World

EN, Yemen (AP) — In 1954, large crowds turned out for a historic visit by Queen Elizabeth II to Aden. At the time, this city on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula was a colony of the British Empire and was one of the busiest and most important ports in the world. Now the queen’s death after a 70-year reign has prompted some Yemenis to remember a part of history not often evoked. Her death has brought waves of grief and sympathy from around the globe. But it has also raised calls for a re-examination of the death and deprivation inflicted by Britain’s colonial rule in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. In Aden, now the second largest city in Yemen, many remember colonial rule as a time of oppression that entrenched some of the problems still plaguing the city and the country, which h

Rates, inflation and energy have investors' attention RECAP: Global markets remained fixated this week on inflation, interest rates and energy prices. There was added drama in Britain, where the passing of Queen Elizabeth II came just two days after Prime Minister Liz Truss took office and announced a bold plan to cap soaring energy prices for two years. In Thailand, the stock market remained volatile as investors reacted to a big European Central Bank (ECB) interest rate increase, while the odds of another 75-basis-point hike by the Fed on Sept 21 grew to 87%. Next week, investors will want to monitor US August inflation which will be released on Tuesday. On the domestic front, the Constitutional Court called for more information from the drafters of the 2017 charter as the justices co...

NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan (AP) — Pope Francis told the Russian Orthodox hierarchy and other faith leaders Wednesday that religion must never be used to justify the “evil” of war, and asked at an outdoor Mass in Kazakhstan, “How many deaths will it take?” for peace to prevail in Ukraine. An increasingly frail Francis made the appeal during his first full day in the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan, where he opened a global interfaith conference and ministered to the tiny Catholic community in the majority Muslim country. In the conference audience of imams, patriarchs, rabbis and muftis was Metropolitan Anthony, in charge of foreign relations for the Russian Orthodox Church, which has firmly backed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. His boss, Patriarch Kirill, was supposed to have participate

Come clean on Ft charge The cabinet decision to guarantee a huge loan to be taken out by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) to ease the effect of the higher fuel tariff (Ft) seems a bad idea. The nod to the required loan means there will be no answer to dealing with the lack of transparency in Ft policy. Egat said it needs 85 billion baht to maintain liquidity while managing the Ft, a key element in the power tariff for calculating electricity bills. The agency, which made a profit this year of 374 billion baht, said recently it had spent close to 100 billion baht subsidising the Ft, which is determined by fuel prices, since late last year. The Ft is reviewed every four months. After allowing Egat to increase the tariff in May, resulting in a substantial rise in e...

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...

Particularly concerning is China’s role in the trade of synthetic drugs, which has led to concerns about possible involvement in the U.S. opioid problem. The production of illegal fentanyl, the majority of which was destined for the American drug market, was outlawed in China three years ago as a result of a vigorous diplomatic campaign by the United States. Since then, most of the illicit fentanyl production has moved from China to Mexico, where it is produced on an industrial scale utilising chemicals imported from China as precursors. There is no proof that the Chinese government has approved the flow of precursor chemicals to Mexico as a matter of national policy, despite some claims that Beijing is purposefully poisoning Americans. China, like Russia, is notorious for its “grey

Japan’s top air conditioner making company, Daikin industries has planned to dump China as it has failed to supply parts for manufacturing of Air conditioners. Daikin’s decision to find an alternative has caused a huge embarrassment to China even as relations between Japan and China complete 50 years. Daikin which has always relied on China for air conditioner parts in the last decade, got fed up with China’s long zero Covid policy. In February, China had tightened chip supply after it imposed lockdown Suzhou in Jiangsu province. The tough step had a negative impact on the chip supply and fuelled the global chip shortage. With rise in temperature all over the world, the Japanese tech firm wants to capture  AC market and hence it announced that it would start making air conditio

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