World

Casinos need caution There is an old adage that says, if you cannot beat them, join them. This catchphrase well describes policymakers' attempts to open casinos in Thailand. The likelihood has come close to reality recently, after a House committee published a feasibility study about casinos in Thailand. While casinos are legally permitted in many countries -- even neighbours such as Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia and Laos -- betting is a criminal offence in Thailand. The Gambling Act 1935 banned any forms of cash betting, except for the state lottery and horse races at state-licensed race courses. According to the study, Thailand could accommodate five casinos -- one in each of its five regions. In the North, the location could be Chiang Rai or Chiang Mai. In the Central region, the t...

Even during `cataclysmic` floods in Pakistan, there is no escape for young children from being sexually abused. A young girl, seeking food, was abducted, confined to a room and gangraped for days in Sindh Pakistan. Her heart-rending video on social media forced the police to hunt down the culprits. A few days ago, a 10-year old girl was similarly raped and killed and her brutalised body was left floating in a private swimming pool in Lahore. On August 29, 2022, another eight-year-old girl was brutally gang-raped in the Umarkot region of Sindh and her eyes were gouged out after that. How many other young girls and boys have fallen to predators in the floods is not easily known. Going by the official figures, the number of such child abuse cases have been on the rise in Pakistan in the p...

Where to learn something cool outside the classroom: Lots of Toronto museums are free or cheap for students. The Art Gallery of Ontario boasts one of the best collections in the country, while the Gardiner Museum has tons of chic and antique ceramics. Hit up the Aga Khan Museum Wednesday nights and snag a glam Insta shot against the minimalist building. When you can’t drop $100 on concert tickets right now: Head to the Baby G bar in Little Portugal on Sunday for the Happy Sundays live-music series. All kinds of bands play, from winsome folkies to synth-wave acts. When you’ve already watched every single true-crime doc: The Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema is the world’s first and largest documentary-only movie theatre (and the only one in Canada). Folks 25 and under can get a free bronze membe

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — U.S. Sen. Edward Markey, who was once banned from the Philippines by former President Rodrigo Duterte, on Friday met a long-detained Filipino opposition leader, whom he says was wrongfully imprisoned under Duterte and should be freed. Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts, and a group of U.S. legislators met former Sen. Leila de Lima for more than an hour in her high-security detention cell in the main police camp in Metropolitan Manila, according to her lawyer, Filibon Tacardon, and police. Details of their court-authorized meeting were not immediately available. Duterte had banned Markey and two other American legislators from traveling to the Philippines after they called for de Lima’s release and raised alarm over human rights violations under his presiden

An electric vehicle (EV) charges at last year's Motor Expo. EV applications contributed to placing the automotive sector on top in terms of investment value. (Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill) Thai and foreign companies filed a total of 784 applications for investment promotion during the first six months of 2022, an increase of 4% from the same period last year, but the combined investment value dropped by 42% year-on-year to 219.7 billion baht. According to the Board of Investment (BoI), investment applications in target industries accounted for 70% of total investment value in the first half, with 358 projects worth a combined 153.5 billion baht. The automotive and digital sectors saw the highest growth rates during the six-month period. Duangjai Asawachintachit, the BoI's secreta...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Taiwan is high on the summer travel list for U.S. members of Congress on their August recess this year, as U.S. lawmakers make a point of asserting American support for the self-governed island despite objections from China. The payoff photos from this week’s five-member congressional visit, like that of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi less than two weeks earlier, are meant as a pointed message to China: newly arrived lawmakers disembarking on the tarmac of Taipei’s international airport, greeted by beaming Taiwanese officials glad for the American support. Sen. Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, on Monday was wrapping up the second U.S. congressional delegation there this month. Pelosi had been the most senior U.S. official in a quarter-century to visit Taiwan, underscorin

Seeking a flood-resilient future in SEA The Asia-Pacific region has been plagued by large-scale natural catastrophes and consequent financial damage in recent years, with total economic losses reaching US$50bn (1.8tn baht) last year according to Munich Re's NatCat (Natural Catastrophes) Service Annual report. Yet, just approximately 17% (US$8.4bn) of those losses were insured, highlighting the large protection gap in this part of the world. The protection gap is a particularly prominent issue for countries in Southeast Asia, which are characterised by significantly lower insurance coverage as compared to markets in the wider region, such as Australia, Japan and Korea. For Southeast Asia, in the majority of years since 1980, insured losses correspond to less than 3% of overall losses. Fu...

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine officials are considering a U.S. offer to provide heavy-lift helicopters like its widely used Chinooks after Manila scrapped a deal to buy military choppers from Russia due to fears of Western sanctions, the Philippine ambassador to Washington said Monday. Then-President Rodrigo Duterte approved the cancellation of the signed deal to buy 16 Russian Mi-17 helicopters due to concerns over possible Western sanctions, which could hamper fast bank transfers of the income Filipino workers send home from the U.S. and other Western countries, Ambassador Jose Romualdez said. Romualdez said Washington did not pressure the Philippines to drop the 12.7-billion-peso ($227 million) deal with the Russians. But following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, co

Full steam ahead for high-speed trains The Fuxing Hao CR300 train made by China's CRRC, which will run between Bangkok and Nakhon Ratchasima. (Photo: State Railway of Thailand) High-speed train projects are an important element in Thailand's ambition to become an Indochina logistics hub with the development of the country's rail transport system being a key priority in the government's 20-year development strategic plan (2018–2037). In recent years, several new rail transport development projects have been rolled out including electric train projects in Bangkok and the surrounding provinces, the first phase of a Thai-Chinese high-speed train project, and a high-speed train project linking up Don Mueang, Suvarnabhumi and U-Tapao airports. Responding to the government's rail transport de

Taiwan tycoon to train 3m 'civilian warriors' Robert Tsao, founder of Taiwanese microchip maker United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), displays an enlarged copy of his identity card while wearing body armour during a press conference at the Parliament in Taipei on Thursday. (Photo: AFP) A colourful Taiwanese tycoon unveiled plans Thursday to train more than three million "civilian warriors" to help defend the democratic island in the event of a Chinese invasion, donating TW$1 billion (US$33 million) of his own money. Robert Tsao, 75, is one of Taiwan's most successful businessmen and founded major microchip maker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC). He has been increasingly outspoken against Beijing, and his donation comes after China's forces put on a huge show of force to protest ...