Mourners on Jan. 13, 2020, attend a cremation ceremony of a 2-year-old boy killed in the Jan. 9, 2020, gold store robbery in Lopburi province.
BANGKOK — A senior police commander on Monday praised a commando unit attached to His Majesty the King for its participation in an ongoing manhunt for a man responsible for last week’s deadly robbery.
Deputy commander of the Central Investigation Bureau Maj. Gen. Torsak Sukvimol visited the Ratchawallop Police Retainers, King’s Guards 904 and conveyed his moral support for the unit to swiftly identify and locate the robber, media reports say.
Reports say Torsak also raised concern to the commandos that the gunman, who killed three people including a 2-year-old boy during his heist on Thursday, is considered to be armed and extremely dangerous.
Ratchawallop Police Retainers are a special tactical unit who answers directly to His Majesty the King. The elite bodyguards are responsible for a variety of high-profile tasks, from providing security to the Royal Family to training local police in VIP protection.
Maj. Gen. Torsak, who was appointed as head of the unit in early 2019, ordered the Ratchawallop Police Retainers to join the manhunt for the unidentified gunman on Jan. 10. The police unit was instructed to assist local police in the operation, and closely monitor the progress.
Nearly a week after the bloody heist in Lopburi province, police have yet to identify the perpetrator. The masked gunman shot five people in total, killing three of them, inside a department store before making off with about 500,000 baht worth of gold necklaces.
Investigators are also appealing to any bystanders or motorists close to the area when the shooting took place to come forward with clues that might help them.
Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul is given a tour on Jan. 6, 2020, at a hospital in Bangkok where Chinese tourists suspected of contracting coronavirus are being quarantined.
BANGKOK (AP) — A Chinese visitor to Thailand has been confirmed to be infected with a new strain of coronavirus that has been linked to a pneumonia outbreak in central China, health officials said Monday.
The U.N.’s World Health Organization said Thai officials have reported that a traveler from the Chinese city of Wuhan has been hospitalized in Thailand with the virus.
The outbreak of the virus has been traced to Wuhan, where it affected several dozen people who had been to a major meat and seafood market.
Thai Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said it appears to be the first confirmed case of the virus found outside China, the Bangkok Post newspaper and other Thai media reported.
He identified the infected tourist as a 61-year-old woman whose symptoms were detected on arrival at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport last Wednesday. Her coronavirus was confirmed Sunday by a laboratory test, Anutin said.
She has been treated at an isolation ward at a state health facility outside of Bangkok, and no longer has any fever or respiratory symptoms, he said.
Eight other people with possible symptoms have also been held at the facility, he said, but none has been confirmed to have the virus.
A statement issued Monday by the Geneva-based World Health Organization said it is working with officials in Thailand and China following the report of the confirmed case outside China. The agency says its director-general is consulting with the agency’s emergency committee, which generally decides whether viral outbreaks merit an expanded response from health authorities.
“The possibility of cases being identified in other countries was not unexpected, and reinforces why WHO calls for ongoing active monitoring and preparedness in other countries,” the agency said. “WHO reiterates that it is essential that investigations continue in China to identify the source of this outbreak and any animal reservoirs or intermediate hosts.”
The virus is not believed to be spread by human-to-human contact.
Officials in Wuhan said over the weekend that a total of 41 people were suffering from pneumonia caused by the new coronavirus and a 61-year-old man had died — China’s first known death from the virus.
China says the cause of the Wuhan outbreak remains unknown but has sought to play down speculation that it could be a reappearance of the SARS epidemic, which killed hundreds in 2002 and 2003.
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses, some of which cause the common cold. Others found in bats, camels and other animals have evolved to cause more severe illnesses.
Common symptoms include a runny nose, headache, cough and fever. Shortness of breath, chills and body aches are associated with more dangerous kinds of coronaviruses, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
BANGKOK (Xinhua) — The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s (BMA) Health Department on Monday released a report indicating that nearly 40,000 people in the city’s two main districts have sought medical treatment for respiratory illnesses at its hospitals since September last year.
Furthermore, the BMA’s Environment Department also reported on Monday the unsafe levels of particulate matters in the two districts, and have urged residents to wear a mask outdoors.
“Bangkok’s two main districts, Phra Nakhon and Wang Thonglang, have indicated its PM2.5 at 31-54mg per cubic meter of air in the past 24 hours while the safe threshold is at 50mcg,” the BMA Environment Department said.
“PM2.5 was at 54mcg at Phra Nakhon district and 52mcg at Wang Thonglang district.”
Meanwhile, BMA permanent secretary Silapasuay Raweesaengsoon said the BMA ordered its Taksin Hospital, Charoenkrung Pracharak Hospital and Klang Hospital to open their air pollution clinics to treat people.
From Sept. 27 last year to Jan. 9 this year, 38,803 people sought treatment for illnesses related to smog at hospitals under the supervision of the BMA, the BMA Health Department said.
TOKYO (Kyodo) — A hostel opening next week in Tokyo’s Ueno district, a popular destination for foreign tourists, is hoping its guests from around the world will get chatting with each other by encouraging them to use a multilingual real-time translation app.
The “Q Stay and lounge,” which will welcome its first guests on Jan. 20, is the first accommodation facility in Japan to create chances for customers to communicate in different languages via the Kotozna Group Chat smartphone app, according to LS Corp., the operator of the hostel.
UNITED NATIONS (Xinhua) — The United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) has issued a special-event stamp sheet to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year.
The sheet, which was officially issued on Friday, consists of 10 stamps of a denomination of 1.20 U.S. dollars each, with the UN logo on the left and a paper-cut image of the rat on the right, as the Chinese lunar year for 2020 is the Year of the Rat.
The rat sits in gold-colored flowers against a red background — the two traditional colors for the Chinese Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, the most important holiday for Chinese around the world. This year’s Spring Festival falls on Jan. 25.
The tab of the stamp and background design feature artwork designed by Yin Huili of China, said the UNPA.
This is UNPA’s 11th sheet issued for its Lunar New Year stamp series.
NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump circulated a fake image on Monday depicting congressional Democrats’ top-ranked leaders in traditional Muslim attire in front of the Iranian flag, drawing criticism that he was promoting Islamophobic tropes.
The manipulated photo retweeted by Trump showed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in Muslim garb with the caption: “The corrupted Dems trying their best to come to the Ayatollah’s rescue #NancyPelosiFakeNews.”
Trump, a Republican, had previously faulted Democrats for criticizing his administration’s targeted killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, but his use of Muslim imagery as part of that effort drew pushback from Muslim American advocates.
“The image is a hodgepodge of anti-Muslim tropes and garb from many traditions including some that are frequently used to stereotype and attack Muslims,” Madihha Ahussain, special counsel at the nonprofit group Muslim Advocates, said in a statement. “It’s disappointing but not surprising that the president would use his massive Twitter platform to spread this kind of harmful, ignorant, anti-Muslim bigotry.”
Wa’el Alzayat, CEO of the Muslim American group Emgage Action — named for its mission to engage Muslim Americans — also criticized Trump’s decision to amplify the doctored photo of Pelosi and Schumer. “There’s no place for it, irrespective of political differences,” he said in an interview.
Schumer tweeted his own pushback to Trump, asking: “How low can you go?”
The image that Trump retweeted has been circulating on the internet for a few days. The Twitter account that Trump got it from has a history of tweeting in both English and Persian about Iranian issues, promoting pro-Trump content and criticizing U.S. Democrats.
White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham defended Trump’s retweet of the image, telling Fox News on Monday that the tweet was intended to show Democrats “have been parroting Iranian talking points, and almost taking the side of terrorists and those who were out to kill the Americans.”
Democrats have raised questions about the Trump administration’s rationale for ordering the Soleimani killing, warning about the resulting heightened tensions with Iran. But no Democrats have praised Soleimani, and Pelosi herself described him last week as a “terrible person” who “did bad things.”
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Associated Press writer Amanda Seitz in New York contributed to this report.
SENDAI (Kyodo) — A statue of Ebisu, the Japanese god of fishermen and luck, was pulled from the sea Tuesday and will be given a new home near the Miyagi Prefecture port from which it was swept during the devastating 2011 tsunami.
Pulling in a sea bream — an auspicious symbol in Japan — and overlooking Kesennuma Bay from the northeastern Japan port, the 1.5-meter-high Ebisu statue erected in 1988 was popular with tourists and locals hoping its powers would bring a good catch and safe passage of vessels.
In this photograph taken Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020, Iranian police officers take position while protesters gather in front of Amir Kabir University in Tehran, Iran, to remember victims of a Ukrainian airplane shot down by an Iranian missile. (AP Photo)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Popular anger swelled Monday in Iran over the accidental shootdown of a Ukrainian jetliner and the government’s attempt to conceal its role in the tragedy, as online videos appeared to show security forces firing live ammunition and tear gas to disperse protests in the streets.
Iranians, already suffering under crippling U.S. sanctions, expressed shock and outrage over the plane crash that killed scores of young people. They also decried the misleading statements from top officials, who only admitted responsibility three days later in the face of mounting evidence.
The country began last week engulfed in mourning after a U.S. drone strike killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who led Iran’s regional military interventions. Then on Jan. 8, it responded with a ballistic missile attack on two bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq, although there were no casualties. Hours after that barrage, as it braced for a U.S. counterattack that never came, Iranian forces accidentally shot down the Ukraine International Airlines jetliner, killing all 176 people aboard shortly after it took off from Tehran for Kyiv.
For a growing number of critics — from ordinary citizens to notable athletes and artists — the events have revealed a government that is incapable of following through on its incendiary rhetoric and willing to mislead its own people about a national tragedy in order to avoid embarrassment.
Those sentiments first boiled over late Saturday, shortly after the Revolutionary Guard admitted shooting the plane down by mistake. A candlelight vigil at a university rapidly turned into an anti-government demonstration.
“They are lying that our enemy is America! Our enemy is right here!” students shouted.
On Sunday night, protesters massed in Tehran’s Azadi, or Freedom, Square.
Videos sent to the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran and later verified by The Associated Press show a crowd of demonstrators near Azadi Square fleeing as a tear gas canister lands among them. People cough and sputter while trying to escape the fumes, with one woman calling out in Farsi: “They fired tear gas at people! Azadi Square! Death to the dictator!”
Another video shows a woman being carried away in the aftermath of the violence, a trail of blood visible on the ground. Those around her cry out that she has been shot in the leg.
“Oh my God, she’s bleeding nonstop!” one person shouts. Another shouts: “Bandage it!”
Photos and video after the incident show pools of blood on the sidewalk.
Tehran’s police chief, Gen. Hossein Rahimi, later denied that his officers opened fire.
“Police treated people who had gathered with patience and tolerance,” Iranian media quoted Rahimi as saying. “Police did not shoot in the gatherings since broad-mindedness and restraint has been the agenda of the police forces of the capital.”
The semi-official Fars news agency reported that police had “shot tear gas in some areas.”
In this photograph taken Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020, Iranian police officers take position while protesters gather in front of Amir Kabir University in Tehran, Iran, to remember victims of a Ukrainian airplane shot down by an Iranian missile. (AP Photo)
Fars, which is close to the Revolutionary Guard, carried videos purportedly shot Sunday night showing demonstrators chanting: “We are children of war. Fight with us, we will fight back.” Another Fars video showed demonstrators in Tehran tearing down a poster of Soleimani.
On Sunday, authorities deployed forces across Tehran — police, members of the Revolutionary Guard on motorcycles and plainclothes security men. The heavy security presence continued into Monday, when protests were largely confined to universities and there were no reports of clashes.
President Donald Trump has openly encouraged the demonstrators, even tweeting messages of support in Farsi and warning the government not to fire on them. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas tweeted that “we are following the protests in Tehran very attentively,” adding that Iranians “have a right to free expression without repression and persecution.”
Most of the people aboard the Ukraine International Airlines jet were Iranians and Iranian-Canadians. For three days, Iranian officials ruled out any attack on the plane, suggesting the crash of Flight 752 was caused by a technical failure. Only on Saturday did authorities acknowledge shooting it down, as evidence mounted and after Western leaders accused Iran of culpability.
The U.N. agency that regulates civil aviation said it had accepted an invitation from Tehran to provide “expert advice” to the crash investigation. The Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization said in a statement it had appointed senior and technical staff to serve as advisors and observers. It did not elaborate.
Several activists in Ukraine rallied in front of the Iranian Embassy in Kyiv on Monday, expressing solidarity with protesters and condemning Iran’s “dictatorship.”
The European Union’s aviation agency has since advised carriers against overflight of Iran “at all altitudes” until further notice. Several airlines have already canceled flights to and from Iran and rerouted flights to avoid Iranian airspace.
Ali Rabiei, a government spokesman, insisted Iran’s civilian officials learned only on Friday that the Revolutionary Guard had shot down the plane. The Guard answers directly to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“The point is that we did not lie,” Rabiei said. He went on to blame the U.S. for “spreading the shadow of war over Iran.”
Ebrahim Raisi, the head of Iran’s judiciary, issued a warning to protesters, saying “the agents of America and agents of foreign countries” want to use anger over Flight 752 to “compromise” Iran’s security. Iran often blames anti-government protests on foreign conspiracies.
In this photograph taken Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020, protesters hold flowers as tear gas fired by police rises at a demonstration in front of Amir Kabir University in Tehran, Iran, to remember victims of a Ukrainian airplane shot down by an Iranian missile. (AP Photo)
On Saturday, Iranian authorities briefly arrested British Ambassador Rob Macaire, who said he went to the candlelight vigil to pay his respects and left as soon as the chanting began.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry summoned the British ambassador Sunday to protest what it said was his presence at an illegal protest. Britain, in turn, summoned Iran’s ambassador on Monday “to convey our strong objections” over the weekend arrest.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman, James Slack, said the envoy’s detention was “an unacceptable breach of the Vienna Convention.”
“We are seeking full assurances from the Iranian government that it will never happen again,” he said.
In addition to the street protests, Iran’s government has also faced harsh criticism from prominent artists, athletes and journalists.
A number of artists, including famed director Masoud Kimiai, withdrew from an upcoming international film festival. Two state TV hosts resigned in protest over the false reporting about what happened to Flight 752.
Taraneh Alidoosti, one of Iran’s most famous actresses, posted a picture of a black square on Instagram with the caption: “We are not citizens. We are hostages. Millions of hostages.”
Saeed Maroof, the captain of Iran’s national volleyball team, also wrote on Instagram: “I wish I could be hopeful that this was the last scene of the show of deceit and lack of wisdom of these incompetents but I still know it is not.”
He said that despite Iran’s national team qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after years of effort, “there is no energy left in our sad and desperate souls to celebrate.”
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Associated Press writers Joseph Krauss in Dubai, Jill Lawless in London, Frank Jordans in Berlin and Yuras Karmanau in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed.
A screenshot of a Facebook post showing a man "cosplaying" as the unidentified gunman who killed 3 people in a Jan. 9, 2020, heist in Lopburi province.
BANGKOK — Police on Monday refuted online rumors that the gunman who shot dead three people in a gold store robbery had been arrested, saying the manhunt is still ongoing.
A screenshot of a Facebook post showing a man “cosplaying” as the unidentified gunman who killed 3 people in a Jan. 9, 2020, heist in Lopburi province.
Police also lashed out at several online personalities who donned the outfit of the robber in apparent social media pranks. National police spokesman Krissana Pattanacharoen on Sunday said the joke was not only in bad taste, but also risked violating the law.
“This kind of action caused fright and paranoia to the general public,” Col. Krissana said. “It is an inappropriate action.”
Any act that caused fear to the public is punishable by up to a month in prison under Section 392 of the Criminal Code, the police spokesman said.
His warning came after some Facebookers posted photos of themselves “cosplaying” the gunman, who killed three people during a gold store heist in Lopburi city on Thursday night, including a two-year-old boy.
One of the cosplayers also reportedly visited a shopping mall in Lamphun province while wearing the grim outfit of balaclava, black shirt, and camouflage pants.
The prank drew harsh backlash from many on social media.
“Right now it’s become a dumb and crazy trend,” Facebook page Red Skull Addict wrote. “If some people got triggered and beat you up, don’t whine about it, dickhead.”
Nearly a week after the deadly heist, which shocked the nation for its particularly brutal nature, police have yet to identify the perpetrator. A rumor also spread online on Sunday that a suspect was under custody, but police soon dismissed the claim as untrue.
At a Sunday news conference, deputy police commissioner Suchart Teerasawat defended the pace of the investigation, saying police need more time to work.
A screenshot of a Facebook post showing a man “cosplaying” as the unidentified gunman who killed 3 people in a Jan. 9, 2020, heist in Lopburi province.
A crowd waits on a pavement to receive His Majesty the King in front of the Grand Palace in Bangkok on May 5, 2019.
BANGKOK — The government on Sunday unveiled a new guideline designed to lessen traffic congestion when members of the Royal Family travel in the cities.
The new set of rules, 10 points in total, was compiled by the police after His Majesty the King called for a revamp in security measures that would cause minimal impact to motorists, government spokeswoman Narumon Pinyosinwat says in an online video.
New practices unveiled by the government, which it said would only be applied to the King’s “private trips,” include:
1. Traffic lanes will be left open for the public during royal motorcades, instead of being shut entirely.
2. The motorcades will occupy only certain lanes while the rest will remain open to motorists.
3. The lanes on the opposite side of the motorcade route will remain open as usual. If the road lacks a road median, items such as traffic cones will be deployed to ensure public safety.
4. Traffic lanes merging into the motorcade route at intersections will be open as usual, using traffic cones to guide traffic flow.
5 U-turn bridges and crossing bridges over the motorcade route will be open as usual.
6 At toll booths, only two rightmost lanes will be reserved for the motorcade, while the rest will be open to other vehicles.
7. Police will not force motorists to change direction at intersections along the motorcade route.
8. Traffic cones and lighting signs must be deployed in a suitable place that pose the least inconvenience to the public.
9. Police must consider employing appropriate public relations measures to notify motorists of optimal routes with the highest degree of convenience and safety.
10. Police commanders must supervise traffic management during the motorcades in person. They must also use appropriate manners and speech when addressing the public, and refrain from causing a sense of coercion.
Police often shut down major roads and intersections when royal motorcades pass by, prompting complaints of traffic congestion in the past, especially during city rush hours.
The palace has made several efforts to curb the impact of royal motorcades. King Bhumibol raised those concerns to his aides as early as 2001, according to media reports.
Guidelines aimed at improving motorists’ convenience during royal motorcades were also published on King Bhumibol’s instruction back in 2010 and 2012, but they were rarely followed.
