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Railway for Myanmar’s Main City Slow-Paced Window Into Past

A woman walks on a platform in October at Yangon Central Railway Station in Yangon, Myanmar. Photo: Elaine Kurtenbach / Associated Press

YANGON, Myanmar — Myanmar’s commercial capital is fast shedding its sleepy backwater trappings as the city builds new roads, hotels and office buildings, but the Circle Line railway remains a world apart from the traffic jams and chaos of Yangon’s streets.

Long overdue for upgrades, the 46-kilometer (28-mile) line slowly trundles through 38 stations around the city, past tin shacks and fields of watercress, palm trees and bananas, gated communities and factory zones.

The railway opened in 1877 when Myanmar, then known as Burma, was a colony of Britain. British forces destroyed Yangon’s ornate central station in 1943 during World War II, as they fled the city ahead of Japanese troops.

The station appears little changed since it reopened in 1954. At 100 kyats to 200 kyats (8 cents to 16 cents) a ride, depending on distance, it’s the cheapest public transport option for traveling around the city of 7.4 million, carrying more than 100,000 people a day.

Commuters traipse across its tracks, squatters bed down on the train platforms. Hawkers board to sell fish, tangerines, SIM cards, and then climb back off to wait for more customers.

A group of kids, not quite teenagers, climbs aboard, hauling homemade bird houses left over from a day of peddling downtown. Back and forthing through the carriage, they take turns gazing out the door before eventually alighting, chattering and laughing, at a stop far out in the suburbs.

Japan’s aid agency has drawn up a master plan for rebuilding Yangon station and modernizing the trains. Yangon invited tenders for the project, but progress has lagged.

Only traveling at most a bit over 20 kilometers (12 miles) an hour, the train is clean but no-frills, its open windows the only breeze on a stuffy evening. The view: an intimate glimpse into kitchens, open-air sports bars packed with men watching soccer on big screen color TVs, fathers holding toddlers up to watch the train pass.

Only after the sun has disappeared and dark has fully fallen are dim lights switched on, as the train slowly heads back toward the Yangon terminus.

Story: Elaine Kurtenbach

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Internet Boils Over With Scorn For #GraabMyCar

Mudasir Slatasoh, a political science student at Prince of Songkhla University, posted this animated gif with the words 'Graab my car.'

BANGKOK — Finally the internet has something everyone can agree on.

Images of GMM TV host Acharanat “Nott” Ariyaritwikol punching a motorcyclist who allegedly struck his Mini Countryman, ultimately forcing him to prostrate to the car, has invited widespread mockery on social media.

What struck many as an overprivileged celeb acting with violent impunity over slight damage to his car (he calls it Foi Thong, like the dessert) inspired a slew of memes about the forced display of utter humility and deference, called graab, to an inanimate object.

Read: TV Host Loses Job, Charged With Assault in #GraabMyCar Road Rage Incident

On Monday #graabmycar was the top trending Twitter hashtag in Thailand.

Those marketing the vehicle were quick to respond with a sense of humor. Mini Thailand reassured the public Sunday on Facebook that their cars are not sacred.

“We are not sacred objects. No need to prostrate us,” said the message posted with a photo of the same model and color as that owned by Acharanat. The post made garnered more than 50,000 likes and reactions, and was shared more than 17,000 times and as of late Monday morning.

“Don’t worry about losing customers. Those who have money at this level won’t pay attention [to the drama],” user Warawut Chio-on wrote in reply to Mini Thailand.

In a country where university graduates expect to earn monthly salaries of 20,000 baht or less, an imported Mini Countryman’s starting cost of 1.9 million baht is about three years’ salary for a colonel or the price of a 30sqm studio condo in the burbs.

Achanarat, the 28-year-old host of GMM 25’s School Bus program, became an object of universal scorn over the weekend after video emerged of him dragging Kittisak Singto by his jacket lapels across Charoen Krung Road. He said Kittisak had damaged his vehicle and tried to take off.

The video showed him punch Kittisak three times despite the man’s apologies.

Acharanat also hosted a morning show called Wake Club, which runs on the army-operated Channel 5.

Facebook user Patty Jeenoon posted a digitally altered image of Acharanat sitting in the open back of the hatchback with eight people prostrating themselves before him. Some kneeling hold incense sticks as if praying to a Buddha statue.

On Sunday night, as the story went viral, Mudasir Slatasoh, a political science student at Prince of Songkhla University, posted an animated gif showing an endless looping graphic of the incident with the words “Graab my car.”

GMM TV, Acharanat’s employer, also showed its displeasure Monday by terminating the host’s contract. Police went one further and charged him with assault.

Photo: จอนนี่แมวศุภลักษณ์ / Facebook
Photo: จอนนี่แมวศุภลักษณ์ / Facebook
'I have to practice this since there are many yellow cars in New York.' Photo: Nelson S. Howe
‘I have to practice this since there are many yellow cars in New York.’ Photo: Nelson S. Howe

https://twitter.com/pattna2559/status/795430842780655616

 

https://twitter.com/Pattzio/status/795275388406464512

Related stories:

Enraged Driver Punches, Forces Motorcyclist to Prostrate at Luxury Car

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Passenger Beats Guard Senseless at Tollbooth

BANGKOK — A tollway guard was beaten unconscious after getting into an argument with a group trying to go through without an Easy Pass.

Aneerut Saengmitr, 52, was assaulted by an unidentified man after telling the people inside an Isuzu truck to back out from the Easy Pass lane at the Pracha Chuen entrance to the Sirat Expressway on Sunday morning.

“They tried to pay with cash in the Easy Pass lane,” said police Capt. Noppadol Homsombut. “When they couldn’t go through, they weren’t happy.”

Someone riding in the passenger seat of the truck, which had license plate 1 ฒผ5526, became enraged and started cursing at Aneerut after he told them to back out and drive up to a toll booth that accepts cash.

As Aneerut later told police, he raised his voice to explain to the man why he was asking them to back up. That’s when the man exited the vehicle and yelled that Aneerut should not shout at him. A toll booth worker then called for him to watch out, as the other was drawing back his arm.

The man repeatedly punched Aneerut in the face until the guard fell unconscious to the floor. The vehicle then drove away and Aneerut was rushed to Kasemrad Hospital. He later filed a complaint with police.

Police are looking for the owner of the truck to track down and charge the passenger responsible for the attack with assault, Noppadol said Monday.

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More Rain to Drop Before Temperatures Fall

Phu Chi Fa mountain in the northern province of Chiang Rai welcomes tourists Sunday with a temperature of 14C.

BANGKOK — Expect more rain in Bangkok throughout the week before feeling the change of seasons with a wave of cooler weather.

Despite the official start of winter last week, rain is forecast for the upper part of Thailand including Bangkok through Friday before temperatures start fall three to five degrees, the Meteorological Department announced Monday.

The flux in weather conditions is due to hit the northeastern region first before spreading to other areas, it announced.

The southern region will also face more rain this week due to the northeastern monsoon. Small boat warnings are in place as waves are expected to reach two to three meters.

It had been earlier announced that winter would begin early this year in the last week of October. The season, expected to continue through mid-February, is also expected to be colder than recent years with low temperatures falling to 6C.

Related stories:

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First More Rain, Then an Early Winter Comes

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TV Host Loses Job, Charged With Assault in #GraabMyCar Road Rage Incident

Acharanat Ariyaritwikol at police station on Sunday.

BANGKOK — Police have charged an actor and talk show host with assault for punching a motorcyclist and dragging him to prostrate to his “dream car,” footage of which went viral over the weekend and cost him his job Monday.

A lawyer for Acharanat Ariyaritwikol, 28, said his client struck Kittisak “Boy” Singto repeatedly on Friday out of self-defense. The assault and Acharanat’s insistence that Kittisak kowtow, or graab, to the luxury car he allegedly damaged in an accident were trending topics on social media, earning the hashtag #GraabMyCar.

“He was defending himself,” Adul Tinapong said at Yannawa Police Station. “The other person looked like he was about to start a fight.”

Read: Enraged Driver Punches, Forces Motorcyclist to Prostrate at Luxury Car

In video of the incident, Kittisak appears frightened as Acharanat drags him by the front of his jacket over to his car and strikes him repeatedly in the face.

Photo of Kittisak Singto’s injuries posted on Facebook by his sister. Image: Sukanya Singto / Facebook
Photo of Kittisak Singto’s injuries posted on Facebook by his sister. Image: Sukanya Singto / Facebook

But speaking at the police station, Acharanat said he thought Kittisak might have had a knife or gun at the time. He asked the public for forgiveness.

“Am I wrong? I am. I admit that,” Acharanat said with a waii. “I’d like to apologize to the media, everyone, including Nong Boy and his family.”

Police have charged Acharanat with assault. Achanarat’s employer GMM TV announced Monday it had canceled his contract and terminated all of his ongoing projects effective immediately. A news conference earlier announced for Monday afternoon was canceled.

GMM TV wrote in a statement that it “regrets the incident and sees the damage from his status, as an actor and emcee should be a role model to the youth.”

Although no charges were initially filed when the incident occurred, both parties changed their minds Sunday and made criminal complaints. Kittisak “Boy” Singto filed an assault complaint against Acharanat, while Acharanat asked police to prosecute Kittisak for damaging his car in the accident.

The GMM TV host said he was outraged that Kittisak, a 25-year-old government clerk, hit his Mini Cooper and then attempted to flee the scene. He said he loved his car very much, and that he had spent years saving for it. At one point Acharanat said it was his longtime dream to buy the car.

“It’s the same issue. I had no right to hurt him, but he had no right to flee from the scene of the accident either. Don’t just watch half the clip,” the actor said.

Although the confrontation took place Friday, video of the incident exploded on social media over the weekend, drawing widespread attention. The clip showed Acharanat dragging Kittisak across Charoen Krung Road to his 1.8 million baht car and striking him repeatedly in the face.

“Next time, don’t hit and run, you get it?” Acharanat screamed at the motorcyclist. “Now, graab my car.”

Kittisak has not spoken to the media.

Speaking to reporters Sunday, police spokesman Songpol Wattanachai described the incident as a case of assault. He also urged motorists to exercise restraint and refrain from violence.

Many on social media criticized Acharanat for not only resorting to violence over material damages, but also for demanding that Kittisak humiliate himself in public and prostrate, or graab, to the car. Graab is a display of the utmost humility in Thai culture, especially if done in front of someone.

“Everybody’s angry in car crashes, of course, but the interesting point is #GraabMyCar is about having dehumanizing thoughts. He perceived another person’s dignity to be inferior to a car,” tweeted user @Mybraceteeth.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated that a comment by police spokesman Krissana Pattanacharoen was made Monday. He spoke Sunday.

Related stories:

‘AirGraab’ Hits Full Boil as Passenger Sues Internet, Attendant Weighs Legal Action
Flight Attendant Kowtows on Floor to Irate Passenger
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Abu Sayyaf Claims to Have Kidnapped German, Killed Woman

ISIS flag, adapted by Abu Sayyaf for personal use. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

MANILA — The Philippine military is trying to verify a claim by Abu Sayyaf militants that they have kidnapped a German man from a yacht and shot and killed his girlfriend in the southern Philippines, a military spokesman said Monday.

Regional military spokesman Maj. Filemon Tan said Abu Sayyaf spokesman Muamar Askali had claimed the militants kidnapped Juegen Kantner and killed his companion while the couple were cruising off neighboring Malaysia.

It’s not clear why the woman was purportedly killed but it’s possible she may have fought back or tried to escape, Tan and another military official said.

Villagers reported finding a dead woman lying beside a shotgun on board a blue yacht with the German flag and marked “Rock All” off Laparan Island in Sulu province, Tan said. The southern province is where the ransom-seeking militants hold their hostages in tropical jungle encampments.

Marines were deployed to verify the villagers’ report and have been ordered “to be careful in approaching the vessel because it might be rigged with explosives.”

If the attack on the couple is confirmed, it would be the latest in a wave of attacks at sea by the Abu Sayyaf and allied gunmen despite efforts by the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia to jointly shore up security in their busy sea border, where Indonesians and Malaysians have been kidnapped from tugboats and fishing boats in recent months.

The kidnappings have continued despite one of the largest military offensives against the Abu Sayyaf mainly in Sulu and the nearby island province of Basilan that involves more than 6,000 troops, navy gunboats and rocket-firing air force aircraft.

Without a known foreign source of funds, the Abu Sayyaf has survived mostly on ransom kidnappings, extortion and other acts of banditry.

A confidential Philippine government threat assessment report seen by The Associated Press said the militants have pocketed at least 353 million pesos ($7.3 million) from ransom kidnappings in the first six months of the year and have turned to abductions of foreign tugboat crewmen as military offensives restricted their mobility.

President Rodrigo Duterte, who took office in June, has ordered troops to destroy Abu Sayyaf, known for its brutality and ties to some foreign militants, and he has ruled out the possibility of any peace talks with them. He has pursued talks with two other larger Muslim insurgent groups.

Duterte intends to discuss with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak possible solutions to end the Abu Sayyaf kidnapping menace in the region when he makes an overnight visit to Malaysia starting on Wednesday.

The government report said the Abu Sayyaf had 481 fighters with 438 firearms in the first half of the year but the military reported last week that it had killed 70 of the militants and captured 32 others since July.

At least 28 government troops have died and nearly 100 others have been wounded in the military assaults in Basilan and Sulu, a Muslim province about 590 miles (950 kilometers) south of Manila.

Story: Jim Gomez

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FBI Chief: No Charges for Clinton After New Emails Reviewed

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton holds a rally in November in Wilton Manors, Florida. Photo: Patrick Farrell / Miami Herald / Associated Press

WASHINGTON — FBI Director James Comey told Congress in a letter sent Sunday that a review of newly discovered Hillary Clinton emails has “not changed our conclusions” from earlier this year that she should not face charges.

Sent just two days before Election Day, the letter appeared to resolve any lingering ambiguity over the prospect that the Democratic presidential nominee could yet face a criminal indictment over her use of a private email sever as secretary of state.

“Based on our review, we have not changed our conclusions that we expressed in July with respect to Secretary Clinton,” Comey wrote to congressional leaders, less than two weeks after first telling them about a cache of newly found emails that investigators thought might be pertinent to their investigation.

But the letter left unresolved other questions, including the content and number of new emails, and how many of the messages investigators reviewed were duplicates of emails they had already seen.

“The growing number of unanswered questions demand explanations,” Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement.

A senior law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal decision-making, said the letter was intended to reflect a conclusion to the email review and not merely a status update.

The letter also drew fresh criticism from lawmakers who said the new email review, announced in a vague letter to Congress on Oct. 28, shouldn’t have been made public so close to the election and created unnecessary suspicion.

“Today’s letter makes Director Comey’s actions nine days ago even more troubling. There’s no doubt that it created a false impression about the nature of the agency’s inquiry,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said Clinton was being protected by a “rigged system” and pronounced her “guilty,” notwithstanding the FBI’s conclusion.

The FBI had been under pressure to reveal additional details about its new email review following Comey’s abrupt disclosure on Oct. 28 that the bureau had discovered emails that were potentially relevant to the Clinton investigation.

The emails were found on the computer of Anthony Weiner, the disgraced congressman and estranged husband of Clinton aide Huma Abedin. Weiner is under investigation by federal authorities for online communications he had with a 15-year-old girl.

Upon discovering emails thought to be potentially pertinent to the Clinton email investigation, Comey advised Congress that investigators would review the messages to see whether they were classified. The FBI subsequently obtained a warrant to begin the process of going through the emails.

That disclosure, made over the objections of the Justice Department, roiled the presidential race in its final days and revived an issue that the Clinton campaign thought had ended over the summer when the investigation closed without charges.

In July, the FBI chief chastised Clinton for her use of a private mail server but said the bureau would not recommend criminal charges against the Democratic presidential nominee or her aides. The Justice Department accepted that recommendation.

In his letter to Congress on Sunday, Comey said the FBI had reviewed all new emails to and from Clinton and that nothing had changed its July conclusion. But the letter did not address how the messages wound up on Weiner’s computer and what, if anything, the announcement means for Abedin.

Abedin’s attorney, Karen Dunn, has said Abedin learned from media reports about the possibility that her emails had been found on a laptop belonging to Weiner.

Comey has already said that investigators found classified emails on Clinton’s server, and that although Clinton and her aides had been “extremely careless” in their handling of classified information, there was no evidence that anyone had willfully broken the law.

The new email review did not automatically increase the chances that anyone was in renewed danger of criminal prosecution, even if additional classified messages were found.

“We were always confident nothing would cause the July decision to be revisited. Now Director Comey has confirmed it,” Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said Sunday on Twitter.

Story: Eric Tucker

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Monday Morning Mess as Subway Shuts Down

Photo: Nares_SPT / Twitter

BANGKOK — Monday got off to an unpleasant start for many commuters as the MRT subway system was suspended for over two hours.

MRT officials announced just before 8am that service would be disrupted for 20 minutes. The transit system then announced again about 15 minutes later that it would be extended another 20 minutes, before saying it would take another half hour at about 9:30am.

MRT Hua Lamphong and MRT Samyan were closed at about  8:30am due to “operational difficulties.”

Service reportedly resumed after 10am. Commuters were advised to change trains at MRT Rama 9 and MRT Queen Sirikit National Convention Center.

Many passengers reportedly remain stuck at stations.

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https://twitter.com/jtttsu/status/795441525622607872

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Enraged Driver Punches, Forces Motorcyclist to Prostrate at Luxury Car

BANGKOK — Footage spread Sunday of a driver who was caught on video raging and subsequently punching a motorcyclist who lightly shoved his vehicle, after the man allegedly tried to escape, and forcing him to prostrate to his car.

The video, posted at 2pm spread on a Facebook page called “If you wanna be famous, we can arrange it” (Yak Dang Diew Jad Hai) had been shared over 70,000 times by 10pm and liked more than 58,000 times. Police said the incident took place Friday.

In the one-minute video, the enraged driver, Acharanat “Nott” Ariyaritwikol, 28, a television host with GMM TV, was seen in the video clip dragging the man from across Charoen Krung Road near Taksin Bridge. The man was dragged to the yellow Mini Countryman, a car which costs THB 1.8 million baht.

The motorcyclist, Kittisak Singto, 25, a clerk at the Revenue Department, looked scared as the car owner asked why he hit him and fled. Acharanat grabs Kittisak by his jacket. After punching Kittisak three times, a bystander on the street asks why Acharanat was attacking the man instead of calling the police. The motorcyclist apologized after being punched the first time, which didn’t deter Acharanat from continuing the beating.

“Don’t speak bro, he hit and run,” Acharanat said to the bystander, as his friend repeated the same answer.

Toward the end of the video, the driver forced Kittisak to prostrate to his shiny luxurious car.

“Prostrate to my car!” Acharanat said.

Col. Pongsak Sab-laor, head of Yannawa police told Khaosod at 7:35pm on Sunday that the two had met Friday at the police station and that an agreement had been reached not to press charges. No police record was filed on that day.

Suthira Hongthong, 53, and Sukanya Singto, 29, the mother and sister of Kittisak filed a police complaint against Acharanat for assault at 7pm on Sunday. Acharanat went to see police at 7:50pm but refused to speak to the press.

GMM TV said Sunday that a press conference by Acharanat would take place at his office 2pm on Monday.

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Get Schooled in Digital DJing at Bangkok’s In Ear Beat

Before the millennium, DJs were limited in terms of equipment, with the standard two turntables and a mixer being the norm. In the new millennium, the rise of more advanced technology brought tools to be even more creative with mixing.

Notes from the Underground - Mongkorn 'DJ Dragon' TimkulIn today’s scene the standard Technics turntables and DJ mixer have given way to software and hardware. Names like Pioneer, Serato, Traktor and Ableton are brands that make gear essential to DJs.

One of Bangkok’s leading centers for educating aspiring DJs in with this technology is In Ear Beat, which specializes teaching the in-and-outs of digital DJing and electronic music production.

At the helm is 32-year-old Tossawat “Nup” Chotivong, the center’s enterprising and quick witted owner. His career began in 2008 when he was in New York to attend university.

“I was there to study my bachelors degree but I changed my mind and decided that I wanted to study what I loved the most which is music,” he said.

After graduating in 2011 he came back to Thailand and found that many of the Bangkok’s schools were not accessible to most people because of their high costs. Realizing that he could make his mark in the scene he explained:

“Back in those days schools that taught electronic music production and DJing were quite expensive and I started In Ear Beat to make a school that was affordable to all people,” Nup said.

“I would say five years ago electronic music wasn’t as popular as it is today, especially now with the whole EDM thing blowing up and all, I wanted to start my own DJ course but doing it differently from others schools by focusing more on the digital DJ side of things, with controllers and different computer programs,” Nup added.

Tossawat 'Nup' Chotivong
Tossawat ‘Nup’ Chotivong

On a Monday afternoon I had the chance to sit in on the school’s Digital DJ class. The classroom is aligned with computer screens and different types of gear. During this class I was introduced to the versatility of Ableton, a digital audio workstation that is popular amongst producers and DJs.

Nup explained that the appeal to the more technological approach to mixing beats is because “kids today grow up using iPads and iPhones so when it comes to computers they can relate to this more.”

It was Peter Parker’s uncle Ben that once said “with great power comes great responsibility.” With today’s advanced technology some schools of thought would argue that it has made it easy for people to perform without actually having any real skills. The dreaded “sync button” is something purists tend to hate on because of its beat matching abilities. According to Nup it’s something that can be used in a creative way.

“Software like Traktor is so powerful that a DJ can mix up to four tracks at the same time. With that you can arrange and layer your beats any way you want. It’s a new approach to DJing and there’s a lot of creative things you can do with it,” Nup said.

studio

In Ear Beat is open 11am to 8pm every day except Friday and is located near BTS Ari.

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