THE Thai army, as most commentators in the region had predicted, has finally taken the first decisive step towards staging yet another coup to oust a democratically elected government. On May 20, an announcement on the Army run radio, said that the country was placed under martial law. The media has been put under strict censorship. The army spokesman specified that the civilian government would be allowed to function under the current caretaker ministry. The justice minister, Chalkasem Nitisri, has said that the army had taken the step without consulting the government.

2014 MARKS the centenary of the epic voyage of Komagatamaru. It was on July 23, 1914 that Komagatamaru which was anchored at the Vancouver Harbour since May 23, 1914 was forced to return when the Canadian authorities refused to allow the passengers to land and subjected them to inhuman harassment and repression for eight weeks. This is an event enshrined in golden letters in the long struggle of the Indian people for freedom from the British colonial yoke.

EVEN the western media had to admit that President Bashar al Assad continues to enjoy massive support among his people after the holding of the recent presidential elections. The elections on June 3 witnessed a huge turnout of Syrians, not only in their war ravaged country but also in neighboring countries like Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq where millions live as refugees. Syrian diplomats said that they were themselves surprised at the outpouring of support for President Assad among their displaced compatriots living in squalid refugee camps and poverty, outside the country’s borders.