A photo dated April 5, 2016 of Suppatra Tansuvit. Photo: Benjamin Lumanlan / NemesisRacing.com
LOS ANGELES — A Thai woman and her American boyfriend have been arrested in Los Angeles on suspicion of identity theft and evading the police.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, Suppatra Tansuvit, 24, had been accused of involvement in multiple cases of identity theft, though the police did not elaborate. She was arrested outside her residence in downtown LA on Aug. 14 after failing to appear in court in December 2017.
Mugshot of Robert Carrasquillo. Photo: Los Angeles Police Department
Her partner, Robert Carrasquillo, 34, was then taken into custody on Aug. 20. Although the police have not found a link between Carrasquillo and Suppatra’s alleged crimes, Carrasquillo was charged with evading the police after he attempted to flee with his fugitive girlfriend in a high-speed chase in July.
Suppatra managed to evade capture by jumping from the moving sports car and making a run for it on foot, but her boyfriend was arrested. Carrasquillo was released on bail, but the police issued another arrest warrant when he failed to appear in court as scheduled.
Police identified Suppatra, a Thai model, as a suspect in 2017 after the police launched an investigation into a suspected identity theft plot, which led detectives to find “a large quantity of evidence” including a credit card mill and related equipment inside her house. Though she was released on bail, she became a wanted figure once again when she failed to appear in court.
As she has skipped a bail before, bail is currently suspended for Suppatra.
In a profile on model-casting website Modelmayhem.com, Suppatra claimed to be a poker dealer at a now-defunct club in Las Vegas. On another site, she listed her modeling experiences in Thailand as including “2002 Miss Chinatown Pageant,” “2003 ACT Clothing Fashion Show,” and “2005 Bangkok Fashion Week.”
The Thai consulate could not be reached as of press time. Suppatra is believed to be either a permanent resident or citizen of the United States, since the police report did not specify her nationality.
Photo taken on Aug. 23, 2019 shows a robot barista, developed by Chinese home appliance producer Gree Electric Appliances, exhibited at the 2019 World Robot Conference (WRC) in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Ren Chao)
BEIJING (Xinhua) — The following are the highlights of China’s key technology news from the past week:
Square Kilometer Array
Construction of the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), the world’s largest astronomical device, is expected to start next year, and China, one of the founding members, is preparing to build a regional data center and developing its reflector antennas.
SKA will be the largest and most advanced radio telescope ever. It will combine signals received via thousands of small antennas spreading over 3,000 km to simulate a single giant radio telescope with a total collecting area of approximately one square kilometer and capable of extremely high sensitivity and angular resolution.
Huawei’s AI Processor
Chinese tech giant Huawei on Friday launched the Ascend 910, which is described by the company as the world’s most powerful artificial intelligence (AI) processor, and an all-scenario AI computing framework MindSpore.
The Shenzhen-based company said the Ascend 910, which will be used for AI model training, performs much better than previously expected.
Robotics Industry
Industrial robot production in China reached 148,000 pieces in 2018, accounting for more than 38 percent of the world’s total, said an official at the 2019 World Robot Conference.
China’s industrial robot market has become the world’s largest, accounting for one-third of global sales. There are expected to be more than 130 robots per 10,000 people in China by 2021.
Brain-Controlled Drone
Chinese researchers have developed a brain-controlled rescue drone that enables the unmanned aircraft to have precise and reliable identification in sandstorms, haze and other low-visibility weather.
The drone system mainly comes in the form of a headset with electrodes, which can detect the brain’s electrical activity, or brain waves, using electroencephalography (EEG).
This Saturday, Aug. 24, 2019, photo provided Sunday, Aug. 25, by the North Korean government, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, smiles after the test firing of an unspecified missile at an undisclosed location in North Korea. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Sunday that leader Kim Jong Un supervised the test-firing of a “newly developed super-large multiple rocket launcher,” another demonstration of the North’s expanding weapons arsenal apparently aimed at increasing its leverage ahead of a possible resumption of nuclear talks with the U.S.
The North’s official Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA, said that Saturday’s weapons test was successful and cited Kim as saying the rocket launcher is “indeed a great weapon.”
Kim underscored the need to “continue to step up the development of Korean-style strategic and tactical weapons for resolutely frustrating the ever-mounting military threats and pressure offensive of the hostile forces,” according to KCNA.
The “hostile forces” likely referred to the United States and South Korea, whose recently ended regular military drills infuriated North Korea. The North has called the drills an invasion rehearsal and conducted a slew of missile and rocket tests in response.
Some experts said North Korea aims to show off its weapons to try to get an upper hand ahead of a possible restart of nuclear negotiations, which have been largely stalemated since the second summit between President Donald Trump and Kim in Vietnam in February fell apart due to squabbling over U.S.-led sanctions on North Korea. The two leaders met again at the inter-Korean border in late June and agreed to resume talks.
Trump downplayed the latest launch, saying, “Kim Jong Un has been, you know, pretty straight with me. … He likes testing missiles but we never restricted short-range missiles. We’ll see what happens.”
South Korea’s military said North Korea fired two suspected short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast on Saturday morning, and that they flew about 380 kilometers (236 miles) at a maximum altitude of 97 kilometers (60 miles). It was the seventh known weapons test by North Korea in about a month.
North Korea has been pushing to develop powerful multiple rocket launch systems, whose projectiles resemble short-range missiles, some experts said. On Aug. 1, North Korea said it tested a large-caliber multiple rocket guided system, a day after South Korea said the North fired two short-range ballistic missiles.
Most of the North Korean weapons tested in recent weeks have shown short-range flight distances. This suggests that North Korea still doesn’t intend to lift its self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests, which would certainly derail the negotiations with Washington.
The latest North Korean launches came two days after South Korea said it would terminate its intelligence-sharing deal with Japan amid trade disputes between the U.S. allies. Washington expressed its disappointment at South Korea’s decision.
In a development that could possibly further complicate ties between Seoul and Tokyo, South Korea’s navy on Sunday began two-day exercises on and around a group of islets controlled by South Korea but also claimed by Japan. Japan’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying the islets belong to Japan and called the drills “unacceptable.”
South Korean navy officers said the drills are the first of two regular exercises held every year near the islets, called Dokdo in Korean and Takeshima in Japanese. They said the drills involve aircraft landing on the islets and warships maneuvering nearby. Local media said South Korea originally planned the first drills in June, but delayed them in consideration of relations with Japan.
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Associated Press writer Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo contributed to this report.
Photo taken on Dec. 8, 2015 shows smoke pouring out of a chimney in a factory in Taiyuan, north China's Shanxi Province. (Xinhua/Cao Yang) (yxb)
BEIJING(Xinhua) — An international study has found that China is on track to meet its carbon emissions goals up to one decade early.
Researchers from China’s Nanjing University, Tsinghua University, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Harvard University in the U.S. examined carbon dioxide emissions from 50 Chinese cities from 2000 to 2016 and found a close relationship between per capita emissions and per capita gross domestic product (GDP).
China, one of the first countries to sign the Paris Agreement on climate change, has pledged to halt the rise in carbon dioxide emissions by around 2030.
The 50 Chinese cities account for about 35 percent of China’s total carbon emissions and 51 percent of the country’s GDP.
According to Wang Haikun with Nanjing University, the leading author of the research, although diverse trajectories of carbon dioxide emissions are seen across the cities, the relationship between emissions and GDP follows the Environmental Kuznets Curve.
The curve means that as economic development growth occurs, the environment will worsen until a certain point where the country reaches a specific average income. Then money is invested back into the environment, and the ecosystem is restored.
The study found that carbon emissions peak for most Chinese cities when GDP reaches about 21,000 U.S. dollars per person.
They then used a computer model to simulate the peak of carbon emissions based on China’s historical emissions and the data on future population size and economic development level from the World Bank.
According to the study published as the cover article in the latest online monthly journal Nature Sustainability, the carbon emissions in China should peak between 2021 and 2025, about five to ten years ahead of the Paris target.
The researchers said that cities are the frontline for global climate change action, and there is clear evidence that progress has been made in the Chinese cities.
It reflects China’s great efforts in mitigating climate change, said Wang.
The study also pointed out that different types of Chinese cities face different challenges in their carbon emissions reduction timetables.
Cities like Beijing, Xi’an and Hangzhou should focus on upgrading their infrastructure facilities to improve energy efficiency while emerging cities like Xiong’an New Area have the opportunity to leapfrog the period of carbon-intensive growth.
Among the National Determined Contribution that China proposes to achieve by 2030 as part of its Paris Agreement pledge, China has committed to reducing its carbon intensity 60 to 65 percent from 2005 levels by 2030, peaking its carbon emissions by 2030, increasing non-fossil-fuel energy to 20 percent of its energy mix, and expanding forested land.
Firefighters work to put out fires in the Vila Nova Samuel region, along the road to the National Forest of Jacunda, near to the city of Porto Velho, Rondonia state, part of Brazil's Amazon, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Leaders of the Group of Seven nations said Sunday they are preparing to help Brazil battle fires burning across the Amazon region and repair the damage as tens of thousands of soldiers got ready to join the fight against blazes that have caused global alarm.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the summit leaders were nearing an agreement on how to support Brazil and said the agreement would involve both technical and financial mechanisms “so that we can help them in the most effective way possible.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said her country and others will talk with Brazil about reforestation in the Amazon once fires there have been extinguished.
“Of course (this is) Brazilian territory, but we have a question here of the rainforests that is really a global question,” she said. “The lung of our whole Earth is affected, and so we must find common solutions.”
Pope Francis also added his voice to the chorus of concern over the fires in Brazil, which borders his homeland of Argentina, and urged people to pray so that “they are controlled as quickly as possible.” He told a crowd in St. Peter’s Square that “we’re all worried” about the Amazon fires. He warned that that green “lung of forest is vital for our planet.”
Fire consumes a field along the BR 070 highway near Cuiaba, Mato Grosso state, Brazil, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2019. Experts say most of the fires are set by farmers or ranchers clearing existing farmland, but the same monitoring agency has reported a sharp increase in deforestation this year as well. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro tweeted that he had talked by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said Israel would send a specialized plane to help in the firefighting operation.
On Friday, the president announced 44,000 soldiers would be sent to help battle the fires that are scattered across Brazil’s’s share of the vast Amazon, an overall region 10 times the size of Texas that is seen as a global bulwark against climate change. Only a few hundred troops had been sent so far.
The country’s satellite monitoring agency has recorded more than 41,000 fires in the Amazon region so far this year — with more than half of those coming this month alone. Experts say most of the fires are set by farmers or ranchers clearing existing farmland. But the same monitoring agency has reported a sharp increase in deforestation this year as well.
Brazil’s federal police agency announced Sunday it would investigate reports that farmers in the state of Para, one of those most affected by the blazes, had called for “a day of fire” to ignite fires Aug. 10.
Local news media said the group organized over WhatsApp to show support for Bolsonaro’s efforts to loosen environmental regulations.
Justice Minister Sergio Moro, who oversees the police, said on Twitter that Bolsonaro “asked for a rigorous investigation” and said “the criminal fires will be severely punished.”
People demonstrated in Rio de Janeiro and other Brazilian cities Sunday demanding Bolsonaro’s administration do more to protect the Amazon. One boy in Rio held up a poster saying “Bol$onaro is burning our future,” while people chanted: “Bolsonaro out! Amazon stays!”
Critics have accused Bolsonaro’s pro-development policies of encouraging farmers and ranchers to increase efforts to strip away the forest, though the president has issued repeated pledges recently to protect the area, and backed that up by sending in soldiers and other federal forces.
Merkel noted that Bolsonaro is putting “significant forces” into the effort to save the rainforest.
But Bolsonaro has had a tense relationship with foreign governments — including Germany’s — and non-governmental groups that he accuses of meddling in his country’s management of the Amazon. He last week floated the idea, without evidence, that non-governmental groups were setting fires to embarrass him.
Macron’s office on Friday complained that the Brazilian leader “had lied to him” about environmental commitments.
Asked if he would speak with Macron, Bolsonaro said Saturday, “If he calls me, I will answer. I am being extremely well-mannered with him even though he called me ‘a liar.’”
Meanwhile, Bolivian President Evo Morales said Sunday he would welcome aid in fighting his own country’s wildfires, which have scorched about 3,475 square miles (900,000 hectares). Most of the damage has been in the forests of the Chiquitanía region over the past two weeks, but fires also have burned in Bolivia’s Amazon region. Morales said at a news conference that he had accepted offers of assistance from the leaders of Spain, Chile and Paraguay.
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Associated Press journalists Frances D’Emilio in Rome, Sylvie Corbet and Lori Hinnant in Biarritz, France, and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.
Xinxing, world's oldest captive giant panda, eats a birthday cake at a zoo in southwest China's Chongqing, Aug. 23, 2019. (Chongqing Zoo/Handout via Xinhua)
CHONGQING (Xinhua) — A zoo in southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality on Friday threw a birthday party for its celebrity “granny panda” who turned 37, equivalent to more than 100 human years.
Xinxing, born in Sichuan Province in 1982, is the world’s oldest captive giant panda. She is the matriarch of a huge family of 137 pandas. Her offspring are spread across the globe in more than 20 countries and regions including the United States, Canada and Japan.
On Friday, Xinxing was treated with a fruit birthday cake at the Chongqing Zoo, accompanied by over 100 panda fans.
The celebrity panda is in good physical condition, except occasional high blood pressure, according to Yin Yanqiang, the zoo’s technical director. She weighs 98 kg and eats 30 kg of bamboo shoots, 0.5 kg of bamboo leaves, 1 kg of apples and 70 grams of refined feeds each day.
Xinxing was brought to the Chongqing Zoo at the age of one. She visited Calgary, Canada during the 1988 Winter Olympics and attracted over one million visitors.
Xinxing, world’s oldest captive giant panda, eats a birthday cake at a zoo in southwest China’s Chongqing, Aug. 23, 2019.
Policemen pull out their guns after a confrontation with demonstrators during a protest in Hong Kong, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong police drew their guns and fired a warning shot Sunday night after protesters attacked officers with sticks and rods, and brought out water cannon trucks for the first time, an escalation in the summerlong protests that have shaken the city’s government and residents.
The day’s main showdown took place on a major drag in the outlying Tsuen Wan district following a protest march that ended in a nearby park. While a large crowd rallied in the park, a group of hard-line protesters took over a main street, strewing bamboo poles on the pavement and lining up orange and white traffic barriers and cones to obstruct police.
After hoisting warning flags, police used tear gas to try to disperse the crowd. Protesters responded by throwing bricks and gasoline bombs toward the police. The result was a surreal scene of small fires and scattered paving bricks on the street between the two sides, rising clouds of tear gas and green and blue laser lights pointed by the protesters at the police.
Demonstrators smash a mahjong shop run by mainland Chinese during a protest in Hong Kong, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
The protesters eventually decided to abandon their position. Two water cannon trucks and a phalanx of police vehicles with flashing lights joined riot police on foot as they advanced up the street. They met little resistance. Television footage showed a water cannon being fired once, but perhaps more as a test, as it didn’t appear to reach the retreating protesters.
Officers pulled their guns after a group of remaining protesters chased them down a street with sticks and rods, calling them “gangsters.” The officers held up their shields to defend themselves as they retreated. Police said that one officer fell to the ground and six drew their pistols after they were surrounded, with one firing the warning shot.
Some protesters said they’re resorting to violence because the government has not responded to their peaceful demonstrations.
“The escalation you’re seeing now is just a product of our government’s indifference toward the people of Hong Kong,” said Rory Wong, who was at the showdown after the march.
One neighborhood resident, Dong Wong, complained about the tear gas.
“I live on the 15th floor and I can even smell it at home,” he said. “I have four dogs, sneezing, sneezing all day. … The protesters didn’t do anything, they just blocked the road to protect themselves.”
Thousands of demonstrators march in the rain in Hong Kong, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2019. Umbrella-carrying protesters took to the streets in the rain Sunday in Hong Kong’s latest pro-democracy demonstration, one day after the return of clashes with police who used tear gas to disperse them. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Police said they arrested 36 people, including a 12-year-old, for offenses such as unlawful assembly, possession of an offensive weapon and assaulting police officers.
Earlier Sunday, tens of thousands of umbrella-carrying protesters marched in the rain. Many filled Tsuen Wan Park, the endpoint of the rally, chanting, “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong,” the South China Morning Post newspaper reported.
The march in Hong Kong’s New Territories started near the Kwai Fong train station, which has become a focal point for protesters after police used tear gas there earlier this month. Police with riot gear could be seen moving into position along the march route.
Protesters have taken to the semiautonomous Chinese territory’s streets for more than two months. Their demands include democratic elections and an investigation into police use of force to quell the protests.
A large group clashed with police on Saturday after a march in the Kowloon Bay neighborhood, building barricades and setting fires in the streets. Police said they arrested 29 people for various offenses, including unlawful assembly, possession of offensive weapons and assaulting police officers.
The clashes, while not as prolonged or violent as some earlier ones, ended a brief lull in the violence. The protests, which began in early June, had turned largely peaceful the previous weekend, after weeks of escalating violence.
People carrying umbrellas march past police officers in the rain as they take part in a rally to support the Hong Kong’s Police at Edinburgh Place in Hong Kong, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
In nearby Macao, another Chinese territory, a pro-Beijing committee chose a businessman as the gambling hub’s next leader with little of the controversy surrounding the government in Hong Kong.
Ho Iat-seng, running unopposed, will succeed current leader Chui Sai-on in December. Asked about the protests in Hong Kong, the 62-year-old Ho said they would end eventually, like a major typhoon.
Protesters in Hong Kong have demanded that the city’s leader, Carrie Lam, also chosen by a pro-Beijing committee, step down, though that demand has evolved into a broader call for fully democratic elections.
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Associated Press videojournalists Yves Dam Van, Katie Tam and Johnson Lai contributed to this report.
Dr. Khampheng Saysompheng, Minister of Labour and Social Welfare of Lao PDR, and Mr. Kiattikhun Chartprasert, Ambassador of Thailand to the Lao PDR presided over the robe offering ceremony at Tad Thong Temple in Si Khod Tabong of Vientiane. They also unveiled crematorium and released fish to the river. C.P. Laos Co., Ltd. supported Nile Tilapia for public benefit and provided foods to arrange lunch meal for students.
CP Laos managements and employees, together with Thai communities in Laos, attended the ceremony.
An undated photo of Amitpal Singh Bajaj with his wife.
PHUKET — Police said Sunday a Norwegian tourist stands accused of killing a British man at a luxury hotel in Phuket province last week over a noise row gone violent.
Roger Bullman was charged with fatal physical assault for the death of 34-year-old Amitpal Singh Bajaj at Centara Grand Hotel in the early morning of Aug. 21, according to a local police chief. Bullman is currently out on bail and appears to pose no flight risk, the officer said.
“The court believed he had no intent to flee,” Karon Police Station Chief Prawit Sutthirueangarun said in an interview. “We have also notified the Immigration Bureau … we can summon him any time for questioning.”
Citing evidence at the crime scene, Col. Prawit said Bullman, 52, kicked down a connecting door into Bajaj’s hotel room after the British man’s complaint of loud noises escalated into a heated argument.
The suspect appeared to put Bajaj in a choke-hold until he died of asphyxiation, Col. Prawit said. He also said Bajaj appeared to have grabbed a butter knife and tried to stab at Bullman while the two were struggling, leaving a small wound on the Norwegian’s left shoulder.
“I believe he [Bajal] was acting in self-defense,” the station chief said. He described Bullman as a former soldier with strong build and “martial art” skill.
Bajaj was holidaying with his wife and young child, Prawit added. The Norwegian was granted bail after a court appearance.
Bullman was charged with physical assault leading to death. Charge of preditated murder was not filed because the suspect showed no prior intent to kill the victim, according to the police.
Prawit said Bullman told investigators he was drunk at the time.
BANGKOK — A pledge by an MP to dissolve his own party and transfer the votes he received at the poll to the government coalition was met with doubts and criticism on Friday.
Paiboon Nititawan, whose pro-Buddhism rhetoric raised eyebrows during the election campaign, said he will not only move to Phalang Pracharath Party, but also take the 45,000 votes with him to boost its numbers. An election regulator said the move must undergo legal review first, whereas the opposition said such action is downright unconstitutional.
“It is against the spirit of the constitution,” Pheu Thai deputy leader Samart Kaewmeechai told reporters. “There is no need for much thought in this at all.”
Samart said if Paiboon is allowed to simply pack up and bring his votes to Phalang Pracharath, it would also open doors for other smaller parties to be assimilated into big political factions.
“It cannot be done in the first place. It is impossible,” the Pheu Thai politician said. “Because this is about principles and spirit of the constitution.”
Paiboon is the sole MP of People’s Reform Party, which campaigned on a platform of “adapting Buddha’s teachings” to modern society.
He said earlier this week he wished to move to Phalang Pracharath and fully support Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha as a coalition MP.
Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, who also serves as a Phalang Pracharath advisor, confirmed to reporters Paiboon has submitted his application to join the party, but declined to discuss Paiboon’s plan of vote transfers.
When questioned by reporters yesterday, Election Commissioner Sawang Boonmee said he would have to review the current laws first before judging whether the move can be done.
Pheu Thai MP Suthin Khlangsaeng said if Paiboon’s proposal was made a reality, it would lead to a complicated situation where a by-election and a nationwide recount are necessary. He also called it “party poaching” by other names.
“It’s a severe violation of democratic principle,” Suthin said.
Even former Democrat MP Boonyord Suktinthai posted online that Paiboon’s action would amount to “betrayal” of those who voted for him in the March 24 election.
In response, Paiboon said today he may sue Boonyord for libel.
