Narathiwat, Thailand
The Thai air force dropped 100 million paper birds over the southern provinces this week as a goodwill gesture toward the region’s Muslim population. The “peace bombs,” made by Buddhist schoolchildren and carrying written messages of friendship, were the idea of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is running for re-election in a few months. Violence has been almost continual in the south since October, when 78 Muslim demonstrators suffocated to death in police vans. The gesture did not appease Muslim officials in the south, who said it was an “insult” for residents to have to pick up tons of litter.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
What should you be stockpiling for 'World War Three'?In the Spotlight Britons advised to prepare after the EU tells its citizens to have an emergency kit just in case
-
Carnivore diet: why people are eating only meatThe Explainer 'Meatfluencers' are taking social media by storm but experts warn meat-only diets have health consequences
-
Scientists want to fight malaria by poisoning mosquitoes with human bloodUnder the radar Drugging the bugs
