The human jawbone was found near unmarked graves in the jungles of northern Malaysia. It was discovered at abandoned camps used as transit points to hold migrants and refugees believed to be members of Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya minority or poor residents of Bangladesh. Since last week, forensic experts have exhumed 35 bodies in the area.
Last month, more than 3,000 boat people from Myanmar and Bangladesh came ashore in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand after long and dangerous sea voyages aboard packed vessels. Some of them lined up for food at temporary shelter in Aceh, northern Indonesia.
The humanitarian crisis and its root causes were the focus of talks in Bangkok that brought together delegates from 17 nations and three international organizations and where Thai Foreign Minister Thanasak Patimaprakorn addressed them.
In Hong Kong, a girl dressed in a traditional Chinese costume appeared to float in the air during a parade celebrating the Bun Festival to placate the spirits of people killed by pirates. Pro-democracy activists in the former British territory meanwhile waved flags during a march to police headquarters to protest against the Beijing-backed election restrictions.
Elsewhere in Asia, at a service marking the 2,559th birthday of Buddha in Seoul, a shaven-headed boy yawned while sitting with other boys who together experienced a monks’ life for two weeks.
In Tokyo, American actor George Clooney and his wife, Amal, arrived for the Japan premiere of Disney’s latest film Tomorrowland, while Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko were seen smiling as they watched a demonstration of the Japanese traditional horsemanship called “dakyu.”