Customers browse imitation gold jewelry at Thong Ek Jewelry, Thailand's top-selling fake gold shop in Muang Thong Thani, Nonthaburi, on October 1, 2025, as real gold prices hit a record 60,000 baht ($1,850) per baht-weight.
NONTHABURI — With the price of real gold jewelry soaring to 60,000 baht per baht-weight (approximately $3,780 per troy ounce) yesterday—the highest in history—demand for imitation gold jewelry has surged.
The owners of Thong Ek Jewelry, located on Born Street in Muang Thong Thani, Pak Kret district, Nonthaburi, Thailand’s top-selling imitation gold jewelry shop, revealed on October 1 that the surge in gold prices has significantly boosted their sales.
Inkwat Decharat, 41, and Juthamas, 32, the husband-and-wife owners, said their business has been growing steadily since real gold prices first rose to 40,000–50,000 baht ($1,20-1,540) per baht-weight (15.2 grams). When prices surpassed 50,000 baht ($1,540), demand from both new and returning customers increased further. Now, with prices reaching 60,000 baht ($1,850), sales have spiked again.
Inkwat Decharat, 41, and Juthamas Decharat, 32, the husband-and-wife owners of Thong Ek Jewelry shop in Muang Thong Thani, Nonthaburi, pose with their jewelry on October 1, 2025.
Inkwat explained that gold remains a socially accepted adornment that boosts confidence and status for wearers. But as real gold becomes increasingly unaffordable, imitation gold has emerged as an attractive alternative—easy to access and far more affordable.
“Our imitation gold products have been continuously upgraded in materials, designs, and patterns, offering a wide variety to choose from. We also provide after-sales services and warranties. This is why Ek Jewelry has become the number one imitation gold store in Thailand, with a growing customer base,” Inkwat said.
Juthamas added that despite the sluggish economy and weakened purchasing power, the shop still sees steady sales. Many customers need jewelry for social occasions or festivals when they return to their hometowns. Others choose imitation gold for safety reasons, preferring to store their real gold and wear imitation pieces in public.
Customers browse imitation gold jewelry at Thong Ek Jewelry, Thailand’s top-selling fake gold shop in Muang Thong Thani, Nonthaburi, on October 1, 2025, as real gold prices hit a record 60,000 baht ($1,850) per baht-weight.
Inkwat emphasized that while their shop sells imitation gold, quality is not compromised. Customers can return, exchange, or trade in products under their guarantee. “I believe that over the next three months, sales of imitation gold will rise another 20–30%. By year-end and during the long holiday season, sales could jump 100–200%, so we’re already preparing to triple our stock,” he said.
Keng, a long-time customer, said he frequently visits the shop to browse new designs. “This shop offers better quality and more choices than others. For me, imitation gold is necessary, especially for social events. I like it because it’s convenient, easy to use, and I don’t have to worry about safety, especially now that real gold prices have skyrocketed.”
FILE - Jane Goodall kisses Tess, a female chimpanzee, at the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary near Nanyuki, north of Nairobi, on Dec. 6, 1997. (AP Photo/Jean-Marc Bouju, File)
Jane Goodall, the intellectual, soft-spoken conservationist renowned for her groundbreaking, immersive chimpanzee field research in which she documented the primates’ distinct personalities and use of tools, has died. She was 91.
The environmental advocate became a beloved household name who transcended generations through her appearances in documentaries and on television, as well as her travels to address packed auditoriums around the world.
The Jane Goodall Institute announced the primatologist’s death Wednesday in an Instagram post. According to the Washington, D.C.-based institute, Goodall died of natural causes while in California on a U.S. speaking tour.
Her discoveries “revolutionized science, and she was a tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of our natural world,” it said.
While living among chimpanzees in Africa decades ago, Goodall documented them doing activities previously believed to be exclusive to humans. Her observations and subsequent magazine and documentary appearances in the 1960s transformed how the world perceived not only humans’ closest living biological relatives but also the emotional and social complexity of all animals, while propelling her into the public consciousness.
“Out there in nature by myself, when you’re alone, you can become part of nature and your humanity doesn’t get in the way,” she told The Associated Press in 2021. “It’s almost like an out-of-body experience when suddenly you hear different sounds and you smell different smells and you’re actually part of this amazing tapestry of life.”
Goodall never lost hope for the future
She had been scheduled to meet with students and teachers on Wednesday to launch the planting of 5,000 trees around wildfire burn zones in the Los Angeles area. Organizers learned of her death as the event was to begin at EF Academy in Pasadena, said spokesperson Shawna Marino. The first tree was planted in Goodall’s name after a moment of silence.
“I don’t think there’s any better way to honor her legacy than having a thousand children gathered for her,” Marino said.
Goodall in her later years devoted decades to education and advocacy on humanitarian causes and protecting the natural world. In her British accent, she was known for balancing the grim realities of the climate crisis with a sincere message of hope for the future.
FILE – Primatologist Jane Goodall kisses Pola, a 14-months-old chimpanzee baby from the Budapest Zoo, that she symbolically adopted in Budapest, Hungary, on Dec. 20, 2004. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky, File)
From her base in the British coastal town of Bournemouth, she traveled nearly 300 days a year, even after she turned 90, for public speeches. Between more serious messages, her speeches often featured her whooping like a chimpanzee or lamenting that Tarzan chose the wrong Jane.
Tributes from animal rights organizations, political leaders and admirers poured in following news of her death.
“I’m deeply saddened to learn about the passing of Jane Goodall, our dear Messenger of Peace. She is leaving an extraordinary legacy for humanity & our planet,” said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.
Nature broadcaster Chris Packham reflected on her relentless advocacy until the very end.
“In many ways Jane just died on the job,” he said. “The job that her life became. And that was protecting life on earth.”
Living a
mong the chimpanzees
While first studying chimps in Tanzania in the early 1960s, Goodall was known for her unconventional approach. She didn’t simply observe them from afar but immersed herself in every aspect of their lives. She fed them and gave them names instead of numbers, which some scientists criticized.
Her findings were circulated to millions when she first appeared on the cover of National Geographic in 1963 and then in a popular documentary. A collection of photos of Goodall in the field helped her and even some of the chimps become famous. One iconic image showed her crouching across from the infant chimpanzee named Flint. Each has arms outstretched, reaching for the other.
In 1972, the Sunday Times published an obituary for Flo, Flint’s mother and the dominant matriarch. Flint died soon after showing signs of grief and losing weight.
″What the chimps have taught me over the years is they’re so like us. They’ve blurred the line between humans and animals,″ she said in 1997.
University of St. Andrews primatologist Catherine Hobaiter, who studies communication in chimpanzees, said that when she first heard Goodall speak, it transformed her view of science.
“It was the first time as a young scientist working with wild apes and wild chimpanzees that I got to hear that it was OK to feel something,” she said.
Goodall earned top civilian honors from a number of countries. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2025 by then-U.S. President Joe Biden and in 2021 won the prestigious Templeton Prize, which honors individuals whose life’s work embodies a fusion of science and spirituality.
FILE – President Joe Biden, right, presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Nation’s highest civilian honor, to conservationist Jane Goodall in the East Room of the White House, Jan. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
The Humane World for Animals said Wednesday that Goodall’s influence on the animal protection community was immeasurable.
“Her work on behalf of primates and all animals will never be forgotten,” said Kitty Block, president and CEO of the group formerly the Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International.
Charting a course from an early age
Born in London in 1934, Goodall said her fascination with animals began around when she learned to crawl. In her book, “In the Shadow of Man,” she described an early memory of hiding in a henhouse to see a chicken lay an egg. She was there so long her mother reported her missing to police.
She bought her first book — Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “Tarzan of the Apes” — when she was 10 and soon made up her mind about her future: Live with wild animals in Africa.
That plan stayed with her through a secretarial course when she was 18 and two different jobs. By 1957, she accepted an invitation to travel to a farm in Kenya.
There she met the famed anthropologist and paleontologist Louis Leakey at a natural history museum in Nairobi. He gave her a job as an assistant secretary.
Three years later, despite Goodall not having a college degree, Leakey asked if she would be interested in studying chimpanzees in what is now Tanzania. She told the AP that he chose her “because he wanted an open mind.”
The beginning was filled with complications. British authorities insisted she have a companion, so she brought her mother. The chimps fled if she got within 500 yards (460 meters) of them. She also spent weeks sick from what she believed was malaria.
Eventually she gained the animals’ trust. By the fall of 1960 she observed the chimpanzee named David Greybeard make a tool from twigs to fish termites from a nest. It was previously believed that only humans made and used tools.
She also found that chimps have individual personalities and share humans’ emotions of pleasure, joy, sadness and fear. She documented bonds between mothers and infants, sibling rivalry and male dominance. She found there was no sharp line between humans and the animal kingdom.
In later years, she discovered chimpanzees engage in a type of warfare, and in 1987 she and her staff observed a chimp “adopt” a 3-year-old orphan that wasn’t closely related.
Becoming an activist
Her work moved into global advocacy after she watched a disturbing film of experiments on laboratory animals in 1986.
″I knew I had to do something,″ she said. ″It was payback time.″
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020 and halted her in-person events, she began podcasting from her childhood home in England. Through dozens of “Jane Goodall Hopecast” episodes, she talked with guests including U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, author Margaret Atwood and marine biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson.
“If one wants to reach people; If one wants to change attitudes, you have to reach the heart,” she said during her first episode. “You can reach the heart by telling stories, not by arguing with people’s intellects.”
In later years, she pushed back on “gloom and doom” messaging and aggressive tactics by climate activists, saying they could backfire.
Her advice: “Focus on the present and make choices today whose impact will build over time.”
Immigration police question Emmanuel (seated, face blurred), a 40-year-old African man wanted by Interpol, after arresting him in Bangkok on October 1, 2025.
BANGKOK — Thai Immigration police arrested a 40-year-old a Cameroonian man wanted by Interpol for international drug trafficking. He had been living illegally in Bangkok nearly a decade.
Acting on intelligence that a Cameroonian national was overstaying his visa and potentially involved in drug trafficking, Pol. Lt. Gen. Panthana Nuchanart, Deputy Commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, launched an investigation into a suspect using the alias “Emmanuel.”
Immigration records revealed Emmanuel entered Thailand on a 60-day tourist visa that had expired. Further checks confirmed he was wanted on an Interpol warrant for smuggling 19 kilograms of narcotics via courier to South Korea. He had been living in Bangkok since 2016.
Officers located Emmanuel on Phetchaburi Road near his hotel and arrested him without incident. Speaking fluent Thai, he acknowledged being the person named in the warrant and admitted his visa had expired.
Emmanuel poses with evidence seized during his arrest in Bangkok on October 1, 2025, including firearms, ammunition, and narcotics found in his hotel room on Phetburi Road.
Despite denying drug involvement, a search of his hotel room uncovered drug paraphernalia, one 9mm pistol, two modified blank guns, a modified .38 caliber magazine, and nearly 80 rounds of ammunition in various calibers. Officers also seized over 2 grams of crystal methamphetamine, 1 gram of MDMA, and one methamphetamine pill.
Emmanuel claimed the weapons were pawned by a Thai friend and that the drugs belonged to acquaintances who used his room to consume narcotics. However, a hospital urine test returned positive for methamphetamine. He then admitted to using crystal meth but said he hadn’t consumed it for one day.
He faces charges of overstaying his visa, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, illegal possession of Category 1 narcotics, and drug consumption.
The U.S. Capitol is seen on the first day of a partial government shutdown, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
WASHINGTON (AP) — A vote to swiftly end the government shutdown failed Wednesday, as Democrats in the Senate held firm to the party’s demands to fund health care subsidies that President Donald Trump and Republicans refuse to provide.
The tally showed cracks in the Democrats’ resolve on day one of the shutdown but offered no breakthrough. Blame was being cast on all sides. The White House and Congress failed to strike an agreement to keep programs and services open, throwing the country into a new cycle of uncertainty.
“I certainly pray they will come to their senses,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said, flanked by GOP leaders at the Capitol.
This is the third time Trump has presided over a federal funding lapse and the first since his return to the White House this year. His record underscores the polarizing divide over budget priorities in a political climate that rewards hard-line positions rather than more traditional compromises.
Plenty of blame being thrown around
The Democrats picked this fight, which was unusual for the party that prefers to keep government running, but their voters are eager to challenge the president’s second-term agenda. Democrats are demanding funding for health care subsidies that are expiring for millions of people under the Affordable Care Act, causing the insurance premiums to spike nationwide.
Republicans have refused to negotiate and have encouraged Trump to steer clear of any talks. After convening a White House meeting this week with the Democratic leaders, the president posted a cartoonish fake video mocking the Democratic leadership that was widely viewed as unserious and racist.
“President Trump’s behavior has become more erratic and unhinged,” Democratic leaders Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries said in a joint statement, calling for an “intervention” to get the country out of the shutdown. “Instead of negotiating a bipartisan agreement in good faith, he is obsessively posting crazed deepfake videos.”
An American flag flies over entry point to Rocky Mountain National Park on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in Estes Park, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Vice President JD Vance said Republicans want to resolve the health care issues that concern Democrats but will not negotiate until the government reopens.
“It’s craziness, and people are going to suffer because of this,” Vance said Wednesday on the Fox News show “Fox & Friends.”
What neither side has devised is an easy off-ramp to prevent what could become a protracted closure. The ramifications are certain to spread beyond the political arena, upending the lives of Americans who rely on the government for benefit payments, work contracts and the many services being thrown into turmoil.
Economic fallout expected to ripple nationwide
An economic jolt could be felt in a matter of days. The government is expected Friday to produce its monthly jobs report, which may or may not be delivered.
Wall Street veered toward losses before the opening bell Wednesday as the government shutdown went into effect just after midnight, but stocks drifted around their record highs later in the day.
Across the government, stoppages were getting underway. Trump’s Office of Management and Budget, headed by Russ Vought, directed agencies to execute plans not just for furloughs, which are typical during a federal funding lapse, but mass firings of federal workers. It’s part of the Trump administration’s mission, including its Department of Government Efficiency, to shrink the government.
What’s staying open and shutting down
The Medicare and Medicaid health care programs are expected to continue, though staffing shortages could mean delays for some services. The Pentagon would still function. And most employees will stay on the job at the Department of Homeland Security.
But Trump has warned that the administration could focus on programs that are important to Democrats, “cutting vast numbers of people out, cutting things that they like, cutting programs that they like.”
As agencies sort out which workers are essential, or not, Smithsonian museums are expected to stay open at least until Monday. A group of former national park superintendents urged the administration to close the parks to visitors, arguing that poorly staffed parks in a shutdown are a danger to the public and put park resources at risk.
People take photos with a sign announcing that the Library of Congress is closed, on the first day of a partial government shutdown, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
No easy exit as health care costs soar
Ahead of Wednesday’s start of the fiscal year, House Republicans had approved a temporary funding bill, over opposition from Democrats, to keep government running into mid-November while broader negotiations continue.
But that bill has failed repeatedly in the Senate, including Wednesday, on a 55-45 vote. It needs 60 votes to advance, which requires cooperation between the two parties in a chamber where the GOP has a 53-47 majority. A Democratic bill also failed.
Divisions within the Democrats are apparent, as three senators again crossed over to join Republicans, signaling that Democratic leverage may be eroding. One Republican opposed the GOP plan.
During the roll call, an widening group of senators engaged in an intense conversation, including GOP Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, who has been talking with colleagues about the idea of a one-year extension of the expiring health care subsidies.
“It’s just one thought, and there are other ideas that are out there,” Rounds said afterward.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who has said Republicans are happy to discuss the health care issue — but not as part of talks to keep the government open — is working to peel off more Democrats to his side.
The standoff is a political test for Schumer, who has drawn scorn from a restive base of left-flank voters pushing the party to hold firm in its demands for health care funding.
Johnson sent lawmakers home nearly two weeks ago after having passed the GOP bill, but said they would be back next week.
Trump, during his meeting with the congressional leaders, expressed surprise at the scope of the rising costs of health care, but Democrats left with no path toward talks.
During Trump’s first term, the nation endured its longest-ever shutdown, 35 days, over his demands for funds Congress refused to provide to build his promised U.S.-Mexico border wall.
In 2013, the government shut down for 16 days during the Obama presidency over GOP demands to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Other closures date back decades.
A replica board displaying daily prison meal menus at the Corrections Museum on Ratchaphruek Road, Nonthaburi Province.
BANGKOK — The Department of Corrections is a living testament to Thailand’s journey through the ages, transitioning from punishments intended to inflict pain and death, to restrictions on liberty, and ultimately to a system that aims to develop inmates into valuable human resources before their return to society. It clearly marks Siam’s shift from a traditional order to a modern, civilized state.
On its 110th anniversary, the Department of Corrections hosted a special forum, “110 Years of the Department of Corrections: From Tradition to Civilization.” The event examined the institution’s historic role in managing offenders and maintaining social order.
The forum featured the launch of two books published by Matichon: “Correcting the History of Corrections” and “The Department of Corrections Under Royal Patronage” on September 15.
Books “Correcting the History of Corrections” and “The Department of Corrections Under Royal Patronage” published by Matichon to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the Department of Corrections.Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong examines the two books published to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the Department of Corrections.
Both books recount the 110-year history and development of the Department of Corrections within Thailand’s political, economic, and social contexts, both nationally and internationally, while highlighting the crucial role of the monarchy in shaping corrections.
Speakers included Sahakarn Petchnarint, Director-General of the Department of Corrections; Prof. (Special) Thongthong Chandransu, expert in Thai history and culture, former law lecturer at Chulalongkorn University, and former Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice; and Asst. Prof. Dr. Saranyoo Thepsongkroh, author of “The Carceral State: Punitive Power in the Modern Era” (Matichon Publishing).
The discussion was moderated by Kasidit Anantanatorn, lecturer at Ramkhamhaeng University’s Faculty of Law. Attendees included Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong and Matichon Group executives led by Chairwoman Parnbua Boonpan.
Forum discussion “110 Years of the Department of Corrections: From Tradition to Civilization” marking the Department’s 110th anniversary at the Corrections Museum, Nonthaburi Province, on September 15, 2025.
The Evolution of Corrections
Dr. Saranyoo explained that the power of corrections reflects the power of rulers, as the treatment of offenders mirrors how those in power view their people. In the traditional era, punishment was tied to religious and moral beliefs and served as the penalty for violating dharma. Although kings formally held the power to punish, in practice it was exercised by nobles and local lords, resulting in inconsistent and unstandardized punishments.
With the arrival of Western legal standards, major changes occurred during the reign of King Rama V: torture was replaced by confinement in prisons, and standards of punishment were introduced. Under King Rama VI, this led to the centralization of corrections under a dedicated agency, the Department of Corrections.
Display of traditional-era punishment methods at the Corrections Museum on Ratchaphruek Road, Nonthaburi Province.
Rewriting Corrections History
Director-General Sahakarn explained the origins of the book project: after visiting the Corrections Museum and reviewing documents compiled by previous administrators, he recognized the value of presenting this material to the public. The books compile accounts of punishment practices and document the royal role in corrections across different reigns.
The two volumes include many fascinating aspects of history: the granting of the emblem “Phra Yom on a Lion,” the Department’s insignia symbolizing its mission; the “angel with a staff” insignia of its Director-General; and detailed accounts of capital punishment methods, from the last beheading by sword (Boonteng “Iron Casket”), the first execution by firing squad (Sergeant Sawat Mahamad), the use of poison, to modern times when human rights standards emphasized deprivation of liberty and rehabilitation over brutality. One volume also highlights the enduring royal patronage of corrections from past to present.
“I want people to see that prisons are not alien to society. We must accept and give importance to them, because they have long been a part of Thai life,” the Director-General remarked.
Historical prison guard uniforms on display at the Corrections Museum on Ratchaphruek Road, Nonthaburi Province.
Prof. Thongthong emphasized the monarchy’s importance to corrections, noting that the royal prerogative of pardon is vital to prisoners because it gives them hope. Pardons, whether through sentence reductions or releases, alleviate despair, reduce prison overcrowding, and allow corrections work to continue.
He also recounted the compassion of Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, who has supported “Phrom Phanya” prison libraries and often asked whether inmates could access books. She has noted that inmates, having abundant time, should be encouraged to study. Her projects, including Corrections Sharing Happiness, demonstrate the monarchy’s ongoing concern for prisoners, especially women.
Artwork by a female inmate displayed at the Corrections Museum on Ratchaphruek Road, Nonthaburi Province.
Pardons for Foreign Prisoners
Dr. Saranyoo added that in the early period, corrections focused mainly on confinement, not rehabilitation. After the 1932 Revolution, however, behavioral reform became central. The two books document this shift thoroughly, with rare photographs and documents, including royal pardons granted not only to Thai prisoners but also to foreigners.
Prof. Thongthong emphasized that pardons for foreign prisoners directly benefited Thailand’s international relations, smoothing the way for agreements and cooperation.
He also urged greater understanding of the Department of Corrections, which shoulders responsibilities “beyond its capacity,” especially with limited resources for prisoner rehabilitation. For the future, he suggested stronger state support for post-release monitoring and reintegration systems, an area that currently lacks a dedicated agency. The Director-General agreed with this vision.
Police examine skeletal remains at an abandoned building in Nonthaburi on September 30, 2025 after being alerted by a man who found corpse photos on his recovered phone.
NONTHABURI — A bizarre case unfolded when a man who lost his phone received it back, only to discover photographs of decomposed human remains taken by the person who found it.
Nattapon posted on social media that he dropped his phone near Chaeng Watthana Soi 14 in Bangkok and successfully contacted the finder to get it back. Upon checking the device at home, he found images of skeletal remains in an abandoned building.
Police from Pak Kret Station in Nonthaburi Province, near Bangkok, investigated a four-story abandoned building in Soi Chaeng Watthana-Pak Kret 43/1, Khlong Kluea subdistrict, finding badly decomposed remains on the third floor—estimated to have been there for 3-4 months.
Police investigate skeletal remains found in an abandoned building in Chaeng Watthana-Pak Kret Soi 43/1, Khlong Kluea subdistrict, Nonthaburi Province, on September 30, 2025 after a phone owner reported finding photos of a corpse on his returned device.
An ID card found beneath a nearby mattress identified the deceased as Mr. La, 55, from Lampang Province. His family told police he had left Chiang Mai years ago seeking work in Bangkok and hadn’t been heard from in over a year.
Police questioned 30-year-old Srayut, known as “Bass,” who found the phone. He explained he picked up the device but could only access the camera. While wandering to an abandoned building he’d previously used for shelter, he went to the third floor and discovered the body. Startled, he photographed the scene with the found phone.
Bass, who regularly scavenges scrap from the building, claimed he’d never seen anyone there before.
Authorities found nothing suspicious in his account. Bass remained visibly traumatized and unable to eat. The cause and exact time of death are pending results from the Institute of Forensic Medicine. Mr. La’s family has arranged to claim the body for funeral rites.
This aerial image shows flooding caused by rain following typhoon Bualoi in Lao Cai, Vietnam, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. (Do Tuan Anh/VNA via AP)
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — The search continued on Tuesday for 22 people still missing people following Typhoon Bualoi that caused flooding and landslides in Vietnam and has killed at least 26.
Eight fishermen are among those unaccounted for, as well as four members of the same family — a father, a mother and two children — in Tuyen Quang province who were buried when a landslide struck their house, state media said.
Rainfall topped 30 centimeters (nearly a foot) in parts of Vietnam, including the capital, Hanoi, over the past 24 hours, the national weather agency said Tuesday. It warned that heavy downpours would continue.
The prolonged rain triggered flash floods and landslides that cut off roads and isolated communities from the northern mountains of Son La and Lao Cai provinces to central Nghe An province.
People move by a boat in a flooded street caused by rain following typhoon Bualoi in Lao Cai, Vietnam, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. (Do Tuan Anh/VNA via AP)
Rivers swollen by downpours and dam discharges have also caused widespread flooding and landslides in the north. The Thao River in Yen Bai rose well above emergency levels overnight, sending water up to a meter deep (3 feet) into homes and forcing evacuations.
The near-continuous downpours throughout Tuesday meant that most streets in Hanoi were flooded and authorities warned that people close to the Red River, which passes through the city, should take precautions.
Flights at Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport were diverted or delayed because of heavy rain. Many schools were forced to close by mid-day and about 2.3 million Hanoi students will stay home on Oct 1.
Houses are damaged in the aftermath of typhoon Bualoi in Thanh Hoa, Vietnam, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. (Viet Hoang/VNExpress via AP)
Because of the same storm system, authorities have also evacuated nearby vulnerable areas and shut down roads where landslides have blocked travel.
It made landfall in Vietnam early Monday then lingered, which increased the danger.
Global warming is making storms like these stronger and wetter, according to experts, since warmer oceans provide tropical storms with more fuel, driving more intense winds, heavier rainfall and shifting precipitation patterns across East Asia.
Immigration Police team raids an apartment on Ramkhamhaeng 65 Road to arrest a Thai suspect on human trafficking charges on September 30, 2025. Officers also discovered an illegal Myanmar migrant at the location.
BANGKOK — Police Major General Choengron Rimpadee, Commander of Immigration Bureau 2, wrapped up his tenure with a significant bust, taking down a cross-border human smuggling operation that stretched from Myanmar to Malaysia, with Thailand serving as a transit corridor.
The investigation kicked off in mid-August when immigration officers at Don Mueang Airport spotted something suspicious about a passenger heading to Hat Yai. The man, identified as 47-year-old Bangladeshi national Zoid, was pulled aside for questioning before his southbound flight on August 12.
Under interrogation, Zoid’s story unraveled. He admitted to slipping into Thailand illegally through Myanmar’s porous jungle borders. His plan was simple but risky: traverse Thailand undetected and exit through another natural crossing into Malaysia, where his wife was waiting for him.
But Zoid wasn’t acting alone. As investigators dug deeper, they uncovered an organized smuggling network. At its center was Firdaus, a Thai national who served as the operation’s local coordinator.
Working alongside a Bangladeshi contact known only as “M,” Firdaus had orchestrated Zoid’s entire journey—arranging his illegal border crossing, setting him up in a safe house on Ramkhamhaeng 24 Road in Bangkok, and even booking his domestic flight tickets.
Armed with evidence of human trafficking and harboring illegal immigrants, police secured an arrest warrant for Firdaus. The charges were serious: facilitating illegal entry into Thailand, providing shelter to undocumented migrants, and helping foreign nationals evade capture.
Immigration Police team arrests a Thai suspect on human trafficking charges raids at an apartment on Ramkhamhaeng 65 Road on September 30, 2025.
The warrant was executed on September 30, when Pol. Maj. Gen. Choengron’s team raided an apartment on Ramkhamhaeng 65 Road. Inside, they found Firdaus along with damning evidence—rental contracts for properties used as transit houses for smuggled migrants moving through Bangkok toward the Malaysian border.
The raid yielded an unexpected bonus. Officers discovered Joshua Win, a 40-year-old Myanmar national, hiding in the apartment. He told police he’d been working in Malaysia and was trying to return home to Myanmar. The smuggling network had placed him in the safe house temporarily, with plans to transport him to the border within days.
Both Firdaus and Joshua Win were taken into custody. Joshua Win was transferred to Hua Mak Police Station for processing on immigration violations, while authorities continue investigating the wider smuggling network and its connections across Southeast Asia.
People look at a collapsed building in Bogo City, Cebu province, Philippines Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025 after an offshore earthquake on late Tuesday. (AP Photo)
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — At least 69 people were killed in a powerful earthquake that hit a central Philippine province where dozens of peple were killed by a powerful earthquake Tuesday night.
The magnitude-6.9 earthquake that hit at about 10 p.m. trapped an unspecified number of residents in collapsed houses, nightclubs and other businesses in the hard-hit city of Bogo and outlying rural towns in Cebu province, officials said.
The epicenter of the earthquake, which was set off by movement in a local fault at a depth of 5 kilometers (3 miles), was about 19 kilometers (12 miles) northeast of Bogo, a coastal city of about 90,000 people in Cebu province where at least 14 residents died, disaster-mitigation officer Rex Ygot told The Associated Press by telephone.
The death toll in Bogo was expected to rise. Workers were trying to transport a backhoe to hasten search and rescue efforts in a cluster of shanties in a mountain village hit by a landslide and boulders, he said.
“It’s hard to move in the area because there are hazards,” Glenn Ursal, another disaster-mitigation officer told the AP, adding some survivors were brought to a hospital.
A damaged McDonald’s store is seen in Bogo City, Cebu province, Philippines Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025 after an offshore earthquake on late Tuesday. (AP Photo/Rufino Alub)
At least 12 people died when they were hit by falling ceilings and walls of their houses, some while sleeping, in Medellin town near Bogo, Gemma Villamor, who heads the town’s disaster-mitigation office, told the AP.
In San Remigio town, also near Bogo, five people, consisting of three coast guard personnel, a firefighter and a child, were killed separately by collapsing walls while trying to flee to safety from a basketball game that was disrupted by the quake, the town’s vice mayor, Alfie Reynes, told the DZMM radio network.
Reynes appealed for food and water, saying San Remigio’s water system was damaged by the earthquake.
Aside from houses in Bogo, the quake damaged a fire station and concrete and asphalt roads, firefighter Rey Cañete said.
“We were in our barracks to retire for the day when the ground started to shake and we rushed out but stumbled to the ground because of the intense shaking,” Cañete told The AP, adding that he and three other firemen sustained cuts and bruises.
People surround a body bag in Bogo City, Cebu province, Philippines Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025 after an offshore earthquake on late Tuesday. (AP Photo)
A concrete wall in their fire station collapsed, Cañete said. He and fellow firefighters provided first aid to at least three residents, who were injured by falling debris and collapsed walls.
Hundreds of terrified residents gathered in the darkness in a grassy field near the fire station and refused to return home hours after the earthquake struck in Bogo. Several business establishments visibly sustained damages and the asphalt and concrete roads where they passed had deep cracks, Cañete said, adding that an old Catholic church in Daanbantayan town near Bogo was also damaged.
Cebu Gov. Pamela Baricuatro said the extent of the damage and injuries in Bogo and outlying towns in the northern section of the province would not be known until daytime. “It could be worse than we think,” he said in a video message posted on Facebook.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology briefly issued a tsunami warning and advised people to stay away from the coastlines in Cebu and in the nearby provinces of Leyte and Biliran due to possible waves of up to 1 meter (3 feet).
Teresito Bacolcol, director of the institute, said the tsunami warning was later lifted with no unusual waves being monitored.
Cebu and other provinces were still recovering from a tropical storm that battered the central region on Friday, leaving at least 27 people dead mostly due to drownings and falling trees, knocking out power in entire cities and towns and forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people.
The Philippines, one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries, is often hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the ocean. The archipelago is also lashed by about 20 typhoons and storms each year.
FILE - Keith Urban, left, and Nicole Kidman arrive at the 60th annual Academy of Country Music Awards on May 8, 2025, in Frisco, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Nicole Kidman has filed for divorce from Keith Urban after 19 years of marriage, bringing a surprising end to a long and seemingly successful union that brought together two superstars from the worlds of movies and music.
The 58-year-old Oscar-winning actor petitioned on Tuesday to end her marriage to the 57-year-old Grammy winning country singer in a Nashville court. The documents state the couple has undergone “marital difficulties and irreconcilable differences.”
Kidman and Urban, two of the biggest stars to come out of Australia in recent decades, have been red carpet fixtures throughout their two-decade relationship, with Urban joining his wife at the Oscars and Kidman attending music events like the Academy of Country Music Awards.
The filings include a marriage dissolution and childcare plan agreed on by the couple and submitted for a judge’s approval.
“The mother and father will behave with each other and each child so as to provide a loving, stable, consistent and nurturing relationship with the child even though they are divorced,” says the permanent parenting plan, using language common in the state’s divorces. “They will not speak badly of each other or the members of the family of the other parent. They will encourage each child to continue to love the other parent and be comfortable in both families.”
The plan asks that Kidman be the primary residential parent to the couple’s two daughters, ages 17 and 14, having them for 306 days per year with Urban taking them for the other 59.
The girls have lived in Nashville all their lives, and the documents give no indication that will change.
The filing states that each parent earns more than $100,000 per month and neither will need childcare or spousal support.
The marriage dissolution plan lays out a roughly equal division of joint assets, with each keeping all the assets that are in their own name, including the copyrights and royalties for their artistic work.
The detailed agreements suggests that the divorce had been in the works for well over a month at the least. Urban signed the parenting plan on Aug. 29, Kidman on Sept. 6.
It will take at least 90 days for the divorce to become final under Tennessee law.
Representatives for Kidman and Urban did not respond to emailed requests for comment on Tuesday.
Both raised in Australia, Kidman and Urban met in 2005 at a Los Angeles event honoring Australians and were married in Sydney the following year.
The marriage was the first for Urban and the second for Kidman, who was married to Tom Cruise from 1990 to 2001. Kidman also has two older children with Cruise.
The couple had publicly but lovingly described some marital difficulties, but there were still few if any signs they were headed for divorce. Media reports of their separation came just a day before the divorce filing.
Last year at the premiere of the Netflix series “The Perfect Couple,” Kidman told The Associated Press the term didn’t apply to her and Urban.
FILE – Nicole Kidman, left, and Keith Urban arrive at the American Music Awards on Nov. 19, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
“You’re heading for trouble if you consider yourselves the perfect couple,” she said. “I’m not a believer in perfect.”
A few months earlier, Urban paid tribute to Kidman, and brought her to tears, when she received the AFI Life Achievement Award.
Urban said she showed him “what love in action really looks like” when his substance abuse problems emerged almost immediately after they wed in 2006.
“Four months into our marriage, I’m in rehab for three months,” Urban said. “Nic pushed through every negative voice, I’m sure even some of her own, and she chose love. And here we are 18 years later.”
Kidman’s film roles have included “Days of Thunder,” “Eyes Wide Shut,” “Moulin Rouge” and “The Hours,” for which she won an Academy Award for playing author Virginia Woolf. She has more recently worked in television, including the series “Nine Perfect Strangers” and “Big Little Lies,” for which she won Emmys as both actor and producer.
Urban has been a major country star since the 1990s, with hits including “Somebody Like You” and “Blue Ain’t Your Color.” He has won four Grammy Awards and more than a dozen ACM Awards.
