Thailand

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Pedophile Pop Star Holes Up in Airport Hotel

Facing crackdown in London, Glitter hunkers down in Bangkok

(Newser) - Former rock star Gary Glitter, released after 27 months in a Vietnamese prison for molesting two children, is in a Bangkok airport hotel after refusing to continue his journey to London. Glitter, whose Rock & Roll Part Two remains a rock staple, is complaining about untreated heart and hearing problems,...

Former Thai PM Skips Bail, Flees to UK

Facing graft charges, Thaksin escapes after attending Olympics

(Newser) - Thaksin Shinawatra, the deposed Thai prime minister, has fled with his family to Britain after skipping a hearing on corruption charges, reports the AFP. Thaksin and his wife, who was recently convicted of tax evasion, were both free on bail and had received special permission to travel to China for...

New Youth Castration Law Divides Thailand

Boys seeking sex changes will now have to wait untl they're 18

(Newser) - Until recently in Thailand, boys who wanted to change gender could have their testicles removed for just $150, no questions asked. But as Bloomberg reports, a new law pushed by gay rights activists will force Thais to wait until they turn 18 before undergoing a sex-change operation. Many doctors, though,...

Distributor Pulls Grand Theft After Murder

Thai teen admits slaying cabbie while re-enacting video game

(Newser) - A video-game distributor is pulling Grand Theft Auto IV from shelves in Thailand after a teenager robbed and murdered a cab driver while attempting to re-create his experiences in the game, Reuters reports. The 18-year-old, currently in custody, has shown no signs of mental illness. He faces death by lethal...

Transsexual Thai Students Get Own Toilets

Up to 20% of rural high school's boys would rather be girls

(Newser) - A high school in rural Thailand has given its many transgender students their own restroom, the BBC reports. Situated between the boys' and girls' rooms, the room has a half male/half female figure painted on the door. Inside, effeminate teenage boys preen. As many as  20% of the school's male...

Cambodia, Thailand on Brink of War

Tensions escalate at disputed temple in border region

(Newser) - Cambodia has appealed to the UN to help defuse an "imminent state of war" with Thailand, the Daily Telegraph reports. Some 1,500 troops armed with heavy artillery are in a standoff at an ancient temple in a disputed frontier area. Cambodian officials are accusing Thailand of aggression and...

1,000 Thai Protesters Clash With Cops

Demonstrators demand ouster of prime minister

(Newser) - An anti-government protest in Bangkok turned violent today as more than 1,000 protesters broke through a police barrier outside government offices. The demonstrators demanded the resignation of Samak Sundaravej, the Thai prime minister whom opponents call a proxy for ousted predecessor Thaksin Shinawatra. Protesters have been in the streets...

Thailand, UN Seek Aid Route as New Burma Storm Builds

Latest tropical storm likely to become a cylcone

(Newser) - Thailand and the United Nations are working to open a land route from northern Thailand into Burma to get desperately needed help to cyclone survivors, reports the Wall Street Journal. The frantic efforts to deliver aid quickly have been stepped up as the UN's weather center is warning that another...

Analysts Urge Washington to Invade Burma

Others advise against forcing aid on devastated country

(Newser) - Analysts and aid workers appalled by Burma’s attitude to foreign aid are urging Washington to invade, Time reports. One observer has called for the US to airlift food regardless of the junta’s restrictions; a retired general wants China to pacify Burma about US aid, or Thailand to paint...

Thailand Plans OPEC-Style 'Rice Cartel'

PM wants to control market with neighbors, including Burma

(Newser) - The prime minister of Thailand is exploring the idea of setting up a rice price-fixing cartel with four other governments in southeast Asia, including the military dictatorship of Burma. The Bangkok Post reports that Samak Sundaravej wants to establish an OPEC-style collective of producers that will influence the market for...

54 Burmese Migrant Workers Suffocate in Border Crossing

They screamed an hour before driver halted

(Newser) - Police yesterday discovered the bodies of 54 Burmese migrant workers who suffocated in a truck heading across the border to Thailand. Workers crammed in the 7-by-20-foot space, almost all women, say when they finally managed to alert the driver, he fled. Each worker paid $314 to be smuggled into Thailand,...

'Killing Fields' Photog Dith Dead at 65
 'Killing Fields'
 Photog Dith 
 Dead at 65 
Obituary
Mar 30, 2008 12:39 PM CDT

'Killing Fields' Photog Dith Dead at 65

Times photojournalist and anti-Khmer Rouge crusader had pancreatic cancer

(Newser) - Photojournalist Dith Pran, whose saga was re-created in the film The Killing Fields, has died of pancreatic cancer at 65, the New York Times reports. The Cambodian native became the Khmer Rouge's most vocal opponent after escaping in 1979, having worked in labor camps and survived on a spoonful of...

Deposed Thai PM Pleads Not Guilty to Graft

Crowds welcome Thaksin back from exile

(Newser) - Former Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra pleaded not guilty to graft charges today in a Supreme Court packed with hundreds of his supporters, AFP reports. Thaksin will not have to attend every hearing in his trial; he has already obtained permission to return to Britain, where he owns a soccer team....

'Merchant of Death' Denies Arms Charges

Viktor Bout, nabbed in Thailand, says he was just on vacation

(Newser) - Viktor Bout, the international arms dealer caught last week in a US sting operation in Thailand, told police he was vacationing when authorities nabbed him for trying to sell weapons to Colombian rebels, Reuters reports. Bout, nicknamed the "Merchant of Death" for business dealings with groups like the Taliban,...

Deposed Thai PM Returns Home
Deposed Thai PM Returns Home
Feb 28, 2008 6:33 AM CST

Deposed Thai PM Returns Home

Crowds and cops greet Thaksin as he flies home for first time since coup

(Newser) - Ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra flew home today after 17 months in exile to cheering supporters and police, who quickly escorted him to court to face corruption charges. Thaksin, the billionaire owner of the Manchester City soccer team who was forced from power by a military coup, knelt and...

Thailand Axes Anti-Monarchy Website

Critical postings, government shutdown may spark legal fight

(Newser) - A Thai ministry has shut down a website critical of the country's monarchy, the AP reports. Postings on Sameskybooks.com questioned news accounts that all citizens mourned the king's sister, who died Wednesday, and criticized officials. "I think we're one of the few sites posting remarks against the monarchy,...

Safari With That Liposuction?
Safari With That Liposuction?
Jan 3, 2008 4:57 PM CST

Safari With That Liposuction?

Cosmetic surgeries can be cheaper abroad—and come with perks

(Newser) - Americans looking to get cosmetic surgery are eschewing expensive procedures at home and opting for "medical tourism," traveling abroad for cheaper procedures—that sometime come with exotic vacation perks. Countries including South Africa, Argentina, Thailand, Brazil and Singapore are marketing their health services to Americans with the promise...

Thais Will Bust Exiled PM if He Returns

Thaksin to face multiple corruption and fraud charges: AG's office

(Newser) - As his allies get set to wrest the reins of government from the military, Thailand's exiled prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been warned that he will face arrest if he returns home. Arrest warrants for Thaksin and his wife on charges of fraud and corruption are still outstanding, according to...

Tsunami Survivors Look Ahead
Tsunami Survivors Look Ahead
Dec 26, 2007 11:55 AM CST

Tsunami Survivors Look Ahead

Officials concerned about post-aid economy, beefing up warning systems

(Newser) - As candles are lit today in memory of the 230,000 victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the Christian Science Monitor reports on the results of the $13.6 billion effort to help survivors. The aid has largely been used effectively, but now officials worry about the recovering economies...

2007: Asia's Banner Year
2007: Asia's Banner Year
OPINION
Dec 24, 2007 2:19 PM CST

2007: Asia's Banner Year

Bloomberg praises those who fuel the region's return to economic power

(Newser) - Asia's economies are soaring so mightily that Bloomberg columnist William Pesek is passing out awards for Asia's big players in 2007. They range from a “Money Talks” prize, for Arab and Asian leaders who bailed out Wall Street banks, to the “Howard's End” trophy, for Australian PM Kevin...

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