By Todd Pitman and Esther Htusan Associated Press MYIN HLUT, Myanmar (AP) — The small wooden boats leave the shores of western Myanmar nearly every day, overloaded with desperate Rohingya Muslims who are part of one the largest boat exoduses in Asia since the Vietnam War.
Students come from South Asia to study journalism in Seattle
Twenty journalism students from Bangladesh, Nepal, India, and Sri Lanka arrived in Seattle on June 22. The students are here for five weeks and will be staying at the University of Washington for most of the period. They will be studying topics related to journalism and the media, along with working on community service projects, […]
Immigrants fueling a U.S. boom in cricket
By Frank Eltman Associated Press EAST ISLIP, New York (AP) – Cricket, the international game of bats and balls that isn’t baseball, is enjoying a surge of popularity in America, with the debut of a national league this spring and higher demand to build “pitches” across the country.
Social entrepreneurs awarded
The annual UW Foster School of Business Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition (GSEC) is an international competition in which students from around the world present business solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges — including poverty, health, and development. This year’s competition featured 19 semi-finalist teams from Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Rwanda, Uganda, […]
Bangladesh trade privileges suspended over safety
By Matthew Pennington The Associated Press WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) — President Barack Obama announced June 27 the suspension of U.S. trade privileges for Bangladesh because of concerns over labor rights and worker safety that intensified after hundreds died there in the global garment industry’s worst accident earlier this year.
Seattle dancers become cultural diplomats during month-long trip to South Asia
By Eunbi Cho UW News Lab Dance is a language that can pass cultural barriers and unite people despite differences. At least, that was the theory behind sending Seattle-based dance troupe Spectrum Dance Theater to South Asia in February and March to serve as cultural ambassadors.
2-child limit for Muslims in part of Myanmar
By Staff The Associated Press YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Authorities in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state have introduced a two-child limit for Muslim Rohingya families in an effort to ease tensions with the Rohingya’s Buddhist neighbors after a spate of deadly sectarian violence, an official said May 25.
Indonesian forest savior among Magsaysay winners
By Jim Gomez The Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — An Indonesian mountaineer, who faced death threats while battling illegal loggers, and a Bangladeshi lawyer, who fought to keep old, rusty ships from being dumped in her homeland, were named recipients of the Ramon Magsaysay Awards on Thursday. This year’s six honorees battled great odds […]
Bombs hit South Thailand as Muslims begin Ramadan fast
By Niniek Karmini The Associated Press JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Muslims have begun fasting for the start of the Ramadan holy month in Indonesia, Malaysia, and elsewhere around Asia, but the somber occasion was marred in Buddhist-dominated Thailand by two bomb blasts that killed one person and injured seven.
Police collect dead bodies in strife-torn Myanmar town
By Associate Press Staff SITTWE, Myanmar (AP) — With fearful residents cowering indoors, security forces patrolling a tense town in western Myanmar collected bodies Monday from the debris of homes burned down over the weekend in some of the country’s deadliest sectarian bloodshed in years.