Myanmar to boot migrants

Food for thought: Young Bangladeshi children eating meals provided by Indonesian volunteers at a confinement area for migrants at Bayeun in Aceh province, after more than 400 Rohingya migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh were rescued by Indonesian fishermen off the waters of the province.

YANGON: A group of migrants recently rescued by Myanmar will be deported to Bangladesh, officials confirmed, as the United Nations chief called on regional nations to prioritise saving the lives of those still stranded at sea.

South-East Asia is currently battling an exodus of boatpeople fleeing persecution and poverty, with up to 2,000 vulnerable migrants thought to be stranded in the Bay of Bengal, many at the mercy of ruthless people smugglers.