

However, West Japan Railway Co. (JR West) suspended all its outbound local train operations between Kyoto and Suita stations on the Tokaido Line for 3½ hours as the rails on a section between Takatsuki and Ibaraki stations were possibly bent.

Water supplies have been suspended in some areas of Takatsuki due to water pipe damage and other reasons. The Takatsuki city government has been investigating the extent of the damage. It is unclear when the water supply will return to normal.

Even in areas where water supply is available, the water remains muddy. It could take several days before the water becomes suitable for drinking, according to the city government.

All remaining undocumented Cambodian workers after the deadline passes face repatriation by Thai authorities.

Labour rights groups, however, have said that the number of undocumented Cambodians working in Thailand is actually much higher and that they can face difficulties in completing the documentation process.

According to an announcement by the ministry, issued on Monday, the deadline for worker documentation will expire on June 30.

It said as of Monday, Cambodian officials and their Thai counterparts had documented 1,070,000 Cambodian migrant workers.

“Thailand has permitted undocumented migrants to return to Cambodia to get documented and return to work in Thailand”, the announcement read.

It said Thailand will cooperate in good faith with Cambodia regarding the remaining undocumented workers and notify the Cambodian Embassy.

The ministry hailed the documentation drive as a “success” that benefits people of both countries.

However, Dy The Hoya, of labour rights group Central, said he believed the number of undocumented Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand was higher than the official figure.

He said the ministry may not be able to legalise all Cambodian undocumented workers in time, even after having extended the deadline on a number of previous occasions.

“The legal process has not been able to reach everyone. As for the ministry’s figure of 10,000 illegal Cambodian workers, I would say the number of remaining undocumented workers is not below 20,000 or 30,000,” he said.

Hoya said undocumented migrants faced difficulties in achieving full legal status.

“Migrant workers have told us that the legalisation process costs around 3,000-4,000 baht [around $90-$120], but some can spend up to 10,000 baht because unscrupulous employment brokers convince them that this is how much it costs,” he said.

Hoya said another stumbling block to registration is a lack of understanding of the law among employers, especially the owners of smaller businesses.

“[But] for large registered companies, they know the process and have their workers complete it,” he said.

Hoya said under the latest Thai law, illegal workers can be repatriated and their employers fined after the deadline expires.

However, he doesn’t think punishments will be implemented too heavily as Thailand still needs migrant workers to fill employment shortfalls, he said.

Labour Ministry spokesman Heng Sour declined to comment, referring The Post to the ministry’s announcement.

However, the “tasting” job is not as “tasty” as it looks. On average, Qu, who was offered the job after she finished her studies in the UK, has to eat one kilogram of crawfish each day and sometimes up to five kilograms.

Plus, she is supposed to measure the meat quality after having been trained to try tens of thousands of crawfish. In order to accurately tell the crawfish taste, she rinses her mouth with milk and mineral water before testing each batch of crawfish.

In addition, she checks each crawfish and whether they have been frozen under appropriate temperature and has to smell them too.

There are about 50 “tasters” in the company where Qu works and their highest salary could reach 600,000 yuan per year, but the company still struggles to find talented people as the work requires knowledge of cooking, quality control and supply chains.

For Qu, eating hundreds of crawfish a day is normal but she does not want to eat any crawfish after work.

A viral Twitter post pinkys421 showed a camera panning towards Japanese fans in their blue jerseys.

The camera then focuses on a Japanese man carrying a blue waste bag. Subsequently, fellow Japanese fans were seen picking up rubbish at their seating area and dumping them into the blue waste bags.

Twitter user macaroni_O called the Japanese fans, “class acts”. “They do it regardless of a match result,” she said.

However, macaroni_O proved that the Colombian fans were also civic-conscious, as they also cleaned up their part of the stadium.

The photo macaroni_O posted which was published by asahi_photo showed two men decked out in yellow jerseys wearing the Colombian sombrero posing for photographs while carrying blue waste bags filled with trash.

Twitter user kigurumi1219 said: “Nice!”.

This is not the first time the Japanese have cleaned up after themselves.

Back in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, fans stayed back after the match to pick up their own trash, despite the Japanese team losing 2-1 to the Ivory Coast.

The act went viral on social media, with many praising the Japanese for their cleanliness.

    Activists from Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America confronted Nielsen at MXDC Cocina Mexicana restaurant and attempted to disrupt her dinner while she was surrounded by staff and security.

The organization said police were called and tried to detain the activists “to no avail.”

“How can you enjoy a Mexican dinner as you’re deporting, imprisoning tens of thousands of people who come here seeking asylum in the United States?” one of the activists cried out in a 10-minute video the group posted on social media.

“We call on you to end family separation and apologize.”

Another protester remarked: “In a Mexican restaurant, of all places!”

Nielsen’s spokesman Tyler Houlton acknowledged the confrontation, presenting it as “a small group of protesters who share her concern with our current immigration laws that have created a crisis on our southern border.”

“The secretary encourages all — including this group — who want to see an immigration system that works, that contributes to our economy, that protects our security and that reflects our values to reach out to members of Congress and seek their support to close the terrible immigration loopholes that have made our system a mess,” Houlton said in a statement.

“The secretary has been working with members of Congress for months in search of a solution and she will continue to do so this week.”

In the video, Nielsen is seen in a corner of the restaurant, her head lowered as the protesters chanted repeatedly “Shame!”

“If kids don’t eat in peace, you don’t eat in peace. Not in DC, not in the US!” they added.

“Boo! Shame on Nielsen, shame on Trump!”

– ‘Nothing compared to horrors’ –

Margaret McLaughlin, a member of the activist group, said in a statement that “while Secretary Nielsen’s dinner may have been ruined, it is nothing compared to the horrors she has inflicted on innocent families.”

Defending Nielsen on Twitter, President Donald Trump said she “did a fabulous job yesterday at the press conference explaining security at the border and for our country, while at the same time recommending changes to obsolete & nasty laws, which force family separation. We want ‘heart’ and security in America!”

Trump’s own wife, First Lady Melania Trump, said over the weekend that she hates to see families separated — although she stopped short of criticizing her husband’s policies.

Instead of commenting on the crisis, she took to Twitter on Tuesday to relish in having “enjoyed tea & time together focusing on the ways we can positively impact children” during a visit from Spain’s king and queen.

Heartbreaking images and audio of children separated from their parents and crying for their loved ones while being held in chain-link fence cages have shocked and stocked outrage across the political spectrum in the United States and abroad.

There have been growing calls for Nielsen to resign in the face of the immigration crisis and Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy.//AFP