6 h. ago Belarusian model reportedly killed in Myanmar went there on her own: Thai police

Thai immigration officials have denied claims that a Belarusian model was abducted while in Bangkok and forcibly taken to Myanmar, where tabloids claim she was reportedly killed by a criminal gang. The unconfirmed death of 26-year-old Vera Kravtsova has gained international attention in recent days after Russian and British tabloids reported that, following her arrival in Thailand, she was kidnapped and brought to northern Myanmar, where she was tortured and had her organs harvested while being...

Events

61 h. ago Myanmar junta raids scam hub powered by Elon Musk’s Starlink

Myanmar’s junta raided one of the country’s most notorious internet scam centres and seized Starlink devices, it said on Monday, after an investigation had revealed an explosion in their use in the billion-dollar black market. Internet sweat shops where workers scam unsuspecting foreigners with business or romance schemes have thrived in war-ravaged Myanmar’s lawless border regions since the coronavirus pandemic. A transnational push by Thai, Chinese and Myanmar authorities starting in February...

Politics

3 d. ago US strike in Caribbean kills Colombian fisherman, stoking sovereignty row

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Saturday that the United States had violated Colombia’s sovereignty over its waters and killed a fisherman during its recent anti-drug trafficking military campaign in the Caribbean. “US government officials have committed murder and violated our sovereignty in our territorial waters. Fisherman Alejandro Carranza had no ties to drug traffickers and his daily activity was fishing,” the leftist leader said on social media. Carranza was reportedly killed in...

Events

5 d. ago US strikes on boats in Caribbean fuel speculation over missing fishermen

Venezuela’s ambassador to the United Nations has accused the US of killing innocent people in the Caribbean, citing local reports that two of the men in the latest boat bombing were Trinidadian fishermen. “People from different countries - Colombia, Trinidad, etc - are suffering the effects of these massacres,” ambassador Samuel Moncada told reporters at the UN on Thursday, while holding up the cover story of local Trinidadian newspaper Guardian on the deaths. The comments reflected Venezuela’s...

Events

6 d. ago South Koreans cancel Southeast Asia holidays over Cambodia trafficking fears

South Koreans are cancelling holidays not only to Cambodia but also to neighbouring Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Vietnam and Laos, spooked by government travel bans and reports of compatriots being kidnapped, trafficked or killed by regional crime syndicates. A man in his fifties surnamed Son told the Korea JoongAng Daily he had just cancelled a December golf trip with friends to Phnom Penh. “It’s a waste to lose the cancellation fee,” he said, “but I just can’t bring myself to go...

Politics

8 d. ago Hong Kong court suspends jail term for Belarusian model who assaulted 2 officers

A Belarusian model fighting against his deportation from Hong Kong has been handed a suspended jail sentence for the drunken assault of two police officers following a domestic dispute. Eastern Court on Tuesday sentenced Aliaksandr Buka to six weeks’ imprisonment, but suspended the term for 18 months after the 25-year-old pleaded guilty to two counts of assaulting a police officer. The court heard police officers were dispatched to a high-rise residential flat in the Mid-Levels on the evening of...

Events

9 d. ago Death toll rises to 44 after torrential rain and flooding in Mexico

The death toll from Mexico’s torrential rains rose to 44 on Sunday as the fallout mounted from flooding and landslides across the country, prompting President Claudia Sheinbaum to convene governors from hard-hit states to direct an emergency response plan. Mexico’s National Coordination of Civil Protection reported that as of Sunday, the heavy rains had killed 18 people in Veracruz state on the Gulf Coast and 16 people in Hidalgo state, north of Mexico City. At least nine people were killed in...

Events

4 w. ago Man arrested for allegedly murdering father, 70, in Hong Kong

Hong Kong police have arrested a man who reported that he had killed his elderly father in their Tsuen Wan home. The force said it had received a call from the man shortly before 2pm on Tuesday over the case at Sam Tung Uk Resite Village in Tai Wo Hau, Tsuen Wan. “The man said he had used a knife to stab his father. Officers arrived at the scene and found a man had been left unconscious. The [elderly] man was rushed to Yan Chai Hospital where he was certified dead,” a police spokesman said. The...

Events

4 w. ago Son arrested for allegedly murdering father, 70, in Hong Kong

Hong Kong police have arrested a man who reported that he had killed his elderly father in their Tsuen Wan home. The force said it had received a call from the man shortly before 2pm on Tuesday over the case at Sam Tung Uk Village. “The man said he had used a knife to stab his father. Officers arrived at the scene and found a man left unconscious,” a police spokesman said. He was found lying in the unit, with injuries to his head, neck and body. The man was rushed to Yan Chai Hospital, where he...

Events