Author: Desk Team

The long stretch of Danforth Avenue has many personalities when it comes to food. As you venture east, you’ll navigate through micro pockets of Latin American, west and east African, and Indian foodstuffs. One of the newest neighbourhoods to emerge is Banglatown — a very short strip of the Danforth, from Victoria Park Avenue to just east of Dawes Road that has grown in recent years and has become home to a number of Bangladeshi businesses. One of the first food spots to open here actually came by way of a video shop, one of the area’s earliest Bangladeshi-owned businesses. That video shop, Priyangam, was opened in 1995 by Helen Alam and Alam Shamsul Syed, who were originally from Dhaka and moved to Canada from Norway with their toddler son, Rafee Syed. “The video shop became a sort of m

Pol Cpl Kornsasi Buayaem (Royal Thai Police photo) The opposition Pheu Thai Party on Sunday demanded Gen Prawit Wongsuwon, the caretaker prime minister and director of the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc), tackle the patronage system in the security agency. The maid abuse scandal was evidence of the patronage system in Isoc at work and possibly the tip of the iceberg, said Pheu Thai spokeswoman Arunee Kasayanont. "The question is how many other cases have existed? Who else should be held responsible for them? And is the Isoc's spending of taxpayers' money worthwhile?" asked Ms Arunee. She was referring to the recruitment of Pol Cpl Kornsasi Buayaem, 43, who made headlines for beating her maid, 32, for whom she also secured a military job allegedly in exchange for money and fo...

BANGKOK (AP) — A United Nations-appointed human rights expert called Thursday for governments and companies to coordinate efforts to cut off the military-led government of Myanmar from its sources of revenue and weapons, saying life in the Southeastern Asian nation has become a “living hell” for many since the generals seized power last year. Tom Andrews, in Geneva to deliver his annual report on Myanmar to the U.N. Human Rights Council, told reporters that while many countries have been imposing sanctions on individuals, military entities, financial institutions and energy companies, what is needed is “coordinated action.” Russia and China continue to supply weapons to Myanmar, and with both having veto power on the U.N. Security Council, Andrews suggested it was unlikely it could conve

BANGKOK (AP) — The United Nations special envoy on Myanmar declared Monday that she will not visit the Southeast Asia nation again unless its military government allows her to meet with ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The envoy, Noeleen Heyzer of Singapore, also warned of the “tragic reality that large numbers of people will be forced to flee” Myanmar in search of safety, and that the international community must help provide them with humanitarian assistance. Myanmar’s military seized power in February last year from Suu Kyi’s elected government, plunging the country into what some U.N. experts have described as civil war. Suu Kyi and top figures in her Cabinet and party were arrested, and have since been tried on a variety of charges that critics say were fabricated to keep them out o

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — At least three people are dead after a powerful earthquake hit a remote part of Papua New Guinea Sunday morning, authorities say. Others were injured and infrastructure damaged in the magnitude 7.6 jolt that was felt across the Pacific country. The three people died in a landslide in the gold-mining town of Wau, said Morobe Provincial Disaster Director Charley Masange. Other people had been injured from falling structures or debris, and there was damage to some health centers, homes, rural roads and highways, Masange told The Associated Press. Masange said it could take some time to assess the full extent of the injuries and damage in the region. But he said the sparse and scattered population and lack of large buildings near the epicenter in the nation’s l

Wanted crypto founder Do Kwon says 'not on the run' (Reuters file photo) Do Kwon, the wanted South Korean founder of the failed cryptocurrency Terra, denied Sunday he was on the run after the Singapore police said he was not in the city-state as had been believed. Kwon's whereabouts have been thrown into question after the Singapore Police Force (SPF) statement late Saturday, and his tweets did not reveal where he was. The collapse of Terraform Labs earlier this year wiped out about $40 billion of investors' money. A South Korean court on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant for Kwon. Early Sunday he said on Twitter: "I am 'not on the run' or anything similar", but did not reveal where he was. "For any agency that has shown interest to communicate, we are in full cooperation and we do...

OTTAWA—Canada will co-ordinate its coming Indo-Pacific strategy with allies like South Korea to align on human rights and trade so China doesn’t pit one country against another vying for “bits of access” to the world’s largest market, says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Standing next to Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Trudeau said “it makes sense” to work with others on a more “nuanced” approach as Canada seeks to co-operate with China on issues like environment and climate change. But he said Ottawa would continue to challenge Beijing’s ruling Communist Party on economic and trade issues, human rights and respect for the “international rules-based order.” His remarks Friday came on a day when Trudeau tried to press reset on the Canada-China relationship with the appointment of a new amb

TORONTO - Blue Jays fan Frankie Lasagna grabbed a baseball glove from his garage before heading down to Rogers Centre for Wednesday’s game against the New York Yankees. With Aaron Judge on the verge of baseball history, Lasagna wanted to be prepared just in case the Yankees slugger hit his 61st homer of the season. “I would never ever bring a glove other than this situation,” Lasagna said. “I needed a bigger one.” The 37-year-old Toronto restaurant owner came agonizingly close to catching the historic ball after Judge went deep in the seventh inning. Lasagna stretched over the railing but the ball hit the wall just below and bounced into the Toronto bullpen. He put both hands on top of his head after the near-miss, a frustrated look etched on his face. “Two more feet and I would have

China says it has patience needed to bring Taiwan under control The Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate HMCS Vancouver (FFH 331) transits the Taiwan Strait with the guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76) while conducting a routine transit on Tuesday. (Photo by US NAVY / AFP) China said it has the patience to someday bring Taiwan under its control, partly because “compatriots” there want it to happen -- a view that contrasts with polling showing sceptical views of Beijing in the democracy. “With regard to resolving the Taiwan question and realising the complete unification of China, we have strategic composure and historic patience, and we are also full of confidence,” Qiu Kaiming, an official in a Chinese government department that handles ties with the island, said Wednesd

(Bangkok Post File Photo) Police in Laos have made their third-biggest single seizure of illegal drugs by netting 33 million methamphetamine pills, a United Nations official said on Saturday. In recent years Laos has become a gateway for traffickers moving meth out of Myanmar’s Shan state across the Mekong River into Thailand as a way to circumvent Thai patrols. Laos is part of the Golden Triangle that has for decades been a hub for Southeast Asia’s lucrative drug trade. The seizure of 33 million methamphetamine tablets and 500 kilogrammes of ice occurred on Friday in the northern province of Bokeo near the notorious Kings Romans Casino, said Jeremy Douglas, regional representative of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. The location is near a Chinese-run Golden Triangle Special Economic