World

A man returns home from work in Malaysia after Covid-19 struck, then gets lost in a bureaucratic labyrinth trying to get government handouts. Another woman finds a job at a factory, but the rules require her to compromise her faith. In Yala, a skater boy sets out in search of a friendly park where he can enjoy his ride. A hijab-wearing K-pop fanatic is getting married to a man who has just converted to Islam. And in a Pattani family, a young man watches his mother being possessed by a spirit, possibly a black-magic attack from his business rival. (Photos: DS Young Filmmaker) Love, loss, job, ghosts, Covid and the vagaries of wind and fate -- these are some of the stories told by participants in Deep South Young Filmmaker II, the second edition of a short film project that works with youn...

Risk of imposed ceasefire eases in Ukraine war Two months ago, John Bolton wrote an article in The Hill, the leading politics website in Washington, warning against a Russian "October Surprise". He suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin might suddenly cease military operations and declare a ceasefire -- which would utterly snooker the Ukrainians. As one of the hawks who talked George W Bush into invading Iraq, he proved himself to be a bad and dangerous adviser: he invariably defaulted to the toughest military option. Neither did he cover himself in glory in 2018-19 as the third of Donald Trump's four high-turnover National Security Advisers. He was the one who egged Mr Trump on to break the treaty limiting Iran's nuclear activities and reimpose sanctions. If the treaty is not ...

Poster for Netflix's six-episode drama "Thai Cave Rescue". It is the rescue retold around the world: 12 boys, their coach, and impossible odds. Now, a new series debuting Thursday promises an intimate Thai perspective on the extraordinary effort to save 13 lives from a flooded cave back in 2018. The world was captivated by the young "Wild Boars" football team trapped inside a cave complex in northern Thailand, as an international diving team scrabbled to extract them. Netflix's six-episode drama "Thai Cave Rescue" is the latest screen interpretation of the event and comes only a month after Amazon released its feature-length film "Thirteen Lives". Amazon's production, directed by Oscar winner Ron Howard, focuses on the life-or-death efforts by the divers -- played by Hollywood stars C...

JAMES SMITH CREE NATION - Ten people were killed in a series of stabbings on the James Smith Cree Nation and in the nearby community of Weldon, northeast of Saskatoon, on Sunday. Police say 18 others were injured. A suspect was found dead on Monday and a second suspect died Wednesday after he was taken into police custody. Here is a look at some of the victims: Bonnie Burns, 48 Bonnie Burns was a true matriarch who prioritized her family and home, said her brother, Mark Arcand. She had four sons and two foster children, all of whom were home at the time of the attack. Burns was killed outside her home on the First Nation while trying to shield her children, he said, describing her as a “mama bear” protecting her cubs. Her son, Gregory, was also killed and another son was stabbed in the

NEW YORK (AP) — President Joe Biden pledged on Thursday in his first face-to-face meeting with new Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to work to strengthen relations with the Pacific nation after what he said had been some “rocky times” in the past. Meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, the leaders discussed tensions in the South China Sea, the long-standing security relationship between the United States and the Philippines, stresses to the global economy and food security caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and other issues. Biden also noted that the Philippines was among U.S. allies to quickly condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “We’ve had some rocky times, but the fact is it’s a critical, critical relationship, from our perspective. I hope you feel t

Reality fails to match early crypto hype in El Salvador, but proponents see many grounds for optimism El Salvador President Nayib Bukele speaks at the closing party of “Bitcoin Week” where he announced a plan to build the first “Bitcoin City” in the world, in Teotepeque, El Salvador on Nov 20 last year. (Reuters Photo) El Salvador President Nayib Bukele took the stage to fireworks, announcing to a cheering crowd of crypto enthusiasts at a beachside confab that Bitcoin would revolutionise his country. It was November last year, the digital token had just reached new all-time highs and El Salvador was at the very beginning of its experiment as the world’s first nation to use the cryptocurrency as legal tender. Now, a year into the journey, there are far fewer fireworks. Adoption has move

BYD set to pursue state EV incentives BYD is expected to be the latest Chinese automaker to take up the government's electric vehicle (EV) incentives when its sole distributor Rever Automotive Co signs an agreement with the Excise Department later this month for a tax reduction and subsidy that make the firm's "new energy vehicles" more affordable for Thai buyers. After the agreement is signed, imported BYD cars will have an excise tax of 2%, down from 8%, in addition to zero customs already granted to Chinese-made cars, said Nutthakorn Utensute, spokesman for the Excise Department. Each BYD car will also be eligible for a 150,000-baht subsidy, he said. The privilege package will take effect once Rever Automotive signs the agreement with the department later this month, said Mr Nutthako...

PHILELPHIA (AP) — President Joe Biden charged in a prime-time address that the “extreme ideology” of Donald Trump and his adherents “threatens the very foundation of our republic,” as he summoned Americans of all stripes to help counter what he sketched as dark forces within the Republican Party trying to subvert democracy. In his speech Thursday night at Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, Biden unleashed the trappings of the presidency in an unusually strong and sweeping indictment of Trump and what he said has become the dominant strain of the opposition party. His broadside came barely two months before Americans head to the polls in bitterly contested midterm elections that Biden calls a crossroads for the nation. “Too much of what’s happening in our country today is not normal,” he s

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodian activists and former opposition lawmakers accused of trying to help an exiled political candidate return home stood trial on treason charges Thursday with few of the defendants in attendance. Former opposition leader Sam Rainsy and several top leaders of the disbanded Cambodia National Rescue Party were among those absent, being either in exile or in hiding to escape what they deem to be political persecution. Just three of the 37 defendants showed up for the hearing in the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, defense lawyer Sam Sokong said. The CNRP was disbanded just ahead of the 2018 general election by a court that ruled the opposition party had plotted to overthrow Prime Minister Hun Sen, whose authoritarian rule has kept him in power for 37 years. Cambo

Red Bull heir still at large 10 years on Vorayuth "Boss" Yoovidhya arrives at Thong Lor police station for interrogation in early September 2012. (Bangkok Post file photo) A crashed Ferrari, a dead policeman and a fugitive heir to a multibillion-dollar fortune -- a decade on, Thailand is no closer to resolving one of its most notorious hit-and-run cases. Vorayuth "Boss" Yoovidhya, princeling of the Red Bull energy drink family, is accused of ploughing his sports car into police officer Wichean Glanprasert's motorbike in Bangkok's wealthiest neighbourhood a decade ago on Saturday. After dodging prosecutors and finally fleeing Thailand on a private jet in 2017, Vorayuth became a symbol of what critics say is the impunity enjoyed by the super-rich in the kingdom. "The perception of diffe...