Former Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra charged with royal insult/node/2454831/world
Former Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra charged with royal insult
Billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra, twice prime minister but ousted in a 2006 coup, returned from self-exile in August last year and was immediately jailed on old graft and abuse-of-power charges. (AFP)
Former Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra charged with royal insult
Thailand has some of the world’s strictest royal defamation laws protecting King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his close family
Updated 06 February 2024
AFP
BANGKOK: Thai police have charged former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra with lese majeste over comments he made almost a decade ago, officials said Tuesday, though it is not yet clear whether the case will go to court.
Thailand has some of the world’s strictest royal defamation laws protecting King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his close family, with each charge bringing a potential 15-year prison sentence.
Controversial billionaire Thaksin, twice prime minister but ousted in a 2006 coup, returned from self-exile in August last year and was immediately jailed on old graft and abuse-of-power charges.
The 74-year-old was transferred to a police hospital almost straight away and has undergone at least two operations.
Prayuth Pecharakun, spokesman for the attorney general’s office, told reporters police filed lese majeste charges late last month against Thaksin, over comments he made in Seoul in 2015.
Prosecutors will wait for police to complete their investigation before deciding whether to proceed with the case against Thaksin, Prayuth said.
Thaksin denies the charge and has written to the attorney general asking for fair treatment, Prayuth said.
Thaksin’s return to Thailand coincided with his Pheu Thai party’s return to power in a controversial deal with pro-military parties.
The timing triggered rumors of a backroom deal to help Thaksin, speculation fueled further when the king cut his jail sentence from eight years to one year just days later.
Loved by millions of rural Thais for his populist policies in the early 2000s, Thaksin is reviled by the country’s royalist and pro-military establishment, which spent much of the past two decades trying to keep him and his allies out of power.
Carrying pro-Hezbollah signs at Gaza and Lebanon protests a ‘criminal act,’ says British minister
Updated 12 sec ago
Arab News
LONDON: A British government minister warned on Sunday that displaying support for Hezbollah constituted a “criminal act.”
Science Secretary Peter Kyle said any show of support for the group, a proscribed terrorist group in the UK, should be punished after signs with pro-Hezbollah slogans were seen during a pro-Palestine demonstration in central London over the weekend.
The Metropolitan Police made at least 17 arrests during the protests, including two individuals suspected of supporting banned organizations, Sky News reported.
The force said it was “aware” of social media posts showing people “holding placards with messages of support for Hezbollah,” adding that the footage had been passed to specialized officers.
Kyle appeared on the Sky News program “Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips” and stated law enforcement agencies had “the full support” of the home secretary, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and the government “in doing what they need to do to make sure that criminal acts like that are tackled.”
The protests come amid rising tensions in the Middle East, with Israel conducting targeted raids against Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iran launching missiles into Israel.
The Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks has led to more than 2,600 protests in the UK over the past year, resulting in 550 arrests.
UK political and faith leaders, including Starmer, have called for calm and rejected any incitement of hate, urging communities to unite ahead of the first anniversary of the Hamas attack that has seen around 42,000 people killed, according to Gaza health authorities.
The prime minister, writing in The Sunday Times, said the “flames from this deadly conflict now threaten to consume the region,” adding “the sparks light touchpapers in our own communities here at home.”
He continued: “During difficult times, our differences and diversity should bind us together more strongly, not drive us apart. But there are always some who would use conflict abroad to stoke conflict here.
“Since Oct. 7, we have watched vile hatred against Jews and Muslims rise in our communities. Any attack on a minority is an attack on our proud values of tolerance and respect. We will not stand for it.”
Nearly 1,000 migrants cross Channel into UK on same day as 4 killed
Figure for Saturday is the highest single-day number of migrants making the cross-Channel journey this year
On same day, a boy and three adults died after overloaded boats got into trouble during the crossing
Updated 06 October 2024
AFP
LONDON: A record 973 migrants crossed the Channel on small boats on the same day in which four died while attempting the journey from France to England, UK Home Office figures showed Sunday.
The figure for Saturday is the highest single-day number of migrants making the cross-Channel journey this year, surpassing the previous high of 882 set on June 18.
On the same day, a two-year-old boy and three adults died after overloaded boats got into trouble during the dangerous crossing attempted by several thousand every year.
The tragedies bring the number of migrants killed attempting Channel crossings this year to 51, according to Jacques Billant, France’s prefect for the Pas-de-Calais region.
Over 26,600 migrants have crossed the Channel on small boats in 2024 according to UK Home Office figures.
The deaths on Saturday were likely caused due to the victims being crushed in overloaded dinghies, according to authorities and prosecutors.
UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said on Saturday that it was “appalling that more lives have been lost in the Channel.”
“Criminal smuggler gangs continue to organize these dangerous boat crossings,” she wrote on X.
“The gangs do not care if people live or die — this is a terrible trade in lives.”
Keir Starmer’s new Labour government has been at pains to reduce cross-Channel arrivals in small boats, a key issue in this year’s general election in July.
The government has repeatedly pledged to “smash the gangs” of people smugglers who organize the perilous journeys.
JAKARTA: Thousands of Indonesians rallied in front of the US Embassy in Jakarta on Sunday to protest Washington’s “double standard” policy on Palestine as they mark a year since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza.
Indonesia has been a staunch supporter of Palestine for decades, with its people and authorities seeing Palestinian statehood as mandated by their own constitution, which calls for the abolition of colonialism.
Protesters were mostly dressed in black and white and wore traditional Palestinian scarves on Sunday morning as they waved Palestinian flags and carried banners reading: “Free Palestine,” “Forgive us Gaza,” and “Stop Genocide.”
A group of protesters who had marched toward the US embassy were holding mock-ups of dead Palestinian babies while others stepped on a banner featuring a portrait of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“We are standing here in front of a building housing an embassy, or we can say, the ‘Embassy of Double Standards, the United States.’ We are here to reject all forms of double standard, because we are no different than our brothers in Palestine. This is not a religious issue … this is an issue for humanity,” Abdullah Muharrik, one of the protest’s youth coordinators, told demonstrators.
“As we mark one year of genocide, we must remember that this did not begin on Oct. 7 last year, this started more than 70 years ago, and we must note that the colonization that took place … must be abolished.”
Israeli forces have killed nearly 42,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 94,000 others since they escalated attacks on Gaza last October, according to estimates from the strip’s health ministry.
The real toll, however, is believed to be much higher as the ministry’s data does not include people buried under rubble, those who died of their injuries or who starved to death, as Israeli forces have been blocking international aid.
Sunday’s demonstration in Jakarta was organized by an alliance of Islamic mass organizations and youth groups, which also called for the new Indonesian government to continue fighting for a free Palestine and to reject normalizations with Israel.
Demonstrators hold placards and wave Palestinian and Indonesian flags during a pro-Palestinian rally on the eve of the first anniversary of the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Jakarta on Oct. 6, 2024. (AFP)
Indonesia’s President-elect Prabowo Subianto will take office on Oct. 20 to replace incumbent President Joko Widodo, whose cabinet included Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, who has been vocal in representing Jakarta’s support for Palestine. The Southeast Asian nation has no diplomatic relations with Israel.
The protest in the Indonesian capital also called on the US not to veto UN Security Council resolutions, as such moves would “destroy humanity.”
Sarah Motiva, from the youth-led community group dedicated to Palestine advocacy Baik Berisik, urged demonstrators to continue voicing their support for Palestinians.
“We have the power of social media, creativity and spirited souls to use (social media) platforms to continue advocating for Palestine, so we can win with our pro-Palestine narrative in the world,” Motiva said.
“Continue to educate as many young people as possible to make noise on social media, so that we can pressure zionist Israel.”
Indonesian protesters have held a number of huge demonstrations since the beginning of Israel’s deadly onslaught on Gaza, calling for a permanent ceasefire in the besieged enclave and demanding Washington to stop its support for Tel Aviv.
Indonesians in other parts of the country, including Bandung, West Java and Surabaya, East Java, also took to the streets on Sunday in solidarity with Palestine.
“Our demonstration today is nothing compared to what our (Palestinian) comrades have to go through — oppression and genocide — at the hands of zionist Israel,” Amirsyah Tambunan, secretary general of the Indonesian Ulama Council, said at the Jakarta rally.
“Let us continue to voice up for justice, let us continue to reject oppression and genocide … Free Palestine!”
Floods in Bangladesh leave five dead, thousands stranded
Updated 06 October 2024
Reuters
DHAKA: At least five people have died and more than 100,000 remain stranded as devastating floods, triggered by heavy rains and upstream torrents, continue to ravage northern Bangladesh, officials said on Sunday.
In Sherpur, one of the hardest-hit northern districts, the water levels of major rivers have surged, submerging new areas and displacing thousands of families.
Local authorities fear widespread damage to agriculture, with crops and farmlands, particularly rice fields, facing potential devastation. Many homes and roads are under several feet of water, cutting off villages and leaving residents in desperate need of rescue.
“I have never seen such flooding in my life,” said Abu Taher, a resident of the district.
Army personnel, using boats and helicopters, have joined rescue efforts, delivering emergency supplies and evacuating those trapped by the floods.
Bridges have collapsed, and roads have been submerged, making it difficult for local authorities to reach affected areas.
“Our priority is to evacuate people to safe shelters and provide them with essential supplies,” said Sherpur district administrator Torofdar Mahmudur Rahman.
He said another decomposed body, suspected to have floated from India, had been found.
The low-lying nation of 170 million has experienced multiple floods this year, underscoring its vulnerability to climate change. A 2015 World Bank Institute analysis estimated that 3.5 million people in Bangladesh are at risk of annual river flooding, a risk scientists say is worsening due to global climate change.
As water levels continue to rise, concerns grow about the long-term impact on the region’s agriculture, particularly rice crops. If the floodwaters do not recede soon, the economic toll on farmers could be severe.
Adding to the worries, the weather office has predicted more rain in the coming days, raising fears of further inundation.
The floods in August in eastern Bangladesh, which left more than 70 dead, caused damage estimated at $1.20 billion, according to a study by the Center for Policy Dialogue, a leading think-tank.
The United Nations and its partners have launched a $134 million humanitarian appeal to provide urgent relief and support to communities affected by ongoing floods and cyclones in Bangladesh.
UK PM Starmer’s chief of staff steps down, takes new role
Gray will be replaced by Morgan McSweeney who previously was chief adviser to the prime minister
She will take up a new post as Starmer’s envoy for the regions and nations
Updated 06 October 2024
Reuters
LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s chief of staff Sue Gray has resigned just over three months after the Labour Party won a parliamentary election, after rumors about in-fighting in Starmer’s team.
“In recent weeks it has become clear to me that intense commentary around my position risked becoming a distraction to the government’s vital work of change,” Gray said in a statement.
Gray will take up a new post as Starmer’s envoy for the regions and nations, the prime minister’s office said.
Gray will be replaced by Morgan McSweeney who previously was chief adviser to the prime minister, it said.
