Wisma Putra said bomb explosions and shootings had been reported in different parts of Narathiwat and Songkhla.

No Malaysians were affected by the incidents, it said in a statement on Sunday (Dec 30).

Wisma Putra said Malaysians are encouraged to register themselves with the Embassy of Malaysia in Bangkok or the Consulate General of Malaysia in Songkhla while they are in Thailand.

The registration can be done with the Embassy of Malaysia, Bangkok, 33-35, South Sathorn Road, Tungmahamek, Sathorn, Bangkok 10120, Thailand, via telephone +66-2-629 6800 / +66-87-028 4659 (after working hours), fax +66-2-679 2208 or email mwbangkok@kln.gov.my.

Registration can also be done with the Consulate General of Malaysia, No. 4, Sukhum Road, Muang District, Songkhla 90000, Thailand, via telephone +66-7-431 1062 / +66-7-431 6274 / +66-81-990-1930 (WhatsApp), fax +66-7-432 4004 or email mwsongkhla@kln.gov.my.

It was reported that two bombs exploded at 10 pm (11 pm Malaysian time) on Wednesday (Dec 26) at Samila Beach, Songkhla, which is popular among the local residents and foreign tourists including Malaysians.

On Thursday, six more bombs exploded in several districts in the Songkhla province close to the Malaysian-Thai border. These bombings toppled several electric poles, but did not result in injuries.

“Indeed, we see a diversity here, in which there are a lot of differences in society. However, this is not the cause of dissension but the source of our strength as a nation,” he said in a speech during the national Christmas celebration in Medan on Saturday evening.

Jokowi said that during the Christmas celebrations, all elements of society must rejoice over the gifts that God has given to the Indonesian people. He said God the Almighty had given a high sense of brotherhood and loving affection as the strongest assets of the nation.

“The strongest assets of the nation are unity, harmony and brotherhood,” the President said.

Jokowi said Indonesia was blessed by an extraordinary diversity, in which the country’s population was 260 million people who live on 17,000 islands in 34 provinces and 514 regencies and cities. Hence, all parts of society must maintain the unity of the nation so it will not be easily defeated by any parties, said the President who later conveyed his Christmas and new year greetings to the participants of the event and all Christians in the country.

Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna H. Laoly, who chaired the 2018 National Christmas Celebration’s organizing committee, said he appreciated the support provided by all elements of society, including the security authorities, to ensure the safe and smooth implementation of the event.

Eighty musicians from four provinces, namely Jakarta, North Sumatra, West Java and Yogyakarta, performed a musical collaboration in this year’s celebration. Thousands of Christians attending the event were also entertained by a spectacular performance by a giant choir, which comprised 1,000 singers who represented various churches and ethnic groups from across North Sumatra.

A 100-member children’s choir from Pematang Siantar-Simalungun also performed in the celebration. All choir members wore traditional outfits from across Indonesia.

“Maybe this is the biggest choir we have ever seen throughout the history of Christmas celebrations in Indonesia. This also symbolizes the unity of our nation,” said Yasonna.

An ash column that spewed from Mt. Agung’s crater during the eruption could not be monitored as thick fog shrouded the peak. The eruption caused ash to fall onto several areas around the mountain.

“The eruption occurred at 4:09 a.m. local time but the height of the ash column could not be measured because of the heavy fog. The eruption was recorded on a seismograph with a maximum amplitude of 22 millimeters and a duration of three minutes and eight seconds,” the observatory said in its report on Sunday morning.

The Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) announced that the alert for Mt.Agung was being maintained at the third level while the danger zone was still within a radius of 4 kilometers from the peak.

The center warned all people, including tourists, to stay away from the danger zone, where no activity is allowed.  Authorities have forbidden climbing on Mt. Agung since its volcanic activity increased in 2017.

“Volcanic activities in the danger zone are dynamic and can change at any time, according to the condition of the mountain,” the observatory said.

People living along rivers at the foot of Mt. Agung have also been warned to remain vigilant for possible cold lava flows, which can occur during rain.

In line with the announcement, the government plans to approve an ordinance on the adoption of a new era name at a Cabinet meeting, the sources said. The current Emperor will then sign and promulgate the ordinance.

As both the public and private sectors require time to update their systems ahead of the start of a new era, the government will announce the new name beforehand.

“[The government] will take into account the influence on people’s lives,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said. The government could reveal the date of the announcement as early as the beginning of the new year.

Even if the current Emperor signs and promulgates the government ordinance in mid-April, it will come into effect on May 1 when the crown prince ascends to the throne and becomes emperor, marking the start of the new era.

Within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and other entities, conservatives who place importance on the system through which era names coincide with the reigns of emperors have claimed the new emperor should sign and promulgate the ordinance.

If events unfold as desired by conservatives, the signing and promulgation of the ordinance would be conducted on May 1. In this scenario, the ordinance would be promulgated several weeks after being approved by the Cabinet.

However, government ordinances are generally promulgated within a few days after Cabinet approval. The Cabinet Legislation Bureau has concluded that it is “not appropriate” to postpone promulgation of the ordinance as advocated by conservatives. Postponing promulgation until the ordinance is signed by the new emperor could violate the Constitution’s ban on imperial involvement in politics, as it would mean consideration is shown toward the new emperor for procedures related to the change in the era.

When the Showa era gave way to the Heisei era, the current Emperor promulgated the government ordinance on Jan. 7, 1989 — the day of his enthronement — with the Heisei era officially beginning on Jan. 8. If this precedent is followed, the new era would begin on May 2 if the ordinance is promulgated on May 1, which means the Heisei era would encompass May 1.

According to sources, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has already expressed such concerns to those involved in the matter.

Thus far, the government has prepared for the change in eras on the assumption that the new name will be announced about a month before the enthronement on May 1.

Yet in consideration of conservatives, a government source said, “It is best for the announcement to be made as close as possible [to the day of enthronement].”

The government plans to examine to what extent the announcement date can be postponed without disrupting people’s lives.

​​​​​The incident turns on prefectural traffic regulations, which prohibit driving in clothing that could affect safe driving. However, many monks drive in their robes on a daily basis.

The monk who was given the ticket has refused to pay the penalty, saying such regulations would stop him from carrying out his memorial services.

According to the Fukui prefectural police and the monk, who is in his 40s, he was stopped by a police officer while he was driving a light vehicle on a prefectural road in Fukui shortly after 10 a.m. on Sept. 16. The officer reportedly told him, “You can’t drive in that kimono” and gave him a traffic violation ticket.

The violation written on the ticket was “driving in kimono that could affect safe driving.” The monk was ordered to pay a fine of ¥6,000.

The monk was on his way to a Buddhist memorial service, and was clad in a monastic robe that falls below the knees. He said he had driven in such attire for 20 years, but he had never been given a traffic ticket.

The prefectural government’s detailed enforcement regulations of the Road Traffic Law prohibit driving a vehicle in clothes that may affect safe driving.

The police officer is believed to have judged that the sleeves and length of what the monk was wearing would affect his driving.

However, an official of the prefectural police’s traffic enforcement division said, “Not all Buddhist monk robes are subject to the violation,” leaving the criteria vague.

The monk wears a simple robe when he drives. After arriving at a house where a service is being held, he puts on a big robe with long sleeves for the ceremony over the simple one.

He often visits a number of parishioners during a single day. However, in the local area where he is based, public transport is scarce, so he needs a car to get around.

He has consulted with the Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha sect based at Nishi Hongwanji temple, to which he belongs, regarding the matter, as well as a lawyer. He has not paid the fine or responded to a subsequent demand.

If he does not pay the penalty, police will send papers on him to public prosecutors for allegedly violating the Road Traffic Law, and it could possibly unfold as a formal trial.

“I’d like to clearly state at a trial that I can drive safely in a monastic robe,” the man said.

The sect also said the regulation is a challenge to monks’ activities, and thus it is unacceptable.

A government document listing upcoming movie projects shows a new film in the works titled “Peppa Pig celebrates Chinese New Year” to be released in February 2019 during the Lunar New Year holiday.

The film includes Chinese New Year customs such as a dragon parade and fireworks, state-run China Daily reported.

Co-developed by  Alibaba Pictures and  Canadian media company Entertainment One — which currently produces Peppa Pig — the film includes the entire “Peppa Pig” cast and two new characters named Dumpling and Glutinous Rice Ball, two popular Chinese new year delicacies.

    The series, introduced in the mid-2000s in China, has become extremely popular through episodes dubbed into Mandarin.

This fervour intensified at the end of 2017 among a young adult audience. Many internet users including stars sported temporary “Peppa Pig” tattoos in selfies, and cups, watches and clothes appeared bearing the image of the heroine Peppa.

A Chinese internet platform in May gave “Peppa Pig” the chop as state media lamented the series had become a “subversive” icon for slackers and anti-social young people.

At least 30,000 clips of the British cartoon were removed from the popular Douyin video-sharing platform, while the #PeppaPig hashtag was banned from the site.

People who upload videos of Peppa Pig tattoos and merchandise and make Peppa-related jokes “run counter to the mainstream value and are usually poorly educated with no stable job,” state-run Global Times said after the ban.

“They are unruly slackers roaming around and the antithesis of the young generation the [Communist] party tries to cultivate.”

    President Donald Trump’s plan to slash the number of US soldiers in Afghanistan before negotiators have struck a peace deal with the Taliban has crushed hopes among many Afghans for an end to the 17-year conflict.

The news, which the White House has not confirmed, capped an annus horribilis for the war-weary country which by some estimates has overtaken Syria as the world’s deadliest conflict zone this year.

Ordinary Afghans, who have long borne the brunt of the relentless fighting, told AFP they felt increasingly despondent about the future as the Taliban and the Islamic State group adapt to ramped up security to carry out almost daily attacks on civilians and security forces.

    “It is getting worse every day,” said electrical engineering student Mohammad Hussain in Kabul, one of the deadliest places in the country for civilians.

“The security we had four or five years back was better than now. Even when we don’t have attacks in Kabul, we are waiting for something to happen.”

Zabihullah Shirzad, who owns a garbage collecting company in the Afghan capital, said he could not remember a bloodier year than 2018 and predicted 2019 would be even deadlier.

“We will see more killing and bloodshed,” the 42 year old said.

“I am not optimistic about the peace talks.”

Their gloomy comments reflect the findings of a Gallup poll published in October, which showed an unprecedented level of pessimism among Afghans.

And an Asia Foundation study in December suggested more than 60 percent of Afghans thought the country was moving in the wrong direction — unchanged from a year earlier.

– ‘Very bad year’ –

Several key indicators show Afghan security locked in a downward spiral, underscoring their negativity.

Civilian deaths hit a record high in the first half of the year, while the Taliban are slaughtering Afghan forces in greater numbers than ever before.

This year was also marked by some of the deadliest suicide attacks since the start of the war in 2001, including an ambulance bomb blast that targeted a crowded street in Kabul in January, killing more than 100 people and wounding hundreds more.

The bloodshed was exacerbated by Trump’s more aggressive strategy for Afghanistan, which he reluctantly announced in August 2017, putting thousands more US boots on the ground and giving its air units greater leeway to go after the Taliban and IS.

One estimate puts the number of conflict-related deaths at more than 40,000 this year — almost equal to the combined total for Syria and Yemen — according to data compiled by the US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project.

Afghanistan also took the unenviable title of deadliest country in the world for journalists, with 15 media workers killed, including AFP chief photographer Shah Marai and AFP driver Mohammad Akhtar.

Adding to the misery was the worst drought in recent history, which forced more than 250,000 people to abandon their homes, overwhelming humanitarian agencies as they struggled to provide enough food and shelter.

Thousands of displaced families have set up makeshift tents on the edge of cities, and some are even selling their young daughters into marriage to repay debt or buy food.

“It was a very bad year — the situation has not improved at all,” said Thomas Ruttig, co-director of Afghanistan Analysts Network.

– Pain of war –

Some observers saw positive signs that, if the circumstances are right, could translate into good news in 2019.

An unprecedented three-day ceasefire in June was widely celebrated by Afghans taking selfies and sharing ice cream with Taliban fighters, seemingly underscoring the desire for peace on both sides.

And the insurgents’ apparent willingness to meet with US officials as part of a push for peace talks in recent months could bode well for a deal, said Lotfullah Najafizada, director of Afghanistan’s largest private broadcaster Tolo News.

“I think Afghanistan will pass 2019 with some success. I hope it will be a historic year,” Najafizada said.

But slashing US troop numbers — which many fear would be a harbinger for a full withdrawal — before any deal is struck could trigger a civil war “with a regional dimension”, warned Davood Moradian, director general of the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies.

Ruttig said Washington should put Afghanistan’s need for peace ahead of its own desire to pull out troops and save money.

“They are as much a part of the problem as they could be the solution,” he said, describing US policy in Afghanistan as “dysfunctional”.

Another spoiler in 2019 could be Afghanistan’s presidential election, originally scheduled for April 20 but now likely to be pushed back to the summer.

The vote, which President Ashraf Ghani plans to contest, could unleash a similar wave of violence that marred October’s shambolic and bloody parliamentary election.

But after so many years of war, Afghans are “more resilient” and the country would survive, Moradian said.

“Many Afghans have learned to live with the chronic pain of war,” he said.

“That pain does not stop them pursuing a normal life.”

The 66-year-old prime minister has ruled Cambodia for over three decades, with the Southeast Asian country tilting towards China in recent years thanks to loans for infrastructure and few complaints on human rights issues.

His administration was renewed for another five years in July following elections critics condemned as a sham, inciting threats from the European Union to revoke duty-free access to EU countries.

But Hun Sen remained defiant Saturday as he inaugurated a monument with carvings showcasing his government’s achievements.

“Don’t make war by using what is called democracy and human rights, in which democratic countries used to make the mistake of supporting Lon Nol’s coup,” he said in a speech to thousands of officials.

Lon Nol’s US-backed regime was ousted by the ultra-Maoist Khmer Rouge in 1975, jumpstarting four years of horror as Cambodians were forced to live on farming communes, endure hard labour, and were tortured and murdered if they were suspected of plotting against leader Pol Pot.

Hun Sen was a former Khmer Rouge cadre who defected and had a role in toppling the genocidal regime in 1979, although the US later sought to keep the ousted Khmer Rouge at the table in the United Nations.

“You as a democratic country … supported Pol Pot, who used to kill people with no regards for respecting human rights,” Hun Sen said, without naming the US. “You supported them to keep a seat at the UN.”

Cambodia’s government dissolved the main opposition party and jailed its leader ahead of July elections in which it won every seat in parliament, transforming the nation into a one-party state.

A section of Anak Krakatoa’s crater collapsed after an eruption and slid into the ocean, generating the tsunami last Saturday night.

A visual analysis by the Indonesian volcanology agency found the volcano has lost more than two-thirds of its height, an official said Saturday.

Anak Krakatoa which used to stand 338 metres (1,109 feet) high was now just 110 metres tall.

The agency estimated the volcano lost between 150 and 180 million cubic metres of material as massive amounts of rock and ash have been slowly sliding into the sea following a series of eruptions.

“Anak Krakatoa is now much shorter, usually you can see the peak from the observatory post, now you can’t,” Wawan Irawan, a senior official at the agency, told AFP.

Before and after satellite images taken by Japan’s space agency showed that a two square kilometre chunk of the volcanic island had collapsed into the water.

The volcano, whose name means Child of Krakatoa, was a new island that emerged around 1928 in the crater left by Krakatoa, whose massive 1883 eruption killed at least 36,000 people.

The crater’s status has been raised to high alert, the second-highest warning on Indonesia four-point danger scale.

The exclusion zone has been extended from two to five kilometres (1.2 to three miles).

A week after the tsunami, thousands of Indonesian Muslims attended a mass prayer on Saturday to remember the victims and pray for the safety of their tsunami-prone hometown.

Residents of Pandeglang regency, which was hit the hardest by the disaster, gathered in the early morning, some in tears as they chanted their prayers.

“I prayed for the victims and I also pray for the safety of the people who live in the tsunami affected area,” Dadan Suryana, a tsunami survivor, told AFP.

“My prayer is for the victims to get help and be granted patience and I also pray the government will immediately help us to rebuild, to provide clothes and food, or at least to give us moral support,” fellow congregant Dian Rosdiana said.

Authorities said at least 426 people were killed and 23 missing in the disaster.

Some 7,202 people suffered injuries and nearly 1,300 homes were destroyed after the waves crashed into the coastlines of western Java island and south Sumatra.

More than 40,000 people have been evacuated for fear of another tsunami as Anak Krakatoa continues to rumble.

Indonesia, a vast Southeast Asian archipelago, is one of the most disaster-hit nations on Earth due to its position straddling the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, where tectonic plates collide.