World

Thailand players celebrate winning their sixth Asean title in January. Thailand won AFF Suzuki Cup 2020 Defending Asean champions Thailand and last year's runners-up Indonesia were drawn in Group A for the first round battles of this year's competition which has been renamed the Mitsubishi Electric Cup. The War Elephants overwhelmed the Indonesians 6-2 over two legs in January to win Thailand's sixth title when the competition was played on a centralised basis in Singapore, a year later than scheduled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Philippines, Cambodia and the winners of a play-off between Brunei and Timor-Leste will join Thailand and Indonesia in Group A. Vietnam, who claimed the top honours in 2008 and 2018, are the top seeds in Group B, which also features 2010 champions Malaysi...

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The head of Ukraine’s powerful National Security Council says his government is still not fully aware of the situation, including potential threats, inside the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant despite the ongoing inspection by United Nations monitors. Oleksiy Danilov, a key official in Ukraine’s war effort, in an interview with The Associated Press Friday appealed for additional international support to try to demilitarize the area that includes the largest nuclear plant in Europe. “We do not know what is happening there, whether it is currently mined by the Russians or not,” Danilov said, speaking inside a heavily guarded building in central Kyiv with sandbags piled against the entrance and windows. “I want to emphasize that this is a challenge for the whole world,

(Bloomberg) — The Group of Seven most industrialized countries are poised to agree to introduce a price cap for global purchases of Russian oil — a measure the US hopes will ease energy market pressures and slash Moscow’s overall revenues. G-7 finance ministers are meeting Friday, where they are expected to formally back the plan, according to two people familiar with the matter. The G-7 plan, which is part of broader efforts to punish Russia for its military invasion of Ukraine, would allow buyers of Russian oil under a capped price to continue getting crucial services like financing and insurance for tankers. The G-7 discussions were progressing well, one of the people said, and that the planned joint statement would be relatively detailed, including a price range for the planned cap o

A Mississauga man is guilty of murdering his female housemate then hiding her body to cover up her death, a jury decided Friday. The Brampton jury deliberated for a little more than one day before finding Shaofeng Han, 55, guilty of second-degree murder for the December 2017 stabbing death of Yunying Pan, 40, according to Leah Shafran, one of the defence lawyers representing Han. Han and Pan were both tenants in the Strathaven Drive townhouse where Pan was killed 10 days after moving in. The jury started deliberations Wednesday after hearing compelling evidence, including Han’s own testimony, that he attempted to cover up Pan’s death by placing her in a suitcase then burying her body in a wooded area days later. The Crown argued that Han killed Pan because she rejected his advances and

After just six years in China, Mistine is now a major seller of sunscreen and foundation China has been very important for Thailand in terms of both the tourism and export sectors. The country has been Thailand's largest trading partner for nine consecutive years, with bilateral trade volumes surging 33% year-on-year to US$131 billion in 2021. Mr Danai says the company has recently refined branding strategies for cosmetic products in China. Thailand and China have also enjoyed very strong trade relations and diverse forms of cooperation, including bilateral trade agreements, the Asean-China Free Trade Agreement, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. China is regarded as a lucrative market, and many cosmetic brands across the world are revving up to tap into a vast busin...

Union files brief replying to NFL’s appeal in Watson case CANTON, Ohio (AP) — The NFL Players Association has filed a brief replying to the league’s appeal in Deshaun Watson’s discipline case. Former New Jersey Attorney General Peter C. Harvey now has the necessary paperwork to issue a ruling. Harvey was selected by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to hear the league’s appeal of the six-game suspension given to Watson for violating the personal conduct policy. The players’ union announced the reply brief shortly before Friday’s deadline but didn’t release its contents because it’s confidential. Chun takes halfway lead at Women’s British Open MUIRFIELD, Scotland (AP) — In Gee Chun is making another strong run at a major. The South Korean golfer took the halfway lead at the Women’s British

People stand in front of a screen showing a CCTV news broadcast, featuring a map of locations around Taiwan where the Chinese People's Liberation Army will conduct military exercises and training activities including live-fire drills, at a shopping center in Beijing on Wednesday. (Reuters photo) Thailand must maintain neutrality and remain committed to a balanced foreign policy amid rising tensions between the United States and China following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, academics say. In an interview with the Bangkok Post, Sompop Manarungsan, president of the Panyapiwat Institute of Management, said that the US-China conflict is expected to escalate further following Ms Pelosi's visit to Taiwan. "As a strategic action, the US has started an opening move which will ...

People walk past advertisement screen boards showing crypto exchange platform 'Zipmex' in Bangkok on July 27. (Photo: Reuters) Smith Chayavorakul had been investing in cryptocurrency for eight months, riding the boom-and-bust cycle of market prices. But things changed when the Singapore-based crypto exchange Zipmex prevented investors from making withdrawals after it was caught in the market meltdown. Zipmex, which also operates in Indonesia and Australia, halted withdrawals on July 20 and later received insolvency protection from the Singaporean government, causing grief for Zipmex investors who were no longer able to access their funds. The exchange faced problems after releasing ZipUp+, a yield-based investment product for depositing cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, and lending mone...

China braces for a long and bitter winter as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is all set to change from a "One-Party System" to a "One-Person System". Chinese leader Xi Jinping chaired a Politburo meeting on 30 August that decided to hold the party's plenary meeting on 9 October, followed by the 20th National Congress of CCP on 16 October, according to an official announcement by the state-run Xinhua news agency. The statement said that Xi Jinping would lead the whole party and continue to promote common prosperity and promote a community of shared future for humankind and great rejuvenation. The unambiguous statement emphatically signals that the ruling Chinese Communist Party will hold National Congress to support Xi Jinping formally, 69, to stay in power - on track for an unprecede...

Saudi Arabia raises oil prices for Asia to record levels General view of Aramco tanks and oil pipe at Saudi Aramco's Ras Tanura oil refinery and oil terminal in Saudi Arabia. (File photo: Reuters) Saudi Arabia raised oil prices for buyers in Asia to record levels, a sign the world’s largest exporter sees the region’s market remaining tight. Despite indications that slowing economies are starting to hit global demand for crude, state producer Saudi Aramco increased its Arab Light grade for next month’s shipments to Asian refineries to US$9.80 a barrel above the Middle Eastern benchmark. That is 50 cents than in August. Still, traders and refiners had expected a bigger jump of $1.50, according to a Bloomberg survey in late July. That was before data emerged this week showing that America