News

BANGKOK — The Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has agreed to step up investments in Thailand.

HAVANA — A 57-year-old bureaucrat will take Raul Castro's place as the president of Cuba on Thursday as a government led by a single family for six decades tries to ensure the long-term survival of one of the world's last communist states.

BUENG KAN — The Songkran road mortality blame game has claimed the jobs of the top cops in provinces which saw the most death during the long holiday.

HUA HIN — A usually quiet Hua Hin beach was closed to the public Thursday for several weeks after a man was bitten by a shark.

BANGKOK — Thais are among 59 nationalities who soon won’t need visas to travel to China’s Hainan Island.

NEW YORK — Starbucks, moving swiftly to confront a racially charged uproar over the arrest of two black men at one of its stores in Philadelphia, plans to close more than 8,000 U.S. stores for several hours next month to conduct racial-bias training for nearly 175,000 workers.

BERLIN — German authorities say they have raided 62 properties and arrested seven people in an investigation of an alleged trafficking ring set up to bring Thai women and transsexuals to Germany to work as prostitutes.

SAN RAFAEL — Friday is April 20, or 4/20. That's the numerical code for marijuana's high holiday, a celebration and homage to pot's enduring and universal slang for smoking.

BANGKOK — Speeding edged out intoxication to claim the most lives during the “dangerous days” of Songkran this year, which ended after 418 people died on the roads over seven days, according to officials.

If there's any musical justice, Kimbra's third studio album should be the one that finally catapults the New Zealander to the acclaim she deserves.