Tag: Thailand

Australian minister hints Saudi teen likely to get asylum

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) – Australia gave its strongest hint yet on Wednesday that an 18-year-old Saudi woman in Bangkok would be granted humanitarian asylum, despite efforts by Riyadh and her family to force her return home. Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun has documented her bid to flee her allegedly abusive family with minute-by-minute social media updates, intensifying the global spotlight on Saudi Arabia’s rights record. As public pressure heightened, an Australian minister appeared to go beyond Canberra’s […]

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Tourists flee Thai islands as Tropical Storm Pabuk closes in

by Dene-Hern Chen Agence France Presse KHAO LAK, Thailand (AFP) — Tens of thousands of tourists have fled some of Thailand’s most popular islands and resort areas as Tropical Storm Pabuk closes in and threatens to batter the southern part of the kingdom with heavy rains, winds and seven-metre (22-foot) waves. The islands of Koh Phangan and Koh Tao, packed with holiday-makers during the peak Christmas and New Year season, have emptied out since Wednesday […]

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Thais take ASEAN chair, haunted by past summit chaos

by Martin Abbugao and Jerome Taylor Agence France-Presse SINGAPORE (AFP) — Protests, broken windows and dignitaries forced to flee by helicopter — Thailand’s last stint as host of Southeast Asia’s biggest summit was devoured by political chaos. But as the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) passed Thursday from Singapore to Thailand, Bangkok is hoping unrest will not spoil its year in the spotlight. The annual ASEAN summit has become a major […]

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Thai bay made famous in ‘The Beach’ shut indefinitely

BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — The glittering Thai bay immortalized in the movie “The Beach” will be closed indefinitely to allow it to recover from the impact of hordes of tourists, an official said Wednesday, as a temporary ban on visitors expired. Maya Bay, ringed by cliffs on Ko Phi Phi Ley island, was made famous when it featured in the 2000 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio. It was initially shut for four months in June due […]

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Malaysian ‘Iceman’ sentenced to death in Thailand

  BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — A Malaysian drug dealer dubbed the “Iceman” was sentenced to death Thursday by a court in Thailand after he was convicted of running a narcotics network that funnelled huge profits into legitimate businesses. Tun Hung Seong was arrested in April last year after a tipoff that he had hired a man to smuggle nearly 300 kilogrammes of crystal meth — known as ice — through the violence-scarred south. Investigators believe […]

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11-year-old Thai bride returns from Malaysia after uproar

BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — An 11-year-old child bride returned to Thailand this week following widespread outcry over her marriage to a Malaysian man 30 years her senior, an official told AFP on Saturday. Malaysian Muslims below the age of 16 are allowed to wed with the permission of religious courts but news of the union between the girl and the 41-year-old trader went viral on social media, reigniting calls to end child marriage. The ceremony […]

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Bodies of 17 recovered after Laos dam disaster: Thai consul official

CHAMPASAK, Laos (AFP) — The bodies of 17 people have been recovered after flash floods caused by a dam breach in southern Laos, a Thai consular official at the scene told AFP Wednesday. A wall of water was unleashed Monday after parts of the dam were washed away, sending floods surging downstream, sweeping away homes and leaving an unknown number of people missing. “There are 17 bodies recovered so far, but we can not estimate […]

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‘It was a miracle’: Thai cave boys describe two-week ordeal

  by Jonathan Klein Agence France Presse CHIANG RAI, Thailand (AFP) — It was meant to be a fun excursion after football practice, but it turned into a life-threatening, two-week ordeal for a group of youngsters trapped in a cave with rising waters and no apparent escape route. When coach Ekkapol Chantawong led twelve members of his “Wild Boar” youth football team into the mouth of northern Thailand’s Tham Luang cave complex on 23 June, […]

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Thai cave rescue divers given diplomatic immunity: report

  SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Two Australian divers who helped extract the young football team trapped in a Thaicave obtained diplomatic immunity before the rescue in case it failed, national broadcaster ABC reported Monday. The “Wild Boars” team were stuck in the cave in northern Thailand for 18 days before Thai Navy SEALs and international cave diving experts successfully removed them in a highly risky, three-day-long operation. Anaesthetist Richard Harris and his diving partner Craig Challen, both cave diving specialists, played key roles in the rescue. […]

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Thai boys rescued from cave mourn diver who died

CHIANG RAI, Thailand (AFP) — The 12 boys and their coach rescued from a Thai cave mourned the death of an ex-Navy SEAL who died while taking part in the mission, the health ministry said Sunday. The “Wild Boars” football team are recovering in hospital following 18 days spent inside the Tham Luang cave after entering on June 23 and getting trapped by monsoon floodwaters. Doctors say they are in good health following a successful […]

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Brit diver tells of ‘massive relief’ at unprecedented Thai cave rescue

by Richard SARGENT and Vijitra DUANGDEE Agence France Presse CHIANG RAI, Thailand (AFP) — The British diver who found 12 Thai boys and their coach trapped alive in a flooded cave has described his “massive relief” as he counted them one by one, sparking a rescue bid unprecedented in its daring and complexity. The young “Wild Boars” and their 25-year-old football coach Ekkapol Chantawong wandered into the cave on June 23. Sudden floodwaters forced them […]

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