In an Oct. 10, 2012 file photo, Antonio "Tony" Mendez, former CIA technical operations officer, poses for photographers at the premiere of the film Argo in Washington. Photo: Cliff Owen / Associated Press
FREDERICK, Md. — A former CIA technical operations officer who helped rescue six U.S. diplomats from Iran in 1980 and was portrayed by Ben Affleck in the film “Argo,” has died. He was 78.
A family statement and his literary agent confirmed that Antonio “Tony” Mendez died Saturday at an assisted-living center in Frederick, Maryland. He had suffered from Parkinson’s disease, according to the statement.
Specializing in covert operations, Mendez helped devise the plan under which six diplomats who were in hiding were disguised as a Canadian film crew so they could board a flight and escape the country amid the Iran hostage crisis. The daring plot — for years a side note to the 52 people held hostage for 444 days — captured the public’s attention in “Argo,” which won the 2013 Oscar for best picture.
Mendez, who joined the CIA after getting recruited in 1965, spent his 25-year career working undercover in Cold War battlegrounds, including the Soviet Union. Working as a “chief of disguise,” Mendez and his workers helped secret agents remain secret through creating false documents and disguises, according to a biography for his first book, “The Master of Disguise; My Secret Life in the CIA.”
“Tony Mendez was a true American hero. He was a man of extraordinary grace, decency, humility and kindness,” Affleck tweeted Saturday. “He never sought the spotlight for his actions, he merely sought to serve his country. I’m so proud to have worked for him and to have told one of his stories.”
The “Argo” screenplay, based on another Mendez memoir and also an Oscar winner, was liberally embellished for the big screen. The six Americans’ passage through the Tehran airport and onto a plane was uneventful, Mendez wrote. But the movie portrayed a white-knuckle takeoff at the Tehran airport, with Iranian assault teams racing behind the jet down the runway.
Born in Nevada, Mendez moved to Colorado at age 14, attended the University of Colorado and worked for Martin Marietta on the Titan intercontinental missile, according to theonline biography. He was recruited for the CIA in Denver through a blind ad. In less than two years, the biography says, he and his family had moved overseas while Mendez worked in South and Southeast Asia.
His wife, Jonna, is also a former chief of disguise in the CIA’s Office of Technical Service. The two wrote a book about their agency work in Moscow in the final days of the Cold War and their romance, which led to their marriage after he retired in 1990. Mendez was also an accomplished painter.
His family says he will be buried in a private ceremony at the family graveyard in Nevada.
BANGKOK — The leader of a weekend rally said Monday his group was not involved in the assault of a pro-democracy activist.
Pansuwan Nakaew, who organized a weekend counterprotest called Unity Before Elections, said his group was committed to peaceful methods and not responsible for the Saturday night assault of rival activist Ekachai Hongkangwan.
Ekachai was assaulted by a group of men after leaving a rally demanding timely elections that was moved after Pansuwan’s group said they would gather at the same time and place. Some in the pro-democracy camp have accused the counterprotesters of being behind the attack.
“We want to see unity before election, so we do not condone acts of violence. Causing violence or unrest is not our way,” Pansuwan said by phone. “We hope police will bring the perpetrators to justice soon.”
Pansuwan’s group gathered Saturday at the Democracy Monument to urge Ekachai and other pro-democracy activists to halt protests while preparations for an election are underway.
“We are not asking to delay the election. We are asking them not to incite conflict,” Pansuwan said Saturday. He said he and fellow activists were part of the street protests in 2013 and 2014 that helped bring down the elected government and bring the current junta to power.
Protests calling for the military government to make good on its promise to hold elections next month have resumed in recent weeks as the prospects of a poll have faded. Organizers worried Friday that their peaceful rallies could be marred by agent provocateurs seeking to influence public opinion.
On the same day, Ekachai was attending a pro-election rally at Thammasat University which originally been scheduled to take place at the monument. Ekachai, an ardent junta critic who has been beaten in the streets on several occasions, said three men wearing motorcycle helmets attacked him at about 7pm after he left the campus to eat dinner. He sustained wounds to his head, face and arm.
The activist said the assailants only fled after a group of Asian tourists rushed to his aid.
After news of the attack spread, some of Ekachai’s supporters blamed Pansuwan’s group, while others speculated it was the work of the military.
Ekachai himself believes the latter was more likely.
“They came in a group of four but only three of them attacked me. The fourth hung back … like he was giving orders,” Ekachai said in an interview Monday. “They didn’t look like ordinary people. They were probably soldiers.”
Ekachai filed a complaint at the Chanasongkram Police Station. The station chief said an investigation is underway.
“It is too early to speculate about who they were,” Col. Chakkrit Choosongnern said.
Chakkrit added that he will dispatch police officers to escort Ekachai next time he leaves a protest site in his jurisdiction.
Photo: Undergraduate Student Council of Faculty of Education / Facebook
BANGKOK — Outrage spread Monday at one of the nation’s top universities over a veteran professor’s conduct and comments toward transgender women.
Students have demanded that the university look into repeated homophobic comments about transgender women, known as khatoey, made by an assistant professor in the education department they allege also barred a student from his class.
Niran Sangsawat’ students complain that he has told them in class that “being a kathoey is no different than being a lunatic” and that “kathoeys are sexual deviants, they shouldn’t be teachers.”
A former student body president and activist posted anonline petition calling for Niran to be probed by the university board.
Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal said he’s heard complaints about Niran for a long time from his friends in the Education Faculty. He posted the petition after one transgender student went public in the media to say Niran barred her from his class because she dressed in a female uniform.
“We don’t want [Niran] to be fired. We just want a platform in which every student can express their opinions freely without their grades being affected,” Netiwit said.
Despite Chulalongkorn University’s making strides byallowingtransgender students to wear uniforms according to their gender preferences at graduation, Netiwit said there is still a prevalent culture of seniority and hierarchy in the Faculty of Education.
Niran has taught at the university over 30 years. Attempts to reach Niran at the faculty were not successful Monday. Someone answering the phone at the Education Faculty said he was not available.
Netiwit said a group of student activists this afternoon would visit Niran at the faculty for a “civilized” talk to seek a solution.
The Undergraduate Student Council of Faculty of Education last night asked on Facebook, “Can a third-gendered person be a teacher?” The post has shared more than 3,000 times and drew a mostly angry response.
“Personally, I think this question shouldn’t have been asked in the first place. Being a good or bad teacher is not at all related to gender,” wrote Jakkrit Tompayorm, or “Kru Tom Kam Thai,” a Thai language teacher and TV show personality. “The right question should be ‘Do homophobic teachers deserve to teach?’”
“Why is the Education Faculty at Chulalongkorn University still so behind the times? This question shouldn’t be asked in a civilized world,” Facebook user Apiwat Ratanawaraha wrote.
BANGKOK — Polluting vehicles will be removed from the road as potentially harmful ultrafine particles again reached unhealthy levels and spread to wider swaths of the metropolitan area, officials said Monday.
Feeble winds and a lack of precipitation were blamed for another day of poor air quality in five of the six metro provinces – Bangkok, Samut Sakhon, Samut Prakan, Nonthaburi and Pathum Thani – leading to new talk of cracking down on vehicle emissions
Public buses operated by the mass transit authority will be exhaust-tested for possible decommissioning. While the city has said it will purchase moregreen buses, some of the existing fleet is now being converted from diesel to a cleaner biodiesel blend.
Police said they have set up 20 checkpoints to prevent large trucks from entering the city from 6am to 9am and 4pm to 8pm. They will continue to finedrivers with gross-polluting vehicles.
Police Maj. Gen. Jirasan Kaewsung-aek said that there are 20 checkpoints along the Kanchanapisek Outer Ring Road to stop and fine trucks, in a phone interview Monday.
“Not allowing big vehicles into the city center during rush hours is an existing regulation, but now we are going to enforce it more sternly,” Jirasan said.
Nearly 40 government sampling locations across the capital on Monday found “unhealthy” levels of the most potentially hazardous particulate pollution, called PM 2.5, according to the Pollution Control Department. Officials in all six metro provinces, including Nakhon Pathom, have been instructed to better regulate buses and halt open-air burning.
The Mass Rapid Transit Authority has waived parking fees at all four MRT stations with parking and halted work at rail construction projects until Tuesday.
Police accompany monks as they collect alms Sunday in Yala province.
BANGKOK — Security walls, concertina wire and security cameras will be installed by the government at Buddhist temples throughout the Deep South after two monks were killed in an attack.
Sunday’s decision to increase security at all temples came at an emergency meeting held two days after suspected armed separatists gunned down the pair at Wat Rattana Nuphab in the Su-ngai Padi district of Narathiwat province.
It was the first time since 2015 that a Buddhist monk was killed in the spasms of violence stretching back 15 years. Two other monks injured in the attack remained in stable condition Monday.
To help monks who might be unable to collect alms due to security conditions, the Office of Buddhism will give each monk a stipend of 2,500 baht, according to Suwaphan Tanyuvardhana of the prime minister’s office.
What’s more, 100,000 baht will be spent on funeral rites of each of the slain monks, with 50,000 baht going to those injured.
The military will be in charge of surveying temple security in the three-southernmost provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat.
The attacks were the latest in a heightened period of violence at a time the Thai government is trying to revive stalled peace talks.
Narong Song-arom, a spokesman with the national Buddhist authority, said local residents have been asked to work in tandem with the security forces to secure their community temples.
According to government, as of 2014 there were 207 Buddhist temples in the three Malay-Muslim majority provinces. Pattani has 80 temples, Yala 50 and Narathiwat 74.
BANGKOK — Several flights could be delayed as Don Mueang Airport closes portions of a runway next week for maintenance.
Airport general manager Sirote Duangratana said about 700 meters of the west runway will be shut Jan. 29 to Feb.1, which will reduce capacity for inbound flights from 26 to 22 per hour while parts of the tarmac are repaired.
As some flights will be delayed due to the work, Sirote said the airport would do its best to accommodate passengers and minimize the impact. He said travelers can contact the airport at 02-535-1192 at all hours for information.
More than 40 million people passed through Don Mueang Airport last fiscal year, a 9-percent increase from the previous year. After a series of renovations, it now has the capacity for about 30 million travelers per year.
NONTHABURI — Suntanned women sip prosecco under a thatched outdoor bar. Freckled millennials take photos of their avocado toast. Brunette children scramble over a wooden jungle gym in a grassy yard.
There’s a space for every member of the clan at Sweet Poppy, a family-friendly community space that just opened last month. Parents can relax at the bar while hungry couples gnosh on slightly expensive vegetarian grain bowls in the restaurant and the little ones play make believe in the yard’s miniature house.
“It’s difficult to accomodate kids in the part of the world,” said founder John Popovic, an Aussie dad of three who has lived in Southeast Asia for 10 years. “You have to take them to a restaurant, and young children lose their attention span quickly so you have to give them an iPad or phone.”
John Popovic.
Half of Sweet Poppy’s 2.5 rai (0.4 hectares) is green space: a playground with a wooden jungle gym, a bird’s nest swing imported from Denmark, a open yard where yoga sessions are held and a small herb kitchen garden.
“Here, parents can relax as kids run carefree, have social fun, shoes off, without electronics. They can run back to their parents when they get hungry or thirsty,” Popovic said. “I love to see parents relaxing, communicating more.”
The family-friendly space also includes little-but-significant touches like a family toilet for moms and dads to wash up and change diapers with their youngest children. All walkways are pram- and wheelchair-accessible. A hanging cascade of dried grass garlands can entertain 1- to 2-year-old kids, Popovic says.
Popovic holds up hanging chains of dried grass, part of a playground installation.
Urban Escape
On Wednesday afternoon, Line Hojlund, Victoria Davy and Kelly Einarson were sipping seltzers and crunching on salads in the outdoor bar. Davy, a 46-year-old American, said the three rode to the Sweet Poppy on a golf cart from the nearby International School Bangkok.
ISB is one of the five international schools in the area along with Magic Years International School, St. Andrews Samakee International School, Early Learning Centre and Rose Marie Academy.
Kelly Einarson, Victoria Davy and Line Hojlund at Sweet Poppy.
Popovic said the schools and the nearby gated Western community called Nichada Thani of about 1,400 families make Sweet Poppy a well-placed hub for a community space and healthy Western food. The owner hopes both Thais and expats seeking to escape Bangkok’s busy, polluted life can trek north to Nonthaburi for a grassy respite.
“It makes me happy when people say they feel like they’re in an oasis, a respite, or when they say don’t feel like they’re in Thailand at all,” he said.
Einarson, 34 of Canada, said it was her third visit since Sweet Poppy opened.
“It’s a nice setting. You can come with your kids and run around, and there’s a lot of healthy options too,” Einarson said.
Hojlund, a 43-year-old Dane, said, “It reminds me of a resort. It just needs a pool.”
They said they don’t mind if Sweet Poppy becomes popular. “I’d just be happy that it stays around,” Einarson said.
What to Expect
At a recent hosted media preview of the menu, the open-air bar area was festooned with tropical plants and a pink neon sign saying “Hello Gorgeous.” The indoor restaurant had a bright jungle-slash-colonial theme with marble counters and floors, woven Malawi chairs and rotating punkah fans on the walls.
Avocado toast (310 baht).
Breakfast is served until 4pm and includes a surprisingly heavy slice of avocado toast (310 baht) topped with juicy, vinegared tomatoes and two poached eggs on hummus, topped with pickled red pepper (290 baht).
Two poached eggs on hummus, topped with pickled red pepper (290 baht)
Meats are sourced from organic butcher Sloane’s, and almost half of the menu is vegetarian or has vegetarian options, with many gluten- or dairy-free choices. The vegetarian Grains Bowl (320 baht) is a extremely filling vegetarian salad of barley, quinoa and chickpeas with miso dressing. To a Thai tongue, the Vietnamese Slaw (390 baht) tastes like a farang-friendly interpretation of Asian food. While the Baco (410 baht) is delicious in its herby flatbread execution, the price is a too high for a pita stuffed with meatballs and chorizo.
Vietnamese Slaw (390 baht), Crushed potatoes (150 baht), Organic Pork Chop (590 baht), Grains Bowl (320 baht) and Leaves and Herbs Salad (130 baht).
The sides are a thing of their own. Check out a comfort-food plate of crushed potatoes (150 baht), delectably sweet, longan-honey roasted carrots (150 baht) and a salad of leaves and herbs which includes a crunchy pickled radish with just the right amount of tart and a refreshing lemon dressing (130 baht). Mains include the organic pork chop (590 baht). Glazed in hoi sin sauce and served with a cauliflower mash and charred Chinese cabbage, it’s an Aussie take on Asian ingredients.
Vietnamese Slaw (390 baht).Organic Pork Chop (590 baht).
Still, the prices would be more at home in Thonglor than Nonthaburi, so splitting dishes may be a more sustainable option.
The Baco (410 baht) in foreground.
There’s also a tempting and healthy kids’ menu that includes ricotta hotcakes (180 baht), crisp lettuce cups with chicken, avocado and poached veggies (200 baht) and the amusing Lamington Ball (140 baht), a Aussie dessert where one has to whack a coconut-covered chocolate ball to dig for the coconut ice cream within. Another unmissable dessert is the pavlova (260 baht), which is a scoop of the same coconut ice cream resting on meringue filled with lemon curd, all topped with passionfruit sauce.
The name Sweet Poppy comes from a nickname of Popovic’s mother, who emigrated to Australia from Croatia – so the Australian fare also has a slight Croatian touch.
For example, other than the condiments and baked-in-house bread, Sweet Poppy staff also make their own ajvar, a mild Serbian red bell pepper condiment. Their home-pickled peppers, chiles and radishes are worth the drive – Sweet Poppy says it will begin selling these things next month.
Popovic said he’s open to hosting activities in the open space, from custom treasure hunts and bocce ball to parkour and outdoor movies.
“We can do many things in a natural environment and provide lots of entertainment options,” he said. “If you don’t mind the sound of kids playing, everyone can find their own space here.”
This write up was based on a hosted visit. Sweet Poppy, open 7am to 10:30pm daily, except for Mondays through Wednesdays when it closes at 6pm. The nearest public transportation is MRT Nonthaburi Civic Center.
A sign saying “unsupervised children will be given an espresso and a free puppy” in English and Thai encapsulates Aussie humor, Popovic says, and has prompted some people to actually ask staff for a free espresso and dog.A toy cooking station.A miniature hut for children to play in.
Anastasia Vashukevich, also known on social media as Nastya Rybka, on Saturday is escorted in the court room in Moscow, Russia. Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko / Associated Press
MOSCOW — A Belarusian model and self-styled sex instructor who last year claimed to have evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election said Saturday that she apologizes to a Russian tycoon for the claim and won’t say more about the matter.
Anastasia Vashukevich made the statement in a Moscow court that was considering whether to keep her in jail as she faces charges of inducement to prostitution. The court extended her detention for three more days.
Vashukevich’s statement appears to head off any chance of her speaking to U.S. investigators looking into possible collusion between Russia and President Donald Trump’s campaign.
Vashukevich, who goes by the name Nastya Rybka on social media, was arrested in Thailand last February on prostitution charges. She and several others were arrested in connection with a sex training seminar they were holding in Thailand.
After her arrest she claimed she had audio tapes of Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska, who is close to President Vladimir Putin, talking about interference in the U.S. election.
She had shot to world attention a few weeks earlier when a Russian opposition leader published an investigation based on her social media posts that suggested corrupt links between Deripaska and Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Prikhodko. The report featured video from Deripaska’s yacht in 2016, when Vashukevich says she was having an affair with him.
She was deported from Thailand on Thursday after pleading guilty and was detained when her flight arrived in Moscow, along with three other deportees including mentor Alexander Kirillov.
She told journalists in the Moscow court that she has apologized to Deripaska and says “I will no longer compromise him.”
Deripaska is among the Russian tycoons and officials who have been sanctioned in recent years by the United States in connection with Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea. His business empire includes aluminum, energy and construction assets.
He also once was a client of Paul Manafort, the former campaign manager for Trump. Manafort was convicted last year in the United States of tax and bank fraud.
In this Jan. 12, 2019, photo, a man walks by a vacant retail space window panels at the Central Business District in Beijing. Photo: Andy Wong / Associated Press
BEIJING — China’s 2018 economic growth fell to a three-decade low as activity cooled amid a tariff war with Washington.
The world’s second-largest economy expanded by 6.6 percent over a year earlier, down from 2017’s 6.9 percent, official data showed Monday. Growth in the three months ending in December cooled to 6.4 percent from the previous quarter’s 6.5 percent.
Communist leaders are trying to steer China to slower, more self-sustaining growth based on consumer spending instead of trade and investment. But the slowdown has been sharper than expected, prompting Beijing to ease lending controls and step up government spending to shore up growth and avoid politically dangerous job losses.
Economic activity held up through most of 2018 despite President Donald Trump’s tariff hikes on Chinese imports in a fight over Beijing’s technology ambitions. But exports contracted in December as the penalties began to depress demand.
2018’s growth was the lowest since 1990’s 3.9 percent in the aftermath of the violent crackdown on pro-democracy protests centered on Beijing’s Tiananmen Square the year before.
Growth in investment, retail spending and other indicators all declined, the National Bureau of Statistics reported.
In this Friday, Jan. 18, 2019 image made from video provided by the Survival Media Agency, a teenager wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat, center left, stands in front of an elderly Native American singing and playing a drum in Washington. Image: Associated Press
DETROIT — A Native American who was seen in online video being taunted outside the Lincoln Memorial said Sunday he felt compelled to get between two groups with his ceremonial drum to defuse a confrontation.
Nathan Phillips said in an interview with The Associated Press that he was trying to keep peace between some Kentucky high school students and a black religious group that was also on the National Mall on Friday. The students were participating in the March for Life, which drew thousands of anti-abortion protesters, and Phillips was attending the Indigenous Peoples March happening the same day.
“Something caused me to put myself between (them) — it was black and white,” said Phillips, who lives in Ypsilanti, Michigan. “What I saw was my country being torn apart. I couldn’t stand by and let that happen.”
Videos show a youth standing very close to Phillips and staring at him as he sang and played the drum. Other students — some in “Make America Great Again” hats and sweatshirts — were chanting, laughing and jeering.
Other videos also showed members of the religious group, who appear to be affiliated with the Black Hebrew Israelite movement, yelling disparaging and profane insults at the students, who taunt them in return. Video also shows the Native Americans being insulted by the small religious group as well.
The U.S. Park Police, who have authority for security on the Mall, were not taking calls from media during the partial government shutdown.
In a jointstatement, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington and Covington Catholic High School apologized and said they are investigating and will take “appropriate action, up to and including expulsion.”
“We extend our deepest apologies to Mr. Phillips,” the diocese statement read. “This behavior is opposed to the Church’s teachings on the dignity and respect of the human person.”
As of Sunday morning, Covington Catholic’s Facebook page was not available and its Twitter feed was set to private. Calls to the school went unanswered Sunday.
According to the “Indian Country Today” website, Phillips is an Omaha elder and Vietnam War veteran who holds an annual ceremony honoring Native American veterans at Arlington National Cemetery.
Phillips said it was a difficult end to an otherwise great day, in which his group sought to highlight injustices against native people worldwide through marching and prayer. He said his first interaction with the students came when they entered an area permitted for the Indigenous Peoples March.
“They were making remarks to each other … (such as) ‘In my state those Indians are nothing but a bunch of drunks.’ How do I report that?” he said. “These young people were just roughshodding through our space, like what’s been going on for 500 years here — just walking through our territories, feeling like ‘this is ours.”
Nearby, the black religious activists were speaking about being the only true Israelites. Phillips said group members called the Native Americans “sell-outs.”
Marcus Frejo, a member of the Pawnee and Seminole tribes who is also known as Chief Quese Imc, said he had been a part of the march and was among a small group of people remaining after the rally when the boisterous students began chanting slogans such as “make America great” and then began doing the haka, a traditional Maori dance. In a phone interview, Frejo told the AP he felt they were mocking the dance.
One 11-minute video of the confrontation shows the Haka dance and students loudly chanting before Phillips and Frejo approached them.
Frejo said he joined Phillips to defuse the situation, singing the anthem from the American Indian Movement with both men beating out the tempo on hand drums.
During the incident, Phillips said he heard people chanting “Build that wall” or yelling, “Go back to the reservation.” At one point, he said, he sought to ascend to the Lincoln statue and “pray for our country.” Some students backed off, but one student wouldn’t let him move, he added.
Although he feared the crowd could turn ugly, Frejo said he was at peace singing despite the scorn. He briefly felt something special happen as they sang.
“They went from mocking us and laughing at us to singing with us. I heard it three times,” Frejo said. “That spirit moved through us, that drum, and it slowly started to move through some of those youths.”
Eventually, a calm fell over the gathering and it broke up.
The videos prompted a torrent of outrage online. Actress and activist Alyssa Milanotweeted that the footage “brought me to tears,” while actor Chris Evanstweeted that the students’ actions were “appalling” and “shameful.”
Covington Catholic High School, in the northern Kentucky city of Park Hills, was quiet Sunday as the area remained snow-covered with temperatures in the teens. The all-male school, which has more than 580 students, appeared deserted with an empty police car parked in front of the building.
The private school’s website describes its mission as being “to embrace the Gospel message of Jesus Christ in order to educate students spiritually, academically, physically and socially.”
