Luang Cave Rescuer Sues Elon Musk Over ‘Pedo’ Tweet

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18 September 2018, 10:37

Elon Musk, second from left, in July in Chiang Rai. Photo: @Nammtoei / Twitter

A British diver who helped rescue youth football players trapped in a cave in Chiang Rai is suing Elon Musk, alleging that the Tesla CEO falsely accused him of being a pedophile.

Diver Vernon Unsworth, who lives north of London, contends that Musk made the false allegation on Twitter and then repeated multiple other falsehoods after the dramatic rescue of a dozen youth football players and their coach in July.

The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles federal court Monday seeks more than USD$75,000 in damages and a court order stopping Musk from making further allegations. Tesla did not respond to requests for comment Monday.

Musk called Unsworth a “pedo” in a tweet to his 22.5 million followers after Unsworth criticized Musk in a July 13 television interview with CNN about the rescue.

Musk and engineers from his rocket company, SpaceX, built a small submarine and shipped it to Thailand to help with the rescue. The device wasn’t used and in the interview, Unsworth called it a “PR stunt” and said it wouldn’t have worked to free the boys who were trapped in the flooded cave. He also said Musk “can stick his submarine somewhere where it hurts.”

The lawsuit alleges that Musk, apparently angered by Unsworth’s remarks, began a campaign to destroy his reputation “by publishing false and heinous accusations of criminality against him to the public.”

In a series of tweets July 15, Musk, who personally delivered the submarine to the cave, wrote that he never saw Unsworth and challenged him to show a video of the final rescue. “Sorry pedo guy, you really did ask for it,” Musk tweeted. Later on Twitter, Musk wrote “Bet ya a signed dollar it’s true.”

Later Musk deleted the tweets and apologized after being criticized by shareholders, the lawsuit alleged, stating in a tweet that his words were “spoken in anger” and that the sub was built out of kindness according to specifications from the dive team leader.

British caver Vern Unsworth in July in the Tham Luang complex in Chiang Rai.

But on Aug. 28, Musk tweeted about Unsworth once again, writing: “You don’t think it’s strange he hasn’t sued me? He was offered free legal services.” The lawsuit states that with the tweet, Musk sought to tell the average reader that Unsworth’s failure to sue at the time was evidence that Unsworth is a pedophile.

Two days after the Aug. 28 tweet, Musk emailed a BuzzFeed News reporter, suggesting that the reporter investigate Unsworth and “stop defending child rapists,” according to the lawsuit, which is 65 pages with exhibits.

“He’s an old, single white guy from England who’s been traveling or living in Thailand for 30 to 40 years,” Musk wrote, adding that Unsworth moved in Thailand “for a child bride who was about 12 years old at the time,” according to the lawsuit.

Then in a second email to BuzzFeed, Musk accused Unsworth of being a liar and said he wasn’t on the cave dive team.

“Mr. Unsworth is not a pedophile. Mr. Unsworth has never engaged in an act of pedophilia. Mr. Unsworth is not a child rapist,” the lawsuit stated, adding that Unsworth has never been married to a minor.

Unsworth has a “significant other” in Thailand, a 40-year-old woman with whom he shares a house, according to the lawsuit. He first started going to Thailand in 2011, where he explored and mapped caves, the documents stated.

The lawsuit explains Unsworth’s role in the rescue, saying that on June 23, when the football players became trapped, several officials called and asked him to go to the cave as soon as possible. He was the first foreign rescuer to arrive.

He recommended that the Thai government seek help from divers in the United Kingdom, and Unsworth called friend and fellow diver Rob Harper. Harper, who had just returned from exploring Thai caves with Unsworth, brought two other divers, John Volanthen and Rick Stanton, to help with the rescue.

The boys, ages 11-16, were found July 2 by Volanthen and Stanton, according to the lawsuit.

The last football player was rescued July 8. “Together with Mr. Unsworth, Mr. Harper, Mr. Volanthen, and Mr. Stanton put together the dive portion of the rescue plan that ultimately saved the boys,” the lawsuit stated. It concedes that Unsworth was not involved in the final planning stages of the rescue because he didn’t have enough experience to make the dive.

The lawsuit was filed by lawyers led by L. Lin Wood, an Atlanta attorney who has represented plaintiffs in several high-profile libel cases including the family of homicide victim JonBenet Ramsey and security guard Richard Jewel, who was accused in media reports of being a suspect in a 1996 bombing during the Olympics in Atlanta, a crime committed by anti-government extremist Eric Rudolph. The documents said a separate lawsuit would be filed in England.

Unsworth will not do interviews, Wood said, but the attorney said in a statement that Musk’s wealth “cannot convert his lies into truth or protect him from accountability for his wrongdoing in a court of law.”

Unsworth’s British lawyer, Mark Stephens, said that “Twibels (Twitter libels) show that falsehoods by the rich and powerful can circulate round the globe to their 22.5 million followers and to the media before the truth can pull its boots on.”

“The truth has now got its boots on and Elon Musk is being brought to account for repeatedly attacking and taunting the good name of an ordinary spelunker: Vernon Unsworth who answered the call and (with others) put his life on the line to help rescue the 13 trapped in the caves in Thailand,” he said.

Stephens did not say when Unsworth planned to file a claim in the British courts.

Story: Tom Krisher

Russia: Missile That Shot Down Flight MH17 Was Ukrainian

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Associated Press

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17 September 2018, 17:27

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 taxis in 2011 in Fiumicino Airport, Rome, Italy. Photo: Alan Wilson / Wikimedia Commons

MOSCOW — The Russian military says the missile that shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 came from the arsenals of the Ukrainian army, not from Russia.

The passenger jet was shot down by a Soviet-made missile over rebel-held eastern Ukraine in July 2014, killing all 298 people aboard. The Netherlands and Australia announced in May that they believe the missile was transported to Ukraine from a military unit in the Russian city of Kursk.

Russia has vehemently denied involvement. Lt. Gen. Nikolai Parshin, chief of the Missile and Artillery Directorate at the Russian Defense Ministry, told reporters on Monday that the military had studied archives at the research center that produced the Buk missiles.

He said the missile in question was transported to a military unit in 1986 and to their knowledge never left Ukraine.

Toddler’s Body Found in Refugee Camp Hit By Landslide

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JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI

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17 September 2018, 17:16

A landslide devastated the Ban Mae La Oon refugee camp in Mae Hong Son province in a photo provided Monday by the authorities.

MAE HONG SON — The body of a 2-year-old girl was found Monday after a landslide swept through a refugee camp in Mae Hong Son province, with seven people still missing.

The search and rescue operation continued Tuesday for the mostly young children who went missing in flash floods and a landslide triggered by torrential rain Sunday in the Ban Mae La Oon refugee camp in the Sop Moei district.

Gov. Sakorn Roongruang vowed to keep up the search until all are found.

The landslide also left 15 people injured. At least seven homes were destroyed and 49 people displaced. Almost 700 people were affected by the disaster.

Officials said residents face food and clothing shortages as most of their belongings were swept away.

Sakorn said it takes hours for rescue teams to reach the community as many parts of the road are blocked.

He added that the authorities will find another area less prone to landslides to build new homes for affected residents.

Ban Mae La Oon, located about 7 kilometers from the Myanmar border, is home to more than 9,400 refugees – mostly ethnic minorities who fled violence in Myanmar – according to the UN Refugee Agency.

Update: This article has been updated with additional information about the missing children and comments from the provincial governor.

Voice TV Suspends 2 Commentators, Says NBTC Forced It

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Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer

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17 September 2018, 17:10

Sirote Klampaiboon in a Friday episode of Wake Up News.

BANGKOK — Voice TV said on Monday it would suspend two prominent news commentators from a morning program for a month after citing pressures by the national telecommunications commission.

Virot Ali – one of two political commentators suspended from the Wake Up News program – said the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission accused him and his colleague of being biased and reporting too frequently on ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra. The station is owned by Thaksin’s son Panthongtae.

“The [commission] left us with no option. They said we have committed repeated violations and threatened to revoke our license,” Virot said, referring to the permit to operate the TV station.

Virot said the commission gave no explanation or written order, and that the station was told to propose how to penalize itself. He added that he believes the military regime pressured the commission to act.

NBTC secretary general Takorn Tantasith was not available for comment as of press time Monday afternoon.

Prateep Kongsib, director of Content and News Programs at Voice TV, said Monday that the suspension would extend from today through Oct. 17. Prateep said substitute staff will man the program until then, adding that a daily online political vignette by cartoonist Sia would also be suspended for the same period.

Prateep said the commission had already called the station five times this year to make clarifications.

“No penalty has been imposed this time because they want us to re-examine and improve on some parts,” Prateep said.

In a Sunday Facebook post, Prateep wrote that they had to put up with such scrutiny and listed four other TV hosts working at the station who had previously been suspended.

“In the end, we still reserve the right to fight in the justice process,” he said.

Sirote Klampaiboon, the other suspended commentator, wrote Sunday night on Facebook that he had been accused of political bias and making sarcastic remarks about the government.

“I draw the line on my views toward this government based on direct criticism. I do not attack them for being dictatorial. I don’t say they came to power through a coup. I don’t touch on their personalities and never exploit any chance to wrongly accuse the government.”

Sirote’s post elicited many comments, including one from former Nation TV President Adisak Limparungpatanakij.

“This behavior you describe is no different to that of a wolf and a sheep. No matter which era, the symptoms of underlings who feel they are insecure tend to lead to such behavior to pay lip service to the boss. But in the end, the boss will unknowingly be in ruins, because they end up closing their own ears and eyes without wanting to hear or read bad things about themselves,” Adisak wrote.

K-Drama Fans Who Impersonated Airport Staff Face Charges

By

Teeranai Charuvastra, News Chief

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17 September 2018, 17:06

BANGKOK — Police said Monday that two women were able to enter a restricted area at Suvarnabhumi Airport and see a Korean actor up close by claiming to be customs officials.

The pair was using a security pass borrowed from a mutual friend, who was working in the Customs Department, according to Suvarnabhumi Airport police chief Viroj Tudso. Airport authorities have filed criminal charges over the incident, he said.

“We have issued a summons warrant,” Col. Viroj said. He declined to name the official and the two fans.

Update: Suvarnabhumi to Upgrade Security After K-Fan Breach

The incident took place Friday night when actor and model Lee Jong-suk arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport to attend a fan meeting event scheduled for Saturday.

While most of the fans were content with waiting to welcome the star at the arrival hall, a woman posted on her Instagram account that she and her friend managed to see Lee at the immigration checkpoint area thanks to the help from someone who works at the customs department.

“Thank you my dear friend Piano who let me know Suk’s flight, and P’Sai for telling an official to let us in through the departure gate,” a caption reads. “Oyyyy I was the first to shake Suk’s hand!”

Outraged fans soon condemned and widely shared the posts, drawing the attention of airport authorities. Suvarnabhumi airport director Sirot Duangraj said in a Monday statement that his staff are seeking legal action over the incident.

The trio face charges of nighttime intrusion of an airport security area, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in jail, Col. Viroj said. He added that the airport takes the matter seriously because it could affect its international standing.

“It violates the standards set by ICAO,” the policeman said, referring to the International Civil Aviation Organization. “They had already given us a red flag about security measures.”

In a statement released Monday, the customs department confirmed that one of its officials was responsible for the breach, and that a disciplinary investigation had been launched. On top of potential legal consequences, the official in question could be expelled if found guilty.

The statement also said the inquiry would find out whether there were other people involved in the incident.

7 Die of Suspected Drug Overdoses at Vietnam Music Festival

By

Associated Press

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17 September 2018, 14:16

An undated image of revelers at the Vietnam Electronic Weekend in Hanoi. Image: Anternation Channel / YouTube

HANOI — Seven people have died of suspected drug overdoses during a music festival in Vietnam.

The Capital Police newspaper said five other people were still in comas Monday after overdosing at the festival Sunday night.

The Vietnam Electronic Weekend festival was held in a water park near Hanoi’s city center and attended by thousands of people.

The state-run media outlet said all the victims tested positive but it didn’t identify which drug or drugs were involved. It said police had seized suspected drug substances at the scene.

Police and local officials were not available for comment Monday.

Government data say Vietnam has 220,000 drug addicts with police records and some 1,600 overdose deaths annually.

Methamphetamine and heroin are the most common drugs used and overdosed, with meth use rising in recent years.

Prayuth Wants Prompt Prosecution of Dead Elephant’s Owner

By

Teeranai Charuvastra, News Chief

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17 September 2018, 12:39

Body of the elephant was brought to wild life officials in Samut Prakan on Saturday.

BANGKOK — Junta chairman Prayuth Chan-ocha urged officials to find out who was responsible for a young elephant that died while being forced to beg on the street, a government spokesman said Monday.

The junta chief also encouraged the public to report any beggar elephants in the city to the authorities, spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd told reporters. An official in Surin province, where the 10-year-old animal was from, said he was still unable to identify who owned and leased the elephant to the mahouts.

“The prime minister stressed that this was not the first case, and that elephants are animals closely tied to Thailand,” Sansern said. “Now that this incident happened, he believes many Thais are upset … this is unacceptable.”

Read: Mahouts Charged After Young Elephant Dies From Fall, Electrocution

“He has asked for cooperation from the people … to report any tip to relevant agencies for an immediate action,” the spokesman added.

The male elephant, called Nam Chok, fell through a makeshift drainage cover Friday night in Samut Prakan province, where two mahouts forced him to sell food on the streets. The elephant died an hour later after falling and being electrocuted.

The two mahouts were subsequently charged with animal cruelty, illegal transportation of an animal and blocking road traffic.

One of the two suspects, 15-year-old Pansa Yanamkham, told police they had been renting the elephant from an owner in Surin province. The name of the other suspect has yet to be released.

Noppon Saengsawang, an officer at Bang Phli Police Station in charge of the case, said the pair was taken to court over the weekend. He declined to answer other questions, saying he was in a meeting.

Herding elephants to beg for food or money – a common sight in some tourist spots – was made illegal in a 2014 law that bans animal cruelty. Violations are punishable by up to two years in jail.

The elephant was originally from a village in Chumphon Buri district of Surin, according to Chusak Ratchaburi, the chief of that district. Although some news reports identified the previous owner as Kiattisak Lakkasorn, headsman of Khunchaitong village, Chusak would not confirm the claim.

“We still cannot confirm the details. We’re still checking the information,” Chusak said. “We should have the information within this week.”

Correction: An earlier version of this article misspelled Chumphon Buri district’s name.

Thailand to Feel Tropical Storm Mangkhut’s Side Effects: Officials

By

Asaree Thaitrakulpanich, Staff Reporter

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17 September 2018, 12:36

lkkj — A child floats in floodwaters Sunday in a bucket in Satun province.

BANGKOK — Although Thailand won’t directly cross paths with tropical storm Mangkhut, the country will suffer inundations from the southwestern monsoons it intensifies.

As Mangkhut on Monday moved into China, Thailand should brace for a week of rains caused by the tropical storm, especially along the western Andaman coast, the north and Isaan provinces, Seree Supratid, director of the Climate Change & Disaster Center, Rangsit University said by phone Monday.

“The storm won’t hit us directly so we can relax a bit,” Seree said. “But we will experience the side effects.”

Seree said Mangkhut had caused the southwest monsoons to strengthen along monsoon troughs, creating heavier rains than usual along western, northern, Isaan and central provinces.

“It won’t be as extreme as in the Philippines, Hong Kong, China or Vietnam,” Seree said.

The state meteorological department issued a statement Monday echoing Seree: Mangkhut’s movement into China’s Yunnan province tomorrow would cause the southwest monsoon to strengthen and shower Isaan through Wednesday with up to 4-meter-high waves along the Andaman coast.

Through Saturday, all provinces should expect a 60 to 80 percent chance of rain, especially in the north, Isaan and the Andaman coast. Bangkok will see a 70 percent chance of rain with lows of 23C and highs of 34C.

Super typhoon Mangkhut weakened to a tropical storm after it made landfall in mainland China, killing at least four, after leaving at least 65 dead in the Philippines.

Here are some areas in Thailand that had been affected by monsoon floods Monday.

Yothee Kitkungwol, 47, of Chanthaburi said rain fell for five hours straight Sunday night to early Monday morning from monsoons affected by Mangkhut. Flash floods rushed into Khlung district from Khao Sa Bap mountain.

“I couldn’t sleep all night. I had to be on alert and pack my things to put them in high places,” Yothee said.

000053966 — Yothee Kitkungwol, 47, of Chanthaburi in his flooded house early Monday morning.

In Ratchaburi, areas along the Mae Klong River, several coconut orchards and other agricultural areas were inundated. Ratchaburi receives runoff from the two major Srinakarin and Vajiralongkorn dams in Kanchanaburi.

On Koh Samui in Surat Thani, strong winds and waves prevented small boats from setting sail from Bangrak Beach. Boat owners who could not bring their vessels ashore docked them as close as they could to land.

Storm Floods Pattaya as Typhoon Bears Down (Photos)

Storm, Super Typhoon to Shower Thailand Through Next Week

2018 Won’t be 2011 For Bangkok Flooding: Experts

Mangkhut Weakens to Tropical Storm After Plowing Into China

By

Associated Press

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17 September 2018, 11:30

In this Sunday, Sept. 16, 2018, photo released by Xinhua News Agency, an office building's windows damaged by Typhoon Mangkhut in Hong Kong. Photo: Wang Shen / Associated Press

HONG KONG — Mangkhut weakened from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it moved deeper into southern China on Monday, leaving death and destruction from Hong Kong to the Philippines.

The storm was still affecting southern China’s coast and the provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan and rain and strong winds were expected to continue through Tuesday.

Hong Kong residents were told to stay away from the coastline and be on alert for occasional gales. Bus, ferry and rail services were suspended and almost 900 flights were canceled at the city’s airport, one of the world’s busiest. The South China Morning Post said Hong Kong’s hospitals had to use backup power due to outages caused by the storm.

Mangkhut earlier lashed the Philippines, sparking landslides and building collapses that killed at least 65 people, with another 43 missing. Authorities reported four deaths from falling trees and building materials in Guangdong, China’s manufacturing hub.

As of Monday morning Mangkhut was on track to pass over the Guangxi regional capital of Nanning and move toward the border with tourism powerhouse Yunnan province.

The Hong Kong Observatory reported Mangkhut was the most powerful cyclone to hit the city since 1979, packing maximum sustained gusts of 195 kilometers per hour (121 mph).

https://twitter.com/tweetfrancis/status/1041182039859290112

Typhoon Mangkhut barreled into southern China after lashing the Philippines with strong winds and heavy rain that caused landslides feared to have buried dozens.

More than 2.4 million people had been evacuated in southern China’s Guangdong province by Sunday evening to flee the typhoon, state media said. “Prepare for the worst,” Hong Kong Security Minister John Lee Ka-chiu urged residents.

That warning followed Mangkhut’s devastating march through the northern Philippines on Saturday with sustained winds of 205 kilometers (127 miles) per hour. Landslides caused by the pounding storm hit two villages in Itogon town in the mountain province of Benguet.

Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan told The Associated Press by phone that at the height of the typhoon’s onslaught Saturday afternoon, dozens of people, mostly miners and their families, rushed into an old three-story building in the village of Ucab.

The building – a former mining bunkhouse that had been transformed into a chapel – was obliterated when part of a mountain slope collapsed. Three villagers who managed to escape told authorities what happened.

https://twitter.com/HongKongFP/status/1041226909542232064

“They thought they were really safe there,” the mayor said Sunday. He expressed sadness that the villagers, many of them poor, had few options to survive in a region where big corporations have profited immensely from gold mines.

The rescue work halted for the night before resuming Monday morning. Men used pikes and shovels to dig into the mud since the soaked ground was unstable and limited the use of heavy equipment on site.

The typhoon was occurring as tropical weather also was devastating the southern U.S. Florence has dumped historical levels of rain on North Carolina.

Mangkhut made landfall in the Guangdong city of Taishan at 5 p.m. Sunday, packing wind speeds of 162 kilometers (100 miles) per hour. State television broadcaster CGTN reported that surging waves flooded a seaside hotel in the city of Shenzhen.

The storm shattered glass windows on commercial skyscrapers in Hong Kong, sending sheets of paper pouring out of the buildings, fluttering and spiraling as they headed for the debris-strewn ground, according to videos on social media.

Mangkhut also felled trees, tore scaffolding off buildings under construction and flooded some areas of Hong Kong with waist-high waters, according to the South China Morning Post.

Casinos on Macau were ordered closed for the first time due to the typhoon.

Story: Vincent Yu and Jim Gomez

Militants Free 3 Indonesian Hostages in Southern Philippines

By

Associated Press

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17 September 2018, 11:15

In this photo released by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, three Indonesian hostages (in civilian clothes) pose with Philippine military officers and an Indonesian military attache in Zamboanga city following their Friday release from captivity in Jolo, Sulu by Muslim militant kidnappers Sunday, Sept. 16, 2018, in the southern Philippines. Photo: Associated Press

MANILA — Muslim militants have freed three Indonesian men they kidnapped at sea early last year off Malaysia then brought them to their jungle hideouts in the southern Philippines, officials said Sunday.

The Indonesians were freed Friday with the help of the Moro National Liberation Front, a rebel group that signed a peace deal with the Philippine government, in Indanan town in Sulu province, police said.

The released hostages, Hamdam Salim, Subandi Sattuh and Sudarlan Samansung, were to be handed to the Indonesian ambassador in southern Zamboanga city later Sunday, the military said.

While cruising on board a speedboat, the three were taken at gunpoint by suspected Abu Sayyaf militants off Malaysia’s Sabah state on Borneo island in January last year. The hostages were brought aboard motorboats to the gunmen’s jungle hideout in Sulu, a poor, predominantly Muslim province in the southern Philippines where the Abu Sayyaf has had a presence since the late 1980s, security officials said.

An Abu Sayyaf commander, Marjan Sahidjuan, who uses nom de guerre Apo Mike, led the abductors who freed the captives in exchange for a ransom, a security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to talk to media.

Regional military spokesman Lt. Col. Gerry Besana said the military is unaware of any ransom payment and added that relentless offensives pressured the kidnappers to let go of their hostages.

Efforts by the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia to beef up security along their massive sea border have considerably eased piracy and kidnappings in the past months primarily by the Abu Sayyaf, which is blacklisted by the United States and the Philippines as a terrorist organization.

The Philippine police, however, said that the two Indonesian skippers of a Malaysian fishing boat were abducted on Tuesday off Semporna Islands in Sabah, Malaysia, and also taken by suspected militants armed with M-16 rifles toward the southern Philippines.

The Philippine military said it was trying to confirm the reported kidnapping.

Story: Jim Gomez

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