Brand NCPO, 3 Years On

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4 June 2017, 13:18

General Prayuth Chan-ocha gives a speech about Thailand 4.0 on Wednesday in Songkhla province.

If the military junta which staged the coup in May 2014 was a brand, what kind would it be?

Forced Sales and Marketing

Marketing-wise, products and services need to advertise and differentiate themselves to win consumers’ hearts in the hope of closing the deal. The National Council for Peace and Order, or NCPO, relies on a much hard sell through tanks and guns.

Marketing and advertising come afterward. Chief marketing officer Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha has been getting free airtime every Friday evening for over three years now for an unrelenting sales pitch to convince captive consumers how wonderful the NCPO’s brand is. Prayuth tries hard with his monologue sales pitch but acknowledges himself the program’s ratings are far from successful.

This is not something to be too worried about, however.

After-Sales Service

People who are not convinced by Prayuth’s advertising have very limited means to complain about the after-sale service and the product. Anyone wanting to publicly complain about the brand being substandard or defective, risks being detained without charge for “attitude adjustment.”

“Consumers” more visibly upset could take to the streets at their own perils, as there’s a ban on political gatherings of five or more people imposed by the junta. Worse still, those who continue to complain that the product is shoddy, risk facing sedition charges. It’s much safer to simply buy into what Prayuth says. On Tuesday, he told a conference discussing UN-backed rights principles in Bangkok that he had been working to improve human rights for the past three years. Yes, this is neither joke nor typo, and there was no sign Prayuth was incapacitated by any substance.

At times, the after-sale service also doesn’t work. Prayuth who also acts as the chief after-sale-service officer, often gets irritated with complaints about his company’s product and services. On Tuesday – and not for the first time – Prayuth became sulky and told the media he won’t be speaking directly to them for the next few weeks.

If you don’t know how to handle the product and services, there’re after-sale staff – or military officers in this case – who are willing to visit you in person to spend quality time trying to convince you why their brand is indeed not just necessary, but also the best one in the kingdom.

A Lifetime of No Warranty

Most products come with limited warranty, some with lifetime warranty. Warranty coverage that lasts one or two years for luxurious Swiss watches is common. The NCPO does not provide any kind of warranty. This is because the junta is not responsible for any defects or malfunctions in their products and services as they have granted themselves indemnity – not just for their past and present actions that could be wrong and unlawful – but for their future actions and misbehavior as well.

With most products, people sort of know how long they will last. The shelflife of NCPO products and services seem ever extendable, unpredictable and could last a lifetime. Three years on since the coup, Prayuth kept deferring the expected election date delivery from 2015, to 2016, to 2017. Now you risk becoming a fool believing that he won’t defer it again by next year.

The Brand

Leading brands strive to excel, leaving customers with satisfaction and memorable user experience. Some brands evoke reliability, full-satisfaction or assured good time. What about the junta? To those unhappy about the coup, Prayuth and his band of armed men evoke repression, unpredictability and illegitimacy. But hey, Brand NCPO is so ‘exclusive’ it’s the only one on earth that’s currently offering military rule to ‘consumers’. You can’t get more exclusive than that!

Three years on, those fed up with the NCPO can only look forward to more complimentary repression in the months – if not years ahead – as the junta promise you an extended experience of complimentary stay in Juntaland Thailand.

While many had never chosen the junta’s services to begin with, Prayuth is doing his mighty best to make us believe we should be grateful to be “enjoying” his special product. Like it or not, the junta has been imposed upon us.

Gruesome Murder Suspects Arrested in Myanmar, Extradited

By

Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer

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4 June 2017, 13:04

This screenshot from video shows Preeyanuch “Preaw” Nonwangchai, at left, being taken into police custody Saturday night in Chiang Rai.

CHIANG RAI — Three fugitive murder suspects, one of which stands accused of sawing her victim’s body in half, were arrested for overstaying their border passes Saturday night in Myanmar and turned over to Thai authorities, police said.

Myanmar police arrested Preeyanuch “Preaw” Nonwangchai, 24, Apiwan Sattayabundit, 28, and Kawita Ratchada, 25, for overstay and handed them over to Thai authorities at about 9pm on Saturday through the Thai-Myanmar border in Chiang Rai province. The three, sought in the gruesome killing and dismemberment of 22-year-old Warissara “Amm” Klinjui May 23, will be charged with murder in Thailand and with overstaying in Myanmar.

Chiang Rai Immigration Police Chief Pol. Col. Aekkorn Busababadin said the suspects had been taken to Bangkok and that police would hold a press conference about the matter at 3pm on Sunday.

Preeyanuch, who has a record of drug-related crimes according to Sirinya Sidhichai, a top official from the Narcotics Control Board, is believed to have been working for one of the biggest drug dealers in Tachileik, Myanmar. She stands accused of dismembering Warissara, whose body was found buried in two large buckets last month in Khon Kaen.

Police said Preeyanuch appeared stern and tired as she was being taken into the custody of Thai authorities Saturday night.

Authorities believe the murder is part of a revenge plot.

Another suspect, Wasin Namphrom, 22, was arrested late last month and told police the four had planned to assault Warissara because they believed she had tipped authorities about one of their boyfriends, arrested for drug-related charges.

The case gained attention on the internet over the past week and became a social media sensation due to the grisly nature of the murder.

3 Women Wanted in Grisly Murder Not Arrested in Myanmar

R. Madrid Thumps Juventus 4-1 to Retain UCL Crown (Video)

By

Associated Press

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4 June 2017, 11:14

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos raises the trophy after the Champions League final soccer match between Juventus and Real Madrid on Saturday at the Millennium stadium in Cardiff, Wales. Photo: Frank Augstein / Associated Press

CARDIFF, Wales — After another potent demonstration of Cristiano Ronaldo’s enduring scoring prowess, surely no Real Madrid fan can contemplate criticizing him now.

Particularly after the world player of the year ensured Madrid pulled off one of soccer’s hardest feats, becoming the first team to successfully defend their Champions League title.

The fans who irritated Ronaldo so much ahead of Saturday’s final due to their whistling were silenced in emphatic style with two goals in a 4-1 victory over Juventus that gave Madrid a record-extending 12th European crown.

“People don’t have words to criticize,” Ronaldo said, “because the numbers don’t lie.”

They certainly don’t after another incredible season, even at the age of 32.

“My age is just a number,” Ronaldo said. “I feel like a young boy.”

At the end of the 25th season of the Champions League, Ronaldo is the first player to score in the three of the competition’s finals. And having lifted the European Cup once with Manchester United, Ronaldo has done it three times in four seasons with Madrid.

It’s the latest piece of silverware in an incredible 12 months for the forward.

It began with Ronaldo winning his first title with Portugal at the European Championship. Then came the Club World Cup with Real Madrid and the end of a five-year Spanish title drought before new highs were reached in the Champions League.

His career goal tally in club and international soccer now stands at 600.

Ronaldo’s first strike at Millennium Stadium was canceled out by Mario Mandzukic’s exquisite 27th-minute hook shot. It was the only high point for Juventus on a night when the Italian champion was outclassed in its quest for a first European title in 21 years.

Madrid’s supremacy was clear in the second half.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsS6CMo2ac8

After Casemiro put the Spanish champions back in front in the 61st, Ronaldo turned in the third at the near post inside three minutes, and Marco Asensio wrapped up the scoring in the 90th.

Juventus conceded more goals on the night than it had on the journey to the final, having let in only three in the previous three games.

“In the second half Real Madrid pushed the accelerator,” Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said, “and we remained too static and sat back too long.”

Madrid’s attacking brilliance proved too hard for Juventus to contain, giving Zinedine Zidane his second Champions League title in 18 months of top-flight management.

“Zidane believes in us a lot,” Ronaldo said. “He knows that we are a very good team and that is why we proved it in the second half.”

Until now, no team since AC Milan in 1989 and 1990, when the cup was only a knockout competition, had won back-to-back titles.

Madrid had a lot to thank Keylor Navas for in the opening minutes. The goalkeeper blocked a header and strike from Gonzalo Higuain, and produced a one-handed save when Miralem Pjanic picked a gap through a crowd of defenders.

One of the first things Navas’ counterpart, Gianluigi Buffon, had to do was pick the ball out of his net.

It was the culmination of a counterattack of breathtaking speed launched by Luka Modric and Toni Kroos. Karim Benzema picked up possession and passed to Ronaldo. The world player of the year knocked the ball across to Dani Carvajal on the right flank before drifting into the penalty area to receive it back and beat Buffon.

But within seven minutes, Ronaldo was shaking his head with a scowl after seeing an equalizer of individual brilliance.

Leonardo Bonucci’s deep ball was brought down by Alex Sandro, who cut it back to Higuain in the penalty area. With his back to goal, Mandzukic received the chipped pass from Higuain and used his chest to control the ball before hooking it over his shoulder into the far top corner.

Mandzukic also scored the last time the final was held in Britain, when Bayern Munich beat Barcelona in 2013. But the magnificence evoked memories of another showpiece staged in the U.K. in 2002 when Zidane volleyed into the top corner in Glasgow to help Madrid beat Bayer Leverkusen.

This time, Zidane was a spectator on the Madrid sidelines, but enjoying it just as much.

Domination was verified after the break when Madrid went back in front – through Casemiro’s strike which deflected off Sami Khedira – and this time the lead was retained.

It owed much to Madrid controlling midfield, largely thanks to Modric, who set up Ronaldo’s second. The Croatian timed his cutback to perfection in the 64th to allow Ronaldo to ghost in between Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini and slot in at the near post.

Juve’s night took a turn for the worse when Juan Cuadrado was dismissed for a second booking in the 84th. And to compound their misery, Asensio beat Buffon again as the 39-year-old goalkeeper missed out on a first European title.

“(Madrid) showed their class and the attitude needed to play in this kind of game,” Buffon said after losing a third final.

Story: Rob Harris

Car Runs into London Bridge Pedestrians; Multiple Injuries

By

Associated Press

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4 June 2017, 07:45

LONDON (AP) — Terrorism struck at the heart of London, police said Sunday, after a vehicle veered off the road and mowed down pedestrians on London Bridge and gunshots rang out amid reports of knife attacks at nearby Borough Market.

The violence turned a summery Saturday night in an area full of bars and restaurants into a scene of panic and chaos, with officers running through crowded streets screaming for people to flee and lifeboats drafted to help clear the area.

British media reported that more than one person had been killed in the rampage.

Prime Minister Theresa May said it was a potential act of terrorism and the Metropolitan Police force said it had declared the attacks as “terrorist incidents.”

Police said they were called just after 10 p.m. (2100GMT) to reports of a vehicle hitting pedestrians on the bridge, which crosses the River Thames in central London.

Soon after, there were reported stabbings at nearby Borough Market, an area full of bars and restaurants.

The force said armed officers were sent to the scenes and shots were fired. They did not say if officers fired the shots.

The force initially said officers were also responding to a reported third incident, in the Vauxhall area of London. But they said later that turned out to be an unrelated stabbing.

The force tweeted a warning telling people in the area to run to safety, hide and then call police if it is safe to do so.

May said that “following updates from police and security officials, I can confirm that the terrible incident in London is being treated as a potential act of terrorism.”

She said it was a fast-moving investigation and her thoughts were with “those who are caught up in these dreadful events.”

May’s office said she would chair a meeting of the government’s COBRA emergency committee on Sunday.

About two hours after the first reports of an incident, television images showed people walking away from the London Bridge area with their hands on their heads. Police tweeted that Londoners should “remain calm but be alert and vigilant.”

Nick Brandon of British Transport Police said the force had received reports of “multiple” casualties in an incident possibly involving a knife and a vehicle. He said he did not know how serious the injuries were.

Multiple witnesses reported a vehicle veering off the road and hitting several pedestrians; others also said they saw a man with a knife.

Witnesses reported seeing injured people on the ground on the bridge. One, Holly Jones, told the BBC a white van veered off the road and struck as many as six people. She said she saw at least four or five people on the ground.

NAnother witness, Will Heaven, said he saw people who appeared to have been hit, and one being put into an ambulance.

“We saw injured people on the road, injured people on the pavement,” he told Sky News.

He added that “it did not look like an accident”, saying it was clear that police “thought they were responding to something far more serious than a road traffic accident.”

A man who gave only his first name, Ben, told BBC radio that he “saw a man in red with a large blade, at a guess 10 inches long, stabbing a man, about three times” near Borough Market.

Transport for London said busy London Bridge station and two others were closed at the request of police.

The incident happened on a warm Saturday night in a busy area full of bars and restaurants.

It comes less than three months after an attacker ran down people with a vehicle on Westminster Bridge, killing four, then stabbed a policeman to death outside Parliament.

On May 22, a suicide bomber killed 22 people and injured dozens at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester. After that attack, Britain’s official threat level from terrorism was raised to “critical,” meaning an attack may be imminent. Several days later it was lowered to “severe,” meaning an attack is highly likely.

Senior Bangkok Police Meet BTS, MRT Reps to Talk Security

By

Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer

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3 June 2017, 16:28

Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha rides the BTS to the newly opened Samrong station Monday. — Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha rides the BTS to the newly opened Samrong station in April.

BANGKOK — Senior police and military officers met BTS and MRT officials Saturday in a bid to discuss tighter security measures, after a series of bombs hit Bangkok over the past weeks.

Deputy Chief Police Maj. Gen. Panurat Lakboon met military officers from the First Army Region and representatives of the BTS and the MRT at about 10:30am on Saturday at the Bangkok Metropolitan Police Bureau Headquarters, to discuss the tightening of security measures in light of recent bombing incidents that have recently rocked various locations of the capital.

The meeting was led by Police Chief Gen. Chakthip Chaijinda, with the objective of reassuring the public of their safety and to outline common measures to detect and handle future bomb threats. Panurat gave no further details after the meeting other than saying that related staff and personnel would be taught to better identify suspicious objects. He said they would be instructed on how to act in emergency cases.

Police said the meeting took place as a precautionary measure. No area in Bangkok was designated as particularly vulnerable.

Panurat added however, that busy locations such as BTS and MRT train stations along with department stores in the capital would be closely watched and properly monitored through CCTV.

Police also urged citizens to do their part by being alert and informing officers if they identified suspicious activity. Earlier this week, a discarded pipe bomb was found near MRT Thailand Cultural Centre.

Prayuth to Visit Trump Next Month in Washington

By

Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer

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3 June 2017, 15:11

At top, then candidate Donald Trump listens to his mobile phone at a Feb. 18, 2016, campaign stop. Photo: Associated Press. Below, then army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha uses a phone in 2013. Photo: Matichon

BANGKOK — Prime Minister Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha will meet American President Donald Trump next month in Washington D.C., a government representative said Friday.

In a turnaround of often rocky Thai-U.S. relations over the past three years, Cabinet Secretary-General Teerapong Wongsiwavila said Friday that Prayuth would meet Trump in July at the White House. Teerapong did not provide specific dates.

The announcement comes after Trump made a phone call to Prayuth on April 30. A clear signal indicating a wind of change in the two countries’ relations was made by U.S. Ambassador to Thailand Glyn T. Davies – himself critical of Prayuth until Trump was elected as President. On a Thursday interview for the Thai-language service of Voice of America, or VOA, Davies said reconciliation is more important than pinning down an election date.

“You know, the timing of the elections isn’t so important. What’s important, I think, is for the kingdom, as soon as possible, to get back to a situation where all Thais can participate in the future of the country and where Thailand can become more reconciled,” Davies told VOA in Washington while attending a US-ASEAN Business Council meeting. Davies was in the United States to meet the new set of State Department officials under the Trump administration.

As of Saturday, there had been no official announcement by the White House.

Back in Thailand at the Government House, Prayuth on Friday ordered a letter be sent to his deputies to inform them the foreign and finance ministries had been instructed to prepare Thai-U.S. trade and investment information – including details and status of intellectual property – as a result of the Tuesday cabinet meeting. Prayuth also asked the letter to include information on copyrights and Thailand’s status in the Special 301 Report to be used during the meeting and negotiation with Trump next month.

Thailand is among 16 nations targeted by the U.S. for alleged abuse of trade rules.

Some American diplomats in Thailand, who asked not to be named, have expressed concerns about the Thai military government’s purchase of Chinese submarines. They added that Trump would likely visit Bangkok sometime in November.

“Well, it means that we could continue to evolve the relationship, to grow the relationship, to deepen it, for the benefit of both the people of Thailand, the United States. And I’m very excited about it,” Davies said to VOA when asked about the significance of the meeting in Washington.

N Korea, Cyberattacks and ‘Lazarus’: What We Really Know

By

Associated Press

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3 June 2017, 12:33

North Korean flag flutters behind razor wire on top of a wall at the North Korean Embassy, March 13 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo: Vincent Thian / Associated Press

TOKYO — With the dust now settling after “WannaCry,” the biggest ransomware attack in history, cybersecurity experts are taking a deep dive into how it was carried out, what can be done to protect computers from future breaches and, trickiest of all, who is to blame.

Beyond the frequently used shorthand that North Korea was likely behind the attack lies a more complicated story of the rise of an infamous group of hackers known as “Lazarus,” who may be using secret lairs in northeast China and have created a virtual “malware factory” that could wreak a lot more havoc in the future.

Who are they?

On Dec. 19, 2014, just one month after a devastating hack hobbled Sony Pictures Entertainment, the FBI’s field office in San Diego issued a press release stating North Korea was the culprit and saying such cyberattacks pose “one of the gravest national security dangers” to the United States.

Its claim North Korea was to blame has been disputed.

An industry consortium led by Novetta launched “Operation Blockbuster” and in 2016 released a detailed public report on the attack that lined up with the FBI’s conclusion that the tactics, tools and capabilities strongly indicated the work of a “structured, resourced and motivated organization,” but said its analysis could not support the direct attribution of a nation-state.

It determined the attack “was carried out by a single group, or potentially very closely linked groups, sharing technical resources, infrastructure and even tasking.”

It named the group Lazarus and tied it to a string of attacks dating back to 2007 or 2009.

Researchers at cybersecurity giant Kaspersky Labs, which also participated in Operation Blockbuster, surmised the Lazarus attackers are probably located in a time zone eight or nine hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time – which would include China, Malaysia and parts of Indonesia, among other places – because they seem to start working at around midnight GMT and break for lunch three hours later.

They even claimed the hackers get roughly 6-7 hours of sleep per night.

It also said it found indications of the Korean language on a majority of the computers being used.

James Scott, a senior fellow at the Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology, a Washington-based think tank, said the group is believed to outsource the development of malware to “numerous external threat actors.”

But he said any connections between Lazarus and North Korea remain unclear.

Jon Condra, director of Asia Pacific research at the cybersecurity firm Flashpoint, cautiously noted the theory at least some Lazarus Group hackers are working out of China and that they may include North Koreans.

“It is widely believed that at least some North Korean hacking units operate out of Northeastern China, the city of Shenyang, in particular, but hard evidence is scant,” he said. “It is entirely possible that the Lazarus Group is not entirely made up of North Korean actors, but may also have Chinese members.”

Kaspersky took another look into Lazarus following the attempted heist of $900 million from the central bank of Bangladesh in February last year. It found Lazarus is both accelerating its activities and morphing rapidly.

According to Kaspersky, the Lazarus Group now has its own cybercrime subgroup, dubbed BlueNoroff, to help finance its operations through attacks on banks, casinos, financial institutions and traders.

The disruptive and “asymmetric” nature of cyber warfare clearly makes it a weapon North Korea can be assumed to want to exploit against its much more powerful adversaries in a military conflict.

Cybercrime would also seem to be extremely attractive to North Korea. It’s hard to trace, can be done on the cheap and, for those who can master the technological expertise, the opportunities seem to be everywhere. It’s a less risky means of procuring illicit income than other activities North Korea has been accused of in the past, such as drug trafficking and counterfeiting U.S. USD $100 bills.

The U.S. government has not blamed WannaCry on North Korea – reflecting the fact that determining the role of a nation-state can be a Sisyphean task.

Some campaigns attributed to the Lazarus Group suggest a lower-skilled adversary than one might expect from one with full state backing – a factor Beau Woods, the deputy director of the Cyber Statecraft Initiative at the Atlantic Council, says is indicative of “a blurred line” between state and non-state actors.

“Many countries allow – or at least tolerate – non-state actors that are doing things that are ideologically aligned,” he said. “With North Korea, it appears to be the case that they rely very heavily on this kind of criminal element-amateurs-professionals. It’s a predominance of question marks.”

Story: Eric Talmadge

Nadal Embarrasses Rival 6-0, 6-1, 6-0, Djokovic Suffers (Video)

By

Associated Press

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3 June 2017, 12:22

Spain's Rafael Nadal plays a shot against Netherlands' Robin Haase during their second round match of the French Open tennis tournament Wednesday at the Roland Garros stadium, in Paris, France. Photo: Petr David Josek / Associated Press

A quick look at the French Open:

Friday’s Winners

Seeded winners in the men’s third round: No. 2 Novak Djokovic, No. 4 Rafael Nadal, No. 5 Milos Raonic, No. 6 Dominic Thiem, No. 17 Roberto Bautista Agut, No. 19 Albert Ramos-Vinolas, No. 20 Pablo Carreno Busta.

Seeded winners in the women’s third round: No. 4 Garbine Muguruza, No. 8 Svetlana Kuznetsova, No. 10 Venus Williams, No. 13 Kristina Mladenovic, No. 23 Sam Stosur, No. 30 Timea Bacsinszky.

Friday’s Losers

Seeded losers in the men’s third round: No. 10 David Goffin, No. 11 Grigor Dimitrov, No. 16 Lucas Pouille, No. 25 Steve Johnson.

Seeded losers in the women’s third round: No. 27 Yulia Putintseva, No. 32 Zhang Shuai.

Stat of the Day

1 — Number of games lost by Nadal in his 6-0, 6-1, 6-0 victory over Nikoloz Basilashvili, the fewest in the Spaniard’s 100 career best-of-five-set clay-court matches.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rY2Y_t3gFo

Quote of the Day

“The score is quite embarrassing.” — Basilashvili.

Lookahead to Saturday

The most-anticipated matchup of Day 7 is No. 1 Andy Murray against No. 29 Juan Martin del Potro in a rematch of the final at last year’s Rio Olympics. Murray owns three major championships; del Potro has one. Murray is as supreme a defender as they come; del Potro possesses the most intimidating forehand around these days (although his two-handed backhand is still somewhat problematic, on account of a series of operations on his left wrist). Murray has won six of their previous nine matchups, including for the gold medal in Brazil and their only previous Grand Slam meeting, way back at the 2008 U.S. Open. “It’s a tough match. Not easy third round. He’s, in my opinion, one of the best players in the world, you know, when he’s fit and healthy,” said Murray, the runner-up at Roland Garros a year ago. “But I definitely feel like I’m capable of winning that match. I mean, I’m playing way better than I was two weeks ago.” A couple of other intriguing men’s matches: No. 15 Gael Monfils vs. No. 24 Richard Gasquet in an all-French pairing, and 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka vs. No. 28 Fabio Fognini.

Emoji Advisor to Bali Murder Gets 9 Years Sentence

By

Associated Press

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3 June 2017, 11:49

Heather Mack, left, and her boyfriend Tommy Schaefer of Chicago, are handcuffed as they arrive at a courtroom during their trial in 2015 in Bali, Indonesia. Photo: Firdia Lisnawati / Associated Press

CHICAGO — An Illinois man who typed out emoji and other text messages to advise his cousin thousands of miles away on how to kill a wealthy Chicago woman vacationing in Indonesia was sentenced on Friday to nine years in prison.

At Robert Bibbs’ sentencing in Chicago federal court, a prosecutor placed the fruit-stand handle used to bludgeon Sheila von Wiese-Mack at a Bali beach resort by the judge’s bench. Relatives cried later as prosecutors displayed a photograph of the 62-year-old’s body in a suitcase, where her killers stuffed the body.

Bibbs, 26, of Chicago, told Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer he’d been depressed in 2014 when his cousin Tommy Schaefer sought guidance on how he and his girlfriend, Heather Mack – Wiese-Mack’s daughter – should commit the murder. For his help, Bibbs hoped for a cut of the mom’s inheritance.

“To this day, I don’t recognize the person in those messages,” he said about his texts, standing in court shackled at the ankles. And he added: “I never expected them to do something so horrific.”

Judge Pallmeyer scolded Bibbs for describing his advisory role as “a mistake.”

“A mistake is leaving your keys in the car,” she told him. “A mistake is not standing by and encouraging an unjustified murder.”

Autopsy photos showed to the judge showed Wiese-Mack’s body with deep gashes across her face and wounds on her arms that prosecutors say resulted from her desperate bid to fend off the blows.

Within minutes of his cousin texting on Aug. 12, 2014, that the murder was done, Pallmeyer also noted that the men traded casual messages about NBA basketball news.

One of Bibbs’ texts incorporated a “high-five” emoji to indicate he approved of their bid to kill Wiese-Mack, who was a widow of highly regarded jazz and classical composer James L. Mack, who died in 2006. Another time, Bibbs said Schaefer could smother Wiese-Mack, texting: “Go sit on her face wit a pillow.”

Bibbs pleaded guilty in December to conspiracy to commit foreign murder of a U.S. citizen, which carries a sentence of up to 20 years. But Bibbs lack of a previous criminal record and other factors meant he wouldn’t face the maximum penalty. Prosecutors had asked for up to 11 years.

Indonesian authorities arrested Schaefer, now 24, and Mack, 21, after the bloodied suitcase was found in a taxi. In 2015, a court in Indonesia sentenced Schaefer to 18 years in prison for the murder; Mack received a 10-year term for helping.

Wiese-Mack’s youngster sister, Debbi Curran, also spoke at Bibbs’ sentencing. She described how she had searched the internet the day she learned of her sister’s death in Bali – only to see a crime photo online of the suitcase that still contained her sister’s body.

“I can’t look at a suitcase (now) without thinking of my sister’s half-naked body … in a suitcase,” she said. “This will haunt me for the rest of my life.”

Bill Wiese told the court about his sister’s love of classical music and opera, and how she supported the arts, including by opening her home to aspiring musicians.

“I only wish I could have protected her from this brutal murder,” he said.

Story: Michael Tarm

Ireland’s Next Likely PM Gay Son of Indian Immigrant

By

Associated Press

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3 June 2017, 08:12

Leo Varadkar celebrates as he is named as Ireland's next prime minister, in the Mansion House in Dublin on Friday. Photo: Brian Lawless / Associated Press

LONDON — Ireland’s governing Fine Gael party on Friday elected Leo Varadkar, the gay son of an Indian immigrant, as its new leader and the country’s likely next prime minister.

Varadkar defeated rival Simon Coveney in a contest to replace Enda Kenny, who resigned last month.

“If my election as leader of Fine Gael today has shown anything, it is that prejudice has no hold on this republic,” Varadkar said after his victory was announced in Dublin.

Coveney won the votes of a majority of party members, but Varadkar was backed by most lawmakers and local representatives to give him victory under the center-right party’s electoral college system.

He is highly likely to become prime minister in Ireland’s coalition government, although not immediately. Kenny will remain in place for a couple more weeks while Varadkar holds talks with other parties and independents propping up the Fine Gael-led government.

His confirmation as Taoiseach — Ireland’s prime minister — would come when the lower house of parliament resumes after a break on June 13.

At 38, Varadkar would be Ireland’s youngest prime minister, as well as the first from an ethnic-minority background and the first openly gay leader.

Varadkar was born in Dublin in 1979, the son of an Indian doctor and an Irish nurse. He came out publicly as gay in the run-up to a 2015 referendum that legalized same-sex marriage in Ireland.

If confirmed as prime minister, Varadkar will lead a country still emerging from the shadow of the 2008 global financial crisis, which hit the debt-fueled “Celtic Tiger” economy particularly hard.

He also will have to steer Ireland during complex divorce negotiations between Britain and the EU. Brexit has major implications for Ireland, the only EU country to share a land border with the United Kingdom.

Varadkar said he was “aware of the enormous challenges ahead. I’m ready for those challenges, as are we as a party.”

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