Nok Cabin Crew Gives ‘Toxic’ Welcome to Britney Spears

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22 June 2017, 15:54

A capture from Britney’s ‘Toxic’ cover video by Nok Air flight attendants

BANGKOK — A day after American pop singer Britney Spears touched down in Bangkok, a cover of her hit “Toxic” by four fetching Thai flight attendants was posted online to celebrate her arrival.

To welcome the millennial Pop Princess, Thai superfans have shown their devotion in different ways. Some attended a cosplay and lipsync audition for a chance to meet their idol, while others covered her song by wearing their airline uniforms.

Four Nok Air flight attendants went even further, filming their “Toxic” cover aboard a company jet. In the video posted Wednesday evening, the four perform a routine similar to that of the original, in which Spears dances in what is now an iconic blue uniform.

The clip has been viewed more than 55,000 times as of Thursday afternoon and drawn a lot of attention online where some criticized the airline service.

Read: Britney Ticket Holders Complain 2nd Show Will be 1st

They weren’t the only flight crew to get in on the act, as more than 10 crew from Israel’s El Al Airlines released their own cover clip of the same song Tuesday.

Earlier, in March, an AirAsia flight attendant went solo to show his tempting dancing and lipsyncing skills.

Spears arrived Wednesday evening at Don Mueang International Airport and performs Friday and Saturday at Impact Arena.

Taste Electro-Soul Parisian ‘Juice’ at CentralWorld

By

Chayanit Itthipongmaetee, Staff Reporter

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22 June 2017, 15:29

BANGKOK — A Parisian multi-instrumentalist is returning to Bangkok for refreshing electronic-soul mixes in September.

Film sound engineer-turned-producer Vincent Fenton, under the moniker French Kiwi Juice or FKJ, will perform a live set blending elements of electronic, hip-hop, jazz, funk, soul and R&B at a Bangkok department store in September.

Tickets are available online starting at 790 baht. FKJ Live in Bangkok runs 9pm until midnight on Sept. 15 at Zen department store in CentralWorld.

FKJ performed in Bangkok last time in January 2016 at Live RCA Bangkok. The dreadlocked musician was a sound engineer when he released his first EP, “The Twins,” in 2012, followed by his first album “French Kiwi Juice” in March. He is described by online music magazines as a flagbearer of New French House.

Rayong Man Confesses to Raping, Choking Girl to Death

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Asaree Thaitrakulpanich, Staff Reporter

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22 June 2017, 14:52

Wichai Chotisena, 58, describes Thursday how he raped and killed an 11-year-old schoolgirl. “When she said, ‘Uncle jaa,’ I got turned on,” Wichai said. “I didn’t rape her, but stuck my finger inside.” Read: Rayong Man Confesses to Raping, Choking Girl to Death

RAYONG — A man suspected of abducting and murdering an 11-year-old girl reportedly confessed Thursday afternoon to police.

Wichai Chotisena, 57, said he picked the girl up from her school Tuesday, sexually assaulted her and then choked her to death when she tried to escape at a news conference held at the Pluak Daeng district police station in Rayong province.

“When she said, ‘Uncle jaa,’ I got turned on,” Wichai said. “I didn’t rape her, but stuck my finger inside.”

Read: Rayong Man Suspected of Abducting, Killing Girl, 11

Wichai has been charged with murder. Police said they are still weighing whether to charge him with rape or indecency. According to legal precedent, sexual assault can only prosecuted as attempted rape if there is strong evidence of intended penetration by tongue or genitals.

A school guard helped lead police to arrest him Wednesday before the girl’s body was found later that night. He had initially denied killing the girl, saying she had fallen from his motorcycle.

According to a reporter on the scene, police said they won Wichai’s confession by playing “Crying Mother Earth,” a traditional, sad song customarily played at funerals.

Wichai said he was drunk Tuesday when he picked up the girl from her school on his motorcycle. After he stopped his motorcycle and assaulted her, Wichai said she screamed for help and told him she was in pain and tried to flee. He said the girl only ran three meters when he caught her and strangled her.

“I didn’t mean to choke her to death,” Wichai said. “I was afraid someone would hear.”

Wichai said he then undressed the girl for fear someone would recognize her school uniform before and dumped her body behind a construction site. He put her school uniform in her backpack and dumped it nearby.

Wichai said the girl’s father was a friend, and he often took her out to eat sweets.

Live ตร.แถลงผลการจับกุม นายวิชัย โชติเสนา อายุ 58 ปี พร้อม หลักฐานสำคัญ มัดตัวคนร้ายฆ่าข่มขืนดญ.วัย 11 ขวบหลังพบเป็นศพเปลือย #สดจากระยอง #ปลวกแดง

โพสต์โดย Khaosod – ข่าวสด บน 22 มิถุนายน 2017

World Population Will Reach 9.8 Billion in 2050: UN

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Associated Press

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22 June 2017, 12:46

UNITED NATIONS — India’s population is expected to surpass China’s in about seven years and Nigeria is projected to overtake the United States and become the third most populous country in the world shortly before 2050, a U.N. report said Wednesday.

The report by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs’ Population Division forecasts that the current world population of nearly 7.6 billion will increase to 8.6 billion by 2030, 9.8 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion in 2100.

It said roughly 83 million people are added to the world’s population every year and the upward trend is expected to continue even with a continuing decline in fertility rates, which have fallen steadily since the 1960s.

popthai — Graph: UN Dept. of Economic and Social Affairs

In Thailand, projections show a population that has nearly peaked and entering a state of decline that median estimates predict will fall to 65 million by 2050.

John Wilmoth, director of the Population Division, said at a news conference that the report includes information on the populations of 233 countries or areas of the world.

“The population in Africa is notable for its rapid rate of growth, and it is anticipated that over half of global population growth between now and 2050 will take place in that region,” he said. “At the other extreme, it is expected that the population of Europe will, in fact, decline somewhat in the coming decades.”

The U.N. agency forecasts that from now through 2050 half the world’s population growth will be concentrated in just nine countries — India, Nigeria, Congo, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Tanzania, United States, Uganda and Indonesia. Those nations are listed in the order of their “expected contribution to total growth,” the report said.

During the same period, it added, the populations of 26 African countries are expected to at least double.

Nigeria, currently the world’s seventh largest country, has the fastest growing population of the 10 most populous countries worldwide, and the report projects it will surpass the U.S. shortly before mid-century.

The new projections also forecast that China, which currently has 1.4 billion inhabitants, will be replaced as the world’s most populous country around 2024 by India, which now has 1.3 billion inhabitants.

The report, titled “The World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision,” said fertility has been declining in nearly all regions in recent years.

Between 2010 and 2015, Wilmoth said, “the world’s women had 2 1/2 births per woman over a lifetime — but this number varies widely around the world.”

“Europe has the lowest fertility level, estimated at 1.6 births per woman in the most recent period, while Africa has the highest fertility, with around 4.7 births per woman,” he said.

The report said birth rates in the 47 least developed countries remain relatively high, with population growth around 2.4 percent a year. While this rate is expected to slow significantly in the coming decades, the U.N. said the combined population of the 47 countries is projected to increase by 33 percent from roughly 1 billion now to 1.9 billion in 2050.

More and more countries now have fertility rates below the level of roughly 2.1 births per woman needed to replace the current generation, the report said. During the 2010-2015 period, fertility was below the replacement level in 83 countries comprising 46 percent of the world’s population, it said.

The 10 most populous countries with low fertility levels are China, United States, Brazil, Russia, Japan, Vietnam, Germany, Iran, Thailand and United Kingdom, the report said.

In addition to slowing population growth, low fertility levels lead to an older population, the report noted. It forecasts that the number of people aged 60 or above will more than double from the current 962 million to 2.1 billion in 2050 and more than triple to 3.1 billion in 2100.

A quarter of Europe’s population is already aged 60 or over, and that share is projected to reach 35 percent in 2050 then remain around that level for the rest of the century, the report said.

Story: Edith M. Lederer, Khaosod English

Thai Agency’s ‘Unusual’ Pitch Wins Cannes Lions Design Grand Prix

By

Chayanit Itthipongmaetee, Staff Reporter

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22 June 2017, 12:41

Children play on an irregular football field in Bangkok’s Khlong Toei district.

BANGKOK — A feel-good marketing campaign about Khlong Toei’s non-standard football pitches brought a Thai agency the kingdom’s first Grand Prix at an advertising awards show in Cannes, France.

Among 278 entries, Thai real estate developer AP Thai and advertising agency CJ Worx on Wednesday night picked up the Grand Prix award in design category at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the global event for those working in the creative communications and advertising fields.

It’s the first Grand Prix to go to Thailand since the festival debuted in 1954.

Read: Pitch Imperfect: Khlong Toei Slums Get Funky Football Fields

“It’s an amazing piece. It’s so smart. It’s simple. It’s purposeful …,” jury president Sandra Planeta said. “It’s about creating use where there were [sic] none.”

Apart from the prestigious Grand Prix, the football field also took a Silver Lion in the outdoor category and a Bronze Lion for entertainment.

The irregular football pitch is located in a squalorous and densely populated area in Bangkok’s Khlong Toei district, where empty spaces between tenements were transformed football pitches for community use, regardless of size or shape.

Gut Feelings Tackled When Science Takes the Stage

By

Kaewta Ketbungkan, Staff Reporter

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22 June 2017, 12:30

Still image from ‘Plum.’ Photo: Digest Pls/ Courtesy.

BANGKOK — Twenty artists will spill their guts in stage performances about the science of digestion.

Looking to combine the arts and sciences, the participating artists – all experts in dance, magic, butoh and music – settled on a topic familiar to all: eating and what comes afterward.

They’ll showcase their pieces in a three-week exhibition not limited only to theatrical performances.

Kwin Bhichitkul will lead the performance genre with three shows. In “Factory,” a man and 20 boxes will illustrate the function of the small intestine. “Plum” where WWE is used to represent the operation of teeth and learn about excretory system in “Hertha Berlin.”

Japanese butoh will combine with improvised live music in “Decay,” about the end of all things, food and us.

Magic and psychology will be used in “Body Deception” which looks at the tricks used by the body to deceive the brain.

Want to take a sonic journey into the gut? Stomach sounds will be imitated using frequencies and acoustics in “Density of Sound.”

All artists attended a one-day lecture on digestion at the Faculty of Medicine at Thammasat University. After that, they were assigned to produce their work on digestive organs, the digestive system or digestive syndromes.

Apart from performances, post-talk discussions with artists will be held each week in Thai and English.

Find the full performance schedule on Facebook.

One-day tickets are 500 baht (390 baht students). Special offers for advance sales and multiple tickets are available online.

The shows starts at 7pm, Friday through Sunday from June 30 to July 16 at Syrup The Space at Liberty Plaza, located in Soi Thong Lor. It can be reached from the Soi Thong Lo Pier via the Khlong Saen Saep boat taxi or taking a red bus or motorbike taxi from BTS Thong Lo.

DECAY — Still image from ‘Decay.’ Photo: Digest Pls/ Courtesy.

gutbody rehearsal — Rehearsal of ‘The Gut Body’ Photo: Digest Pls/ Courtesy.

hepato blahblah0 — Still image from ‘Hepato- blah blah.’ Photo: Digest Pls/ Courtesy.

Rayong Man Suspected of Abducting, Killing Girl, 11

By

Asaree Thaitrakulpanich, Staff Reporter

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22 June 2017, 12:23

A still image from security footage said to show Wichai Chotisena, 58, with an 11-year-old schoolgirl on his motorcycle.

RAYONG — A man suspected of raping and killing an 11-year-old schoolgirl denied the allegations Thursday.

Wichai Chotisena, 57, has reportedly confessed to picking the girl up Tuesday at her school. School security guards, the girl’s father and local police tracked him down Wednesday, and the girl’s unclothed body was found that evening behind a construction plant.

“We don’t know yet whether he raped the girl,” said Col. Somlerk Kamchoo of Pluak Daeng district police in Rayong province.

Update: Rayong Man Confesses to Raping, Choking Girl to Death

Wichai has not been charged yet as police are awaiting court approval for an arrest warrant. However, Somlerk said, Wichai is being detained.

An autopsy of the girl’s body is underway.

On Tuesday, a school security guard saw Wichai pick up the fifth grader from her school in Rayong. The guard knew the man wasn’t a relative, so he went to the police. The girl’s mother also posted messages across social media informing her child was missing.

Wichai says he picked the girl up, but was planning to bring her to her father when she fell off the motorcycle and broke her neck. Wichai claims he then removed her clothes because he was afraid someone would recognize her body, then hid the body.

Trump Ponders Solar Panels on Mexico Border Wall

By

Associated Press

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22 June 2017, 12:07

President Donald Trump walks on stage to speaks at Kirkwood Community College, which is recognized by the White House as a major center of agricultural innovation, during a visit to the campus Wednesday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa: Photo: Susan Walsh / Associated Press

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Struggling to advance his agenda in Washington, President Donald Trump traveled to the Midwest on Wednesday for a raucous rally with his loyal supporters – the kind of event he relished before winning the White House.

Trump touched down Wednesday evening in rainy Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and headed to a local community college, where he got a look at agriculture technology innovations before leading a campaign rally.

He reveled in Georgia Republican Karen Handel’s congressional victory in an election viewed as an early referendum on his presidency.

“We’re 5-0 in special elections,” Trump said in front of a boisterous crowd that packed a downtown arena. “The truth is, people love us … they haven’t figured it out yet.”

He also applauded Republican Ralph Norman, who notched a slimmer-than-expected win in a special election to fill the South Carolina congressional seat vacated by Mick Mulvaney, and mocked Handel’s challenger, Jon Ossoff, saying the Democrats “spent USD $30 million on this kid who forgot to live in the district.”

Trump, no stranger to victory laps, turned his visit to a battleground state he captured in November into a celebration of his resilience despite the cloud of investigations that has enveloped his administration and sent his poll numbers tumbling.

With the appearance in Cedar Rapids, he has held five rallies in the first five months in office.

The event underscores Trump’s comfort in a campaign setting. He laughed off the occasional heckler, repeated riffs from last year’s rallies and appeared far more at ease when going after Democrats in front of adoring crowds than trying to push through his own legislative agenda from the confines of the White House.

Trump’s aides are making a renewed push to get the president out of Washington. The capital is consumed with the investigation into Russian meddling in last year’s election and Trump’s firing of his FBI director.

Campaign rallies energize Trump by placing him in front of supporters who have stuck by him and are likely to dismiss the investigations as Beltway chatter.

Iowa, with its large share of independent voters, could be a proving ground for whether Trump can count on the support of voters beyond his base. Unaffiliated voters – or “no party” voters, as they are known in Iowa – make up 36 percent of the electorate, compared with 33 percent who register Republican and 31 percent registered as Democrat.

Self-identified independents in Iowa voted for Trump over Democrat Hillary Clinton by a 13-percentage-point margin last year, according to exit polls conducted for The Associated Press and television networks. That margin helped Trump take the state by nearly 9 points after Barack Obama won it for Democrats the previous two elections.

Trump held a Des Moines rally in December as part of his transition-era “thank you” tour of states he had won, but has not been back to Iowa since.

Wednesday night, he touted his administration’s efforts to roll back regulations, mused about putting solar panels on a Mexican border wall, derided wind power for killing birds in a state that uses a lot of it and revealed that he urged the Senate to create a health care plan “with heart. Add some money to it!”

He avoided any discussion of the scandals surrounding his presidency, other than one brief reference to the “witch hunt,” which is what he has dubbed the probes into his campaign’s ties to Russia.

Trump’s evening in Iowa began with a tribute to former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, whom he had just appointed the United States’ ambassador to China. He hailed Branstad, the longest-serving governor in the nation’s history and an early Trump backer, as “a legend” and “one great man.”

Trump’s stop at Kirkwood Community College was intended to draw attention to the school’s advancements in high-tech agriculture, but he resisted sitting behind the wheel of a virtual reality device that simulated a giant combine harvester. He was joined by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross as part of the administration’s latest theme week, this time to highlight the importance of technology. He later touted the wealth of Ross and chief economic adviser Gary Cohn, saying: “Those particular positions, I just don’t want a poor person. Does that make sense?”

But much of Trump’s attention was on the suburbs of Atlanta, in the 6th Congressional District race.

Democrats had lavished attention and money on Tuesday’s special election, hoping for a victory that would underscore Republican worries about Trump and serve as a harbinger of a Democratic wave in 2018.

Instead, Handel’s victory, in a traditional Republican stronghold that rarely produces a competitive contest, was met with a sigh of relief among the GOP.

Trump tweeted several times during the night and capped the night off with a text message to supporters referring to his “Make America Great Again” slogan:

“The MAGA Mandate is stronger than ever. BIG LEAGUE.”

Story: Jonathan Lemire

Watch Millennia of Khmer Fashion in 4 Minutes

By

Asaree Thaitrakulpanich, Staff Reporter

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22 June 2017, 11:46

PHNOM PENH — The creator of a video offering a rare look at Khmer fashion through the ages said she wants to call attention to the underappreciated beauty of her nation’s history.

In “The Evolution of Khmer Men’s Fashion,” Dou Pothmolita shows several thousand years of Khmer fashion in about four minutes of time-lapse video. The video of the single male model’s transformation, chiseled abs and all, from prehistory through the present day has struck a chord in Thailand and had been shared nearly 40,000 times by Thursday morning.

“This video is based on how much I’m amazed by and love my own history. I have learned how far Cambodia has come, and how beautiful it was in the old times,” Pothmolita, the 25-year-old makeup artist in Phnom Penh wrote in reply to inquiries.

“I hesitated when it came to the Khmer Rouge part because it’s something always painful to show to my fans and audience, but I later decided it’s still a part of our history, and it always should be remembered,” Pothmolita said. “On behalf of my own family and my nation, I still want to show how strong we stand up from that black era.”

The video offers an idea of how Khmer men looked in eras such as the 1st-century Funan empire and during the arrival of beatnik Western influences in the 1950s during the days of Norodom Sihanouk.

While attitudes toward Khmer culture in Thailand can often be condescending, netizens liked what they saw.

“Cambodia’s and Thailand’s clothing is quite similar, actually,” Facebook user Asawin Changngakaew wrote in a comment.

Dou made a similar video in 2016 about women’s fashion. She said she plans to move to Hollywood to study to become a professional makeup artist. She’d like to see neighboring countries create similar videos, too.

“We all have beautiful history and culture so I think this kind of video will always be beneficial to each own’s nations,” she said.

Shop Owner Puts Bounty on Thief Who Stole Her Antique Sign

By

Teeranai Charuvastra, News Chief

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22 June 2017, 11:28

Photo of the stolen sign. Photo: Courtesy

KALASIN — Police in the northeastern province of Kalasin are looking for whoever stole a shop’s century-old sign after its owner offered 10,000 baht reward.

The sign, which hung over a grocery store called Lao Sun Kee, was stolen in the early hours of Sunday. Store owner Jiraporn Laopongpitch, who offered the bounty on Tuesday, said she suspects the thief belonged to a gang that preys on antique shop signs, such as the one she inherited from her grandfather.

Update: Stolen Antique Shop Sign Returned to Owner

“I was very shocked,” Jiraporn said, adding that the sign, along with the shop, is over 100 years old. “I’d like to plead with the thief who stole the sign to return it to my family.”

She said the shop was opened by her grandparents, who emigrated from China along with millions of others at the time.

CCTV footage shows a man between 35 and 40 arriving on motorcycle in the morning and taking down the sign, police said.

Jiraporn offered police in Kamalasai district 10,000 baht as a reward if they manage to apprehend the perpetrator. Police then offered it as a bounty to anyone with information leading to an arrest.

Suthep Chanasithi, chief of Kamalasai Police Station, said Wednesday his force still has no leads. He also declined to speculate on whether the perpetrator belonged to any group.

But Jiraporn said she had reasons to suspect a larger criminal network at work because three months ago someone allegedly visited her grocery store and offered to buy the shop sign for a large sum – which she refused.

“I didn’t sell it because it was a spiritual reminder of my father,” she said.

There seem to be many reports of thefts of old shop signs in recent years, according to a search of news accounts, largely in Sino-Thai communities in Bangkok, Ratchaburi and Udon Thani provinces.

Shop Withdraws 100,000 Baht Offer For Rare 10 Baht Coins

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